Page 52 of I'm Looking for a Man in Finance
Voices drifted from the foyer as we descended the grand staircase, hushed and annoyed. Roxie stood in the foyer, arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed as Sebastian Whittaker smiled at her.
“We’re in the primary at the end of the hall on the right, Rox.” Hallie interrupted whatever stare-down the two were having.
“As long as I’m far away from him,” Roxie huffed as she grabbed her stuff from the bench in the entryway. She shoved her way past Seb and bounded up the stairs past us.
“About that …” Hallie winced. “The only two rooms free are right next to each other. We’re sharing the primary. Sebastian and James are in the room next door.”
“Great.” Roxie gave Hallie a forced smile.
“Oh no.” Sebastian’s voice took on a fake air of sincerity. “How terrible for you. I hope you brought earplugs, darling. I snore.”
Roxie rolled her eyes before disappearing down the hall.
“Is this going to be a problem?” I turned to ask my best friend.
Seb gave me a smile that could have resembled a shark. “Why would you assume there’ll be a problem?”
“Because you’re you. And there’s clearly something going on between you and Roxie.”
Seb ascended the stairs, then paused to give me a clap on the shoulder. “This is going to befun.”
Hallie leaned over to whisper in my ear as she watched Sebastian’s retreating figure. “Do you think …?”
“We’ll keep an eye on them.”
Hallie tossed one more concerned look toward her best friend as she finished ascending the stairs to the main floor. “I’m not sure what their problem is, but they can bicker all they want.Iam going to enjoy this beautiful house, this beautiful weather, and soak up all the relaxation I can get.”
Sitting across from Hallie at brunch after our date last week had been torture. I could barely go a minute without having our kiss flash across my mind. Our week apart had done little to stifle the feelings of desire growing inside me—for her, for more. And now I was walking into three days with her. Uninterrupted time. No need to say goodbye at the end of the night. Just her and me (and Sebastian and Roxie, but I think they’ll keep themselves busy).
Somewhere between her quick wit and that damn kiss, everything shifted. The article and the deal we’d made no longer seemed like my priority. I wanted her to see me for more than the guy trying to protect his family’s legacy. I wanted her to seeme, all the messy, imperfect parts I hadn’t let anyone get close enough to see before.
“I want to give you some time to enjoy the backyard. We have a pool and a private dock for our sailboat. But I also planned a few things to show you around the area.” I’d spent every summer here, but Hallie was experiencing it for the first time, so I aimed to make it special for her. We couldn’t cram everything into these next three days, so a tiny part of me hoped that this wouldn’t be the last time she stepped foot on my family’s Hamptons property.
“I’m assuming food will be involved?”
My mouth twisted into a grin. “Of course there will be food involved. What a silly question.”
Hallie sighed dreamily. “I bet there are so many amazing places here. I really hope Roxie brought her camera.”
“Her camera?” I asked. I knew Roxie worked at the art gallery that Michelle Granger frequented, but I didn’t realize that she was an artist in her own right.
“She’s a photographer. She takes all the photos that I showcase for my blog. We had a dream once of starting our own food blog together.” Hallie followed me through the living room to the kitchen. Carefully, she traced the fine details of the furniture—the worn edges of the mahogany desk, the faded floral pattern on the armchair.
“Once? Not anymore?” I opened the fridge, trying to figure out what we were working with. There wasn’t an ounce of food inside, and I was certain the pantry looked the same. Clearly, at the end of the season, once Labor Day had passed, my mother had the housekeeper clean all the food out.
“Now’s not the time.” Hallie’s words sounded rehearsed, as if she’d had this very conversation not so long ago.
“I think it could be the perfect time,” I countered. Ultimately, we were here today because she wanted a career in the food industry. I’d known her long enough to realize she found the series merely an exercise to reach her goal. So why not take matters into her own hands?
But Hallie waved me off as she watched me double check the pantry was as empty as the fridge. “Looks like we’ll need to make a stop at the store.”
“We can run into town to grab a few things. I’ll see if Seb and Roxie want to join.”
Roxie came back down the stairs wearing a coverup over her swimsuit. She was making a beeline for the backyard, a beach towel tucked under her arm and her book dangling from her hand. “I’m good. I’m going to lie out by the pool with my book.”
Seb bounded down the stairs, no longer in the suit pants and dress shirt he’d shown up in. He looked at home in a pair of linen shorts and a matching button-up shirt. “Seb, do you want to go into town with us to the store?”
Sebastian’s head bobbed as he pretended to consider my offer. The subtle shift in his eyes toward Roxie lounging by the pool, however, betrayed his decision before a word left his lips. “I think I’m going to catch some sun. I’ve been stuck in the office for too long.”
