Page 52 of Blue Hawaiian
But then he imagined her in the shower. Naked. And all thoughts of being responsible vanished.
He picked up the phone and called room service.
* * *
After a two-hour napand a lengthy shower, Jess had regained her energy. Though she hadn’t appreciated waking up at 3:00 a.m., the sunrise had been spectacular. She’d enjoyed getting the chance to talk to Brody. And she’d proven to Gabi she could be trusted to show up when needed. Though her sister had ignored her for most of the trip, she came around at the end, when she thanked her for coming.
Now that Jess was back on a firm footing as a model maid of honor, she was hoping for a few hours off, with no planned activities. She wanted to snag some alone time with Connor before the luau. But when she peeked at her phone, her stomach clenched into a knot.
No new messages.Bastard.
She’d been a fool to think he would treat her differently than any of his other women. This was the last time she’d fall for his charm. Once she saw him, she was giving him hell. And she wasnotinviting him back into her bed.
A knock at her door sent her adrenaline racing. Bracing herself for a confrontation, she flung the door open, only to see a uniformed waiter standing in the hallway.
“Yes?” she said.
“Sorry to disturb you, miss, but your order has arrived.” Beside him was a metal room service cart.
“I think you have the wrong room. I didn’t order anything.” She wished she had. The smell of french fries made her mouth water.
“Jessica Chavez, room 945? It’s already paid for.”
Had Gabi had sent the food to thank her for going to Mt. Haleakala?
She gestured for the waiter to come in and grabbed five bucks out of her wallet to give him a tip. When she opened the silver domes, she drooled at the sight of all the food: barbecue pork sliders, fish tacos with grilled mahi mahi, Parmesan-dusted french fries, fresh pineapple spears, and two bottles of Snapple iced tea. This meal couldn’t be from Gabi. She would have sent something healthy, like a spinach salad or a papaya smoothie.
As the waiter was leaving, Connor poked his head out of his room. “Hey, Jess.”
She was tempted to hurl a few choice expletives at him and slam her door for emphasis, but he was at her doorway before she could make a move.
He rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. Lunch is here.”
“You sent this?”
“I did. Sorry about last night. And about missing the volcano. The food is my apology.”
She crossed her arms. “You’re on my shit list right now. Not only did I go to bed alone, but if Brody hadn’t shown up, I would have spent all morning with Gabi and Marc, who alternated between bickering and making out.”
He gave her a sheepish look. “For what’s it worth, I wanted to visit you last night, but Dad insisted I join him at the bar. He wasn’t done lecturing me. Naturally, Darren and Victoria chimed in.”
Guilt lodged in her throat. She should have trusted him. He hadn’t chosen to avoid her. Instead, he’d been stuck at the mercy of his father and his hypercritical siblings. Her voice softened. “Was it bad?”
“There wasn’t enough scotch in the world to make it bearable.”
“Why didn’t you come see me after? I would have listened.” She didn’t want to make this about her, but she was hurt he hadn’t thought to confide in her.
“I got some bad news about one of my investors, and then I had to revise my plan to fit my dad’s demands.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I made the dumb mistake of trying to pull an all-nighter, thinking I could stay up until three. But I was wrong.”
She gave him a small smile. “You’re not a college kid anymore.”
“Nope. Those days are over.”
She twisted her hands together. “I know the winery is your first priority. It’s just…I thought you didn’t want to spend the night with me. Like you’d gotten what you wanted, and you were done.”
He frowned. “I thought you were starting to trust me.”
“I’m trying to. Sorry.” If she really trusted him, she would have shared her plans to move back home.
