Page 13 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
“Will do,” Kyle said, grabbing the food from the large industrial appliance before they walked out the kitchen’s back door into an alley, careful to not let the door slam behind them.
“Leona’s brother, Josef, is attending my camp this week, as it is. I didn’t realize she had a brother so much younger,” Cullen threw out there, trying to steer the conversation back to her and fish for some information.
“Yeah, he’s what, thirteen now?” Grayson asked to no one in particular. “He was born when the girls were in junior high. Her parents were quite surprised when he joined the family.”
“Leona’s mom had her start working here not much after that, actually. She said it was to keep Lee out of trouble, and I’m sure it was on some level,” Vaughn added. “But I think they needed the extra income too.”
It wasn’t that he hadn’t trusted Leona’s word, but hearing it from Vaughn and Grayson was still like a punch to the gut. Hearing it confirmed that he had jumped to a very, very wrong conclusion and then accused her, out loud, in public, only verified in his mind that he was a top-rate asshole.
“I remember those days,” Cullen said, trying to hide his guilt. “Not easy growing up poor.”
“Don’t let her hear you use that word!” Miller said. “She’ll knock your teeth out.” A ding sounded as he said the words and he popped back up out of his chair and headed to the oven. He pulled out a large dish and the heavenly smell wafted to the table. He saw Miller grab a sauce pan off the stove top and start to drizzle its contents over the baking dish.
“Oh, I have no doubt about that one,” Cullen commented. Memories flooded his brain of him and Leona all those years ago and he knew he needed a change of subject. And fast. “Oh, meant to ask, I saw a for sale sign on a property on the way to the park yesterday. Does that place border this one?”
“It does actually,” Vaughn said. “It’s a nice pl
ot. A full five acres, beachfront access.”
“It has this big old house too,” Simone added in. “It’s been somewhat neglected for quite a few years, but with a little love, it could be just stunning.”
“And you’re not interested in it? Expanding the resort?” Cullen asked.
“We looked into buying a portion of it, so we’d have a little more room for the activities Grayson has been looking to develop,” Vaughn said.
“It’d be perfect for a ropes course, maybe an outdoor rock-climbing wall. Simone wants mini golf,” Grayson expanded.
“You can’t tell me mini golf wouldn’t be a blast!”
“But the estate that owns the property doesn't want to parcel it off. Buying all five acres and having to figure out what to do with the structure that’s on it just doesn’t make sense right now with investing in the new spa. The ROI just isn’t there.”
“Had we realized it was going to be for sale, we could have made that the spa,” Grayson added, shrugging.
“I was just curious,” Cullen said. “I was surprised to even see a lot for sale on the island.”
“Much like the land we’re on, it was purchased by one uber-wealthy guy in the early 1900s and was used as a family retreat for a long time, hence the big house. I think he and Mr. Redford might have even been friends,” Vaughn told him. “But there was apparently some feuding among family members about who got it when subsequent generations passed, and eventually they stopped coming to visit. It’s been empty for what, almost twenty years at this point?”
“Easily,” Grayson replied.
“And now the next generation is at it. They’ve decided the best option is to just sell it and split the money, which is why they won’t parcel it off. They want one sale to make it easy.”
“Makes sense,” Cullen said.
“So, no more Liverpool—what will you do?” Grayson asked, steering the topic back to him. “There’s a lot for sale next door if you need a new home.” Everyone laughed lightly at Grayson’s joke.
“Good question. I’m not real sure yet, to be totally honest. Oliver, my agent, says he has a few irons in the fire, so we’ll see what he comes up with.”
“I thought I read you were retiring?” Simone asked.
“Don’t believe everything you read, love,” Cullen said, smirking at her.
“So I shouldn’t believe all the rumors about who you’re dating now? I couldn’t help but notice that you showed up here all by your lonesome, for the first time in…forever,” she noted.
Cullen couldn’t help but laugh. He knew the media had been all up in his business and that he’d been splashed across the covers of all the rags back home, but he hadn’t quite realized all that had made it down to the islands. The fascination with his personal life was something he’d never fully understood, but he supposed it was better than them trashing his skills on the pitch.
“With everything that has been going on with my contract and all, I haven’t been focused on my love life,” he said, trying to give a nonchalant answer. This was not the time or place to admit that he’d only been bringing women here all these years to distract him from Leona. Or that every single one of those women had failed to do so.
“Well, I can’t wait to meet the girl who is special enough to win over Cullen Cruz,” Simone said sweetly.
