Page 6 of Starting Back
“My best friend convinced me to go on this trip. But she got sick, and I didn’t want to lose money or waste time off from work that I couldn’t reschedule. It took a lot of effort to rearrange my life for this vacation.”
“Ah, I see.” He nodded. “But it’s not a bad thing, even if you seem like you think it is.” He dipped his head to meet my gaze and rested his elbow on the bar. “I’ve traveled alone before. For me, it was great. I made my own schedule and didn’t have to consult with anyone before I did what I wanted. How are you liking it so far?”
“Well,” I started, twisting my straw between my fingers, “I only got here this morning. Thanks to early check-in, I was able to change into my bathing suit and head over to the pool for the day to obsess about why I came here and if I should leave early.”
Leo crossed his arms again, his golden eyes studying me.
“Why would you want to leave early if you only just got here?”
Would he be so interested in picking my drinks and why I wanted to leave early once he found out I was someone’s mother—or rathertwosomeones?
Simply talking to a man as a single mother was already complicated enough to give me a headache.
“I have kids at home. Two girls, one fifteen and one six. I just spoke to my little one. She hardly misses me with all the extra family she gets to see for the next few days, but leaving them created a ton of guilt that I can’t shake. So, thanks for the extra tequila.” I lifted my glass, cringing on the inside at telling a complete stranger all my problems that he probably had no interest in hearing.
“Taking a break isn’t selfish. Your husband didn’t want to come with you, I guess.” He grabbed a towel and wiped the top of the counter in almost the same spot as before, regarding me with an expectant look in his eyes.
I couldn’t help my wide grin as I tried not to focus on the bulge of his bicep with every swipe. The mention of my girls didn’t have him retreating just yet, and that filled me with an odd relief, along with a slight uptick in my pulse at the sneaky way he inquired if I was married or not.
“Myex-husband couldn’t take off from work, so my mother, brother, and sister-in-law all volunteered to take care of my girls so they could force me to have fun.”
“Ah” was all he said, his shoulders dropping as if he were relieved, a playful lift at the corner of his mouth. “So you have to be forced to have fun?”
“Seems that way. It does sound ridiculous, right? I’m at this beautiful resort, with nothing to worry about but tan lines.” I hooked my thumb inside the shoulder strap of my swimsuit and slid it up and down, jerking my hand away when Leo’s gaze fell to my chest. “I shouldn’t bother you on shift with my problems.”
I patted his hand and shifted on the stool to get up when he draped his other hand over my wrist, another charge of electricity sparking where our skin made contact.
“You’re not bothering me. Stay and tell me whatever you want.”
“You probably have practice hearing sad stories, being a bartender and all, right?” I slid back onto the stool.
He chuckled and shrugged when he lifted his head.
“Sometimes, but your story isn’t sad. Doing something for yourself is a good thing, especially since I get the impression you probably put yourself last all the time. Or else you wouldn’t feel guilty over drinking by the pool.”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, the look in your eyes when you mentioned your kids. How restless you seemed to be while lying on the chair before you came over here.”
“Exactly how long were you watching me?” The notion of his eyes on me all that time sent a delicious shiver up my spine.
“Long enough. Your eyes are really green.”
His eyes were so dark and intense, I had to turn away for a moment to mask the blush I was sure had singed my cheeks red.
“They’re weird, or so I’ve been told. The only ones in my family with this color are my mother, my eldest daughter, and two cousins of mine. If they lived closer, we’d all look like a weird new species.”
“Not weird, beautiful.”
I didn’t know what to do with the heat in his eyes as they zeroed in on me, but I liked it.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable if I did just now,” he said, cringing when I lifted my head.
“I’m not, you aren’t,” I told him honestly. “It’s just…different, I guess.”
“Different?”
Toward the end, I could have paraded myself around in red lace and set myself on fire, and Colin probably wouldn’t have even blinked.
