It was only eight. I usually didnāt get up until past ten, but I couldnāt stay in that bed any longer.
I turned the shower as cold as it would go and washed away the remnants of the night.
It was just a stupid dream. I wasnāt going to let it ruin my trip, and I sure as hell wasnāt going to dig deeper into what it meant. Ignorance was bliss.
I scrubbed harder with the soap.
By the time I toweled off and threw on a shirt and pants, Iād corralled my unease to the back corners of my mind where it belonged.
I headed to the kitchen but stopped halfway when a flash of movement caught my eye.
I came to a dead halt.
Sloane was exercising on the back deck, wearing a tank top and yoga pants. Yoga pants.
It might seem normal to see someone wearing workout clothes to work out, but this was Sloane. Iād known her for three years and I had never, not once, seen her in anything other than an evening dress or business wear. I was convinced she slept in those knife-sharp suits she favored so much.
I walked closer, fascinated by the unnatural sight.
Sloane switched from one impossible-looking yoga pose to another. Sunlight gilded her lithe form and turned her golden hair into a halo. She hadnāt noticed me yet, which meant her expression didnāt hold disdain, frustration, or general annoyance.
It wasā¦nice, but also a little alarming, like seeing a lioness stripped of her claws.
Her phone pinged with a new notification. My mouth twitched when she balanced herself so she could type out a reply with one hand before she resettled into her original position and closed her eyes.
āImpressive.ā I couldnāt resist commenting. I leaned against the doorframe and pushed a hand into the pocket of my sweatpants. āBut you know the point of yoga is to relax, right?ā
Sloaneās eyes popped open again. Her head swiveled so she could glare at me. āHow long have you been standing there?ā she demanded.
Ah, thereās that comforting irritation. Letās see if we can notch it higher, shall we?
āLong enough to see you answer your phone.ā I tsked with disappointment. āItās the first day, and youāre already breaking the rules. I expected more from you.ā
My smile inched wider when she unfolded herself, stood, and came to a stop inches from me. This close, I could see flecks of gray in her blue eyes and smell a trace of her perfume. It was clean and light, like fresh linen with a hint of jasmine.
They were things I shouldnāt notice about a woman who tolerated me at best and despised me at worst. But I did, and once I noticed them, I couldnāt stop thinking about them.
āThey werenāt rules,ā Sloane said. āThey were mutually agreed conditions. Plus, it wasnāt a work text. It was personal.ā
āLet me guess. It was your date from the other night.ā
āYouāre strangely obsessed with that date.ā
So it had been a date. I was unprepared for the little kick in my stomach, which I masked with a shrug. āNothing strange about it. Youāre notorious for turning down men.ā
āLucky me. Maybe theyāll get the hint and leave me alone.ā
Sloane abandoned her yoga session and brushed past me into the living room.
I trailed after her. āSo, your first vacation in years. What are your plans for the day?ā
Iād made a wild guess about the last time she took off work, but she didnāt correct me, which was damn sad. People could scold me for ānot living up to my potential,ā but at least I wasnāt chained to my inbox and the whims of others.
āI havenāt decided yet. Perhaps Iāll finish my book.ā Her eyes flicked around at our luxurious surroundings. The three-bedroom villa boasted an infinity pool, a Jacuzzi, and access to a private beach, but she seemed unimpressed by all of it.
āThe book you were reading on the plane?ā I asked in disbelief. ā25 Principles of Crisis Communications? That book?ā
Pink colored her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. āItās the latest edition.ā
āJesus.ā The CIA couldnāt torture me into reading that book, and she was doing it for fun.
Iād assumed that once she arrived in Mallorca, the island would work its magic and sheād automatically loosen up. Obviously, that wasnāt the case.
If I wanted to see a different side of her, I had to coax it out of her; otherwise, sheād spend the week buried in some boring nonfiction book and the entire trip would go to waste.
The chances of me convincing Sloane to take off work again in the future were slim to none, which meant this was my one opportunity to drag her out of her comfort zone.
I chose not to examine why doing that was so important to me. Sometimes, it was better not to ask questions I wouldnāt like the answers to.
āFuck that. Youāre at the best resort in Mallorca. You need to take advantage of it.ā An idea popped up in my head. āI have just the thing. Letās go.ā
Sloane didnāt budge. āIām not day drinking with you.ā
āNot everything I do involves partying.ā My grin made a wicked return. āYouāll love this. I promise.ā
āI do not love this.ā The heat of Sloaneās glare rivaled the one-hundred-fifty-degree air billowing around us. āI do not love this at all.ā
āSee, thatās exactly the type of frustration weāre working on today.ā I leaned back and laced my hands behind my head. āItāll be tough, but we will pull that stick out of your ass.ā
Sloaneās eyes narrowed, and I almost patted her down to ensure she hadnāt smuggled in a hair pin that she could fashion into a weapon. Since that would be rude, and I valued my life, I kept my hands to myself.
After I convinced her to leave her ridiculous nonfiction book in the villa, I dragged her to the resortās restaurant for breakfast followed by a trip to the spa. If anyone needed a good massage, it was her.
Fortunately, the spa had one package available at the last minute. Unfortunately, it was a couplesā package, which was how Sloane and I ended up in a private igloo dry sauna together, kickstarting the first of many stops on our Signature Honeymoon Ritual.
Sloane had put up a hell of a fight, but between my irresistible charm and the spa conciergeās firm but gentle insistence, sheād reluctantly caved.
āIs this all you do with your days?ā She glanced around the cedar-paneled room.
āNo. I also eat, sleep, and fuck.ā My lips curved when she stiffened at the word fuck. āIf you tried it some time, you might be less uptight. Newsflash, Luna, your headaches arenāt from your hair.ā Even now, her blond locks were slicked back in a bun tight enough to cut off circulation. āItās from pent-up tension.ā
āWrong. My headaches are from dealing with you.ā She shifted, and I tried not to notice the way her towel slipped the tiniest bitānot enough to reveal anything scandalous, but enough to make my imagination run wild. āBesides, Iām plenty happy with my sex life, which is more than your bedmates can say, Iām sure.ā Something dark and unidentifiable stirred behind my ribcage.
Fucking breakfast. I shouldāve known better than to eat the last piece of sausage at the buffet.
I better not have food poisoning, or I was suing the resort. āTheyāve never had complaints, but is that any way to speak to a client?ā I drawled.