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His eyes lingered on her mouth. “Yeah, okay. I will.” More than anything, he wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her deeply, but great relationships take time. He hadn’t waited this long to rush now.
He took both of her hands in his, trying to lengthen their time together. “I’ll meet you at the boat tomorrow night. Hopefully, I’ll make it before it leaves.”
She smiled ruefully. “You’d better. I don’t want to dance by myself.”
He winked and backed away. If he didn’t get going, he’d never leave. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss dancing with you for the world.”
23
Emilie
Emilie frowned as she leaned against the elevator wall while it took her back to her assigned floor. Dean and everyone else exited on the main level, but now she was going back to her room alone with nothing to do.
She unlocked the door and entered the air-conditioned room. Her eyes lingered on Dean’s things, set tidily against the wall, just like everything in his life. His blue suitcase even matched his eyes. How could she already miss him? Stupid boat breaking.
She sighed and went over to her window to check out the many pools the resort had. The water beckoned her. Maybe a quick swim would help her wind down. She changed, grabbed her phone and key, and then headed down to the pool area.
The lights flickered within the pool, setting a calm atmosphere. She walked to the beach entrance, enjoying the way the sand squished between her toes. She inhaled deeply and smiled. Some people hated the chlorine smell, but it was on her top ten list of favorite smells.
When the water reached her thighs, she dove in, starting laps toward the deeper part of the pool. With her head submerged, a picture of Dean kissing her filled her head. She opened her eyes, saw she was alone underwater, and sputtered her way to the top. By the third time, her eyes burned from the chlorine. No more going under the water for her. The swim was supposed to relax her, not key her up again.
She did a few more laps above water before anyone joined her then moved over as someone splashed by. The person stopped and spun around in the water.
“Finn?”
“Swimming late, I see,” Finn said. He flicked his hair to the side like he used to, sending a wave of nostalgia through her. Some things never changed.
She pasted on a calm smile, faced away from him, and proceeded to the shallow end. He followed her to the wall, and she crossed her arms in front of her self-consciously. “It’s a great resort here. You two picked an amazing place.”
“Ava wanted the best.”
Emilie murmured her agreement. She always had.
“So where is Dean?” Finn glanced around the pool area.
Her smile disappeared. “He went home to work. He’ll be back in time for dinner tomorrow night.”
Finn wiped at his eyes. “That’s too bad. The guy works too hard.”
Backing up against the wall, she took a minute to calm her breathing. She hadn’t swum in a while. “Yeah, he does. So are you excited about this weekend?”
He hesitated. “Sure.”
The uncertainty in his voice made Emilie forget her self-consciousness. “That doesn’t sound good. Anything wrong?” Did she want to know? She held up a hand to stop him. “Actually, it’s all right. You don’t have to tell me.”
He gave a heavy sigh. “It’s better if I tell someone. Yes and no. You probably know all this, but Dean and I talked while golfing together.”
She nodded, worry slipping into her head. Had Dean planted doubt in Finn’s mind about Ava? “I heard you talked, yes.”
“First of all, I’m unsettled about the way I treated you in high school. It was the wrong way to approach the breakup. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for the bad timing and the hurt I caused you.”
Emilie froze. Her heart crashed hard in her chest. Bad timing? Hurt? That was a good way of summing it up. “I didn’t realize you had a thing for Ava. It must’ve been hard to date me while still having feelings for her.”
His forehead creased. Maybe he considered her words. “When we started dating, I’d given up on dating Ava completely. Ava never gave me the time of day. You were always nice, and I used dating you as a motive to move on. I never knew Ava felt the same way about me. She turned me down a lot.”
Emilie raised one eyebrow. This was new information. “You asked her out before we dated?”
He nodded and wiped at his eyes again. “Many times. I’m surprised she never told you.”
