Antonio Acosta was the executive chef at the most famous tapas restaurant in Los Angeles. For a pretty penny, he was willing to advise me on the menu for the new restaurant and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
I headed down into the en suite cabin to swap my phone out for my laptop. I needed to book last minute flights for my team and then try and scramble to find a hotel room.
“What a shocker!” Zoe said, stepping through the threshold wearing a black one-piece and jean shorts. She had a towel clutched under her arm and a bag slung over her shoulder. “You’re out on your yacht and you’re working.”
I smiled and turned my computer around so she could see the airline’s website. “No choice. We’re going to LVRW.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? I thought we were going to skip it this year.”
I explained the recent change of events.
“Well shit,” she said, dropping her towel and bag on the cabin’s floor. “Everyone is up on the sundeck. I’ll go fill them in.”
“Call Hunter too,” I yelled out as she set off for the stairs. “He’s not coming today.”
I turned back to my computer and scanned through the available rooms at the Bellagio. I knew it would be slim pickings. The hotel booked up quickly on a normal week, but the fact that it was also the home base for the convention ensured that we would be lucky if we found a room within a five-mile radius. I scanned through the availability for the guest rooms and suites, not shocked to find them all booked.
I was about to call the hotel to book one of their nine private villas, when I heard Lily’s voice on the stairs.
“Does he think we have no life? I can’t just drop everything and leave town on a moment’s notice.”
I rolled my eyes. “You will if you plan on getting paid this month,” I yelled.
She came into view at the door of my suite, arms crossed over her short white cover-up. Her tan shoulders were bare and her bright red suit was just barely visible beneath the thin fabric of her dress. Her long legs were more on display than they’d ever been—a tempting sight that I didn’t indulge in. Her blonde hair was tied back at the base of her neck, allowing me to take in every ounce of anger written across her features. She was pissed. I was intrigued.
“You can’t force me to go to Vegas,” she countered.
I smirked. “Antonio Acosta has agreed to help us with the menu for the new restaurant.”
Her grip loosened on her arms. She knew that name. “Are you kidding me?”
I shook my head.
“When do we fly out?” she asked, her tone slightly less abrasive than before.
“Wednesday, assuming I can book this villa in time.”
She swallowed and nodded. I could see the excitement growing behind her gaze. The Las Vegas Restaurant Week was an invite-only event. It was exclusive and elite. I knew how badly Lily wanted to attend, and I knew she would have admitted that desire to anyone but me.
Why?
Because we were both playing the same game.
“Julian said he’s available up until Friday,” Zoe explained, cutting her gaze between Lily and me. “He’ll need to fly home before us.”
I nodded. “As long as he’s there for part of the week, it should be fine.”
“And Hunter?” Lily asked, her gaze focused on Zoe.
“He’ll be there, but he’s been warned about his behavior. Don’t worry.”
She nodded, seeming to accept my answer.
Zoe clapped, breaking the silence. “Okay, well, we’ll go mix some drinks on the deck and let you finish up. Let me know if you need my help with anything.”
Zoe pulled Lily’s arm and they turned toward the stairs. I focused on Lily’s body as she walked away, wondering if it was a good idea to book one villa for all five team members. There’d be plenty of space for everyone, but something told me that staying in a hotel room—even a large one—with Lily Black would be temptation in its most extreme form.
…
By the time I’d finished booking everything, we’d dropped anchor in open ocean. I surfaced from my cabin, hot and cranky, and paused at the top of the stairs. Zoe was lounging on the sundeck with her sunglasses covering most of her face. Julian and Josephine were sitting on the couch beneath the roofed section of the sundeck. Julian leaned in and kissed her cheek. I looked away and my gaze followed the line of the sundeck until I spotted Lily behind my bar, wearing nothing but her red bikini and one of my old Nicks caps. It sat crooked on her head, the wide brim covering her entire forehead.
“Where’d you find that?” I asked, stepping closer.
A smarter man would have stepped in the opposite direction.
She glanced up and blanched. “It was in a cupboard down in the galley. I forgot a hat and I get so many freckles if I don’t keep my cheeks covered in the sun.”
I tilted my head, taking in her delicate features beneath the brim of my hat. She already had freckles across her cheeks, but I liked them.
“I can take it off.”
I shook my head and bent down to retrieve a few limes from a bowl beneath the bar.
“Keep it on.”
I purposely didn’t look to see her reaction.
“What are you going to make?” she asked, taking a hesitant step closer.
She smelled like summer. That tropical scent that warms your stomach.
“A margarita,” I said, peering at her from the corner of my eye.
Her red tube top style bikini was tight and had the effect of drawing me in like a moth to a flame.
“That’s my favorite drink,” she said, a small smile stretching across her lips.
I sliced up two limes, squeezed the juice into the shaker, and reached for the triple sec. “I usually like to use fresh orange juice, but this’ll do.”
I pulled the cork from my Patrón and poured in two shots. A little ice and a splash of agave nectar went in next, and then I shook the drink up while Lily watched me in silence.
“Try it,” I said.
Her hand brushed mine as she took the glass from me. Lily brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip. Her bright eyes met mine over the brim of the glass and I knew I had her. She was a better bartender than I was, but I’d been perfecting margaritas since I was sixteen.
“It’s good.”
“You can keep it,” I said, already reaching for two more limes.
“You’re being nice again today,” she quipped, pressing her hip against the bar to face me.
I shot her a dark look. “You won’t be saying that in a few minutes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“You’ll find out as soon as you finish that drink.”
Chapter Nineteen
Dean
During the summer months, when the sundeck is hot and the water is too tempting to ignore, I like to jump off the side of my yacht into the water. It isn’t dangerous if you do it right, but when I broached the subject to the group, everyone but Julian reacted like I was insane.
“No!” Josephine yelled, leaning out over the edge of the railing. “That’s how people get eaten by sharks.”
“There are no sharks,” I corrected her, reaching for the hem of my shirt. I tugged if off and tossed it back onto the floor of the main deck. When I turned back toward the railing, Lily was watching me. Her eyes dragged down my chest, heating my skin. I cleared my throat and she smirked, meeting my eye for only a moment before glancing away. She wasn’t embarrassed to have been caught. She was too self-assured to be bothered by the fact that I knew she was checking me out.
“I think we should do it,” Zoe said, tossing her sunglasses aside. “It’ll be a bonding exercise.”
Lily grunted. “Will the bonding part come when we’re all at the hospital nursing broken bones?”
I smiled and shook my head. She and Josephine would come around. Everyone did. “I’ve done it a million times.”