It was a playful tease to one another and yet there was brutal honesty to all of it. Violet was sensible and sometimes a tad overbearing. Isabelle was careless and rash.
“I love you big sis.” She shut the door loudly behind her.
“I don’t understand why she doesn’t have a job,” Marc grumbled, shaking his head and proceeding to flip pages. Violet understood he worked, and hopefully she would follow Izzy out the door without another word of who had booked a room, and how many people were booked per room, and especially no more talk of McAdams girls. More specifically, Kate McAdams. “I mean a trip around the world after university and one would think she’d had enough play time.”
“I would say it’s her way of grieving the loss of father, but we all know that’s just something we tell our acquaintances, right?” Violet said. “And besides, you just returned from your trip, what four years later?”
“I was employed and earning a living. She runs around like money falls out of trees and work is something to make fun of.”
Violet gave him a serious face. “I really believe she does think money falls out of trees.”
He couldn’t help but laugh and his sister smiled. Then her serious face reappeared. “I wanted to pop by to make sure you were okay, since I assumed you’d heard by now. Mom told us, and clearly Izzy couldn’t wait to...tease you.” Her choice of word wasn’t a term he would use, more like harass or dig for details to gossip. Either way, yes, he’d heard.
He looked up at his sister. “Violet, really? Do you honestly think I’m sitting in my office reflecting about a girl, and she was a girl, that broke my heart?” he paused. “Years ago?” It was exactly six years ago but he wasn’t going to depict that detail.
She shrugged, looking embarrassed. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m here.”
“Honestly, since I’ve returned, I haven’t had time to think about anything else except running this resort. This week alone I had to fix a double booking in the Courtier Room.” He sent her a reminding look since she’d been the one that double booked it and she flushed. “The ski hill is asking for extra hands but I have to double check the records and see if it’s feasible or if we should just wait until next season. Plus the golf course is adding that new addition by the lake come early spring and it has to be settled before then.” He smiled at her sincerely. “And if I had the time, the last thing I would be doing is pining. I’m assuming that’s what you’re assuming I’m doing?”
Her face flushed.
“That I’ve been pining for her all these years and I absolutely cannot get her out of my mind and now that she’s coming here, probably with a man, I’m scheming of a way to win her back.”
More deepened red tainted Violet’s porcelain skin. “Well, when you say it like that, you make it sound ridiculous.”
“That’s because it is ridiculous.”
She grinned. “I guess so.”
He nodded, satisfied she believed that load of nonsense. He might not be pining, but Kate was popping into his thoughts more than he liked, which was one too many.
“Marc do you remember when we were kids playing in the bush that time you found the baby bird that had fallen from its nest? You insisted on taking it home. Remember?”
He nodded. He remembered. His sisters hadn’t wanted to quit playing. He had been around seven at the time, and all his younger sisters were running around hollering, “Let’s go Marc!” But he’d dragged them all home to find his mother. He remembered the exact trail through the large bush to find that tiny bird, all alone on the ground.
“Spark, you named it. You took care of it for a couple days, and when that little bird died you ran to Mom and Dad crying. Dad told you that was part of life.”
His exact words had been, Marcus, stop crying and man up. Things die, that’s the harsh reality we live in. If you cry like a baby no one will respect you. His mother had hushed her husband and talked Marc through it.
“And then for days you were moping around lost in your own world trying to understand why the bird died.” He wasn’t sure where she was going with this but he did understand death now. “Mom took you to the library and into the educational section and you checked out all these books about the body and how it operated and finally when you returned those books it was because you understood why the body died.” She paused. “So Marc, I’m not concerned your pining about Kate, I’m just afraid you haven’t got the right answers to let her go.”
He wasn’t feeling that way at all. He was angry. He wasn’t embarrassed like Isabelle thought because he wasn’t married or had a girlfriend, that was his choice. He wasn’t pining away for her or wondering why she left. He was just angry she kept popping into his mind. But, it didn’t matter how he felt, it wasn’t any of their business anyway.
“I’m not a little vulnerable child anymore Vi, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I’m your sister. It’s my job to worry.” Reluctantly, she stood. “Fine, carry on with, your non-pining, strictly working kind of day.”
“Thank you, and how about passing our conversation along to all the Caliendo women, so I can avoid this awkward conversation again.”
“It was a little awkward,” she admitted. “I should have just let Izzy continue her prying and watched how that played out.” He was thankful she hadn’t.
There was a knock on his door, which meant it was absolutely not any of his family members and was more than likely a situation he’d have to deal with. He didn’t mind, that was his job.
“Marc?” Melissa’s soft voice called through the solid wood door.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open a crack and smiled at him, flashing Violet a friendly smile too. “There’s a problem in the pool room and Kent’s not here and nobody’s sure who is working for him today. Would you mind going down and seeing what the problem is?” Kent McAdams...Kate’s dad. He was off for funeral arrangements due to the passing of his mother-in-law and the only thing that would drag Kate back home.
He wanted to literally shake that thought out of his head but opted for nodding at Melissa, who smiled a little longer than necessary and stayed a little longer than required.
When she finally shut the door Violet looked at him. “Don’t marry that one Marc.” Marry? “Emma thinks she’s perfect but honestly between you and me, there’s something not quite right about her. I know she’s Emma’s friend but take my word. I have this mother hen intuition.” She winked.
“Thank you Vi, for all your concern today regarding my love life, but I think I can manage on my own.” He stood and guided her out of his office.
She grinned at him turning in the opposite direction. “You’re really not doing such a hot job by yourself.”
He glared at her. “Honestly? Should I start addressing you as Isabelle?”
She playfully hit his shoulder. “Please don’t.” She waved and turned. He headed towards the pool room. He would read that contract before the two weeks were up.
Chapter Three
Booked into the Caliendo Resort–by herself, Kate was unpacking her suitcase when her phone vibrated. It was Derek...again.
She flipped it open. His text read, Sorry babe. Will see you when you get home.
She didn’t even respond to the lying jerk and tossed her phone on the sofa, groaning in frustration. Another reminder she was booked in, partially unpacked, and staying at the Caliendo Resort, and she was doing it all alone. She could have screamed. Quite possibly, in the large three room suite, no one may have heard her.
She stripped off her clothes with intentions of having a cold cascade in the gorgeous marble tile shower to cool the fire scorching beneath her skin. Instead, she slipped into her swimsuit, a cute little one piece she’d ordered online with the sides cut out but covering the middle, and pulled a dress overtop. A lap or two in the pool would be much more effective.
She took the elevator to the second floor where the pool room was, making her way past plenty of
smiling and laughing guests enjoying their visit. Why wouldn’t they be lavishing themselves together in the highest rated resort in the area. The resort was tastefully sectioned off into two wings, one for families and the other for couples and singles, and offered plenty of amenities to attract guests. Their grand indoor pools, an indoor water park, game room, exercise room, three on-site restaurants with buffets, as well as indoor tennis courts and an outdoor golf course in the summer and a ski and snowboarding hill in the winter, this was the place to vacation. For a set rate you could also purchase an all-inclusive week stay. After Derek had requested the finest place to stay in the area, she could say she researched The Caliendo Resort and discovered it was the top rated but that would be a lie. She’d already known.
She was staying in the couples/singles wing of the resort, so it was quiet in the pool. No kids screaming and splashing the elderly couples floating in the shallow end. Then she spotted the sauna and abandoned the cold for the warmth. A relaxing moment was exactly what she needed to clear her thoughts and push Derek to the back burner so she could strengthen her emotions before she met with her dad and sisters.
The door was left wide open, and she pulled it shut behind her welcoming the warmth that penetrated deep into her skin like a calming embrace on her soul, easing the needed release of all the worry flagging her mind, even if it was only for twenty minutes.
“Ma’am, catch that door!” the loud voice startled her and she reached for the door, but it closed at her fingertips. She bit her bottom lip. Uh-oh. There was more than one reason for the alert bells that went off in her head, and they didn’t have anything to do with the closed door.
She slowly turned. The high temperature may have been warming her exterior but the jolting warmth tunneling into the deepest parts of her body like waves of electric shocks was because of the man emerging from the darkness. Her heart skipped a beat, then another and then another flanking each step he took closer.
Her body froze, and the dampness congested her throat. She watched him wipe a towel across his brow and then his hands before looking up. She could see only a glimmer of frustration in his familiar brown blue eyes, as he stared past her at the closed door, calm and collected, that was his facade. One might not recognize any frustration at all in those serious eyes, but she knew. That wasn’t all she could see either. Besides the expensive pressed slacks on the lower half of his body, it was the upper area where he had stripped away the plaid button-up collar shirt, which was resting on a bench behind him, revealing a muscular bare torso that captivated her attentiveness. He was much older now, and his tall skinny body was now filled in everywhere like an overripe juicy apple you couldn’t wait to dig your teeth into. Where did that come from? He’d always been handsome in a refined coy way, not playboy overload like his older brother had portrayed. Marc was timid, although at first glance you would never know. He was raised prim and proper, so his first impression played the part of the preppy, private school, follow in the family footsteps guy who lacked display of true emotions. “Don’t let anyone in to know the real you.” That was his father’s teaching.
But now, his usually trimmed dirty blonde locks were a little longer and his face was a little harder, giving him a rougher edge. He still stood tall, with squared shoulders, holding his head high, as he had been trained. The young boy she remembered was replaced by a solid, strong man. A tantalizing half-naked man, towering in front of her, substituting all the pent up worry with an emotion she had long forgotten.
Funny, her fear of returning, for the most part was caused by the anticipation of this very moment. Seeing him now, composed and professional, as he had always been, and remembering what was under that facade, a kind and rational minded person, she scolded herself for ever worrying about running into him. She might have betrayed him, but he was too proper mannered and in control of his conduct to give her a reason to hide away from him.
His eyes finally fell on her, shaded with surprise. He looked her over. First quickly up and down, then followed by a slow gaze, as if deciding whether it was her or not. She didn’t move. She didn’t talk. She watched his brown eyes conceal his thoughts. He was a perfectionist at the act.
He shook his head. “Of course it would be you. Out of every guest in this resort, why does it not surprise me that you would be the one to ignore the warning signs and do whatever the hell you want without any notion of the consequences?” He threw the towel onto one of the benches and turned away from her.
His temper caught her off guard. His words instantly snapped her from the daze she’d been in like the closing jaws of a hungry shark. “What are you talking about?” she retorted.
He turned back. “The sign Kate.” His voice was harsh with disgust. “The one you so blatantly ignored.”
She narrowed her eyes, fury boiling inside of her. What ignorance. She certainly hadn’t seen a sign and she informed him of this through clenched teeth.
“Maybe you carelessly missed it.” He dismissed, as though this was, without a doubt, her fault. Not that she was exactly sure what they were even talking about.
“Maybe you carelessly forgot to hang it,” she countered.
He stared at her hard, and she glared back, mirroring his expression. “What did the sign say?” she asked, not actually interested, but rather setting up for her next words. “Beware. Jackass alert?” she added.
She watched him suck in a deep breath and answer shortly, “Out of order.”
Out of order? Really, that was the problem? She could easily fix that. “That’s fine. I think I need to take a dip to cool down anyways.”
She turned to grab the door handle, regretting swiping her visa at the front desk or even before that, typing in their webpage with intention of booking a room. This was the exact disaster she planned to avoid with Derek by her side. Damn Derek!
“The door won’t unlock.” He had certainly lost his cool in his old age. “From the inside.”
Kate grabbed the handle regardless, turned, pushed and pulled like she had the magic touch to pop it open despite his warning. Nothing.
“You locked us in McAdams.” She closed her eyes. Why hadn’t she jumped into the pool, done her laps and went back to her room?
“And that sign you didn’t see, is directly in front of you.” Was his tone smug? How...Caliendo of him.
Without glancing at the white paper in her peripheral view and satisfying his triumph, she opted to turn and face him, dishing out the same medicine that left other people speculating what exactly his thoughts were. Eliminating the embarrassment, frustration, anger and, well, another emotion she didn’t want to contemplate from her face, she unzipped her dress and let it fall around her feet. She solemnly stared at him, staring at her, as she stepped out of the bunched material, and then bent down to pick it up. Whatever his thoughts were about that, he snapped back into Marc mode: unreadable. “I guess I might as well enjoy the heat then.”
She sprawled out on a wooden bench, propping her back against the bench and presumed by the time maintenance found their way to fix the door handle it would have been around twenty minutes, precisely the amount of time she wanted to spend in here anyways. She wished she hadn’t left her phone tossed on the chair like a useless electronic, because right now it would have been handy to get out of here.
Marc grumbled something incoherently, but her back was facing him, intentionally. Relaxation would be a luxury that passed her by if his upper body muscle wall was taunting her eyes.
She focused on forgetting the reality beyond these walls: the heartbroken sisters she was meeting at the funeral home in a few short hours. That wasn’t hard since she hadn’t been thinking about them at all, until she purposely tried to remember why she decided to pop into the sauna in the first place. Now, all she could think about was who was with her in the sauna, and how amazing he looked.
She breathed deeply. Through the humid fog, she could smell him, his designer cologne mixing with the thick sauna air. Focus, breathe, focu
s. Stop breathing his smell, stop focusing on him. She was going to be exhausted by the time twenty minutes ticked by.
Every bang and clang coming from his direction perked her curiosity. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw he was hovering down by the control panel, working away, and acting like he actually knew what he was doing. She almost laughed out loud. Unless in the years passed he had gained some handy skills other than picking up weights, this was going to be a disaster.
Rolling her eyes, she slid from the bench, her bare feet hitting the warm, damp wooden floor and settled down on the bench beside him.
“It’s warmer in here than usual,” she observed. She crossed her legs and leaned her elbow against her knee, resting her chin on the backside of her hand. “I think we should turn the dial down a notch or two,” she suggested watching his body stiffen. This would teach him to think he could talk to her like a clueless child. “Would we do that here?” She played dumb.
His neck twisted and his serious eyes found hers.
“You broke it, didn’t you?”
His lips thinned. “No.”
“But you can’t fix it either.”
“Maintenance is on their way.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh move over.” She didn’t give him a chance to object squeezing down alongside him, the sides of their bare skin sliding like dew running down a leaf after a rainfall. The distraction gave her the opportunity to seize the screwdriver from his hand. A maintenance daughter knew how to fix a knob or a wire.
Suddenly, the heat of the spa was nothing in comparison to the heat of his body, like the touch of fire, against her skin.
He grabbed the screwdriver back. “You’re not on my payroll.”
“So, you’re exactly where your father wanted you to be,” she meant it to hurt. He was paying the bills, running the resort, doing exactly what he never wanted to do. She reached for the tool, but he pulled it further from her grasp and glared at her.
Lakeshore Secrets: The McAdams Sisters - Kate McAdams (By The Lake Series Book 1) Page 2
