by Rose Cody
Chapter 6
Robin’s stomach turns as she gazes out the window at the passing palm trees before shuffling over the seats of the limo to the other side of the car to sit beside Yates.
“This is actually happening.” She whispers, resting her hand on her stomach. “I could throw up.”
“Please don’t.” Kurtis smirks as he rests his arm against the back of the seat.
“She’s not even my real mother in law, why am I so nervous to meet her?” She asks, as she lets out a deep, shaking breath.
“Don’t worry, she’ll love you.” He says, straightening his polo shirt as he bends forward to look out the window, the towering hotel coming into view as they enter the lush grounds of the resort.
“Oh, God…” She whispers to herself as she feels the vehicle come to a stop, watching out the window as a flood of bellboys emerge from behind the glass, hidden at first by the reflection of the setting sun.
“Don’t blow it.” Kurtis says, resting his hand on her knee.
She shakes her head, her eyes widening as he chuckles.
“I’m just kidding.” He says, patting his hand before opening the door and getting out.
He bends back over, looking into the car and watches her slide over.
“It’s a vacation. Enjoy it.” He says, smirking as he grabs her hand to help her out.
She nods her head, watching as he turns away from her and reaches into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He discretely hands a few folded bills over to one of the bellboys, thanking him as the others disappear back into the lobby with their bags.
“Alright.” He says, running his fingers through his dark hair, feeling the breeze against his scalp. “Let’s go.”
She follows closely behind him as they walk up to the heavy glass door of the hotel lobby before stepping through the doorway as he holds it open for her.
“Thank you.” She whispers, turning around to wait for him.
“Of course.” He smiles, his eyes trailing away as she watches them light up as she hears a high pitched shriek coming from behind her.
“My baby!” Robin hears as she turns around, barely able to watch the rush of a woman as she runs past her and wraps her arms around Kurtis’s chest.
“It’s been so long!” The woman says, her voice muffled as Kurtis wraps his arms around her, holding her close.
She pulls away, holding him at arm’s length as she looks up and down.
“And look at how handsome you are! Ah! It’s been years!” The woman says, clapping her hands together before resting them under her chin. “You look just like your father.”
Robin smiles as she adverts her gaze to her shoes, letting out a small giggle as her boss’s mother turns around.
“And you…” She whispers, covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes well with tears. “You’re the wife aren’t you!”
Robin looks up, smiling awkwardly as she shrugs her shoulders before nodding her head as the woman steps closer towards her, filling the gap between them before pressing her hands against Robin’s cheeks.
“Oh, she’s beautiful!” The woman exclaims, turning her head back to look at a blushing Kurtis before pressing her forehead against Robin’s. “Just beautiful!”
Robin wraps her arms around his mother, squeezing her closely as she rubs the palm of her hand up and down her back, her heart sinking slightly in her chest as she feels the frail woman’s skeleton through her shirt.
“Oh, I’m so happy Kurt finally found someone.” The woman says, gently stroking the back of her fingers against Robin’s cheek. “I thought that poor boy was never going to marry. Uh!” She exclaims pressing the palm of her hand against her chest. “It kept me up at night, I swear!”
Robin glances quickly over towards her boss as his mother pulls her in for another hug. She bites her bottom lip as she gazes into his unfocused eyes as he looks past them.
“I never did catch your name though, sweetheart.” His mother says, pulling away as she reaches down to hold her hand. “You know how busy he gets! Never has enough time to relay this sort of information to his dear old mom.”
“It-it’s Robin.” She says, pausing as she feels his mother begin to pull her away.
“What a beautiful name!” The woman exclaims, walking in the same way she came. “Come now.” She says, turning back to wave at her son. “We’re all just making our way to dinner. You must come and eat with us.”
“Mom, we should probably get up to our room first.” Kurtis says, following behind them closely. “It’s been a long day.”
“Nonsense.” She says, reaching over to grab his hand before beginning to pull on him, too. “It’s been years, Kurt, there are people who want to see you! You can wait to get settled until after we eat!”
“Of course, mom.” He says, smiling softly at her.
Robin watches, gazing back towards him as he looks forward, his eyes narrowing and his jaw tightening as they make their way towards the hotel restaurant. He catches her looking, his eyes quickly softening as he flashes her a quick, almost sad smile.
“Thanks.” He mouths, his voice silent as they enter the dimly lit restaurant.
Chapter 7
Robin sits back in her chair, her eyes closing as she slowly sighs out of her nose, the roasted lemon potatoes taking her to another place as she chews.
“It’s good?” Kurt whispers to her, his voice barely audible over his happily chatting family members surrounding them.
“The best thing I ever tasted.” She whispers back as she digs her fork into a piece of spicy baked chicken, the meat falling away from the bone with ease before she brings it up to her mouth.
“You’ll like that even better, I’m sure.” He says, smirking as he distractedly waves at his little cousin across the table. “No one comes here for the potatoes, but that chicken’s been on TV.”
She moans quietly, letting out an embarrassed giggle as the flavours dance around her tongue.
“That one’s my favorite, for sure.” She says, digging her fork in again before bringing the second bite up to her lips.
“I’m sorry.’ She hears coming from across the table. “I’ve forgotten your name.”
She looks up as she quickly chews the meat in her mouth, before swallowing.
“It’s Robin.” She says, reaching her hand across the table to shake.
The woman grasps her hand, holding it gently as they shake up and down.
“I’m Nicole.” The woman says as she pushes up her glasses. “I’m Kurt’s aunt, his mother’s sister.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Robin says, reaching again for her fork.
“Speaking of meet.” The woman says, waving her hands in the air as she tries to hush the table. “I want to hear how you two met.”
“Oh…” Robin says as she reaches for her water glass. “It’s such a boring story.”
She takes a sip, glancing over to Kurt as he places down his fork.
“Work.” He says, breaking the silence. “We, uh, met at work.”
“Are you a consultant at his firm?” The man beside Kurt’s aunt asks as he wipes his cloth napkin over his mouth.
“No.” Robin says, shaking her head as she places down her glass before wiping her fingers, wet with condensation, against her pant legs. “I’m a secretary.”
“Oh!” Kurtis’s mother gasps, bringing her hand over her mouth. “Do you work for my son?”
“Mhm.” She nods, smiling sweetly at his mother as the woman grabs her hand.
“How romantic, huh?” Her boss’s aunt says. “I bet you didn’t even realize you were soulmates, brought together by the universe.”
Robin let’s out a nervous giggle, unsure of herself as she quickly looks over to her boss.
“Yeah, I guess.” She says, nodding her head.
“I bet it was love at first sight.” Kurt’s mother says as she picks up her glass of wine, swirling the deep red juice under her nose.
“Oh, I don’t know abo
ut that…” Robin says, her voice trailing off. “One thing lead to another, I guess, right?” She asks, looking over to her boss, desperate for an escape from the conversation.
“Mmm.” He says as he swallows the food he was chewing. “No, no way.”
He shakes his head as he rests his elbow against the table, a coy smile upturning his lips as he turns towards her.
“Definitely love at first sight.” He says, resting his cheek against his hand.
“Oh, you think so?” Robin asks, her eyes widening as Kurtis rests his hand on her shoulder.
“Absolutely.” He says, nodding. “The only reason I hired you.”
“Oh, so it wasn’t because of my impeccable resume?” Robin asks, her eyes narrowing as he gently massages her shoulder.
“Not at all.” He says, his voice low.
Robin’s cheeks flush as the table hushes, nearly silent as he brushes the back of his finger against her cheek.
“It was these blue eyes.” He says, brushing his finger up before hooking her hair behind her ears. “And the way your hair just does whatever it wants.”
He smirks as he reaches under her chin before leaning forward.
Robin’s heart flutters in her chest as her boss presses his lips against hers in front of everyone, his tongue gently brushing over her bottom lip as her jaw begins to slack
She gasps as he pulls away, her face fire red as she brings her shaking fingers up to her lips.
“No, it was definitely love at first sight.” He says, grabbing his fork before puncturing one of the potatoes and bringing it up to his mouth. “For me, anyway.”
“Aww.” His aunt sighs, bringing her hand up to her chest to rest over her heart as everyone goes back to finishing their meal.
Robin reaches back for her fork, letting out a shaking breath to calm her trembling fingers as the heat from her face makes her heart pound even harder in her chest.
She glances over at Kurtis, watching him laugh out of the corners of her eyes as he talks with his uncle.
Who would have thought a kiss from a jerk like him would be so tender?
Chapter 8
Robin gazes out the large glass walls of the resort’s front lobby, the sun long set as she wraps her sweater around herself before crossing her arms over her chest.
She sighs to herself , finally getting a few moments of peace and quiet after everyone said goodnight and went off to their rooms for the night.
“Are we ready?” Her boss asks her, resting his hand against her back as he walks up behind her. “All checked in.”
“Just a second.” She says.
“Pretty isn’t it?” He asks, standing beside her, looking out at the high tide. “Like it’s not even a real place.”
She nods her head, biting her bottom lip gently as she turns around.
“Come on.” He says, looking down at her. “It’s late.”
She follows her boss to the elevator, stepping inside of it and standing beside him as they ride it up to the top floor.
“It’s only a one bedroom penthouse suite, you know, for appearances.” He says, lightly scratching the tip of his nose as they walk down the long hallway to their room. “But you can have the bedroom, I’ll take the living room and crash on the couch.”
“The living room?” She asks, scrunching up her face in confusion. “In a hotel room?”
“I guess you’ve never stayed in a place like this then, have you?” He asks as they stop in front of their room, the last room down the hall, and he swipes the card against the lock before pushing the door open.
“No, I can’t say I have…” She says, her voice quieting as her jaw gapes open as she peers into the room, unable to even see it all from the doorway.
Robin steps inside, her hand over her mouth, as she looks around the room, her eyes drawn to the large window on the other side.
She walks over to it, gazing out of it at the ocean as the waves pass over the sandy beach below.
“Oh my…” She whispers to herself as she spins around before walking over to the appliance filled kitchen, stopping along the way as she gently brushes her hand over the plush, leather couch.
“This is a hotel room?” She exclaims, shaking her head as she turns back around to look at Kurtis.
He nods his head, motioning with his hand for her to follow him.
She does, quickly walking behind him as he grabs the crystal handle of a large wooden door before twisting it and pushing it open.
“Here’s your bedroom.” He says, stepping back and out of the way for her to step inside.
She gasps as she enters the room, the gas fire place crackling in the corner as their bags are perched under the large window with the same gorgeous view.
“That’s got to be the biggest bed I’ve ever seen.” She says, as she walks towards the bed, gazing up at the flowing overhead canopy as she drags her fingers over the silken sand colored sheets.
“What do you think?” Her boss says, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. “Good enough?”
“Good enough?!” She exclaims, shaking her head. “I can’t sleep here!”
“Why not?” He asks, stepping into the room.
“This is way too much!” She says. “I can be the one to take the couch.”
“No.” He says, shaking his head in disagreement. “I insist you take the bedroom.”
“This is amazing…” She whispers under her breath as she spins, having to take in the room again.
“You know what I think we need?” Kurtis asks, interrupting her. “Some wine.”
“I would love some wine.” She says, biting her bottom lip as she smirks.
She follows him out of the bedroom, her eyes still scanning the room as they make their way to the kitchen.
Robin leans against the granite countertop as she watches Kurt open the sparkling stainless steel fridge.
“Do you want a white or a red?” He asks, glancing over to her.
“Red, I guess.” She says, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t really know anything about wine, though.”
“Red is a good choice.” He says, lifting up the bottle out of the refrigerator door before setting it on the island in front of her.
She grabs it, trying to pronounce the French on the label as he turns around again to look for glasses in the cupboards.
He pulls down two crystal glasses, the bottoms delicately etched, before gently placing them down on the counter.
She hands him the bottle, gasping as he pops the cork before watching him pour the deep red wine into the thin glass.
“Thanks for coming.” He says, handing her one of the glasses.
She gingerly grabs the delicate stem before resting the rim of the glass on her bottom lip before tipping a sip of the quenching liquid into her mouth.
“Don’t worry about it.” She smirks, smiling softly at him as she swallows before shyly licking her lips.
They drink quietly for a while, the wine loosening them up as they giggle at each other’s conversation as Kurtis refills both of their glasses.
“So…” Robin asks, her face flushing slightly. “Do you really think I’m pretty?” She asks. “Like you said at dinner?”
“Well…” He says, clearing his throat. “I don’t think you’re ugly…”
“Before you said I was plain.” She says, leaning her cheek against her fist as her elbow rests on the table.
“Plain…” He repeats. “Not whorish.”
“But pretty still.” She says, nodding her head up and down as her cheeks flush further.
Kurtis smirks, taking one last sip of his wine before resting his glass on the counter.
“You know what?” He says, his voice low, as he looks at the glass before trailing his gaze towards her. “I’m gunna go and have a shower…It’s been a long day…”
Robin watches from under hooded lids as her boss winks quickly at her before disappearing out of the kitchen.
Her heart pounds
in her chest as a tingle begins to erupt deep inside of her belly. Was that an invitation?
She lets out a shaking breath as she reaches over to his half empty glass before picking it up and pouring the liquid into her own.
