Needed more.
Craved more of her.
“Surfing burns a lot of calories. Even if you don’t want to get lunch, you need to eat something. Otherwise you’ll pass out on the beach,” he said.
“And your concerned about me passing out in the sun. Obviously,” Kallie said.
“Obviously,” he said with a grin.
A smile spread across her cheeks and he knew he had her. She nodded her head and it sent his heart fluttering in his chest. Yes. He’d done it. He’d gotten more time with the pretty girl from his dreams the night before. He couldn't get her off his mind, and now he wasn’t going to let her out of his sight. Not until she was absolutely ready to give him up.
And he had a feeling she wasn’t yet.
“Come on. Let’s get your stuff. My car’s just across the road.”
Then he headed for her lounge chair before she could protest.
Chapter 7
Kallie
Kallie was shocked when Ash pulled up in front of a swanky restaurant. She was expecting some sort of beachside taco stand with him, but instead he had brought her to a four-star restaurant. She was still dusted in sand and had nothing to cover herself with but the sheer dress she had shoved into her purse, and it wasn’t at all the kind of place she wanted to be at.
“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” she asked.
“This is it. But don’t let the outside fool you. The people inside are really laid-back,” he said.
But Kallie wasn’t so sure.
She stepped out of his Jeep and pulled her wide-brimmed hat down onto her head. She fixed up her sheer sundress and knocked the excess sand off her ankles. Ash didn’t seem to be worried about what she was wearing,
but she was. She knew how these kinds of places worked. How people talked and jeered and snickered. This was the exact lifestyle she was trying to get away from, and she wasn’t thrilled at all to be there.
But when she got inside, she found that Ash was right.
No one was staring at her or even looking oddly in her direction. The waitstaff wasn’t concerned about what she was wearing either. In fact, they were dressed much the same way. There were loads of people sitting in their wet swimsuits as they munched on tacos and appetizers, but it was Ash’s interaction with the waitstaff that had her curious.
He was very friendly and knew all of them by name.
“Can we get you anything, Ash?”
“Claire! I didn’t know you were working today. Um, could we get some of that honey bread for our table? And two glasses of water. I’m not sure if we want anything to drink drink.”
“I’ll let your server know. And Mike’s here. He’ll want to come by and say hello.”
“Then tell him to drop on by! And get him a drink. Put it on my tab. Didn’t he just have a kid?” Ash asked.
“Four days ago,” Claire said with a smile.
“Then tell him it’s a congratulatory drink from me,” he said.
“Will do. Someone will be right with you guys. Sit wherever you want, Ash.”
Kallie figured he was friendly with the waitstaff because he was in the industry. After all, Ash did work at one of the only beachside cabanas allowed on the island. Or maybe he’d even worked in the restaurant before. The more she was around him, the more she figured he lived on the island, despite him obviously not being native.
Maybe that was it.
Kallie was guided to a table that overlooked the high street. They sat down on the balcony and her eyes were cast downward, watching as all the rich people walked by. She briefly wondered what it would’ve been like to actually marry James. To attach herself to a rich man for the rest of her life and be forced to talk around a tropical island paradise clicking around in heels.