His Lifeguard Obsession

Chloe

Icaught the bus to my mother’s nursing home that evening in a cloud of confusion. My body still tingled in all the right places, and I warmed like a melted candle when I thought of my encounter with Rhett in the cabana. The rest of me, particularly my head, wasn’t happy. What the hell have you gotten yourself into, girl?

I got off the bus in a fog of exhaust and dust and started up the gravel drive. I had the extra money I needed tucked into my pocket, and no, it wasn’t from Rhett. I’d asked for a wage advance from Evan. Sure, it was embarrassing, but at least the terms were clear. The casual way Rhett offered me money reminded me we lived in different worlds.

What did Rhett expect from me? Was I doomed to repeat the same old story I’d seen play out again and again? A hot, young staff member at the club gets swept off her feet during the summer when all the big, rich hotshots escape the city. They have a whirlwind romance, and then his wife arrives with the kids, or summer ends, and he returns to New York. That wouldn’t be me. I’d never broken that promise to myself before, but today, I’d come close.

Me and my idiot virgin heart were feeling all gooey like a burned marshmallow at the thought of Rhett. I liked him. A school girl crush at the grand old age of twenty-two. Just what I needed.

I paid for the extra charges and went to see my mom. Dr. White stepped out as I knocked and opened the door, and we collided in the doorway.

“Miss Chloe! I apologize. I wasn’t looking where I was going. How are you?”

“Poorer. I’ve settled the bill for the new medication,” I told him.

Dr. White was handsome in that buff, all-American Ken doll way. His smile was sharp, and he knew his effect on the ladies, but he wasn’t my type.

He nodded, looking sympathetic. “I know it’s a lot, but you might be able to get it covered under your insurance. Some of it anyway.”

“Sure. I’ll try.” Dr. White had no idea how crappy my insurance was. “I’ve come to say hi to Mom.”

“She fell asleep. Why don’t we grab a coffee and wait for her to wake up? I was going on a break. And please, call me Carl.”

There was nothing I wanted to do less than hang out with my mother’s doctor, but it was awkward as hell to refuse. “Um, okay, sure.”

“Great. Come on.”

* * *

Carl ordered a coffee,and I got a bottle of water. He paid despite my best attempts to stop him. We sat at a sticky table, and I tried to look interested in his stories about medical school.

“Are you studying right now?”

“Yeah, I’m in my second year of marine biology, but I don’t know if I’ll finish anytime soon. I need to get serious about making money for my mom.”

“Well, there are a lot of carer jobs around this place if you’d like me to put in a good word for you. The pay is decent.”

“Right,” I murmured, my heart falling a little. I thought a well-educated man like Dr. Carl would attempt to convince me to stay in school and get my degree, but it sounded like he thought it was a waste of time. “I might take you up on that.”

The good doctor beamed at me. “So, you work at Hill Crest? I’ve just become a member there.”

I nodded, sipping my water.

Carl pulled a face. “I have to say, it’s pricey, but the connections and company you keep as a member are priceless.”

Ugh. Kill me now.I racked my brain for an excuse to leave.

Carl was on a roll, however, impressed with himself. “I heard the new owner was none other than Rhett Sutton. Can you believe it?”

I shrugged, non-committedly. “Why not?”

“Because Rhett Sutton is a legend around here. He doesn’t do little million-dollar deals, and he certainly doesn’t step in and use his management experience on some tiny, failing country club in his hometown. He must have done it for family obligations. He was engaged to Victoria Blakely, I heard.”

Victoria Blakely. Right, the bitchy, high maintenance-looking socialite he’d been escaping the other night. In the heat of the moment in the cabana, I’d forgotten all about her. Was Rhett getting engaged? The thought I’d let a man who was about to get married finger me to my first orgasm made me feel sick.

“He was?” I clung to the only positive spin I could find.

Carl nodded. “I heard there was some scandal about it, and the engagement never happened. His father objected to Victoria for some reason. Rhett Sutton and his father, Arthur, are both local celebrities. How can you not know them?”