His Lifeguard Obsession

I lived in the part of town where newspapers were solely used for plugging holes in windows to keep the heat inside come winter. The only local gossip I heard on my side of the tracks was who in my graduating class had gone to prison.

“Too busy for idle gossip, I guess.” I forced a teasing grin to my lips. I was a fraud. I didn’t want to grin at this entitled hot-shot, but I lacked the backbone to get up and leave. He was my mother’s doctor, and I needed him.

Carl smiled broadly like I’d made a funny joke. “You got me. I love a bit of gossip. Anyway, I suppose I’ll see you around Hill Crest? What shifts do you usually work? I’d feel safer in the pool, knowing you were watching over me.”

Was this flirting? If so, it was making my skin crawl.

I shrugged. “My schedule changes a lot. Anyway, thanks for the water. I need to get going.”

“Sure, anytime. You can buy me a drink at Hill Crest as a thank you,” Carl suggested, walking with me to the sliding doors of the foyer.

The warm evening air rushed in every time the huge glass doors parted, and I shivered at the contrast. It was cold as hell in the nursing home.

“See you, Doctor.”

“Carl,” he prompted.

“Doctor Carl.”

He laughed, and his eyes twinkled at me in a way I was a hundred percent sure he was doing on purpose. How odd and pathetic it looked. Real men like Rhett didn’t worry about how they looked. Rhett Sutton was flush with real confidence and power. He didn’t front for anyone.

I turned and stepped out onto the turn court. Why was I thinking of Rhett again? Crap. I was already in deep, despite knowing it was a huge mistake. He was a billionaire with an “almost” fiancée lingering in the background. Then there was the simple fact that he was my boss. What a mess I was making of everything.

I crunched across the gravel of the drive as a low black sports car drew up in front of me.

“Need a ride, sweetheart?”

I blinked at the driver, resting his long, tanned forearm on the open window.

Rhett grinned at me, taking in the nursing home behind me. He got out in a fluid motion and approached me.

My heart trembled in my chest. It was like my wishful thoughts had summoned him. I folded my arms across my chest to create a barrier between us. If only I could do that for my emotions too. “What are you doing here?”

“Evan told me about your advance and your mother. I thought you might be here.”

I held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t you dare offer me money.”

He bit back whatever he’d been about to say and nodded, opening the passenger door of his shiny sports car. “Get in. I’m taking you home. It’s not a request.”

I let out a long breath, relieved and anxious at the same time. Getting a ride meant letting Rhett see where I lived. The idea made me want to die, but maybe it was a good thing. He should know how impossible this was. And if he pursued me anyway, I’d know he was just like all the other rich players who came here to fuck about with a local girl over the summer.

“Fine, but on one condition.”

“Anything.”

“I get to cross-examine you about some things, and you don’t get to ask me anything in return.” I raised an eyebrow, waiting for his verdict on my wholly unfair condition.

He nodded and gestured for me to sit. “Ask away. Whatever you want to know, I’m an open book.”

Hmmm, that was unexpectedly easy. I watched him as he rounded the car and got in. He was wearing the same as before, but his shirt sleeves were rolled to the elbow. He directed the car off the nursing home grounds, and his strong brown forearms were distracting as they flexed on the wheel.

“Fine. Victoria Blakely. Are you, or were you ever, engaged to her?” The question burst out of me. So much for maintaining some illusion of cool. We rolled through Hill View, passing the quaint restaurants and shops of the historic town center.

“No, not now, or ever. Why? You don’t have to be jealous of Victoria. She can’t hold a candle to you.”

“I’m not jealous. Everyone is talking about why a billionaire would bother straightening up Hill Crest country club. It’s beneath you, isn’t it? Why not, unless for love?”

The wind whipped my hair, and there was a giddy sensation in my chest as Rhett put his foot down when we reached a stretch of quiet, open road. I’d put my address into his navigator and was certain he had no idea how crap the area of town was that I called home. He’d see soon enough. The giddy feeling in my chest was about more than the exhilarating open-roofed ride. It was about Rhett’s confident answer to my questions.