“If you could do anything, w
hat would you do?” he asked, not answering her questions.
“I'd open my own hotel,” she answered without hesitation. “It's a pipe dream, but if I could do anything, that's what I'd do. I'd run it how I want to run things. Why? What would you do?”
“I'm doing it,” Wyatt replied. “I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I have a job where beautiful women take body shots off of me.”
“That does sound fun,” Cassie said with a grin. “It's definitely not corporate.”
Wyatt had to agree.
“Why are you working here?” Cassie asked him. “I mean, other than for the beautiful people and the body shots. You are smarter than just a bartender.”
He raised his eyebrows at the backhanded compliment. “Thank you?”
“You're not just a bartender,” she clarified. Her eyes went to his face. “There's more to you than that.”
“It's what I want to be right now,” he replied. “It's the carefree life. I worked all my youth, teenage years and early adulthood for my father. All I ever did was work. There were no spring break parties or summers abroad. It was always about the work. I wanted something that I chose. Something I wanted but could never have.”
“So you picked an endless spring break after years of not having any.” Cassie nodded thoughtfully. “I can see the appeal.”
“You'd be one of the first,” Wyatt replied. “My father must be rolling in his grave.”
Cassie rolled up on to her elbow. “Are you happy?”
The question caught him by surprise. “What?”
“Are you happy?” she repeated. She motioned to the room. “With what you've chosen. This life you've made here on the island.”
He thought for a moment before nodding. “Mostly.”
“Then who cares what your father would think?” Cassie asked. “What matters is that you're happy. It's your life. You should do with it what you want.”
“You know, you're gorgeous when you get passionate,” Wyatt told her. He loved how bright her eyes were. The slight pink in her cheeks and the way she seemed to vibrate with energy was absolutely stunning.
She blushed at his words.
“And you're right,” he continued. “Maybe you should join me.”
He hadn't meant to say it so bluntly. He hadn't meant to say it all. It had just slipped out.
“Here?” Her eyebrows raised, but at least she didn't give him an immediate no. He could see she was at least considering it. Slowly, she started to shake her head. “I can't.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I have a life back in Arizona,” she replied. “Because I'm not a risk taker. I'm a planner. I'm responsible and boring most of the time.”
“So?”
“It's not me. It's not who I am.” She shrugged and sighed. “I couldn't just leave everything I've worked for on a whim.”
Wyatt knew that they'd only known each other for a few days. They weren't really a couple. There were no promises, no real dates, and she didn't even know who he really was. Yet, her words stung. She wouldn't stay.
It was a fantasy anyway.
“If you change your mind, I know a great guy looking to share rent on a bungalow,” he told her, covering up his feelings with humor. “He'll give you a great rate.”
She chuckled. “Yeah? You'd be my roommate?”