Escape With Me (Love With Me 1)

“Hi.” It was probably the lamest thing she could have said, but seeing him standing there, she didn't know what else to say.

He smiled, and her heart went into overdrive.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Having him on this side of the bar was almost overwhelming. He had such presence that it was hard not to get drawn into his orbit. Cassie found herself unconsciously stepping toward him, wanting to touch him.

“I'm actually feeling pretty good,” she replied. “I have a feeling it's due to the water you had me drink. Thank you. I'm not usually a drinker.”

He grinned at her. “Could have fooled me.”

“No, I didn't,” she replied. “I didn't fool anyone. I'm a lightweight. And I apologize if I said or did anything inappropriate last night. I'm not used to being drunk.”

“If you're used to being drunk, that's typically a problem,” Wyatt replied. His eyes crinkled in a smile as he looked at her. “You were fine last night. A real lady.”

She scoffed. “Real ladies don't give out their room numbers.”

“The kind of ladies I like do.” Light sparkled in his green eyes, and Cassie felt her knees go wobbly. Suddenly she was thinking of screaming orgasms that had nothing to do with alcohol.

“So you like your ladies dirty?” Her voice wavered a little bit. The heat curling up around the base of her spine from the way he looked at her was affecting her vocal cords.

He grinned. “Dirty. Clean. I like them all.”

Cassie's brain drew blank. This flirting thing was hard and she wasn't sure she was doing it right. Was she dirty enough for him? Was she getting in way over her head with trying to flirt with a man like this? He had experience with women. She had corporate policies memorized.

Was she really what a man like Wyatt would want?

“Lunch?” she asked, changing the subject to something she was more comfortable with. She could handle lunch.

“I'd love to.” He offered her his arm like a knight in shining armor. She laughed, and he escorted her into the buffet.

Cassie picked out fruit and a baked fish dish. She only took one of the coconut macaroons and felt guilty about ruining her diet the entire way back to their table.

Wyatt on the other hand, chose a cheeseburger, fries, and a small side salad. He had three desserts set off to the side on a separate plate.

“You know you can eat anything you want here, right?” he said, eyeing her healthy plate.

“Vacation calories definitely do count,” she told him. “Besides, I have to fit into my bridesmaid dress in two days. After that, I can eat whatever I want.”

“I'm sure you'll look great in the dress,” he said, his eyes going over her body as she sat down. The gesture was intimate in a way that made Cassie want to blush and at the same time stick out her chest to give him a better view.

“You can't possibly eat like this every day,” Cassie said, picking up a fork.

He shook his head. “Only when I eat here,” he admitted. He took a big bite of hamburger. “So, where are you from?”

“Arizona.” She nibbled daintily at her fruit. “You?”

He shrugged. “The easiest answer is California. I was born in Kansas, raised in Utah, and went to school in California. Now, I'm here.”

“What brought you to the Caribbean?” Cassie asked, genuinely curious. She placed him in his mid-to-late forties, but incredibly fit. Something about him spoke to education and life experience that didn't fit with his current job description. He wasn't just a beach-bum bartender. There was too much age around his eyes.

“This is where I want to be,” he told her. “I spent enough time in offices and sales meetings to last a lifetime. I hated it. I wanted to be here every second instead. So when I got the chance, I ditched my modern, high-stress job and ran away to the beach.”

Cassie had often imagined running away. She'd wanted to open a small hotel that was all her own. The big chain was so corporate and demanding. They wanted her to always be presentable and ready. There were rules for everything. She lived and breathed rules at work. It was a big part of why her friends wanted her to relax this week. When she let herself, she'd daydreamed of running away from it all just like Wyatt said he did.

"Do you regret it at all?" she asked, her fork hovering over her plate.

His green eyes met hers and held.