She laughed. If he only knew. “It absolutely would.” She hesitated a second, ran her palms over the surface of the water, watching the bubbles pop. “I’m glad not to share this though.”
The way he held her gaze made it feel like he could see inside of her soul. She wondered if he felt it; the connection. And it wasn’t justhim. It was this place bringing her to life. She had a dozen ideas to jot down in her notebook for this place and wanted to work up the courage to run them by him. It wasn’t really any of her business. Plus, the other piece of her wanted her working brain to shut the hell up.
“Thank you for showing me that site, Presley. Jilly bought enough linens to outfit all of cabin four. I can’t thank you enough.”
Warmth buzzed through her, over her skin. “I’m so glad it worked out. If you guys are open to it, I have some other ideas I could share with you. Sometimes fresh eyes and someone with a background in the industry can smooth the way.”
The usual response she received—at work, or when she offered Emmett ideas for his campaigns—was a quiet, somewhat condescending smile. She wasn’t prepared for the impact of Beckett’s happy, open grin.
“I’d love that. Let me talk to my siblings.”
Quiet fell between them. Presley felt her heartbeat in her ears and in little pulse points all over her body.
With her head still lowered, she turned a bit, meeting his gaze with lowered lids. “It’s beautiful out here.”
He smiled, and Presley got stuck looking at his lips.
She cleared her throat, pushing herself to think of something different than where her mind was headed. “Has Grayson thought about selling?”
Beckett shook his head. “I asked him about it right after the divorcewas final. I think he’s channeled his feelings of failure into making this succeed. That sounds weird, I know, but I don’t think he can handle this falling apart right now, too.”
Presley understood the idea of not wanting to let one more thing fall through the cracks. “I’m sorry. That’s hard.” She let her hand drift along the water. “Why bikes?”
Happiness flashed in his gaze, making him appear younger, more relaxed. “When we were kids, we went on a trip to one of the smaller islands. We rented bikes and rode around the entire place, camped for a couple of nights. It was awesome. I was twelve. I think it’s that time in life right before everything becomes incredibly confusing.”
She nodded, liking the way his tone softened when he talked about his past. “Before the teen years wreak havoc on the brain. Your family seems pretty special.”
He nodded. “What about yours?”
Safe subject. “We’re close but not like yours. I’m an only child. My parents are very committed to their jobs and each other. They love me, but I was raised to be independent. Self-sufficient.”
Beckett copied her movements with his hand on the water, and their fingers floated close together.
“Sounds lonely.”
Her gaze snapped to his, and the word “lonely” tumbled around in her head. It occurred to her that she’d felt lonelier in the last few months of being with Emmett than she had before they’d begun dating.
“I had lots of hobbies.”
“You still do, from what I can tell.” Their fingers grazed in the heated water.
“Yup,” she said, her voice catching a bit. “And I have a best friend, so no loneliness for me even without siblings.”Who you trying to convince? Him or you?“She offered to come here when she didn’t hear from me for the first several hours.”
“A friend like that is every bit as good as a sibling. When you’d do anything for them or vice versa, what more could you need?”
Presley had a list of things she’d like. Things she wanted. But he was right. She didn’tneedmore than she had.
“You’ve got two built-in best friends, I guess. What do they think about the bike shop?”
Beckett let his gaze wander to the trees. “I haven’t told them.” He turned on the bench, which brought them closer. “I love it when I’m here. It isn’t my dream, but it might be Gray’s. I want to give him a chance to figure that out before I decide what to do. I don’t want him to be swayed by what I need. My obligation to family sort of trumps everything.”
She’d taken high school science, so she knew that her heart couldn’t actually grow in her chest without it being a serious medical condition, but holy hell, his words, the conviction in his eyes, and the sincerity of his tone made her chest tighten uncomfortably.
She reached out, touched his arm. “My best friend always tells me I can’t sacrifice my own happiness for others. In the end, no one ends up happy if you don’t.”
He smiled, soft and slow and incredibly sexy. Maybe more so because she didn’t see this smile when he was surrounded by people. “Your friend sounds smart.”
Presley laughed. “She is. And feisty. You’d like her.”
