“Sometimes, that's the best way to do it,” Trish said.
The conversation moved over to their plans for the rest of their trip, but I couldn't quit thinking about what Mina had said. I knew deep down that I shouldn't have kicked Christian out of bed the night before. He had made no signs that he was going to leave, and the foundation of any relationship was trust. If I could trust him to know what he wanted, it would be different.
But I had told him it was best that we never see one another again, and he hadn't even argued with that. I had blown it this time.
I suppressed a sigh and tried to focus on the conversation, but there in the back of my mind, I was starting to feel guilty.
Chapter Seventeen
Christian
I was doing my best to forget about work and just enjoy the fact that I was there in Hawaii, but at the same time, I knew I needed to keep up with the news so that when I eventually did return, I would know what had been happening. And there was part of me that was just curious as well.
I took a deep breath and opened my computer, tapping away at the keys to bring up the latest. Wow, despite my absence, or maybe because of my absence, the company was doing well. Surprisingly well. Our stocks had never jumped this high before.
I pulled out my phone, debating on whether to call Paul. But I knew he was just going to reassure me that, of course, they weren't trying to phase me out of the company or anything like that. I couldn't help thinking, though, that with these numbers, something was up.
They were certainly proving that they didn't need me. And I could only imagine the way that things might dip once I came back if I was the reason our numbers had been so low before.
For all that I had always maintained that I was the face of the company and that they needed me, I was starting to wonder if that was true.
I shut the computer and set it off to the side, moving over to the pool and diving into it, keen on forgetting about work through physical exertion, if that was what it would take.
When I resurfaced, I was surprised to see Gretchen crouching at the side of the pool waiting for me.
“Nice dive,” she commented, grinning crookedly at me.
I raised an eyebrow at her, pausing to tread water. “What are you doing here?” I wanted to be a bit blunter than that and remind her that she'd been the one to say that we should never see one another again, but I figured she already knew that just as well as I did.
Sure enough, she looked a little uncertain and bashful. “I came to se
e you, actually,” she said. She coughed lightly. “I don't have work today, and I was thinking that I could take you to that nice place that I wanted to take you to if you were interested. It's not a place that many tourists know about, so you probably haven't been there yet.”
I frowned at her and decided just to be blunt. “Thought you didn't think we should see one another again,” I said.
Gretchen ducked her head a little, toying with a bit of her hair. “Yeah, um.” She chewed on her lower lip and then blurted out, “I owe you an apology for that.”
I laughed, deciding to take pity on her. “Yeah, sure,” I said, swimming over to the edge of the pool. “What kind of place is this? Do I need to get changed out of my swim trunks?”
“No, but you probably should throw on a shirt,” Gretchen said, obviously eyeing my abs as I pushed myself up out of the pool.
“Think you'll get distracted otherwise?” I asked, winking at her.
She rolled her eyes but didn't protest, and I took it that that was exactly what she was thinking. I grinned. “I've got to bring my computer upstairs,” I told her. “Should I call my driver?”
“I was thinking we could rent scooters,” she said. “If you're comfortable with that.”
“Yeah, that sounds fun,” I said. “You're going to have to be patient with me because I have hardly driven in the past five years or so, let alone driven a scooter, but-”
“It's easy,” Gretchen said confidently. “And we can take it slow.”
When we got to the waterfall, I could immediately see why she was so eager to show it to me. “Oh, wow,” I said as we walked up to it. We'd parked our scooters and had a short hike to get out to whatever it was that she had wanted me to see. Which I now saw was a cascading waterfall, with a beautiful little pool down at the bottom of it.
“I brought lunch,” Gretchen also said, swinging off her backpack.
I shook my head, struck by the sudden urge to kiss her. I pulled her into my arms for a moment, despite the fact that as warm as it was, we were both a little sticky from the hike. “This is amazing,” I told her.
Gretchen smiled almost shyly up at me. “I'm glad you like it,” she told me. “I always love showing people around here.” She shrugged a little. “It's my home, and I'm proud of it.”