Page 23 of Eat Your Heart Out

I inched toward the women’s room. “Relaxed and wondering if maybe happy is possible.”

We separated to go change.

As I slipped my pants on, though, I decided I needed to show him my scars so he understood why I wanted to hide my legs. I doubted I would be able to hide them on a ship if he wanted to go into the pool or participate in any of his sunny-day activities. I nodded at myself in the mirror.

He waited for me, and we walked back up the stairs toward the outside.

“If money wasn’t an object for you, what would you do with your life?” he asked.

I bounced with each step. I felt so light. “The food critic thing sounds pretty good.”

He tilted his head. “But you’ve never done it before.”

True, but I never thought about lots of things, and I did like food. I squeezed his arm, and a spark rushed through me. “I heard on the radio that they had a line out the door at the Burger Shack, and they mentioned your blog and how you stay anonymous since yourAbout Mepage is full of fun facts and a picture of the ocean.”

“I didn’t hide what I do from you.” He held the door open for me.

We were in the solarium, the glass-encased sunroom, so there was light but we had the cool air-conditioning. He headed toward a swinging chair as I joined him.

“Do you usually hide it?”

His lips thinned, then he took a breath, making me think he didn’t like the question. I almost said, “Never mind,” but then he said, “Yeah, I didn’t want my associates to know I sometimes focused on my meal more than their conversations.”

My eyes misted a little. “That’s funny.”

He shrugged. “It’s true.”

“And now will you reveal your identity?” I asked.

He’d sold his company and didn’t need to answer to anyone anymore, after all.

He narrowed his gaze as we swung, and he said in a low voice, “Now… the paparazzi are targeting my family. Warren had it bad when he was romancing his fiancée. I don’t want to draw attention to myself.”

My heart pounded. “What happened with your brother?”

“Some blogger named Regina, though that’s likely not her real name, found Kerry’s ex-husband, and they almost had Kerry committed for falling in love with Warren.”

No one would assume that about us. I shook my head and realized that sometimes, the mean girls of high school were only practicing. “That’s crazy.”

“Agreed.”

My skin buzzed, reminding me it was time to tell the truth. “The massage was awesome,” I started.

Neither of said anything else.

I swallowed then broke the silence when I was ready. “I need to tell you something.”

He turned toward me, and all the desire in my veins grew stronger as he gave me his full attention.

“What?” he asked.

I tensed as I lifted my head. “I’m disfigured.”

He looked me up and down. “Doubtful.”

“My scars are hideous,” I insisted.

His gaze narrowed in on my shirt, then he pointed to the corner of my breast. “Is that one of your scars?”