Page 151 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

PETER

K atie popped up to her feet and spun to face me. Her hair was down and wavy, and I liked how it swished around her shoulders as she pulled the hair tie from her wrist with a snap and began pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. She looped the hair tie and gave the ponytail a sharp tug.

“Let’s go for a walk,” she said. “We have time to kill before we head back to see your dad tonight and I haven’t done a proper wander of the property.”

“A proper wander?”

She nodded earnestly. “Yes, of course. Isn’t that half of the fun of staying in a resort like this?

I knew the El Cartana like the back of my hand by the third day I was working there.

Every spare minute I had was dedicated to exploring.

There’s always so much to see and find. Pools, gardens, ponds, wildlife, the beach.

Mind you, the Californian coast is nothing like the Caribbean but that’s beside the point. ”

There was no way I could turn her down when she was so enthusiastic, so I stood up and agreed to go with her.

We left all our things, including her purse, in the room, changed into more comfortable walking shoes, and set out to begin our adventure down in the lobby.

“We need a drink first,” Katie said. She took my wrist and pulled me toward the cigar lounge off the lobby.

The bar was dimly lit and filled mostly with men puffing on fat cigars or out of wooden pipes that reminded me of something out of my favorite epic fantasy story with smoking wizards and brave hobbits.

She pulled me all the way to the bar, which she reached across to retrieve a drink menu. Katie held it in front of her for both of us to look at.

“What do I want? What do I want? Ah ha! That looks good.” Her finger landed on a gin and tonic cocktail special garnished with a twist of orange and a slice of pineapple.

“Make it two,” I said.

Three minutes later, we were strolling out of the bar with our drinks in hand, and Katie led the way through the lobby and into the gardens.

We passed the same space where Rhys and Vanessa had been married less than forty-eight hours prior.

It looked as though a wedding had never transpired here.

There wasn’t a single white rose petal in sight.

That’s an impressive cleanup crew, I thought mindlessly as I sipped my refreshing cocktail.

It wasn’t immensely warm outside, but it wasn’t terribly cool either. We were stuck in that in-between Californian weather where the temperatures were beginning to cool off as we closed in on the middle of autumn.

Soon, locals would be walking around in puffy ski vests like psychopaths.

In my mind, LA never got cold enough to warrant such things. Canadian tourists came down here in the dead of winter and wore shorts, sandals, and linen shirts. Surely, it couldn’t be that cold.

We wandered through the grounds and returned to the veranda where the cocktail hour had happened the night before the wedding.

We stopped there to claim a cushioned bench overlooking the pools, where dozens of guests were enjoying the water and the swim-up bar.

The family-friendly pool was on the other side of the resort.

Katie slid into her seat and polished off the last mouthfuls of her drink. “I wonder how much money Rick spent at the art gallery today.”

“Doesn’t he already own tons of this guy’s work if they’re friends?”

Katie shrugged. “I would imagine so. But he has vacation properties all over the place. I’m sure a guy like him can always afford more art, especially if it’s in the name of supporting a friend’s business.

I’m telling you, if I could have afforded to walk out with one of those masterpieces, I would have. ”

I wished I had the money to buy it for her.

“How was Hailey today?” I asked.

Katie looked into the depths of her empty glass. “She was okay. She’s uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I think she just wants the pregnancy to be over so she can meet her little one and start the next step, you know?”

“Sure.”

Katie smiled and shook her head. “My poor brother. I can tell he’s totally out of his depth right now. He wants to help her so badly and ease her pains but everything he does only seems to piss her off more.”

“Your poor brother? Please. Part of you must be amused that he’s struggling. Or are twins different than other siblings?”

Katie laughed. “No, you’re right. Some of it is amusing.

He tried to give her a massage at brunch and she nearly bit his hand off.

I’ve never been afraid of Hailey before.

Usually, she’s so sweet and bubbly and innocent.

But today? Oh man, I wouldn’t have wanted to get on her bad side. She’s going to be a fierce mother.”

I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m sure you will be too one day. If you want to be, of course.”

You’re saying a lot of things, Peter. Be careful.

Katie’s smile evaporated. My gut churned.

Had I said the wrong thing? I had a bad habit of not realizing the weight of my words but I felt like we were in relatively safe territory.

Katie loved babies. I’d heard her gushing over them more than once, so I knew that for a fact.

And she was so excited about her brother having a child of his own.

Where had I messed up?

“I’m sorry,” I said, rubbing her shoulder, “I didn’t mean to be one of those assholes who pushes the baby-making agenda on you.”

“I know that’s not what you meant.”

I frowned. Something was definitely wrong. Her demeanor had changed significantly. She wouldn’t even look at me.

“Katie? What’s wrong?”

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth. “I’ve been thinking a lot. About us.”

“Us?”

“Yes, us.” She grinned shyly and nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. I pretended it hurt and recoiled and she rolled her eyes at me. “I like you, Peter. And I like where this is going. I guess I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“We are,” I said. I didn’t need to think about it.

Not even for a second. I liked her a lot , and I definitely liked where this was going, too.

I could see Katie in my life easily, and it was almost like she’d always belonged there or like someone had written her into my future and all I had to do was keep turning the pages.

“I need to ask you some questions then,” she said.

“Shoot.”

“What do you want for your future? Where do you see yourself in five years?”

“Oh, you mean you wanted to ask serious questions? Okay, let me put my serious face on.” I erased my smile, forced my eyebrows together, and scowled. “Is this better?”

She laughed and shook her head at me. “I mean it, Peter. When you think of your life five years from now, what does it look like?”

I considered her question. “Honestly? I haven’t given it all that much thought. I think I’ve been so preoccupied taking care of my dad and trying to pull my brother’s head out of his ass that I haven’t stopped to think about what I want.”

“Do you want a family?”

I nodded. “Sure. I suppose I always figured that step would happen eventually.”

“So you want children of your own?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but I’m not in a hurry.”

“Biological children?” she pressed.

I frowned. What was with all these questions about kids? Did she want to start popping them out in the next few months or something? We were doing well, but that seemed extreme even to me.

“Sure,” I said. “I mean, I hadn’t thought too seriously about it or what other options there are but I guess so.”

Katie nodded.

Then, much to my horror, she sniffled, put her drink down on the ground, and hid her face in her hands as she started to cry.

My eyes widened and I stared at her. What had I done?

“Please don’t cry,” I said weakly, turning her to face me. “What did I do? Whatever I said, I didn’t mean it. I’m an idiot, Katie. Please stop crying.”

“It’s not you,” she whispered.

“What then?”

She cried harder. Her shoulders shook and she sucked in great gulps of air.

My heart started weeping. I pulled her hands away from her face and looked past the tears and mascara tracks. “Katie, whatever this is, you can tell me.”

She shook her head. “It’s hard to say out loud.”

“Take your time.”

She took a few deep, steadying breaths. Once she’d collected herself, she finally managed to look me in the eyes. Her chin trembled but she kept her composure as the words fell from her lips. “Peter, I can’t have children of my own. I’m infertile.”

My weeping heart shriveled up in my chest and it hurt to take a breath. “Katie, I’m—”

“Please don’t say you’re sorry. Everyone says they’re sorry and it doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “I’m not sorry.”

A small smile tugged at her lips and she let out a bitter laugh.

“I didn’t mean to get so emotional on you.

But this is hard for me to talk about. I just needed you to know now so that you didn’t waste any more time on someone who couldn’t give you the family you deserve.

I should have done this before we left the island to save the awkwardness of the flight home. ”

“What are you talking about?”

She searched my eyes. “We should break this off right now, Peter. Before either of us get any more invested. I would hate for you to sacrifice something so important for me.”

I shook my head, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and pressed my forehead to hers. “Hush, sweet girl. You don’t get to make that decision for me.”