how to protect him. If he wasn’t by her side and in her life, he wouldn’t get hurt. But she simply couldn’t break his heart again...or hers.
Giving up on sleep, she sat up in bed, grabbed her phone off of the nightstand and checked her calendar.
Following a brief photo op at Java Love, she and Dario would be enjoying a day at the beach. She greeted the discovery with a joyful fist pump in the air, got out of bed and did her own version of Victor Cruz’s touchdown salsa.
Nothing beat a day at the beach, especially Sarasota’s Lido Beach. It had become her personal paradise. She could use the warm sand between her toes, the sparkling Gulf of Mexico and more of the gorgeous coastal sun heating up her skin. That’s exactly the kind of quiet, low key day she needed after the crazy way the botanical garden adventure ended.
Immediately feeling better, she threw on the ultra-soft white robe that one of the boutiques had sent and headed for the kitchen. When she couldn’t sleep, she worked with one or more of her many To-Do Lists. And since they were headed to the beach in a few hours, the list was long and there was a lot she could do to get ready ahead of time.
On the way to the kitchen, she took out her phone from the pocket of her robe and flipped through her apps until she reached the one she was looking for. She tapped her screen and watched the app’s large orange checkmark come to life. Taking a deep breath, she forced her worries out of her mind and focused on something much more productive and fun—The Beach Day List.
Shortly after arriving in Sarasota, and after yet another trip to the beach in which she’d forgotten something that she needed to make the trip more enjoyable, she’d made The Beach Day List in her favorite app.
Water. Sandwiches or salad. Fruit. A blanket. Sun hat. Sunglasses. Kindle. Sunscreen. Lip balm. Beach towels and Chairs. All the items that needed to be accounted for were there, glowing through her backlit screen.
She hoped Dario still liked Capri salad, tuna salad and pineapple. Just in case he wasn’t a tuna or tomato and mozzarella guy anymore, she could go ahead and toss in roasted turkey and cheese, guacamole and chips. But she didn’t think all of that would fit in the small picnic basket she’d found last night in one of the kitchen cupboards.
She checked the time. It was going on one in the morning. She didn’t want to bother him this late. But...she bit her lip and studied the moon as it lit up the small herb garden on the other side of the kitchen sink window. He used to stay up late. Usually till at least one. So maybe...
Well, she had a choice. She could wing it and just pack one or the other. Or, she could go to his suite and ask him.
Refastening the belt on her robe, pulling it tight enough that it was actually uncomfortable despite the luxurious fabric, she walked up the stairs and took the hallway opposite the one leading to her suite.
• • •
Dario heard a soft knock on his door. Looking at the clock and seeing that it was just after one, his insides knotted up. Something had to be wrong.
Stella had always gone to bed much earlier than he did, so it couldn’t be her. And neither Stefan nor any of his other security team members disturbed him this late unless something needed his immediate attention.
He grabbed his robe off of the dressing chair he’d tossed it onto and put it on. He didn’t even like robes. Never had. He preferred to relax in his boxers. There was something terrifically freeing about being in nothing but boxers. He was always dressed to the nines so being all but totally undressed was more than appealing.
When he opened the door and saw who was there, he wished he was in even less than his boxers.
“Stella? Is everything all right?” He asked, as surprised to see her as she seemed to be him, which didn’t make any sense on her part since she was the one knocking on his bedroom door.
“Uhm...I needed to know if you still
Giving up on sleep, she sat up in bed, grabbed her phone off of the nightstand and checked her calendar.
Following a brief photo op at Java Love, she and Dario would be enjoying a day at the beach. She greeted the discovery with a joyful fist pump in the air, got out of bed and did her own version of Victor Cruz’s touchdown salsa.
Nothing beat a day at the beach, especially Sarasota’s Lido Beach. It had become her personal paradise. She could use the warm sand between her toes, the sparkling Gulf of Mexico and more of the gorgeous coastal sun heating up her skin. That’s exactly the kind of quiet, low key day she needed after the crazy way the botanical garden adventure ended.
Immediately feeling better, she threw on the ultra-soft white robe that one of the boutiques had sent and headed for the kitchen. When she couldn’t sleep, she worked with one or more of her many To-Do Lists. And since they were headed to the beach in a few hours, the list was long and there was a lot she could do to get ready ahead of time.
On the way to the kitchen, she took out her phone from the pocket of her robe and flipped through her apps until she reached the one she was looking for. She tapped her screen and watched the app’s large orange checkmark come to life. Taking a deep breath, she forced her worries out of her mind and focused on something much more productive and fun—The Beach Day List.
Shortly after arriving in Sarasota, and after yet another trip to the beach in which she’d forgotten something that she needed to make the trip more enjoyable, she’d made The Beach Day List in her favorite app.
Water. Sandwiches or salad. Fruit. A blanket. Sun hat. Sunglasses. Kindle. Sunscreen. Lip balm. Beach towels and Chairs. All the items that needed to be accounted for were there, glowing through her backlit screen.
She hoped Dario still liked Capri salad, tuna salad and pineapple. Just in case he wasn’t a tuna or tomato and mozzarella guy anymore, she could go ahead and toss in roasted turkey and cheese, guacamole and chips. But she didn’t think all of that would fit in the small picnic basket she’d found last night in one of the kitchen cupboards.
She checked the time. It was going on one in the morning. She didn’t want to bother him this late. But...she bit her lip and studied the moon as it lit up the small herb garden on the other side of the kitchen sink window. He used to stay up late. Usually till at least one. So maybe...
Well, she had a choice. She could wing it and just pack one or the other. Or, she could go to his suite and ask him.
Refastening the belt on her robe, pulling it tight enough that it was actually uncomfortable despite the luxurious fabric, she walked up the stairs and took the hallway opposite the one leading to her suite.
• • •
Dario heard a soft knock on his door. Looking at the clock and seeing that it was just after one, his insides knotted up. Something had to be wrong.
Stella had always gone to bed much earlier than he did, so it couldn’t be her. And neither Stefan nor any of his other security team members disturbed him this late unless something needed his immediate attention.
He grabbed his robe off of the dressing chair he’d tossed it onto and put it on. He didn’t even like robes. Never had. He preferred to relax in his boxers. There was something terrifically freeing about being in nothing but boxers. He was always dressed to the nines so being all but totally undressed was more than appealing.
When he opened the door and saw who was there, he wished he was in even less than his boxers.
“Stella? Is everything all right?” He asked, as surprised to see her as she seemed to be him, which didn’t make any sense on her part since she was the one knocking on his bedroom door.
“Uhm...I needed to know if you still
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