Love, Inherited

Ch. 7 - "Fools Fall In Love"

Hayden brushed the sand off of the front of her and watched Warren work at covering up his smirk. "You may as well let it out" she said unable to stifle her own bubbling laughter.

Deep bellowing laughter broke his silence and he casually placed his arm around her holding her up for support. It felt warm and steady and she felt her tension ease and her mind settle into a state of enhanced happiness.

As the laughter died Warren took back his arms and looked Hayden over. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I shouldn't be laughing at your misfortune, although it's been ages since I've felt free enough to laugh like that."

A mischievous grin make its way across her pinked face and she licked her dry lips and crossed her arms. "That's why I did it. I run a weekly service where I help strangers laugh at their maximum potential. It's a little humiliating but it's a guaranteed entry to heaven, and I'm a giver."

He playfully tugged at her sleeve "That you are. Selfless. And such quick wit! I can see I had no need to worry about you. And here I jumped on a plane thinking I'd sent you swimming with the Sharks alone. I should have know anyone with Dee's spirit could handle choppy water alone."

Hayden pointed to a patch on her shirt just above her left breast. "See this, wrangler badge right here? I'm a shark survivor. Always have been. Is that why you came up here? To rescue the damsel in distress?"

A shadow crossed over Warren's face and Hayden felt the fringe of a chill deep in her bones. Her thoughts immediately turned to something deeper. Mr. Warren William's wasn't telling her something. She sat on his towel and gave him the look her sister always called the stink eye.

Warren sat next to her. His tanned body warm and smelling of sunscreen and sand. He picked at his sandal and looked out towards the water. "I didn't actually come to rescue you, I came to discuss some business. But I would rescue you, if you needed rescuing that is. I can't exactly discuss things with you now, on the beach. I wanted to wait a few days and let you get settled. I'm just taking a few days vacation and doing some legwork."

Hayden felt embarrassed. She actually did feel better that he was here. Someone in her corner with her interests at heart, she wanted to believe he was all he seemed to be. Dee had trusted him; and she certainly knew more about business than Hayden ever would.

Warren's arm wrapped around her shoulder and she felt it's weight, sturdy and strong. Her head instinctively wanted to lay itself over and soak up this feeling to commit it to memory, but she refused. "Alright then Mr. Williams, what's the plan?"

White teeth distracted her from her thoughts and she found herself wondering if he used whitening strips or just had fabulous genes. Quickly realizing she was moving into territory she didn't want to get lost in, she turned towards the water.

"The plan is, I enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation and you go about your business of settling in as owner. At the end of the week we can sit down and go over some paperwork and then we can go over some details when we both feel more professional."

A seagull landed just in front of them, picking up a bit of debris from the sand and screeching an alert of its finding and ownership. It turned towards the couple and ran off, its beak clinging to its new find.

"Alright then," Hayden leaned forward to stand causing his arm to fall unprotected into the small dent her body had left on the towel. "but don't expect me to pretend you aren't here, I'm not very good at ignoring people."

"I wouldn't dream of ignoring you either Hayden. Whenever your ready I'll take you sightseeing, and show you the hidden hotspots on the island."

Hayden couldn't reply. Her gaze on his bare buff chest coupled with the word 'hotspot' could only lead her to something short of sexual innuendo and she wasn't about to mess this relationship up with hormones. He was her lawyer.

"Okay then, I'll see you around."

As she walked back across the warm sand her feet felt how unstable it was. Firm ground. That's what she needed. A firm footing of her own. Don't mess this up Hayden. This is your shot. Don't let silly crushes ruin it. He's a nice guy, and he's your lawyer.

The music from the bar got louder as she edged closer to the patio.  "Fools Fall in Love" by Elvis rang through the air. Hayden shook her head and looked around. Exactly.   Although I wouldn't exactly call it love, more like lust.

Her eyes scanned the inner workings of the bar and her eyes were immediately drawn to Tye. He was blushing while taking the order of a table full of girls Hayden would put in their early 20's. He wrote the orders down and ended up passing a ticket to one of the girls who giggled and put in her top.

Rounding the corner and heading through the front this time Hayden passed the desk with the friendly resident giant, Mike.

"Hello Ms. Hayden. Can I help you with something today?"  Mike's voice echoed through the lobby.

"Shhhh. Please, I'm staying incognito for the rest of the day today. Did Mason look for me?"  Hayden answered in a whisper and got closer to the desk so Mike could whisper back.

His eyebrows furrowed and a line appeared in the middle so deep Hayden wondered if a penny would get lost in it. "Mr. Mason left for the day. He said you had him running an errand."

Questions tickled the back of her brain but Hayden was just glad to have a few hours free without his eagle eye or scrutiny. She had approximately three hours until meeting Star at the bar for drinks and she planned on getting in Dee's office and starting to make it her own while Mason was out.

"Mike, do you have a key to my office?"

"No Ms. Hayden. I think Mason has the master key. He doesn't give me the keys."

Now it was her turn to frown. "How do you feel about breaking and entering?" she asked.

Mike's smile gave her all the answer she needed. He sat a tiny clock sign on the desk that said 'Back in 5' and together they walked down the hall.

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Hayden seems to have some trust issues with Mason. I can't imagine why.
Warren sure seems to have knocked her off her feet (Hahahaha funny!).
Next chapter- a night in the bar; and things heat up in more ways than one!

Thanks for reading!