Hailey felt his admission opened up a door, leaving her free to talk. Maybe some good could come out of all of this, after all.
“You know, you did look a little preoccupied when I was taking you on that tour,” she told him. Actually, he had looked a lot preoccupied, but saying that might have sounded as if she were criticizing him, so she left it at her initial statement. Instead, she diplomatically approached the subject she was attempting to broach. “Maybe you could stand to avail yourself of one of the spa treatments we offer here at Paz.” Her enthusiasm grew as she continued, “I could personally set up an appointment for you and then—”
Dillon immediately stopped her before she could get carried away. “No. No, thank you. I’m good,” he assured her.
The man was good-looking, but he definitely wasn’t “good” in the sense he was trying to convey. He needed prodding, she thought.
“Are you sure? Because these treatments can be really helpful, Mr. Fortune. They’re designed for the busy executive like yourself. Tell you what,” Hailey continued eagerly. “If you feel a little uncomfortable about getting one of our special tailored massages, I would be more than happy to be the one who—”
“Nope, I’m fine,” Dillon insisted, cutting her off. “It’s all good, really. Thanks, but no thanks,” he repeated, leaving the woman absolutely no wiggle room to talk him into anything.
The truth of the matter was he sensed that he could easily be attracted to this woman. The very last thing he needed—or wanted—was for that feeling to escalate. And that would be exactly what would happen if she put her hands on his back and torso to work the kinks out of his stiff, sore muscles.
“Okay,” Hailey replied compliantly, “if you say so. But I want you to know that if you should decide to change your mind, the offer stands open anytime that you feel the need to try our method of—”
“Thanks, but I won’t be changing my mind,” Dillon informed her, cutting her off. “Don’t worry about it,” he stressed rather forcefully. “The only thing I want from you is—”
“Your shirt, yes, I am well aware of that,” Hailey said, anticipating what he was about to tell her. She really didn’t have to be a mind reader in order to know that.
“Well, yes, that, too,” Dillon readily agreed. “But what I was about to say is that I’d also like you to promise me that you won’t mention this incident to my brothers. I doubt if the topic will come up,” he added, stating the fact before she had an opportunity to, “but on the outside chance that it might, I’d really rather that they didn’t find out about this unfortunate incident.”
“Yes, of course. I won’t say a word to anyone,” Hailey promised him. “Your secret’s definitely safe with me, Mr. Fortune.”
Dillon laughed despite himself. “Considering everything that has just happened between us, I think you can call me Dillon,” he told her.
A smile rose to her lips, so warm in scope that it fascinated him for a couple of moments.
“I’d like that,” Hailey told him, then added his name, making what she said sound infinitely more personal. “Dillon.”
He caught himself thinking that his name sounded almost lyrical as it came from her lips.
Wow, he was really getting carried away, Dillon upbraided himself. At best this was just a business meeting that had gone wrong, nothing more. Besides, as Hailey had already pointed out, his mind had been elsewhere, not here.
“Would your brothers really give you a hard time if they knew about this?” she asked, curious. Hailey immediately backtracked when she saw Dillon’s brow go up. She didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. “Not that I’d ever mention any of this,” she quickly added, trying her best to reassure him. “Because I’d never say a word. To anyone,” she emphasized once again. “Really,” Hailey stressed. “I just asked you that because I was curious about what it was like, having all those siblings around. People who you know you can always lean on, no matter what.” That sounded like heaven to her. “How many siblings do you have again?” she asked, cocking her head.
He was doing his best not to get distracted again. There was something about this woman that tended to do that to him. Anyway, why would she want to know that? he couldn’t help wondering.
“I have seven,” he finally answered. He kept the fact that some were half siblings to himself. Continuing to remain cautious, Dillon watched the woman’s face as he asked, “Why?”
Hailey shrugged. “No reason. I was just thinking that it had to be nice, having that many siblings around. You always have someone to talk to, someone to turn to for advice. I just have one sister,” she told him. “And I have to admit that I always thought it would have been really great to come from a large family.”
Dillon shrugged, thinking of the people who comprised his family and of some of the incidents that had occurred while he was growing up.
“It has its moments, I suppose,” he admitted somewhat reluctantly.
“Like what?” she asked, her tone encouraging him to elaborate.
Damn, it was happening again. He was getting distracted. Why did this woman have that effect on him? She seemed so guileless...
He had to snap out of it! He really needed to be on his way.
Dillon glanced at his watch again, then at her. “Could you check to see if my shirt’s ready yet?”
The man looked as if he were ready to jump out of his skin at any second, Hailey observed. She wondered if she’d said something to set him off.
His question had her snapping to attention. “Oh, right. Sorry, I guess I forgot
