He waved his fork at her coffee cup. “Well, drink up so you can wake up. We’re about to burn a whole lot of calories. And I expect you to be up to the challenge.”
Her eyes widened. She’d probably expected him to ask questions, probe, but it was clear she didn’t want to talk about it. Hell, the woman didn’t talk much at all. Which was fine by him, because it helped ensure he didn’t get too close. He wouldn’t mind spending time with her while he was here vacationing this week, but when he left, he was leaving alone, and he wasn’t asking for her number or attempting to see her again. That wasn’t the objective of this little escape.
She shook her head and the corners of her mouth quirked into s small smile as she focused on adding a dollop of cream to her coffee.
Damn, she had amazing lips. He could see why she didn’t bother with makeup; she was a natural beauty, gorgeous without even trying.
“I am definitely up to the challenge,” she finally said, a hard resolve to her voice that was completely unnecessary. They were just sand dunes, for Christ’s sake. If they didn’t make it to the top, so what?
He wolfed down his breakfast, then excused himself to take his plate inside and hunt down Maureen to see if he could convince the proprietor to throw together a picnic basket for him and Shannon.
He didn’t even have to lay on the charm.
“Are you kidding? Of course. You two are perfect for each other,” she insisted. “Two lost souls, finding each other here, at my B&B. It’s like a fairy tale.”
“Just friends,” Leo said because he did not need Maureen to make comments in front of Shannon, who, while she’d agreed to go with him today, was exhibiting no signs whatsoever that she was interested in anything romantic. Which was okay, because he wasn’t either.
Okay, if she hit on him, he’d totally sleep with her. But that was it. There would be no fairy tale ending. They would part as acquaintances and go their separate ways at the end of the week. Shoot, he didn’t even know where the woman lived.
And he was okay keeping it that way.
Shannon appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, and her eyes were brighter, her face slightly flushed. The coffee had done wonders, apparently.
“Ready?” she asked, placing her dishes in the sink even as Maureen scolded her because that was what Bennie was there for, to wait tables, and how was he supposed to do his job if the guests kept doing it for him?
Shannon chuckled. “Is he your son? He looks just like you.”
Maureen shook her head. “My nephew. Sometimes it feels like half my family works here. Or maybe more than half. My sister and her other two kids clean the rooms, my brother-in-law helps with the cooking, my husband takes care of the yard and repairs, and my oldest daughter handles the marketing.”
A family business. Leo understood. This wasn’t unlike his own situation, although there didn’t seem to be all the underlying tension that went along with his own family business. When he’d called off the wedding, Leo had informed his father in no uncertain terms that his life was now entirely in his own hands. No more arrangements, no more promises without his explicit say-so.
That also included the future of the Beneventi family fortune, the management of which was slated to be passed to Leo upon his father’s death. God knew his younger brother Max wasn’t mature enough to handle such responsibility.
“How many kids do you have?” Leo asked since she was still packing the picnic basket.
“Two. My youngest daughter is still in college. She’s currently spending the summer touring Europe.”
“How fun,” Shannon said, her eyes warming. “I would have loved to do that when I was younger.”
Interesting that she hadn’t if she was from similar social circles as his own, which was the impression Leo had gotten yesterday. That was kind of a thing for rich kids—go off and sow their wild oats in another country, often multiple times, before coming home, finishing their degree, and doing right by the family business.
“You still can, you know,” he said. She was young—he guessed mid, maybe late-twenties—and she didn’t appear to be married or have kids, so why the heck not?
But then again, he was guessing. Weird how he felt like he knew her but honestly knew very little about her.
A short time later, he loaded the unexpectedly heavy wicker basket into the back of his Yukon Denali, then opened the door so Shannon could hop into the passenger seat before he jogged around to his own side and cranked the engine. He headed west, toward Lake Michigan, and then south to the dunes.
“Just for clarification’s sake,” he said, “you aren’t married, right? Not that it matters since we’re just friends, but I feel like a husband might not appreciate you spending so much time with me.”
“Just friends?” she repeated, sounding a little dumbfounded, which was throwing him off because now he really wanted to know what the woman was thinking.
“Husband?” he asked again.
She shook her head. “No husband. No kids. No family whatsoever.”
How come every time she gave him a tidbit, he suddenly had a million more questions?
“Family’s overrated, trust me. Mine is annoying as hell. Being here, without any of them calling or texting, is like paradise. Makes me never want to go back.”
“Are they really that bad?” she asked, totally serious.
He shrugged. “My mom is a socialite, first and foremost. She was totally on
