Flirting with Boys by Abbott, Hailey (freda ebook reader TXT) 📗

out for the summer. I called Travis and told him he needed to start earlier than planned. You know that the grounds crew is the one area where we absolutely cannot be shorthanded.” Dad looked up and caught Celeste’s stricken stare. “I hope there aren’t going to be any problems with Travis working here this summer. You know that I consider him an employee like everyone else—and subject to the same rules.”

“Dad! You haven’t even given him a chance yet,”

Celeste exclaimed. “You can’t hold the golf cart thing against him all summer. Believe me, Travis is going to be awesome, I swear.”

Her father raised his eyebrows slightly. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Celeste resisted the urge to roll her eyes and leaped up from the table, cramming the last bite of bagel into her mouth. Grabbing the welcome basket from the walk-in refrigerator in the kitchen, she hurried down the path to the guesthouses, oblivious to the deep blue desert sky arcing above and the palm trees waving gently in the salty, dry breeze. Around her, grounds crew workers were clipping the short, thick emerald grass or trimming juniper bushes into round spheres. Robe-clad women padded by in terry-cloth slippers, on their way to the spa for facials and massages. As Celeste rounded the pool, she could see the first batch of well-browned sun wor-shippers baking in the ninety-degree desert heat, the cool blue pool water spread beside them like an oasis. As usual, there was that one woman sitting under a pool umbrella, covered from head to toe in a long-sleeved cotton shirt, long cotton pants, huge sunglasses and, a sun hat. Why does she even bother? Celeste thought in spite of her rush.

At ten thirty sharp, she found herself standing next to her parents in the lobby of the main building, waiting to welcome the Saunderses. She fidgeted as the black Mercedes drew up in front of the bank of glass doors and a driver in a dark shirt jumped out. He opened the back door and Mr. and Mrs. Saunders appeared, both crisply dressed in white linen and hidden behind huge dark sunglasses. Then a shaggy blond head emerged, followed by perfectly toned shoulders in a Dries Van Noten shirt.

Nick climbed out of the car and stood by the door, his bronze skin glowing in the sunlight. He might have been posing for a Ralph Lauren photo shoot. As Celeste watched, he drew a pair of Ray-Bans from the pocket of his khaki shorts and slid them on.

Celeste’s face was flaming and her palms were sweaty.

How could she have forgotten how hot he was? Her heart was thumping so hard beneath her polo shirt that she placed her hand on her chest to muffle the noise.

Okay, you’ve got to stop, she told herself. This is not right.

No slobbering over Mr. Rich and Arrogant! She took a deep breath and tried to shake off the creeping feeling that the summer had just gotten a lot more complicated.

The driver started lifting out suitcase after Louis Vuitton suitcase and lining them up at the curb as Mr.

and Mrs. Saunders bustled inside. “Larry!” Mr. Saunders greeted Mr. Tippen, his tan, beefy hand outstretched.

“Good to see you!” The two shook hands while Celeste’s mom kissed pale, delicate Mrs. Saunders on her discreetly Botoxed and bronzered cheek. Celeste smiled and hugged Mr. Saunders. Mrs. Saunders gave her a kiss.

“Celeste, dear! You look lovely. Doesn’t she, Larry?”

she said, turning to her husband. “Lovelier every year.”

“Mmm, yes,” Mr. Saunders replied, nodding his dark blond head. Even with the slight puffiness of a middle-aged workaholic, his resemblance to his teenage son, with his chiseled jaw, was striking. “You’re really growing up, Celeste. Turning into quite the lady.”

Celeste wished everyone would stop talking about how she looked, especially since Nick had come up behind his parents and was standing there with a typi-cally flirtatious grin on his face.

“I think she looks lovely too, Mom,” he said loudly, stepping forward. “Don’t I get a hug?”

He put his arms around her and squeezed her tight.

“Did I say ‘lovely,’ because I meant hot,” Nick breathed suggestively into her ear. Before she knew what was happening, he’d lifted her high off the ground and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Hey!” Celeste said, laughing and struggling to

escape his grasp. “No harassing the employees!” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her eyes locked on the doorway to the back patio. Travis stood just beyond Nick’s shoulder wearing a green Pinyon staff shirt and a supremely pissed-off glare.

Chapter Five

Celeste’s mouth went dry and she felt all her muscles clench, turning her into a stick of wood in Nick’s arms. Sensing the change, he set her down and

turned around, then smirked.

“Boyfriend?” he asked silkily. Travis had disappeared.

Celeste avoided his eyes. Her hands felt awkward all of a sudden, so she smoothed her hair to give them something to do. “I hope you’re going to like the guesthouse this year,” she said to Mrs. Saunders. Even to her own ears, her voice sounded too loud and cheerful. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Nick still watching her, a little smile curling the edges of his full-lipped mouth. She studiously ignored him. “We redid all the kitchens and bathrooms.”

Mrs. Saunders was rummaging in her giant Marc

Jacobs bag. “I’m sure it will be perfect, as always. Your parents do such a beautiful job here.”

“Celeste.”

She looked around at her father’s voice.

“Would you mind just showing the Saunderses to

their guesthouse and seeing if there’s anything we can get them as they settle in?” her dad asked.

“Sure, Dad,” Celeste said, betraying none of the urgency telling her to run away and find Travis as fast as she could.

She managed to avoid walking with Nick down the

path to the guesthouse, since Mr. Saunders took her by the arm and made her tell him about school the whole way.

Still, she could feel his eyes boring into her back at every step. When she