that Amber had a massive crush on him. Who could blame her, really? All of the men in the firehouse were hot. They were a gang of rippled-muscle rescuers, and Amber confided in her that they were all massively wealthy.
Figures, he's got money too.
After lunch, they went to Mini's for coffee. Isabelle ordered a cappuccino and the barista remembered her from last time and created a bear in the foam. Isabelle stared into her cup and Amber stopped talking. It seemed like the first time they had sat in silence.
"What's wrong?" Amber set her cup down and watched Isabelle.
"Nothing. It's nothing. I got a cappuccino here the morning before my hike, and it just brought back the memory of the accident."
"Isabelle, honey, I'm so sorry. I just can't imagine how that all felt. I'm so glad that Donovan found you when he did. You're safe now." Amber grabbed Isabelle's hand. "You're safe now."
Isabelle smiled at her and looked back down at the bear in her cup. Its deep coffee-colored eyes reminded her of Donovan, but she had no intention of spilling all of the dirty details to Amber. At least not until she got to know her better.
"So, Laylah is alright as a boss. She's way too concerned about what corporate thinks, though. It's all about the bottom line. Sometimes I want to tell her that there is more to life than money. Have you seen her car, that black Audi? I've worked here three years and every year she has a different car. Brand new car every year. Must be nice, huh? Oh, well, she takes good care of us, though. She is generous, that's for sure. It was her idea to create the staff quarters. Corporate came in and remodeled about five years ago, before I started, and she had them make staff suites so that we'd all be on site. She has a house about fifteen minutes away, though. I heard her husband died and left her a shit-ton of money and she doesn't really need to work anyway, but she loves the hotel."
The gossip effortlessly oozed out of Amber. Isabelle was realizing that no matter how nice Amber was to her face, she needed to watch what she said to her.
"Oh, and once a month, the hotel hosts a huge party, kind of like a ball. Well, some months it's more like a prom. It's usually the last Saturday of the month, so, this coming Saturday. It's a lot of fun. Everyone dresses up, dancing, booze, mixing with the guests and locals. It is always our busiest weekend of the month. The busiest weekend of the summer is always Independence Day. Laylah will have us start working on preparations for that soon."
"It's March." Isabelle couldn't imagine that there was that much preparation needed for one day.
"Yeah, and it'll be the Fourth of July before you know it. It's crazy how fast time flies over the summer."
They both looked up when the door opened and the spring breeze poured inside. Donovan and two other men walked inside and Donovan looked right at her.
"Speaking of hot." Amber locked eyes with one of the other men. She had a look on her face like she was looking at a decadent treat.
The guys walked inside and went to the counter. Sitting at the corner table, Isabelle and Amber had a perfect view of their asses. "Yum," Amber whispered and winked at Isabelle. Isabelle couldn't help but smile. She wondered if Amber knew the guy she was ogling the same way that Isabelle knew Donovan. Watching him at the counter, seeing his arm muscles bulging in his shirt, her panties started getting damp. Damnit. Not over him. Isabelle struggled rationalizing the intense magnetic pull between them. I wonder if he feels it too.
The men got their coffee and headed toward the door. Please don't come over here, please don't come over here. The guy Amber was watching reached the door first and held it open. Donovan smiled at Isabelle and raised his cup at her before putting his sunglasses on. He paused for a moment before heading out the door.
"Alright, what was that?" Amber's wide eyes told Isabelle that she was on to her and wanted details.
"What was