Enchanted (The Accidental Billionaires #4)(21)

He looked slightly panicked as he replied, “I’d have no idea what to do except work and take care of them, even if I don’t have to do it.”

How did any guy stop doing what he’d had to do his entire life?

Noah had lived his life on autopilot because it had worked to get his siblings grown.

My heart ached as I took in his haunted look. “I know you like what you’re doing. But I think you push yourself until you really aren’t loving it anymore. You’re driven to keep working.”

And not in a good way. I didn’t add that concern. The poor man already looked like he’d been hit by a Mack truck.

He set the laptop down on the cement beside his lounger. “Maybe I am driven to it. Hell, I’m not sure what I’m doing. For the most part, the last few decades have passed by without me really noticing.”

Instinctively, I knew what he’d been doing. Noah had been keeping a promise to his dying mother, and he’d never looked up again. Maybe he’d been afraid to, for fear of his siblings not surviving if he stopped.

I wanted to comfort him, but I didn’t know how.

“I wish you could see what an amazing man you really are,” I told him honestly. “You raised an entire family, provided for them, cared for them, helped them grow up to be a remarkable group of men and women. You gave up your life to do that. There aren’t many people who would. Not to the extent that you have for all these years.”

“I wouldn’t change what I did, and I don’t feel like I’ve sacrificed anything.”

And that was exactly why Noah Sinclair was so incredible.

He would have gladly given until his own health was at risk from doing it, yet he didn’t feel like he’d done anything extraordinary.

“It’s time for you to learn how to relax and please yourself,” I insisted. “Find out who you really are, and embrace that. There’s no better place or time than here and now to do it. You are on vacation.”

I put my feet up again, closed my eyes, and just listened to the sound of the waves hitting the beach in the distance. Noah would talk if he had more to say, but I didn’t want to push him too much.

Luckily, I didn’t have to probe for more information at all.

“I don’t have hobbies, and my friends gave up on me as a teenager because I never had time to do anything except work.”

I was relieved because he was at least contemplating his life now.

“You’ll make new friends,” I assured him. “And you’ll eventually figure out what your real interests are once you relax and think about it.”

“I still have to work. I’d go crazy if I didn’t.”

I smirked. “I know.”

“But I guess I can give this vacation thing a try, too.”

“There’s so much to do here,” I said with a sigh. “You won’t regret it.”

I wasn’t celebrating my victory yet.

“Like what?”

“Beach yoga?”

“Not happening.” He sounded like that was nonnegotiable.

“Parasailing?”

“Maybe.”

“Salsa dancing?”

“I don’t dance.”

I was thinking maybe I could change that if I got a few drinks into him the first time he tried. “Snorkeling?”

“Definitely. I grew up on the water, and I love it. But I haven’t snorkeled since I was a kid.”

I wanted to tell him that he could have a ginormous yacht and sail around the world with an entire crew if he wanted to be on the water for a while, but I didn’t. Eventually, he’d figure out all that he could do with the phenomenal resources that he had. “I love to just explore every environment,” I explained. “I like history, and every country has its own unique past.”

“I’m down with that,” he said with a spark of interest in his voice.

The way he was starting to get into doing something other than working made my heart skip a beat.

He was willing to start experiencing his own life, and I was ecstatic.

“And, of course, I eat a lot, and then write about it. I love food.”

“I think I might be starting to like it myself. However, I could easily skip the bugs.” There was some humor in his tone.

“I’ve always wanted to ride a horse on the beach,” I said wistfully.

“Not a cowboy here, darlin’,” he answered drily.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. His attempt at a Southern drawl was terrible, but I appreciated his efforts to be funny.

Noah wasn’t exactly a man known for his playfulness. In fact, he was way too serious.

“Thank you,” I said in a genuinely grateful tone.

He turned his head to look at me, and I was struck by the intensity in his gaze. When Noah asked a question, a person got his attention. “For what?”

“For being willing to try out new things with me,” I answered as my eyes met his. “I’ve actually never had a travel companion. I think it’s going to be . . . nice.”

I wasn’t used to sharing anything I did, for the most part, and I was usually okay with being alone. But for some reason, I really wanted to be with Noah. I wanted to figure out who he was now—to know him not as a child, but as a woman.