Her Holiday Fling. Jennifer Snow
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paced in front of the open patio doors leading out onto the beach. In his khaki shorts and unbuttoned white dress shirt blowing in the warm ocean breeze, he was by far the best thing she’d seen on this island, even though he’d just screwed her an hour ago—figuratively, of course.
“Let’s see how much I remember—you grew up in San Francisco...an only child, parents divorced at twelve...”
How casually he said that. As if it hadn’t been the worst experience of her young life. Having a front-row seat to her parents’ divorce was no doubt the primary reason she suffered from trust and commitment issues. Three sessions with a therapist hadn’t exactly been necessary to figure that out. After her parents had divorced, her mother had never remarried, her resentment toward all men only growing over the years. Her father on the other hand had one relationship after the other... His current girlfriend was a woman two years younger than Hayley. But that was way too much information, so she simply nodded.
Then it hit her. Oh, God, was she going to have to meet his parents on this trip? Pain spasmed in her chest.
Forget about that for now, and focus on getting through this part. Hanging several jackets in the closet, she waited for him to continue.
“Your dad is a corporate law attorney... Your mom never worked.”
“Don’t let her hear you say that. She thought raising me and dealing with my dad’s interference was the hardest job on the planet,” she said, unpacking her toiletries and lining them up on the counter in the bathroom. “Where did I go to law school?” she prompted when he’d stalled.
“Harvard, Miss Smarty-pants.” He followed behind her as she worked and bent to pick up a red lace bra from her suitcase. “Fantastic taste in lingerie and by the look of this, I’d say about a 34D?”
“Give me that.” She took the bra from him and stuffed it along with three others into a dresser drawer.
“Just trying to be thorough,” he said with that sexy grin.
“No one is going to need to know my bra size,” she said, far too aware that the hottest man she’d ever met was in her hotel room, showing more of his chiseled body than she’d seen in quite some time. James had kept himself in good shape, but he’d had a marathoner’s body—thin, lean muscle from daily five-mile runs and biking. Chase was built like a linebacker. One that could easily scoop her up into big strong arms, lay her on her white heavenly king-size bed and fulfill every last fantasy she’d had about him since meeting him six hours before. Her cheeks warmed and she turned away. “Let’s move on.”
“Well, there is one important thing we haven’t covered.”
She couldn’t think of anything they’d missed. They’d gone back as far as high school and had discussed favorites from food to television shows and books. At this point he knew her better than almost anyone. “I doubt that, but ask away.”
“Are we planning to have kids?”
He was right, they hadn’t covered that. “You know, I don’t think it will come up,” she said, waving a hand. “Let’s not worry about it.”
“I think we should have a game plan if it does. Since my sister and Cooper got engaged, it’s all anyone asks them... When are the kids coming? How many of the precious little monsters they plan to have.”
“Precious little monsters? I think we have our answer right there.” She laughed.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love kids, but my own? Never.”
Another similarity in life views—could it be possible that she’d met someone who understood her love of independence and appreciated her mistrust of relationships? She hesitated a fraction longer. “You’re sure you want to do this?” It wasn’t too late to back out. She could just find Cornelius and tell him it had been...a joke—that was it. Before this whole thing got completely out of hand.
“I can’t think of a good reason not to, can you?”
“If we get caught lying to everyone, the shit will hit the fan.”
That dangerously sexy grin spread across his face as he said, “But only if we get caught.”
* * *
“SO REMEMBER, WE GOT engaged six months ago...no real wedding plans or a date set yet,” Hayley whispered as they made their way across the crowded hotel lobby an hour later. Long lines of people waited at the luau entrance and she pointed out her group, taking their seats near the stage where Hula dancers performed.
The familiar sounds of the island music had an unexpected warming effect on Chase. Hawaiian luaus had always been a favorite of his. “I got it,” he said as they approached a man and a woman dressed in traditional Hula clothing, waiting to greet them with another lei. So far, he’d gotten lei’d more in three hours than he had in over nine months.
Nine long months. His last casual fling had lasted three weeks with a French ballet dancer who’d been performing in LA. He’d given her a ticket for double parking in a fire lane, she’d spewed a string of swearwords at him that he hadn’t understood and then they spent the rest of their whirlwind love affair naked.
The perfect, no-strings-attached situation. No one got close, no one got hurt.
“What’s wrong?” Instant panic filled Hayley’s voice.
“Nothing, sorry...” Stay focused. He could worry about the future of his penis later. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he told her.
She turned to him with a nervous look in her clear eyes. “There’s my other boss at the far left table.” She nodded toward the stage. “Ready?”
“Yes,” he said, placing a hand on the small of her back. The fabric of her breezy, floral-print halter top was soft against his rough skin and hugged her 34Ds like any man’s dream. He prayed he could pull off the expression of a doting fiancé and not the lustful stranger he actually was, but it was tough to look anywhere else when those perfectly shaped breasts peeked over the top of her shirt like that. “Wait.” He stopped her and, taking her hand, he pulled her around the corner to privacy.
“What?”
Taking a step toward her, he grabbed her thin waist and drew her firmly against him. His grip tightened as his eyes fell to her pale pink glossy lips. Lips that had begged to be kissed all afternoon. Full, pouty, delicious-looking lips that had tormented him since she’d smiled at him on the plane. Only his own nerves about their plan had prevented him from acting on the impulse when she’d emerged from her hotel bathroom that evening looking drop-dead gorgeous.
Bending slightly, his gaze searched hers for encouragement, but he only found a look of surprise in return.
Screw it.
Leaning forward, he pressed his mouth to hers. His arms tightened around her waist and he felt her body collapse into him. Her hands pressed against his chest, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue along his bottom lip as her arms went higher to circle his neck.
Her mouth was warm, welcoming...her lips soft and hungry...
His body came alive as shock mixed with an unfamiliar sensation—longing? He broke away.
Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her lips. “What was that?”
He had no idea. It was supposed to be just a kiss to ease some of the sexual tension between them, but damned if it had only made things hotter. He swallowed hard. “I...uh...just thought we should get the first kiss out of the way before we’re forced to do it in front of an audience.” That, and since the moment he’d seen her sexy lingerie, it had been all he could think about. But with one quick kiss, this noncomplicated plan had just gotten complicated.
“Do you really think we’ll have to kiss in front of my coworkers?” she whispered.
Her expression fell somewhere between intrigued and terrified