B00Z637D2Y (R) (17 page)

When the wedding was over, she’d start her new housesitting job and all of this would be over. That in itself presented her with two options: Prevent it from going further with Michael by putting a wall up against potential heartbreak, like she’d done so far. Or go for it because it was a one-shot thing she shouldn’t pass up.

No matter what option she chose, her heart would be broken. She’d fallen hard.

Sue and Kelli had grilled her nonstop on him and she found herself gushing honestly, which hit home the point that she was way far-gone. Hopelessly gone.

He stood when they entered the pub, all well-dressed and handsome and hot as hell. The other guys followed his lead and stood, but it felt forced from them. The look he gave her was odd—the same poker face, but there was heat behind his eyes. Immediately, her breath caught.

Maybe it was just because she’d spent the last forty-five minutes convincing her best friend and her ex’s new girlfriend how in love with him she was… or maybe she really was, but like in those chick flicks she and Sue used to watch every Tuesday night, the rest of the world seemed to fade out, leaving only him.

A sharp elbow to her ribs broke the moment. “Mind out of the bedroom, girl,” Sue whispered.

The other guys sat, but Michael remained standing. As she looked from him to Jason, she was struck with how different they were. She used to think Jason shone like a bright light. Now, next to Michael, he resembled a flickering fluorescent tube compared to a theatre spot. And the spot, at that moment, narrowed to a tight focus on her. And it was thrilling.

As he approached carrying a bag, it became hard to breathe.

“Hi, Sue. I hope you don’t mind if we skip out a little early, here. I have to take care of some business and we need to go walk the dog.”

“Oh…” she glanced past them to the bar, where Jason and Mark were starting their third beers. “Sure. No problem. The rehearsal dinner—”

“Is at five at the Four Points Restaurant. We’ll be there on time.”

“Of course you will. It’s a rare man who can keep Mia on track.”

There was a slight twitch of a muscle at his jaw, but his expression remained neutral. “I’ve never known her to be late for something that matters.”

Both of Sue’s blond eyebrows rose in surprise.

Kelli laughed. “I guess that’s why Jason always bitches about how you were never on time for your dates.”

Not sure whether to be mortified or delighted, Mia held her tongue.

Leaning close, Sue stage whispered loud enough for Kelli and Michael to hear, “I like him, Mia. Hang on tight.”

Pain shot through her chest. He wasn’t really hers to hold. As convincing as he was as her fiancé, she’d almost let herself believe something beyond that weekend was possible. But it was just a dream. Still, a girl could dream… and perhaps make the best of the situation given.

He held out his hand and she slipped hers in it. To her surprise, he pulled her closer and kissed her. It wasn’t the deep, probing kiss he’d delivered for Jason’s benefit. It was publicly appropriate, but even as brief as it was, it rocked her to her toes.

“Hang on tight,”
Sue had suggested. Maybe she should do just that.

Chapter Fourteen

“Wait here,” Michael said when they reached the porch of the B and B. Dropping the bag in a chair, he disappeared inside and returned shortly with Clancy and a paper grocery sack.

The air was still cool, but the sun was out and as bright as Mia’s mood. For the first time in a long time, she felt like things might actually turn out okay. Clancy thought so, too, if his tail wagging at warp speed was any indication.

After passing her the leash, he picked up the other bag and gestured for her to lead down the steps. “So, where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

He turned right at the sidewalk and she fell in step beside him, Clancy bounding along between.

“The last time you had a surprise, it didn’t go over so well.”

“This one will.”

She tried to peek in the bag closest to her, but he moved it to his other hand, grinning.

“How can you be so sure?”

“For the moment, at least, I’m working on blind intuition and impulse, rather than logic and advance planning.”

“Working from your heart, not your head. Like me.” When he came to an abrupt stop, she wished she could pull the words back, but his face gave no indication of his mood. She heaved an internal sigh of relief when his dimples appeared.

“Exactly.”

After another block, he turned left onto the beach footpath. As the walkway transitioned from pavement to sand, he stopped and set the bags down, then unlaced his shoes.

She almost danced in a circle. Stuffy Michael Anderson was going to walk barefooted in the sand. After carefully placing the first in one of the bags, he removed his other shoe and sock and put them in, too. Then he rolled up the cuffs of his pants. Not wanting to discourage him, she unzipped her boots, rolled off her socks and stuffed them inside the boots quickly.

“We’re going to walk on the beach!” she all but squealed. “I love the beach.”

“I know.”

When they reached a spot halfway to the waterline, he stopped and looked around, seemingly satisfied. Then, he pulled out what appeared to be the blanket from on the bed at the hotel, unfolded it, and spread it out on the soft, white sand. Clancy wasted no time tamping around in a circle to stake out his spot in the center of the blanket.

And then the full impact of what was happening hit her. He had truly listened and was trying to give her what she had said she wanted. He’d planned a picnic on the beach. For a moment her eyes stung and her vision blurred.
No.
She was not going to cry. Blinking rapidly, she turned away from him and acted like she was letting the wind blow her hair back.

“I didn’t know how hungry you were or what you preferred, so I ordered a bit of everything.”

When she had it together enough to turn back around, she couldn’t believe it. A dozen or so paper containers were laid out, which made her stomach growl. But the most delicious thing on the blanket was Michael. He’d rolled up his sleeves, and his dark hair was ruffled from the wind and glowing with gold and red highlights in the sun. He looked young and carefree and sexier than anything she’d ever seen—no longer the driven CEO with the weight of the world on his shoulders since childhood.

Were they not on a public beach, there would have been no way she could avoid breaking her own code… But now that she considered it, maybe it wouldn’t be a breach of rules; no sex-first relationships didn’t really apply to him. Since that day in the park, they’d actually become close. And he’d certainly gone beyond the call of duty with this fake fiancé thing. Heck, she could almost believe it herself.

She could sleep with this man and not break her code—only her heart. As she stared into his eyes, sparkling like the sea behind him, she realized it would be worth it. Every ounce of pleasure and pain.

…

Fascinated, Michael watched as Mia took another sip from her water bottle. She’d sampled everything he’d brought and was windblown, relaxed, and sexy beyond endurance.

“How did the girls’ outing go?” he asked, more to take his mind off her lips on the bottle than any interest in her answer.

“As expected. I was interrogated from the moment we left the hotel.” She twisted the top onto the bottle. “I like Kelli. I’d expected to hate her.”

Because she had Jason. A twinge of jealousy flared, but he pushed it back before it registered on his face. “Do you still have feelings for Jason, Mia?” He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but needed to hear it from her.

“No!” Her response was immediate and heartfelt. “I never really did. He was just the first guy in a long time who stuck around…or who I stuck around.”

A gull squawked and dove for something at the shore. “He still has feelings for
you
.”

She crushed her napkin and shoved it into one of the empty containers. “Jason cares for Jason. I feel sorry for Kelli. She’s onto him, though.”

He lay back on the blanket and laced his fingers behind his head. “Did she tell you that?”

“In so many words. When you and I started making racket he got angry and left the room. She was pretty upset.”

Something dark and pitiful in him rejoiced at making Jason upset. And as for Kelli, maybe they’d done her a favor.

“How about the guys? Did you get interrogated, too?”

A cloud the shape of a rocket ship floated overhead, and he was reminded of when he and his brothers used to go to the beach, before he started spending every weekend at the office with his dad. “Mark only asked what Sue had told him to ask—when we met, our living arrangements, that kind of thing.”

Her voice was tentative. “And Jason?”

He rolled on his side to face her. “Jason asked pointed sexual questions about you and he’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass.”

For a moment, her eyes widened, then she smiled and lay down on the blanket facing him, Clancy and the empty food containers between them. “Watch out. Your emotions are showing.”

So they were. Best to take it back to familiar territory. “Black.”

“Black what?”

“Undergarments.”

Immediately, she looked down at her chest, then back at him, eyes narrowing.

“I saw the strap when you took off your jacket.”

She delivered a playful punch to his shoulder. “Cheater.”

They said nothing for a while, simply enjoying the sounds of the waves and the birds, and he marveled at how comfortable he felt with her.

“Thanks for coming to the wedding with me. It would have been awful without you.” Her voice was so low, it almost was as if she were talking to herself.

“Why are we here? Are you that close to Sue, really?”

She sighed and rolled on her back. “I’m pitiful, but Sue’s downright pathetic. She’s a military brat and an only child. Never stayed in one place long enough to make friends, so she never tried. Hates big gatherings with lots of people.”

Hence the tiny wedding with only family and friends. It made more sense to him now and it made Jason even more a prick for trying to get Mia to back out when she was Sue’s only friend. He hadn’t really nailed down the guy’s motives, but right then, he didn’t even care.

With her inky hair blowing around her face, she looked wild and free. It took everything in him not to touch her. Fascinated, he watched as she continued. “Sue’s father died and her mother bought a permanent home and got three dogs, which is how we met.”

“You were the dog sitter. Yes, I remember.”

“Sue felt like she had a real home, finally, and risked a friendship with me during my housesitting gig in her neighborhood. She set me up with Jason and when that didn’t work out after a year, we both felt awkward and guilty.” She smiled over at him. “I think we’re good now, though.”

He propped up on an elbow. “How about us? Are we good?” He hadn’t planned this turn in the conversation. It was like his subconscious had taken over and blurted out what he’d been wondering all afternoon. Maybe Dr. Whittelsey’s dog therapy was really working.

“Wow.” She sat up, legs folded under her. “You
are
full of surprises. Is there an
us
?”

There it was. In a business deal, this was the pivotal moment in which the arrangement was defined and agreed upon. At the negotiation table, he would dress it up and say what the other party wanted to hear, as long as it was truthful and forwarded the transaction. In this case, raw, unembellished honesty would have to do. “I don’t know.” He met her eyes directly. “I want there to be.”

She lay back down, staring up at the sky and said nothing for a long time. Her breathing was quick and shallow. He’d surprised her.

He was used to being one step ahead at all times, and with this woman, he was forever racing to keep up. Somehow, he’d relinquished control to her completely, and amazingly, he was okay with that.

He’d learned in his years of business that silence was sometimes more powerful than words, so he let the silence play out and they watched the clouds go by and gulls glide overhead.

“I probably would have slept with you without all of this,” she said finally.

Well, that wasn’t what he had expected. He sat bolt upright, startling Clancy. What the fuck did that mean? He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. From her point of view, perhaps that was a reasonable response.
Go to the why, not the what,
he reminded himself. She’d been hurt before. Had felt used and betrayed.

She took his hand as she sat up, and her wide eyes met his. “You’re shaking.” She brought his hand to her face and placed it against her warm cheek, then turned her face to kiss the inside of his palm, a gesture so sincere it made his throat tight. “You’re cracking. That calm, expressionless mask is letting a little light in so I can see the real you underneath—the one you hide from the public.”

“Perhaps I should have you sign a non-disclosure statement promising to never tell anyone I’m a real person with real feelings.”

“Not necessary. Nobody would believe me anyway.” She placed a container in the bag.

He grabbed her hand as she reached for another container. “I didn’t do this as a ploy to sleep with you, Mia.”

“I believe you.” She pulled her hand away and brushed the hair from her face before continuing to clean up. “I almost wish you had.”

He gathered up the boxes closest to him and put them in the bag. “Because I would be living up, or down, to your expectations?”

She grabbed the remaining items and put them away. “Yes.” After a moment, she met his eyes. “And no.”

Afraid to speak, or even move, he waited for her to go on unprompted. He had no idea what was in her mind, which was not a familiar scenario for him.

“You scare me, Michael.”

Now, that was unexpected. “Why on earth do I scare you?”

“You’re so… you. And I’m so
me
, and I have no idea why you would even look at me twice.” She was speaking so fast he could barely keep up. “You have everything and I have nothing and I don’t see why in the world you are even hanging out with me in the first place. I mean, really—”