Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) (7 page)

“You just missed the boss lady,” the girl said. “She teaches a watercolor class over in Naples on Wednesday afternoons, but she’ll be back tomorrow.”

Felicity stared at a framed watercolor hanging next to a window above the cash register. It was a typical beach scene, but here the main focus was a sand castle that looked as if it had been built by a child’s hand. “Is this also by the same artist?” she asked the girl.

The young woman nodded. “Beth painted all the watercolors in the store. But that one isn’t for sale.”

“Beth,” Felicity said the name slowly as if testing it out. “It’s really lovely. Are you sure it’s not for sale?”

The woman shrugged. “You can always try. Like I said, she’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Thirsty?” Jack asked once they were outside the shop. It was almost four, the hottest part of the day.

“It’s like you can read my mind.”

They crossed the street and ended up at the Shell gas station convenience store on the corner of the four way stop. “The locals call this place the Super Min,” he told her.

They went inside and grabbed a couple of bottles of water, and on impulse he pulled two frozen ice-cream sandwiches from the deep freezer.

Felicity plucked one of the ice cream sandwiches from his hand and tore into it like she was starving. A thin stream of vanilla ice cream dripped down her chin. “Oh my God. I haven’t had one of these in ages.”

“Hungry?”

“Starving. I’m almost sad we missed the barbeque.”

“I’m not.” He reached out and used his thumb to wipe the ice cream off her chin.

She sucked in a breath. “Jack—”

“It’s customary to pay for your purchase
before
you eat it,” the convenience store clerk said. “You’re lucky I don’t call the police on you, young lady.”

The police
? Was this woman for real? Jack frowned at the clerk as he handed her a twenty. Her rudeness was completely out of line. She was middle aged, with frizzy hair, and beady-looking eyes. The name tag above her shirt pocket read CHARITY.

Talk about ironic
.

“Oops, sorry,” Felicity muttered. “But we’re going to pay for it.”

He thought about saying something to the woman, but decided against it. Felicity didn’t seem upset, and today was turning out to be one of the best days he’d had in a long time. He didn’t want to ruin it with any unpleasantness.

The clerk looked between the two of them like she was going to say something else, but then at the last minute, snapped her mouth shut. She picked up the bottles of water and the remaining ice cream sandwich and scanned the items like she was working in slow motion, all the while continuing to stare at him. Gradually, her expression morphed from one of irritation to absolute wonder.

“Excuse me,” the woman said, “But you seem so familiar. Are you on TV?”

He was debating whether to lie and say no, or admit that yes, he was on the commercial for ‘that law firm’ when Felicity spoke up. “Of course he’s on TV, and movies, too. Although,” she said with a dramatic sigh, “we were so disappointed that his role in
Magic Mike 2
wasn’t bigger. They promised him a headline above that Channing Tatum.” She turned to him. “Honey, I really think you need to get a better agent.”

The woman blinked. “
Magic Mike
? You mean, the
stripper
movie? Oh my God. Wait till Patience hears this! You’re that guy on
White Collar
! Can I have your autograph?” she said to Jack. “Not for
me
, of course, but…my sister is a huge fan of yours!”

White Collar
?

Felicity took the change from the woman, who seemed to be in some kind of trance. “I’m afraid Matt doesn’t give out autographs while he’s on vacation, but he’ll be happy to show you a few of his moves. Right, sweetie?”

Matt
? What the hell was Felicity talking about? He was about to ask her but the twinkle in her eyes stopped him and told him to go along with whatever she was doing.

He cleared his throat and tried to give Felicity what he hoped was a stern look without laughing. “Now, honey, you know I save all my best moves just for you.”

The woman grabbed a paper bag from beneath the counter. She was breathing so hard that Jack first thought she was going to hyperventilate, but instead, she smoothed the bag out and handed him a black marker. “Oh,
please
. I’ll never forgive myself if I let you walk out the store without an autograph. Just this one time? Make it out to your best friend, Charity,” the woman urged, but it sounded more like an order than a request.

“I thought you said your sister’s name was Patience,” he said.

“I did? Oh,
um
, nope she’s Charity. I’m Patience.” She giggled like a sixteen-year-old girl. “See what you do to me, Mr. Bomer? I’m just so thrilled that you’ve come into
my
store!”

Felicity giggled right back. “Oh, sweetie-pie, I think you should give the woman your autograph. Think how
nice
she’s been to us and I’m sure her sister will appreciate it.” Then she went around the side of the counter, took something off the rack and laid it down. “We’ll take these, as well.”

“Oh!” Charity, or Patience, (or whatever her name was) glanced down at the item, then eyed him curiously. “I thought…that is…all the magazines say that you’re—”

“Oh, that’s just a cover to keep women from harassing him wherever he goes,” Felicity said. “On account of how hot my husband is.”

“Your
husband
?” Charity’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out even more than they already were.

Felicity smiled innocently. “Yep, Matt Bomer. That’s my husband.”

Jack handed the woman the paper bag with his “autograph.” That’s when he saw that the item Felicity had laid down on the counter was a box of condoms. Now
this
was interesting.

Charity rang up the condoms. “Do you want a bag for these?” she stammered.

Felicity took the box and slid it into her tote. “No bag needed. Let’s keep the planet green!” she said cheerfully.

Charity appeared to be in a daze as they walked out the store.

Jack waited till they were out of Charity’s eyesight. “Okay, so what was that about?”

Felicity couldn’t stop laughing. “I’m going to burn in hell for that, but, right now, I don’t care!”

“Are you going to fill me in on the joke?”

“It’s just…my friend Aubrey thinks you look like Matt Bomer and obviously that’s who the clerk thought you were too, and I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t resist!”

“All right, so why did she seem so weird? What is it that all the magazines say about me—I mean, about this guy?”

She took a swig of her water. “Oh, that. He’s gay. So she probably thought it was strange that I claimed to be your wife.”

For a second he was speechless. Then he began to laugh. “So, that poor woman back there thinks she got an autograph from one of her favorite actors? There’s got to be a law against that. Impersonation of a celebrity or something.”

“No worries. I don’t think you actually
claimed
to be him. I just said something about your role in
Magic Mike 2
. As far as I know, there’s no movie with that title. It’s officially called
Magic Mike XXL
, so you didn’t mispresent yourself. Besides, she was so nasty! She totally deserved it.”

“True.” He peeled off the wrapper from his ice-cream sandwich and wolfed it down in three bites. “So I called Mitch and told him we’re ditching whatever’s on the itinerary for tonight.” He waited for her reaction.

“You did? When?”

“Before we left the resort,” he admitted.

“So now we’re hungry
and
homeless. Way to go, Matt.” Her brown eyes shined with laughter making him catch his breath. This was by far the best time he’d ever had with any woman. There was only one other way to make today perfect.

He stared across the intersection until her gaze followed his all the way to the sign for The Fourway Motel. “I can easily take care of the homeless part. From the look of the place, I don’t think they have room service, but we can always order pizza.”

This time, she was the one to offer her hand out to him. He immediately took it and she smiled that wobbly smile of hers that told him she was nervous but trying her best to hide it. “Why do you think I bought the condoms?” she asked sweetly.

Chapter Seven

Felicity tried to act all cool on the walk across the street to the motel but now that they were inside a room, she was nothing but a big puddle of goo. What was she doing? She was about to have sex with a man that she’d be forced to see over holiday dinners for the rest of her life. A man that, up till just a few days ago, she didn’t even like.

She could tell from the expression on Jack’s face that he was both partially relieved, because the room looked clean, but also disappointed because this wasn’t anywhere near the luxury of the Casa Blanca. “I’m sorry this isn’t—”

“What are we doing, Jack?”

“I know what I hope we’re doing.” He raked a hand through his dark hair. “But, if you’ve changed your mind—”

“I haven’t changed my mind. Don’t worry, we’re definitely going to do
that
. It’s just…what happens later?”

He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at her. “Back at the resort, you asked me why I was in such a good mood. It makes absolutely no sense, because my life is basically on hold until my brother decides what he’s going to do with his. The only thing I can figure out, the only thing I know, is that when I’m around you none of that matters. You make me happy.” He shrugged like he was embarrassed. “It sounds crazy, but there it is.”

It was the most perfect answer she could have hoped for.

She stepped into the space between his legs and placed her hands on the side of his head. “Then I guess I’m crazy too,” she whispered.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled them both down on the bed, making them laugh. And then the laughter quickly turned to kisses and neither of them could get naked fast enough.
Oh my God
. She was getting
naked
with Jack Martinez. Her brain was having trouble keeping up with what her body was doing.

His mouth went everywhere—from the sensitive skin behind her ears, to the ticklish spot on her neck, all the way down to her breasts, and then slowly, but eventually to the place she needed him most.

Felicity dug her fingers in his hair, urging him on silently as his tongue worked its magic between her thighs. He was good at this, and before she knew it, she was exploding into a million little pieces. He waited till every nerve ending stopped throbbing to roll over and grab the box of condoms off the nightstand.

He pulled out a foil wrapper, studied it, then turned to her with an amused expression. “Extra-large?”

She shrugged, almost too languid to speak. “I grabbed the first box I saw, but hey, I’m sure the Super Min is still open if you need to make an exchange.”

“And face that woman again to exchange a box of condoms for a smaller size? Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”

She laughed. “Poor baby. I guess you’ll just have to make do with those, huh?”

“I think I can make it work.” Something in the way he said it made Felicity more alert. She watched with probably a little too much fascination as he rolled the condom onto his…
Oh, yes
. Jack could make it work all right.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled him on top, helping to guide him inside her. After a few strokes, they found their rhythm. Slow and deep, and then faster, and then slow again. It was like he knew exactly what she wanted, when she wanted it. How did he do that with such exquisite precision?

Maybe she’d asked for it, because she could hear herself babbling words of encouragement, although what they were she couldn’t say at the moment. Or maybe he did it instinctually. Or maybe he was just that experienced.

She didn’t want to think about that last option. She didn’t want to think about him being with anyone else but her. Maybe even for forever.

“Felicity?” he whispered her name on a strained note. “Baby, I think—”

He didn’t have to finish his thought because in the next second, she came again, this time even harder than before. He finished too, then he kissed her, slow and sweet, and rolled his big body off hers. They lay there for a few seconds, breathing heavily, both of them flushed and damp with exertion.

She waited till she could form a coherent sentence. “Okay, so, I have to ask you this.”

“Oh, boy.” He propped himself up on an elbow and began playing with a long strand of her hair, twisting it around his fingers. “Am I gonna have to plead the fifth on this?”

She smacked his shoulder playfully. “No worries. It’s not
that
kind of question.” Although yes, on the one hand she was curious, but then,
no
, she really didn’t want to know how many women he’d been with. It didn’t matter anyway. What mattered was what happened when they stepped outside this room. “How many ‘little man’ jokes have you had to hear in your lifetime?”

He half-laughed, half-groaned. “Not you too.”

“It’s just such a deliciously
awful
double entendre. I’ve been dying to ask you—what ad agency came up with that tagline?”

He repositioned them so that she was tucked up against his side. He took so long to answer that she almost thought he’d fallen asleep. “When I was a kid, before my dad and Ellen got together, he used to come home after a long day of work and I’d run to the door and greet him, and he’d say, ‘Hey, how’s my little man?’ or ‘What’s my little man been up to?’”

Her head popped up. “You mean—”

“My favorite was when he’d say, ‘One day, it’s going be just you and me against the world, Little Man.’ I always knew growing up that one day we’d work together. I might not remember my birth mother, but I remember how sad he used to be, thinking about her, and I knew it made him work that much harder for other people who were in the same situation he’d been in. Trying to make something right from something wrong. So, yeah, I’m the one who came up with that tagline. I was like, eleven, and although I was privy to the facts of life, I had no idea at the time that anyone would ever take it any way other than how it was originally meant.”

Her throat got all scratchy. “Oh, Jack…that’s just so…”

“Absurd? Corny?”

“I was going to say sweet.”

His low laughter rumbled deep through his chest and into her skin. “Sweet, huh?”

Laughing and talking with Jack while lying naked in bed, after what was no doubt the most satisfying sex she’d ever had, was certainly no hardship. She sighed and burrowed closer to him. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to bring it up, but then, when would be?

“Jack, can I ask you something else?”

“I think right now you could safely ask me anything and as long as it wouldn’t get me disbarred, I’d tell you. So, shoot.” He looked amused like he thought she was going to ask him something trivial, like his favorite color or how he liked his coffee.

“If you were completely free to leave the firm and start your own practice, right here in this town, in that little storefront you showed me this afternoon, would you?”

“That’s not a legitimate question.”

“Why not?”

“Because… I told you already, it’s not that simple. I can’t just leave.”

“But, have you told your dad what you wanted? If he knew you were unhappy—”

“I’m not unhappy. I’m… Look, you don’t get it. Martinez and Martinez isn’t him and Ellen. It’s him and
me
. It’s him and me against the world. And if I leave, then it would just be him.”

How could she argue with that? “I’m sorry, Jack.”

“Don’t be. I have a good life. And, I was thinking, maybe I could still rent that office and come down one day a week. This is a small town, so there’s probably not that much business anyway. I could have the best of both worlds. Work the big cases at the Miami office and practice small town law here. It would be great.”

But it didn’t sound great. It only sounded like he was trying his hardest to convince himself of it.

“Sure,” she said trying for a smile. “You could do that.” She glanced at the closed curtain but there was no stream of sunlight filtering through like there had been just a bit ago.

“It’s getting late. Do you think they’re wondering where we are?”

“Nope.” He pulled out his cell phone and showed her a text exchange between himself and his brother.

Staying in town with Felicity. Don’t wait up
.

It’s about time, bro!

“What does Mitch mean, ‘it’s about time?’”

“It means my baby brother is a lot smarter than me.” When she didn’t respond, he added, “He saw the chemistry between us at the graduation dinner and afterward, he told me to go for it. So I did.”

“When you asked me to stay for an after dinner drink,” she clarified.

“Yep.”

“I remember thinking during dinner how different you were from what I’d imagined you’d be like, and I was so excited when you asked me for that drink.”

“What did you imagine I’d be like?” he asked quietly.

“More like the image in those billboards,” she admitted. “Bossy and totally alpha, but not in a good way.”

“In other words, you thought I was an arrogant prick.”

“Well…yeah.”

“I hate to tell you this, Freckles, but every time I go head to head with another attorney on my client’s behalf, that’s exactly who I am. Whether it’s a million-dollar case, or a nice lady trying to get her air-conditioning fixed.”

“Did you just call me
Freckles
?”

“Yeah. But I can call you something else if you want.”

The husky timbre in his voice told her not to get too comfortable where she was. She shifted around in the sheets, already anticipating their next round. “Like what?”

He easily rolled her on top of him, then with his hands around her waist, positioned her so that she was sitting up, straddling him. “How about Sex Goddess?”

She made a face. “That sounds…smarmy.”

“Sweet Thing?”

“Too common.”

“Perky Buns?”

“Uh, no. But, thanks, I think.”

He sighed like he was exasperated, but then he suddenly turned serious. “How about I just call you, Mine?”

Don’t fall in love
…
Don’t fall in love
…
Don’t Fall in love
…

But no matter how hard Felicity chanted it, it was already too late.

* * *

“When was the last time you had cold pizza for breakfast?” Felicity looked adorable, sitting up in bed covered in nothing but a thin sheet with her long brown hair still damp from their morning shower and a pizza box in her lap. He briefly thought about knocking the box aside and starting up again, but it was almost time to check out of the motel. Plus, there was a lot to do today. Like picking up their tuxes, and greeting more family as they checked into the resort. He was the best man, and no matter how tempted he was to stay in bed with Felicity all day, he couldn’t let his brother down.

“Let’s see…cold pizza. A couple of weekends ago, maybe?”

She stilled.

“Cold pizza after a night out watching the Marlins get their ass kicked with a friend of mine. A male friend,” he clarified.

“Oh. I didn’t mean…”

“There’s no one else in my life, Freckles. Except you.”

She flushed harder. Sometime in the night, Freckles had won the nickname contest. It suited her perfectly. She was wholesome, yet sexy. Smart, but not smug. Sweet, thoughtful, and caring. Everything he’d ever wanted in a woman.

She finished off the slice and sighed in content. “You know what I could use right now? A big ol’ cup of coffee.”

He slid off the bed, walked over to the dresser and brought back a large Styrofoam cup. “I wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I took a guess. One sugar and lots of cream?”

She lifted the lid off the cup and took a big sip. “Oh my God. You
are
perfect.”

“I thought we already established that last night.”

She rolled her eyes. “When did you get this?”

“You took a cat nap after the shower. I slipped out then.” He hesitated a moment, but what the hell. There was no time like the present. “I also got you this.” He handed her the watercolor canvas, still wrapped in brown paper.

She looked confused for a moment, then set her cup down on the nightstand and tore into the wrapping. “It’s the beach watercolor from the tourist shop! I thought the girl said this one wasn’t for sale.”

“It wasn’t, but Beth was there this morning. The landlord is already fixing the air-conditioner, so she was grateful.”

She looked impressed. “Ah, the joys of having an arrogant prick for a lawyer.”

“You better believe it. Plus, I told her it was for you and that seemed to sway her.”

Felicity frowned. “But she doesn’t even know me.”

“She met Nicki the other day and I told her this was for her sister. The two of them seemed to really hit it off, so, I don’t know, I guess maybe she just wanted it to go someone special.”

She kept looking at the painting in a way that made him glad he’d taken the extra time to get this for her. “I know just where I’m going to hang this,” she said.