Heaven in Hedonism (The Sinful Series Book 3) (5 page)

Biting on my cheek for a moment, I contemplated his question. “Nope. Not really.”

His face fell slightly at my response. “Well, okay then,” he said. “Good seeing you again.” He lifted a hand and started to wave before departing, but I stopped him with a hand on his arm.

The second he looked at my fingers on his shirt, I yanked them back. “I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I don’t know how to act. I have no idea what to say. Your presence has me a bit unhinged.”

Mac stepped back and considered me for a moment with one arm crossed over his body, one hand tucked under his chin. “You certainly fooled me. You always seem so…cold and detached.”

Looking down at the floor, I spoke without thinking, “It’s a defense mechanism. Shit, anyone with the basest social skills should know that.” Slapping a hand over my mouth, I growled. “Dammit. See? I turn into some kind of asshole around you. What the hell are we going to do together on an island for a whole week? This was a terrible idea.” For the first time since I started my ramblings, I paused to study his reaction. He was laughing at me. Now it was my turn to walk away.

A hand on my shoulder halted my progress. “Wait,” he said quietly. “Just wait a moment.”

I turned and looked at him expectantly. Really, I wanted him to talk me down, to give me a hand off the ledge that I seemed to have walked out onto. More than anything, I was hoping in this moment that he wouldn’t disappoint.

“It wasn’t a terrible idea. We’re going to have a blast.” My eyebrows rose while he spoke. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other. We’ll start tomorrow, after the reception. Then Sunday, I’ll pick you up early at five and we’ll get a nice dinner before driving to the airport. By the time we spend nine hours together on the plane we’ll be thick as thieves!” He beamed at me.

“This isn’t some love connection,” I mumbled.

“Maybe not love, but I can always use another friend,” he admitted. “No ties. All kinds of disclaimers.”

Smiling some, I asked, “You come with disclaimers?”

Shaking his head, he laughed. “Oh, no. I’m an open book. You’re the one with disclaimers.”

Without thinking, I punched him in the arm. It surprised both of us, but I also found myself agreeing with his reasoning. “Okay. Let’s get to know each other.” I lifted my hands in surrender. “Your plan is way better than vacationing with a total stranger.”

“You should know I’m very likable.” He teased.

“Right. We’ll see.”

Before we could say anything else, a woman started yelling. She was a tiny little brunette, very petite, super cute, except for her attitude. “Henry!” she shouted. We both turned her direction. “Henry MacIntyre, don’t make me come get you. Rehearsal.
Now
.”

Looking at him wide-eyed, I asked, “Are you Henry?”

Nodding sheepishly, he said simply, “The bride is my sister.”

As he walked away, Sin came over. “He was cute,” she noted. “His name is Henry?” She offered me an exaggerated wink.

I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. No doubt it would be several shades of red and pink before long. “Not a word.”

“You should totally give him your number,” she urged.

With a sigh I said, “No need. He already has it.”

“Wow. He works fast.”

“Well, he is my boss.” I shrugged.

“That was Mac?” Sin asked.

I could see her looking him over with her most discerning look while he walked toward his sister on the other side of the room. For a moment, I just watched her watching him. This was new to me, wanting her approval. Never before had I ever needed her insight into potential partners, mostly because I never really had one. In ten years, I had never spent more than a week or two with any given female. It was all about need, like scratching an itch. There was no reason for these trysts to become anything more than that. Mac wasn’t anything, and already I cared what she thought more than I could ever recall previously.

When she turned to give me her attention, she asked simply, “So what are you wearing to the wedding?” Of course while she spoke, her eyes had turned upward on the outside edges and she was biting her lip to keep from smiling.

“I haven’t even thought about it. What do you suggest?”

Her smile fell some. “Well, I had hoped the babies would be coming home tonight, but the doctors want them to have a few more days under the lights. The jaundice is worse than they previously believed.” Her voice wavered slightly.

“Look, this is a good thing. Now you can work the wedding without worrying if Lucy is managing the twins okay. When you bring them home, you can be completely devoted to them.” I offered my most reassuring smile.

“You’re right, so what if we go pick up a dress now, then visit my babies?” She had perked up considerably.

“Won’t it be too late?”

“Nah, the NICU never closes. I can go any time of the day or night. I just can’t spend the night.” Looping her arm through mine, she tugged me away from the table I was working on toward the exit.

“I’m not done!” I complained loudly.

Nodding, she said, “Yes you are, because if you don’t get a dress you’re finished.”

My gaze flew to the heavens. “Seriously, I doubt he’ll even notice.”

“Right. Care to make a friendly wager on that?”

“Why, Sin, I thought you weren’t a gambler.” I teased.

Giving me a sideways look, she admitted, “I wasn’t, until I met Ben. He’s worth all the risk. Something tells me you’ll be saying that about Mac soon enough.”

“Never,” I said, shaking my head vehemently. “Let’s just go.”

Breakfast on the patio the morning of the wedding was a rushed affair. Of course, if it wasn’t for Sin’s staff, we’d have had no food at all. “Oh my gawd, Lucy,” I moaned in my foodgasm, “please come home with me! You make the best breakfast burritos ever.”

The housekeeper just laughed. No one ever took me seriously. At that moment, Sin stood and reminded me we had to rush to the hospital and then back here to get dressed. There was more breast milk to be delivered, two babies to feed and snuggle before we could do anything else.

When we returned, later than planned, but about when I anticipated, Sin surprised me with a gift. “These are for you,” she said, holding a box for me.

“Aw, you shouldn’t have,” I commented absently as I reached for the present. Then I popped the lid off and realized it was a pair of black cowboy boots. “Now you really shouldn’t have. You know I’m more of a flip-flop girl. I even have fancy flops for occasions such as this.”

“Well, occasions such as this demand those boots,” she explained. “We may have to stand places that would put us at risk for snake bites. Unless you want to spend the beginning of your vacation in the hospital recuperating, then you might want to reconsider your stance on cowboy boots.” She pointed to her feet. “I’ll be wearing mine too. Trust me, you’ll love them.”

“I may trust you in many areas, but my footwear isn’t one of them,” I complained. Still, her reasoning was sound and I hadn’t planned on dying this vacation.

We met in the foyer about thirty minutes later and Sin looked amazing. At the moment, I was feeling incredibly self-conscious. The dress was way more than I was used to, a soft gray with crisscrossed layers over the bodice and a series of gauzy waterfall of gauzy fabric in the skirt. At least it was ornate enough that I didn’t require jewelry. As soon as I hit the foyer, I was rubbing my hands down the front of the dress.

“Stop it,” she ordered. “You look amazing. Simply gorgeous.”

It wasn’t that I felt compelled to compliment her, I had to. Sin was stunning, as usual. “Are you sure you just had those babies five days ago?” I asked. “I swear you look amazing. I hope I bounce back like that.”

“I have a long way to go, but the Spanks are helping me along the way.” She winked as she reached for the door handle. “You ready to do this thang?”

“Nodding,” I mourned, “I hate weddings.”

“You loved mine!” She reminded me.

“Yes, but that was different.”

“Well, Mac will be here.” She teased. “Maybe that will change your opinion on weddings.”

“Doubt it,” I muttered. I could feel the heat rising in my face, so I turned away and pretended to busy myself with collecting her camera bags.

An hour later I was finally able to admit to myself that the wedding truly was beautiful. As cynical as I was, even I could admit that they seemed happy and in love. During the ceremony, I caught Mac looking at me a few times. It was so unnerving, especially since I was supposed to be Sin’s assistant. The longer the festivities went, the more concerned I grew. She was looking incredibly tired.

“Why did you agree to do this? Even if the twins hadn’t come early, you would have been thirty-five weeks pregnant with two babies while running around like this. You are crazy. Go pump.” I had learned how to boss Sin around long ago. Hell, I had learned to boss her around and she liked it.

“You got this?” she asked while passing me the camera, a relieved look on her face.

“Pshaw! Of course I do.” Confidently, I took the camera and started to point and click as proof.

Shaking her head, she teased. “Thank goodness for digital cameras. If I had to develop all of these first…” She shuddered.

“Please, I’m awesome. They won’t be able to tell the difference,” I joked. We both knew that wasn’t true. I’d be lucky to get some decent shots, mostly passable at best. Sin had an eye. She could capture magical moments.

After snapping random shots of guests around the room during the reception, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I had pasted my best smile on my face. “Oh, it’s you,” I said, face falling when I saw Mac staring at me.

“What’s that mean?” he asked.

Shrugging, I tried to explain. “Aw, you know, when you think it’s someone important and you turn around and…it’s not.” I realized that sounded terrible and far worse than I meant, so I struggled to alter my response. “You could have been the bride.”

He was smirking at me, enjoying my discomfort. “You really know how to make a guy feel special.”

“Well, I’ve been a lesbian, so that wasn’t really my department.” I reminded him.

“You have a point.”

I studied him. “So what’s your point? Why did you come over?”

“Oh.” He clapped his hands together. “Well, we talked about getting to know one another before we spent a week away together.”

“Hey, it’s not like that.” I reminded him. “We have separate rooms and everything.”

Smiling wider, he admitted, “Yes, I know. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend time with you tonight.” He rocked a little on his heels while we spoke.

“Okay, so what do you suggest because…I’m working here. It’s not like I can just go sneak off,” I announced, bringing the camera up to my eye to prove my point.

Mac chuckled. “Hot shot, you may want to turn the camera back on.” He pointed to the power button.

“I knew that,” I said, that all too familiar flush rising in my face once more. To show I really did know what I was doing, I hit the button and took a picture of the bride and groom dancing together.

“Shouldn’t you be out there?” I asked, gesturing to the floor where the rest of the wedding party seemed to be twirling around.

“That, er yes. I should. Care to dance?”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “Working. What don’t you get about that?”

“And you’re off the clock. I can take it from here,” Sin said as she appeared out of nowhere.

“I thought you were resting,” I complained.

“I’m done. Your turn.” She snatched the camera from my hands with one of hers, then she completed my humiliation by introducing herself to Mac. “I’m Alysin Everly, but everyone calls me Sin.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Henry MacIntyre, but my friends call me Mac.”

I rolled my eyes. “Not just your friends. I call you Mac. Anyone who has been formally introduced to you calls you Mac.” Then I huffed.

Her eyebrows rose a moment, then she laughed. “I like you. Clearly you have gotten under Jolie’s skin. Good luck with that.” She turned to face me, planted a kiss on my flaming hot cheek and ordered, “Get out of here before I have to call security.” Then she winked.

Offering me his arm, Mac said, “So let’s start with a dance, shall we?”

Part of me wanted to know then what. What came after the dance? The rest of me was afraid of ruining what might actually be a moment. Sin was right. As much as I hated to admit it, Mac was under my skin. Suddenly I realized I was smiling as we walked. Crap. It seemed like I might actually like him there.

No wonder I stumbled as we walked out onto the dance floor. Somehow, despite the noise and action, Mac sensed it, knew. His arm snaked around my waist as he twirled us out onto the dance floor. My heart was pounding so loudly in my ears, I couldn’t hear the music. All I could do was rely on him to not let me fall, to not let me make a fool of myself. Maybe if he succeeded in that long enough, I could actually start to relax and enjoy the moment. It had been too long since I had danced.

“You’re so light,” he murmured in my ear. “I swear I could dance with you all night.”

Gradually, I leaned my head on his chest. “Keep this up and I just might let you.” My eyes widened suddenly for a second. Where had that come from? It must have been the champagne. I wasn’t a wine drinker and Sin had insisted I toast with everyone else earlier. My insides were all fidgety. It was downright uncomfortable. We had danced in silence through a couple of songs, one starting up just as the previous had ended, never quite creating a seamless opportunity for us to part ways and exit the floor. These strange feelings inside me weren’t subsiding. If anything, the closeness had made them worse and time had them spreading throughout my torso.

Finally, Mac pushed me back some and forced my chin up so I had to look him in those incredible eyes. “You look flushed,” he noted, a worried edge to his voice. “Let’s go for a walk outside.”

As we moved off the dance floor, he kept his arm around my waist. It felt completely natural, as though we had done it a hundred times. And though I always suspected I’d be put off by his touch, instead I found myself welcoming it. This was highly unexpected. My every movement was one of forced concentration. I could swear my knees wanted to buckle. “Where are we going?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh, I thought we’d walk through the vineyards out back for a moment. They look beautiful in the moonlight. And then, I hoped to persuade you to take a little drive with me.”

“A drive, huh?” By now I was staring at him sideways. “Why does it feel like you are up to something?”

Laughing, he opened his jacket and pulled his arms out. “Nothing up my sleeve.” He teased. Then he threw it over my shoulders.

“Why did you do that?” I honestly didn’t know what to make of him half the time.

Shrugging, he admitted, “I thought you might be cold. There’s a breeze and that dress is all gauzy and light. Give it back if you don’t need it.”

At that I shoved my arms through the sleeves. “Later.” Then I moved just out of arm’s reach.

“Hey!” he called. “I’m providing heat for you. You should return the favor.” Then he pretended he was shivering and even made his teeth chatter.

“Again. Maybe later,” I said as I danced away.

The walk through the vineyard was beautiful. It was the kind of night that Sin would have been taking pictures left and right with a perfect cloudless sky and loads of stars visible without the city lights to block them. It made my heart happy.

“You are absolutely stunning when you smile,” Mac murmured as he hauled me against his body.

“Thank you. And you are very complimentary when you want something. I just haven’t figured out what the something is yet.” I winked at him.

“You got me.” He nodded. “I enjoy getting to know you. Ready for that drive?”

Tilting my head, I studied him. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Maybe I expected him to be all cocky like that boy all those years ago. It was the last time I had been alone with a guy ever. I tried to picture his face turning into a sneer or Mac ever snarling at me. Somehow, I couldn’t conjure up those images. Was it that he didn’t have it in him, or maybe I just didn’t want him to disappoint me like that? Still, I wasn’t a naïve girl anymore. I could go for a drive and protect myself against the likes of him, if necessary. “Let’s go,” I said simply.

Soon we were walking back toward the winery, then around the outside as we headed to the parking lot. I quickly realized that he was steering me toward this adorable Mini Cooper I had seen parked at the office. In the daylight, I had noted the custom paint job, the colors of a tartan plaid, navy, green, yellow, and a hint of red. Who was this man? Could we really have that much in common?

“Your chariot, my lady.” Slowly, he unlocked the door and opened it for me.

Shaking my head, I looked at him as I sat in the passenger seat. “Of course this is your car.”

His eyes twinkled even as he said, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You saw my vehicle. You most certainly do.” I sighed. “Do the colors mean anything or did you buy it this way?”

“Family plaid,” he mumbled. Then he shut the door and headed to his side of the car. Once inside, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “If I forget to tell you later, I’ve had a really nice time tonight.”

“You are such a girl. Just drive and shut up already.” Then I stared out the window and pretended to be annoyed while really my heart was doing that crazy wild pounding thing in my chest. I should probably see a cardiologist. This simply wasn’t normal, especially for me.

Mac did as I suggested. He didn’t speak, just glanced at me from time to time. Though I was only looking at him from the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw a smirk on his face. Finally, we came to a stop just up a tall hill above the vineyard. He put the car in park, set the brake and opened his door to get out. Somehow, this was scarier for me than the idea of staying in the vehicle alone with him.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

All he did was point. Following his movement, I saw a water tower to the side, a rustic old fashioned wooden one. It was rather charming…and tall.

“You didn’t answer the question,” I noted. “What the hell?”

Laughing, he reminded me. “You said to shut up!”

Shaking my head in frustration, I pointed out a thing or two. “Yeah, and I also told you to drive. The car is stopped. What gives?”

Instead of responding, he stepped out of the Cooper and walked around to my side. Opening the door, he offered me a hand. When I took it, he gently helped me out, tugging me slightly at the end so that I stumbled into his arms. It was intentional and I couldn’t help but blush. Thank God for the dark.