Enticed (14 page)

“Way to go!” Drew praised
with a congratulatory fist bump. “My challenge is seven, then.”

“Five!” Jonathan giggled.

Drew turned to me. “Looks like you are my impartial observer. How many do you think I should do?”

I held up my hands. “Don’t get me involved. This is a testosterone thing.”

He laughed as he peeled his shirt from his body, which he tossed to me for safe keeping. I nearly choked on my tongue as my eyes scanned across his perfectly chiseled torso. His skin had a satiny glow under the blazing sun overhead, and a light smattering of dark hair covered his chest, tapering all the way down to a thin line pointing straight towards his shorts like nature’s arrow. I was speechless as he walked to a more advanced ring course. We followed silently behind.

His muscles rippled under his skin as he jumped to grab that first ring. His arms were rock solid as he swung from the first ring toward the second. He maneuvered his body with such mastery along the course that bystanders gathered to watch. He paused only briefly from ring five to ring six, glancing down to his son with a teasing smile. “Should I go for it?” he asked.

Jonathan’s head bobbed up and down. “Go for it, Dad!”

Drew swung easily all the way to the end of the course
, where he used two rings to do a flip and hold before he dismounted. When he landed on both feet in the sand, his audience of fans clapped, even though I was willing to wager not one of them knew who he was. He gave them a salute before he trotted over to where we stood. He grabbed the shirt I had forgotten I was holding to wipe the glistening sweat from his face and chest.

Though I never considered myself one of those girls who would go bug-eyed over a hot physique, I found myself unable to speak.

He wore that affable smirk as he grinned at me. “Your turn.”

I shook my head but Jonathan bounced next to me. “Yes! Rachel, do it!”

“Do I look like a gymnast to you people?” I asked as they pulled me back to the wussier course.

Drew took me by the hand and guided me under that first ring. “You can do this. Summon your superpower,” he added with a wink.

I glanced at the ring and shook my head. “This is more your thing,” I said, but Drew was undaunted. He stepped closer, and I had to physically stop myself from taking a step back.

“I’ll help you,” he said softly as he wrapped those strong
hands around my waist. “Jump,” he commanded softly.

I jumped, and he
effortlessly lifted me higher to reach the ring. “Swing backward, use your momentum to get to the next ring,” he instructed, his hands still around my waist as he guided me to swing to the next ring. I missed it twice before I grabbed it in my hand, but I couldn’t muster the transition to the third ring.

“You got it, Rachel,” he said.

I tried to swing and let go, but ended up slipping right out of the ring and toppling headlong into the sand, taking one of the most powerful men in the world along with me. We landed together in a thud, his body covering my own.

For a moment, I was completely discombobulated. His eyes drifte
d to my open mouth as I gasped.

Jonathan was on his knees beside us in a flash. “Are you OK?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Drew’s mouth as those knowing eyes scanned my face. “She’s perfect. Aren’t you, Rachel?”

I nodded, incapable of speech.

“Looks like you won, Dad,” Jonathan laughed.

He hopped to his feet and pulled me up to join him. “Valiant effort,” he offered with a slight bow. I grimaced in pain as his hands held tightly to mine. He turned them over to inspect my palms, which were beet red and partially skinned. He brought one hand to his mouth and lightly kissed the boo-boo as his eyes bore into mine.

Jonathan repeated the process on my other hand. “Sorry, Rachel,” he said as he held on to my hand as gently as he could.

I shook my head to dismiss his apology. “I guess I’ll have to train to compete with the likes of you two,” I offered gamely. Neither Fullerton let go of my hand as we walked toward the boardwalk and towards the pier, where Jonathan had a whole litany of activities planned for us. He chattered excitedly, completely oblivious to the fact neither Drew nor I were speaking at all.

I couldn’t quite think past the moment Drew’s body covered my own. It felt oddly familiar, thanks in no small part to my lascivious dreams. As a result, it was not altogether unpleasant. When his thumb absently brushed against the center of my palm, it sent a shockwave throughout my entire body. I immediately withdrew my hand. He glanced down at me with a half-smile but I stared straight ahead.

When I recovered my ability to speak, we would discuss this issue. A line had definitely been crossed, and we needed to cross back over it, pronto.

As it turned out, I didn’t get a chance to discuss the matter of appropriate employer/employee conduct that entire afternoon. Jonathan wedged himself between us, likely simulating the traditional family unit that he desired so badly,
for our entire day we spent out at the beach. Most of which we spent at Pacific Park, the amusement park adjacent to the pier. Roller coasters were more my speed than the traveling rings course, so it was easy to distract myself from all these new, conflicting feelings with other, safer rushes of adrenaline.

We saved the Pacific Wheel for the end of our trip, soaring 130 feet above the pier for breathtaking, panoramic views of the coastline right at sunset
. I couldn’t even be sure which was more colorful, the ride itself, or the fiery sunset as the sun sank into the endless ocean.

“Dad, did you know this is the world’s only solar-powered
Ferris wheel?”

Drew chewed on the corner of his lip to bite back any amusement. In our afternoon together, Jonathan had worked as our guide, telling us all we ever needed or wanted to know about the pier, the beach and the park. “Are you auditioning to be a tour guide?” Drew finally asked.

Jonathan shook his head as he laughed. “Rachel won’t take me anywhere unless I research it first. Right, Rachel?”

“
It’s true,” I admitted. “I’m a big believer in research and review. You get more out of it and take more away from it.”

He
nodded his approval. “The results are irrefutable,” he agreed. “I guess my next question is… what do either of you know about Disneyland?”

As he realized what his father was implying,
Jonathan’s eyes widened like any nine-year-old boy’s would. “No way. Dad. Are you serious?”

“Used to be an orange grove, I believe,” Drew teased on. “But with a little imagination and innovation, somehow it turned into the happiest place on earth. Or so I hear. We might have to go see for ourselves. If your teacher can find any educational value in it, that is,” he concluded with a wink my direction.

Jonathan nearly came out of his seat. “Oh, can we? Rachel? Please?”

I laughed. “You’re the boss,” I offered gamely, but immediately regretted it the moment I saw
Drew’s eyes darken. I hadn’t had to fend off suitors in a decade, but something dangerously close to interest lurked in those bright blue eyes. It was something I knew I had to nip in the bud.

Unfortunately th
e night ahead would not give me any opportunity. We took our separate cars back to the house, where the Drew virtually locked himself into the study to finish work he had put aside to join us for the day.

Part of me welcomed the delay. Given that Jonathan was now hyped up about our plans to tackle Disneyland the following weekend, he jumped in both feet to learn everything he could about it. He used his tablet all the way home to begin his research.

Though he never said it, I suspected that he wanted to prove something to Drew by excelling at this task. Their recent history had been so problematic, with Jonathan seeking negative attention as opposed to no attention at all, that any hint of positive reinforcement from his father had Jonathan beside himself to overcompensate.

I knew this meant more time spent with Drew in the future, which unsettled me more than I cared to admit. But I could hardly discourage this new aspect of their relationship when it was clear Jonathan needed his father’s time and attention so desperately.

I was the grownup. It was my job to figure out how to deal with the complications that came with it. I faced my first test that night, when Drew called my private line in my room and requested that I meet with him in his study.

Since I had the night virtually to myself, I had changed into my pajamas and settled down with a good book
by nine-thirty. I stared at the same page for nearly an hour. My mind kept circling back to that afternoon at the beach, when I was pinned to the sand by Drew’s body.

I didn’t even want to think about what it would do to my subconscious. I put off sleep for as long as I could, which meant I was wide awake when he called just a little past eleven.

His voice was husky, most likely because of the late hour and our busy day. It poured into my ear like butter. “Did I disturb you?”

You have no idea
. “No, I was awake.”

“Could you come downstairs? There’s a matter we need to discuss.”

I swallowed hard. “Of course,” I eked out. I scrambled back into my clothes before I dared walk out of my room. I found him in his study, comfortably attired in lounge pants and a knit shirt from his Ivy League Alma Mater. Fortunately he was seated behind his desk, rather than on the sofa where I had feared. That would have been too suggestive… and possibly too inviting… otherwise.
Business as usual was good
, I thought to myself as I closed the door behind me. Maybe he understood the level of inappropriateness of our incident at the beach and wanted to re-establish proper boundaries himself.

This was fine by me.

I said nothing as I sat across from him. He offered me a friendly smile. “First of all, I wanted to thank you for this afternoon. I think it did Jonathan and me a world of good to have some downtime just to have fun and enjoy each other.”

“I agree. It’s something he has been missing a great deal.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I see that now. And I will do whatever I can to correct it. It’s clear that is part of the problem.” I was relieved to hear him say so. “You knew exactly what he needed and you met that need. In every way, you surpass my expectations. You are proving an invaluable part of my team.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“You may not thank me when you hear my proposal,” he said with a mischievous grin that made my stomach sink to my shoes. “Tomorrow we are racing one of our horses at Hollywood Park. I would like both you and Jonathan to accompany me.”

I was
confused. “Why is that a problem?”

“Alex trains the horses,” he replied.

“Ah,” I said. Immediately my mind rattled to find any and all excuses to decline.

“My mother was a devoted horsewoman,” he explained. “She was a trainer, her father was a trainer
; his father before him was a trainer, dating all the way back to England. Horses were in her blood. That’s actually how she met our father, when he decided from a young age that he wanted to race them. We’ve always owned thoroughbreds as a result. When she passed away, she stipulated that I would inherit the horses as long as Alex trained them. I think she feared what would become of them if Alex wasn’t involved. Or maybe she felt that as long as we were thrust together, we would maintain our brotherly bond in some way.”

He added that last little tidbit with an ironic twist of a smile.
“Anyway, Jonathan inherited her passion for the sport, for horses in particular, so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to include him. But it does come with the added complication of dealing with Alex. I thought having you there would help keep the peace between us, or at least buffer as much of the conflict as possible. You seem to have perfected the art of distraction.”

So have you
. “Honestly, I’m racking my brain to come up with any excuse not to go.”

He chuckled. “It’s your own fault for proving yourself indispensable,” he grinned. “I know it’s technically your day off, so you may decline if you wish. But I think you’ll agree that days like today are huge leaps in the right direction as far as Jonathan is concerned.
”

He was using my commitment to his son against me.
“That’s a low blow,” I said with a mock scowl.

His triumphant grin only proved how much he knew his method would work. “I didn’t get where I am by playing fair.”

“Duly noted,” I shot back.

He rose from his chair to refill his glass. “There’s another consideration,” he said. “This is a high-profile event, so you will have to deal with the press.” He walked back to his chair. “You’ve managed to fly under the radar so far. Those days will be gone if you choose to accompany us.”

“Why would the press care about me?”

He swigged some bourbon. “Because they care about every female who is in any way associated with me.” He turned his laptop around and showed me photos from a similar event throughout recent years. Each and every headline pointed to the companion on his arm, all of whom were attractive enough to warrant the attention. These were beautiful women and he was a notorious playboy, even while he was married. It was only natural the tabloids would fill in the blanks accordingly.

I waved away the concern. “They’ll know by looking at me I’m just part of the staff. I’m nothing like any of those women. I doubt they’ll care enough to learn my name.”

“Don’t underestimate the power of novelty,” he warned. “It’s because you’re unlike the others they will hound you right into the ground if you let them.”

“You’re doing a bang-up job selling this to me,” I quipped. “I can’t wait to get started. Let’s go right now!”

He laughed. “Like I said before, you may decline if you wish.”

I arched my eyebrow. “Can I?”

“Of course,” he answered smoothly.
“Provided you can say no to Jonathan, who thought this was a brilliant idea when I brought it up to him before bedtime.” His smile was anything but apologetic.

I glared playfully at him. “That is dirty pool, sir.”

“We’ll be spending the day at the Turf Club, so upscale dress is expected. I’ll want to leave early so be ready by ten.”

I nodded as I rose. It dawned on me this would be the perfect opportunity to bring up what had happened at the beach, but Drew had seemingly forgotten about it. I thought about all those women he had been photographed with, no doubt a litany of
previous lovers that all fit within a narrow “type,” i.e., petite, wealthy, younger socialites with platinum taste in everything from the clothes they wore to the men they dated.

Next to them I really did feel like some
backwards bumpkin from BFE.

It made the notion of his being interested in someone like me laughable. I was instantly grateful I hadn’t humiliated myself with some sanctimonious lecture on the propriety of our relationship. Clearly the only one who would allow thoughts to wander in that direction was me.

“I’ll be ready,” I said. He gave me a friendly nod before he turned back to his computer, which was my cue to leave.

My shoulders drooped as I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to my room. Though I didn’t welcome Drew’s interest, my ego deflated a bit when I realized I wasn’t even a contender in the running for it. I realized that I’d spent the entire day tied up in knots over nothing. Drew wasn’t trying to seduce me in the sand. If anything, he tried to make it less embarrassing for me that I had fallen like some
ridiculous goober.

In fact, he hadn’t said or done anything purposefully inappropriate since we met. Just because I was uncomfortable didn’t mean he was trying to make me that way. Instead, he had done everything he could to ensure my comfort.
He was inherently charming, but that didn’t mean anything he had done was in effort to seduce me. I was just some moron reading between the lines, thanks in part to Nancy and Alex filling my head with all these scenarios that didn’t belong there.

I mentally cursed them bot
h for the needless drama, and I cursed myself more for getting whatever thrill or excitement I had experienced by feeding into it. Clearly the most eligible bachelor wasn’t gunning to get me into bed.

He ha
d hired me to teach his child and subsequently he regarded me as part of the staff. I was no more desirable to him than Cleo, something I kept insisting to everyone that I wanted.

So why did the realization sting?

I was stupidly depressed about it as I changed into my boring, discount store pajamas and crawled back into bed.

That night, even Dream Drew didn’t show up.

The next day I took a little extra care when I dressed. I pulled my favorite sundress from the closet. The hem of the flared skirt fell respectfully below the knee. It had a fitted, sleeveless bodice and a print of large, yellow hibiscus flowers that spiraled across a white background.

It was as bright and colorful as a summer day, which made it a joy to wear. I bought it for a wedding and occasionally brought it out to attend
semi-formal functions. So a day at the races? This fit the bill better than anything I owned.

I completed the ensemble with a pair of wedge espadrilles in red canvas, to match the bright punch of red detailing in the flowers on the dress.

Because I had gone this far, I figured I’d wear my hair long and style it. I preferred my hair wash and wear, with little styling required. It was naturally wavy so a functional ponytail usually kept it neat and out of the way. I found hairstyling tools in the bathroom, likely left there for the convenience of anyone who occupied the guest suite. Ten minutes later, my brown hair flowed in graceful curls down my back.

I completed the look with full makeup, figuring a day in the sun warranted the use of foundation at least. That led to putting a light dusting of shimmery copper
eye shadow on my lids and a subtle coral tint to my lips.