Only For Now: Second Chances (6 page)

“Shh.” Cara glanced around to make sure no one, presumably Will, was within earshot. “Give it up, Alexa. You’ve been running for way too long. I see the way you two look at each other. Why do you fight so hard against yourself?”

“Because I won’t let myself get hurt this time. It’s too painful. If I ever let myself give in…and then he left…I couldn’t bear it. And you know he would.”

Cara looked doubtful. “I don’t know. You may think you know him, or at least the way he was, but I’m not so sure. If I had to bet on it—”

Alexa shook her head. “You’re wrong. It would never work. Besides, he doesn’t want me like that.”

“I see the way he looks at you, like he wants to devour you. But I get what you’re saying. We've all heard stories about Will, and most of them aren't positive. At least not where women are concerned. I don't want you to get hurt, either. He's not the type to settle down and I don't guess I want you to get invested in a man who will pick up and leave at the drop of a hat."

Her words echoed Alexa's own thoughts from just moments ago. "Exactly. I realize this. Hell, it’s why I went to New York in the first place.” She could tell this was no surprise to her sister, even though she’d never said it out loud. Cara's intentions were good, and on an impulse Alexa reached out and hugged her. "Thank you for looking out for me.”

But Cara wasn’t done. “Can I just say one more thing?”

“I don’t think my opinion matters on that. You’ll say whatever you please.” Alexa laughed.

“If you know that nothing can come of it, then what are you so afraid of? Live out your fantasy for a week. It’s not like you’re likely to see him again soon. Just keep your head on straight and enjoy the ride.”

“Are you seriously telling me what I think you’re telling me?” She almost couldn’t believe she was having this conversation with her sister. But then again, the two of them were very different.

“Why not? Just be careful. And I promise not to get too involved. At least not any more than I can help,” Cara added sheepishly.

"Get involved in what?" Jace rounded the corner of the staircase, looking at the women suspiciously.

"Wedding plans that the groom has no business knowing," Cara clipped out effortlessly. She certainly was able to turn the conversation around on a dime.

Alexa gave her sister a kiss on the cheek then made her way back outside to her deck chair and settled back in with her laptop. She pretended to be absorbed in reading for the next little while, but really she was watching Will walk along the shore.

After a bit, he made his way back up to the house just as the other house guests were starting to converge at the pool. Jocelyn was already in full war paint for the day, which Alexa found ridiculous. Really, who got all made up to get in the water? Her sheer sarong barely covered anything and her peach string bikini left her looking nearly nude. She was tempted to accidentally knock her in the pool.

Seeing Will as he neared the house, Jocelyn ran down the stairs and draped her long arms around him, whispering conspiratorially in his ear and trailing her fingers down his chest. That was all it took for Alexa to be out of her chair and heading back to her room. She'd be damned if she let that little bitch outdo her. Even though she knew she had no business pursuing anything with Will, he had awakened desires in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. And her sister was practically encouraging her to have a week of no-strings sex. She shook her head again at that.

Against her better judgment, she grabbed her slinkiest bikini and appraised herself in the mirror. She wouldn't sink to the level of makeup and an updo for a day at the beach, but she was pretty sure she could hold her own against Jocelyn in her unique way. She released her clip from her hair and let her long, dark waves tumble down her back, tousling them for good measure.

There. She looked like she'd just had a tumble between the sheets. Let Will's imagination take it from there. Smiling, she strolled back outside, grabbing her towel as she passed her chair, and breezed by everyone, calling out, "Who wants to join me on the beach?" as she went. She didn't have to look back to know that they were all staring after her.

CHAPTER SIX

Will was about to become unhinged. These women were going to make him go mad before the week was up. First, Jocelyn couldn't be persuaded to pry herself from him for any length of time, despite his less than enthusiastic response to her. How many hours had they been on the beach today? Six or seven, surely, and she hadn't left his side for more than thirty minutes of that time. Short of being a complete ass, he didn't know what else to do.

Then, to make matters more frustrating, he'd had to watch Alexa flounce around in the water all day with the other men. When she wasn't doing that, she was spreading her curvaceous body out over the sand to soak up some rays. He didn't think it was by accident that she had just lifted her arms above her head and arched her back on premise of needing a good stretch. She was tormenting him. On purpose.

More than once, he'd caught her eye and seen a gleam of mischief in her expression. Naturally, whenever Jocelyn had seen his gaze straying to Alexa, she had redoubled her efforts to enchant him. Which were doing anything but. If he wasn't mistaken, Alexa was even enjoying his discomfort.

As if to drive the thought home, she sat up and handed a bottle of sunscreen to Jocelyn. "I think Will looks a little pink, don't you? Maybe you should rub this on for him."

Jocelyn's eyes lit up as she eagerly took the sunscreen. If looks could kill, surely Alexa would be charred ash by now. She simply smiled innocently at him and stood up gracefully. "Ty? Wanna try again to show me how to surf?" She strutted down to the shore, her hips swinging sexily.

Will gritted his teeth as Jocelyn squeezed cold sunscreen all over his back. Now he was trapped and forced to watch Alexa go for yet another romp in the waves with the abhorrent Tyler. That wasn't fair, if he was being honest. Tyler seemed like a good guy, but Will wasn't feeling very generous at the moment. In fact, he wanted to punch him in the face and throw Alexa over his shoulder and carry her away to have his way with her.

The thought brought a smile to his face. Jocelyn, mistaking the source of his grin, continued to rub his back, even though he was fairly certain there was nothing remaining to rub in.

"Will," she purred in that fake, high-pitched voice, "are all the resorts you visit this fabulous?"

"I'd say so, but this one is toward the top of my list."

"Oh, I'd love to see some of the others. I can't imagine seeing anything more beautiful than this."

She'd said as much all day. Could she not see how obvious she was, throwing herself at him and practically begging him to take her to some other tropical locale? She must be used to getting immediate responses from men, and didn't know when to lay off. Any other week, he may have taken her up on her offer, and flown her to an exotic resort for a weekend fling. It wasn't unheard of.

But lately he'd begun to tire of the flings, preferring to focus on his photography. The women were all the same. Fake and easy. Just like Jocelyn. And none of them ever seemed to completely wash away his memories of Alexa.

He didn't bother to respond, keeping his eyes glued to Alexa the whole time. The sound of her laughter floated up the beach and Will's jaw clenched involuntarily. Tyler had his hands on her hips, steadying her on the board. That was it. He couldn't watch this shit anymore. He jumped to his feet, practically knocking Jocelyn over in the process. "I need a drink."

"Do you need some help?"

He didn't bother hiding his eye roll this time. It was too much. "No," he bit out shortly, and stalked back to the house. Grabbing a beer from the outdoor fridge, he threw himself into a lounge chair, accidentally knocking his knee against Alexa's laptop that she had left open from earlier this morning. It was a good thing she'd left it in the shade or the sun would have baked it. He glanced briefly at the screen, then sat up when he saw a folder icon on the home screen labeled
Photography
.

Looking quickly back to the shore, he saw that everyone was absorbed in their own activities, and weren't paying him any attention. A short battle waged in his conscience before he flicked his fingers across the touchpad a few times and brought up a slide show of Alexa's photographs. He knew he shouldn't be looking at her private images, but his curiosity got the better of him. The prospect of her being interested in his passion had him flipping through the photos before he could think better of it.

What he saw blew his mind. She had a real eye for it. The way she used light and shadow was something that could only be acquired with practice and skill. He continued flipping through the images until he came upon some that took his breath away. They were of her. Black and white. And she was wrapped in some type of silk sheet or curtain. Had she taken these with a timer or had there been another photographer? The idea of another man in such an intimate situation with her had a shot of pure jealousy shooting through his veins.

Where did that come from? He was definitely not the jealous type. After all, he had his pick of women most of the time. So why was he aching to be alone with Alexa to make her come alive for the camera? There was an interesting dynamic between a photographer and his subject, especially when that subject was human. Behind the camera, he was often able to get people to open up their true nature for him in ways that they wouldn't if the camera were not between them. Will didn't care to analyze why he might want to know more about this woman had become over the past four years.

He didn't have time to either, because just then a shadow fell over him and he quickly raised his head, only to find Alexa standing over him with her arms crossed.

* * *

"What do you think you're doing?" Alexa demanded. She peered around the laptop screen just as Will's fingers flew over the buttons, effectively closing out her view of what had been on display. What had he seen?

Her breathing was uneven as she scrutinized his face for a clue. Had she signed out of her blog earlier? She couldn't remember. She would be mortified if he had read some of her more personal ramblings.

"Just checking the weather." He smiled disarmingly, but she was still suspicious. He had been in much too big of a hurry and had seemed quite intent on whatever it was he was looking at.

"Do you always use other people's personal belongings without asking first?" She tried to look angry, but she knew she was coming off as nervous.

He rose and rubbed his hand along her arm in an attempt to soothe her. "I'm sorry, darlin’. I should have asked, I know, but I saw the clouds in the distance and wondered what conditions would be like later. I want to get some photos of the sunset tonight." He seemed convincing enough, but she still wasn't sure. And right now all she could really focus on was the heat rushing through her body at the light contact she'd just had with him. She couldn't stop imagining what it would feel like to step closer to him and let him wind those muscled arms around her.

Instead, she stepped back quickly. If he noticed her reaction, he didn't let on, and that's when she realized he had still been speaking.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, do you want to come down to the beach with me later? I want to get some sample shots before the wedding to make sure the lighting will be right."

"I'd love to." The words were out of her mouth before Alexa had time to consider. The idea of watching such a skilled photographer work was more than she could resist. Maybe he'd even show her a few techniques.

"Great. Pick you up at seven," he joked, giving her a wink that had her blood pounding in her ears again. Then he disappeared into the house.

Had they just scheduled a date? No, he was just being funny, surely. There was no way he could be interested in dating her. Kissing her? Maybe, if the interactions they’d been having were any indication. Sex? She could only dream. But dating. Nope. Not his style. Still, she admitted to herself that she would take whatever time she could get with him. She had promised herself, and Cara now, a week of fun, right? And here was a big hunk of fun waiting to be had.

She giggled at that, then bit her lip as she thought about all the ways they could possibly have fun together. It was vacation after all, and life was too short to not take some fun when you could get it. What had Cara called it, a fling? Alexa let the idea roll around in her head for a minute. While she definitely wasn't a fling kind of girl, the idea of it suddenly appealed to her. Would he be interested? She knew he was a fling type of guy. She'd just have to wait until later and see if maybe she hadn't lost her inner sense of adventure after all.

* * *

"Do you think an hour will be enough time for everyone to be ready to leave?" Cara asked as they were all lounging by the pool a couple hours later.

"Leave?" Alexa stared at her blankly.

"Remember? We have reservations at the marina tonight. A group dinner cruise?"

No, she didn't remember. In fact, all she had thought about was her evening with Will on the beach. A wave of disappointment took over her and she realized just how much she'd been looking forward to spending more time with him.

Will's voice broke into her thoughts. "Actually, Cara," he said quickly, "I was hoping you wouldn't be too upset if Alexa and I skipped out on this one."

Alexa swallowed hard and tried to keep her face blank. What was she supposed to say now?

A couple people in the wedding party raised their eyebrows, but Will was smooth. "Tonight's weather conditions are supposed to be nearly identical to what I'll have to work with on Friday, photographically speaking, and I really want to be comfortable with the lighting and other details. You know, I don't do a lot of work with models, and Alexa has been kind enough to accept my request that she be my test subject. I really would hate for my first run to be your actual wedding and you not have the best photos you could possibly have."