Rivals in Paradise (5 page)

“How could I have known? I certainly had no idea you were going to kiss me!”

He frowned then as if he had never considered that aspect of it before. “Hmm… Maybe it was a setup,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, but who could have known that we were going to kiss? I mean, we didn't plan to kiss or anything…. It was a mistake…a fluke. There's no way someone could have planned to catch us, right? Unless you knew you were going to kiss me and you planned it.” Cicely didn't like the flustered jumble of her words, but she couldn't help it.

“Trust me, I didn't know I was going to kiss you that night.”

Chase had a narrowly focused glint in his eyes, and he rubbed his chin in contemplation.

“After the kiss you ran off all scared, and I hung around. I didn't see anyone else there. But that doesn't mean there wasn't anyone else there. That person might have seen us kissing and taken advantage of the situation.”

His thinking-man, mile-high-Private-I act had her heart stuttering. Who knew a guy putting together facts could be so sexy?

“Sounds plausible. But of course I'll have to mull it over awhile first. Given the fact that I have spent all this time pretty much despising you for using…that particular moment in your campaign, I may need a minute to rethink this new information.”

“The same here. The fact that I was right about you and then led to believe that I was wrong about you, which led me to be wrong about you for all these years, is a lot to process,” Chase mumbled.

“Huh?” Cicely twisted her face in a perplexed manner.

“Never mind. Let's just say I'm glad we've somewhat figured this out, because I wouldn't want anything to get in the way of us getting reacquainted.”

“Right. Reacquainted.” Suddenly Cicely's lips felt parched. She took a sip of her gin and tonic
in an attempt to quench, if not her thirst, then something…

Chase held out his hand. “So how about the two of us form a truce for real this time?”

Cicely had to smile at that. But a small part of her wondered what would have happened if the pictures of their kiss hadn't shown up. Would they have kissed again?

“Okay. I'm sorry for hating you all these years and throwing negative energy into the universe about you.”

Chase's jaw dropped. “Negative energy into the universe? Really? Now, see, I just hated you. I didn't pull a Miss Celie on you.”

Now Cicely's jaw dropped. It couldn't be. One of her favorite things to do with Latonya was quote lines from black movies and plays at both opportune and inopportune moments. She crooked her pointer and middle finger and squinted her eyes. “Until you do right by me—”

“Everything you even think about gonna fail.” Chase and she finished Whoopi Goldberg's famous lines in unison.

She couldn't help it. She started giggling again. “Okay, that was weird. Somebody has seen
The Color Purple
one too many times.”

“And that someone would clearly be
you,
” Chase said with a smirk.

“Okay, guilty as charged. I've been known to quote lines from black movies, plays, fiction and songs when I think the moment fits.” Cicely giggled lightly. “It's a part of my inner dweeb. I'm like a walking Notable Quotable.”

“Now I'm officially speechless. I have no idea what to do with this new information about you, Cicely. An inner dweeb?” Chase's almond-shaped brown eyes considered her and seemed to hold her. “And here I thought you were one of the cool girls? I guess that's why you used to date all those pocket-protector types in college.”

Cicely's mouth fell open. “What do you mean by that?” She almost went as far as to deny her penchant for nerds, but she didn't want to let on that Chase had touched a nerve. It did bring to the forefront the question of what Chase was doing noticing the kinds of guys she dated back then.

Shaking his head as if trying to clear it, Chase smiled. “Never mind. It's not important. What is important is how you want to spend your time in Dahinda.”

Yes, it's best to leave that alone. Good move, dude, good move!

“I just want to have fun. I want to do some touristy things, but I also want to see as much of the island as possible. And I'd love to see the places where the
people of Dahinda actually hang out, places off the beaten path.”

“I think I can handle that.” That sexy glint came back into his eyes, and his smile took on that predator's gleam.

Uh-oh. Back away from The Wolf, for your own safety. Back away from The Wolf.

“Honestly, Chase, you don't have to. I know you're here visiting family. So I would totally understand if you couldn't follow through—”

“Oh, make no mistake, I always follow through, and there isn't anything that could keep me away from my promise to show you around. I want to do this very much.”

The steaming sincerity in his eyes accelerated her heartbeat until it sounded like a wild herd stampeding in her eardrums. She couldn't think of a response even if her mouth had been working well enough to form words.

She cleared her throat, needing to somehow shift the mood from this glowing nice-vibe that was starting to develop between them. “So, I've been hearing lots of buzz about you through the years, lots of corporate takeovers, forced mergers, raiding and moneymaking. Very impressive, Yearwood.”

There, she'd said it!

The last thing she wanted to do was give Mr. Very Big Ego another reason to have a swelled head. But
his career was impressive, and she envied it like nobody's business. That's why losing the promotion stung so much. She wanted to play with the big boys like Chase, and had essentially been told,
no, stay in your lane, little girl.

Chase squinted and eyed her for a moment before responding. “Thanks. I had no idea that you'd kept up with my career.”

Big. Ego. Indeed. “I wasn't keeping up with your career or anything like that. I just noticed a couple of articles every now and then and thought I'd make small talk since we're on the plane for three hours. No need to go getting the big head, Chase.”

He gave her one of his trademark sexy grins then, and she felt her insides quiver.

“Oh, in that case, thanks. What about you? You're in finance, right? What do you do? Are you moving and shaking like you did in undergrad?”

She swallowed. It was like every school reunion nightmare she'd ever had rolled into one. She was the loser who had peaked in college, forced to face Mr. Most Successful.

No. Way.

“Yes, I work in finance, but I'm on vacation now. The last thing I want to talk about is work. So, if you're going to hang with me at all this week, that's the first rule. No talking about work while we're on vacation.”

“Sounds fine with me. No talking about work.” He held out his hand and she shook it.

An oh-so-pleasing electric charge coursed from her hand through her body again, and she felt her eyes flutter.

She looked him in the eye and she could tell that he felt the electric charge, too. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw was tight, as if he was trying to fight the feeling. She sighed in relief. As long as they both decided to resist whatever the attraction was between them, then things should be okay.

God forbid either one of them would decide to let go and give in to the heat.

Okay, now how exactly did I wind up letting Chase talk me into taking a ride to my hotel in his rental instead of taking a cab?

The convertible sports car let the island breeze in to tousle her hair. On a regular day, a sister would have been a tad bit upset about messing up
the do
. But there was something about the company and general feel of the moment that made Cicely think it was okay to sacrifice the roller set she'd gotten a couple of days ago.

Glancing around, she noted that the pastures and cows along the road from the airport made for a different landscape from the port in Sansport she
remembered from when she'd visited the island on her cruise. Once they pulled onto the highway, it at least appeared that they were moving away from the rural countryside.

“So, what are your plans for dinner tonight?” Chase kept his eyes on the narrow road, but his voice held a strong hint of interest.

“I haven't made any plans for dinner. I'm just winging it. I sort of took this trip on the spur of the moment.”
Way to sound flighty, Cee Cee.
“I mean, I wanted to experience spontaneity, you know. Do something out of my ordinary.”

“That sounds risky. Are you sure you're up for it?”

“Oh, I'm sure. I've already got some plans to make this the most exciting excursion of my life.”

Why are you telling him this, girl?

“Really?” Chase laughed. “I can't even imagine that. Plus, if you have ‘plans,' doesn't that sort of go against the whole spontaneous aspect? And you really don't strike me as the cast-cares-to-the-wind, let-go-and-let-flow type. You're one of those by-the-book sisters. I bet you try to
plan
everything. And you probably have a bunch of rules that you follow religiously and try to make others follow them, as well.”

Taken aback for a moment, she wondered,
How does he know?

Watching him drive, with his chin tilted all smugly, caused her indignation to sprout. She could throw caution to the wind just as much as the next girl! And who was Chase, anyway, to think he had her all figured out, put in a box and tied with a neat bow? She could be just as wild as anyone else.

Really
she could.

Cicely decided it was time to let Mr. Know-It-All in on her real plans for her island stay. She would need his help locating the hot spots, anyway. And he had offered to show her around.

“I'm thinking I'll have an island fling while I'm in Dahinda. And I would love it if you could take me somewhere where I can meet someone to fit the bill.” Once the words fell out of her mouth, she thought about calling them back.

Chase's head turned sharply, and he gawked at her.

“Eyes on the road, dude!”

“Okay.” Shaking his head as if he was trying to clear it, Chase let out an uneasy chuckle. “You just shocked me for a minute.”

Cicely tilted her head.

That's right, baby boy! I can be spontaneous.

“I don't know what's so shocking about it. Women of the world have affairs all the time. It's the new thing. Don't you watch television? Step into the twenty-first century, dude.”

She could see his face twisting up in weird contortions even from his profile. Each frown, open and close of his mouth and purse of his lips made her squirm just a little bit more in her seat.

Cicely started to rethink her plan. Why was she asking Chase Yearwood, of all people, to help her find someone to have her get-your-groove-back fling with? Wasn't that a bit like the three little pigs asking the big bad wolf to help them rebuild their homes? Maybe it wasn't such a bright idea after all.

She knew she had made a colossal mistake when Chase pulled the car off the highway at the next exit. After finding a nice, quiet, rural spot, he stopped.

He parked the car, took several breaths and looked at her with his eyebrows arched ever so slightly.

“Let me get this straight. You want me—” he paused and pointed to himself for emphasis “—to help you—” he squinted and waved his hand in her direction “—find a man to have a hot island fling with?”

“Well, yeah. You're the one who said you wanted to look out for a soror. Yada, yada, yada. Help a sister get to know your island…. Let bygones be bygones. Blah, blah, blah.”

If she had a collar on her shirt it probably would have been tight right about then. Instead she just felt a slow heat rising from her neck to her face. If she'd been a little lighter in complexion, she would have
been turning ten shades of red. Leave it to Chase to make her feel uneasy and on edge.

 

Chase couldn't help staring at Cicely. He hadn't expected such a request to come from her mouth. He'd actually thought he would have to be creative and find ways to get close to her.

She'd unwittingly provided him with the perfect in. He wasn't a big believer in fate. But meeting up with Cicely on the plane and having her share her outrageous plan for him to help her find someone to have an island affair with would certainly make a believer out of him. Because the only person little Miss Cicely was going to be having a fling with in Dahinda was him.

Touching his hand to his chin, he studied her. She seemed a little flustered. He figured she was having second thoughts, and he couldn't allow that. “So, what exactly are you looking for in an island fling?”

“Huh?”

Her mouth fell open, and he couldn't help noticing the sexy fullness of her lips. To kiss them again would be divine. He couldn't wait.

“You know. What type of man are you looking for? I think I remember something about your tastes back in college.” Boy, did he remember. He wished he could forget. “You like those pocket-protector type of brothers don't you?”

“I…do…not! I mean…normally…I do…but…well…” Uncomfortable didn't even begin to describe the flustered look in her eyes and the quick opening and closing of her luscious mouth.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then she turned and stared him right in the eye. “That's my usual preference. I have more in common with men who don't live by the notches on their bedposts. But for my fling, I'm thinking I'll take a walk on the wild side. If only for the week I'm here…”

“Are you sure you can hang? No offense, but you don't look like the wild-side type. Definitely not the fling type.”

No, little Cicely, you are the until-death-do-us-part type. A guy would have to be silly or ready to play Russian roulette with his bachelorhood to get into a fling with you. But pass me the gun and label me stupid, because I'm all in.

Chase tapped the steering wheel as he waited for her response.

She sighed in contemplation. “That's the thing. Usually, I'm not. But let's just say I've had an awakening of sorts. And I learned that life doesn't last forever. I also learned that sometimes we should dive ahead into uncharted territory in order to make it possible to really move on.”

Psychobabble. Somebody's been watching a little too much Oprah.

He'd never thought he'd have a reason to thank daytime television. But then, he'd never thought he'd have Cicely Stevens boxed, gift wrapped and handed to him with a bow.

Thank you, Oprah, Dr. Phil, whoever!

“Okay. So, what are you looking for?” Trying to hold back the wide grin that threatened to surface proved to be hard work.

“Well…I guess I'm looking for a bad boy. Someone like…well…you…ah…you know, someone who can take me places I have yet to even imagine.” A small bead of sweat appeared on her brow as she turned away from him. She swallowed several times and then turned back to face him. “I just want to have an experience for once in my life that is totally outside of the norm, totally unlike anything that I would
ever
do.”

Chase studied the woman sitting next to him, looking for the catch. She had to be playing with him, right? No way was fate that much in his favor. He took a whiff of the sweet island air and smiled. He should have made it back home a lot more often.

“Are you serious about this?”

She paused for a moment, fiddling with her seat belt. After a deep breath she stated, “I have never been more serious about anything in my life.”

“Okay, Cicely. You have got yourself a deal. I promise you, I won't rest until you have experienced an island fling that will blow your mind and take you to another world.”

She didn't need to know at that moment that he'd decided that he was going to be the one to take her there and deliver the fling. All she needed to know right then was that she had a helper.

“Great, then…ah…I mean…I know you're visiting your family and all, and I don't want to intrude on their time.” She tried crossing her sexy legs, but the space in the small sports car didn't allow for much movement. It did allow him to get a good glimpse of her long, shapely limbs and to imagine all the ways they could wrap around him.

She licked her lips in a nervous gesture, and he felt a tightening in his gut.

“So if you can't escort me to the spots, just point me in the right direction. Once I find my fling-man, then I won't need to bother you anymore.”

“Oh, I'm sure I can spend time with the family and help you find what you're looking for, as well.” Intrigued, Chase leaned over. “In fact, I think finding the proper man for you to have this little tryst with is going to be super easy. I think I might have someone in mind.”

“Really? Well…that's…wonderful.”

“I know. I think he's just what you're looking for. Just what you need.”

“Just so long as we're clear that I'm looking for a no-promises, no-commitment-required, no-questions-asked fling. I just want to let my hair down and have fun for once in my life. You know?”

“Yes, I know. And like I said, I'd even be willing to escort you to the island hot spots and clubs.”

“Cool. I can't wait.”

“Neither can I. Neither can I.”

The vacation had taken on a very interesting slant and a promising turn indeed. Chase pulled back onto the road with a big smile on his face.