The Best Man (8 page)

“You
are.” She rose up before him, the moonlight turning her skin to silver and
making her look more enticing than ever. The water dripped from her breasts and
he gathered her into his arms, kissing her with all the passion that raced
through his veins.

Everything
was going to work out just fine.

* * *

Jake
had left a couple of towels on the beach, although Christine hadn’t seen them.
He’d been optimistic, but his hopes had been far exceeded. He led her out of
the water and dried her off, wrapping her in a thick towel with care.

After
another searing kiss, he took her by the hand and led her back toward the
resort buildings. Beside the stairs that led to the room she was sharing with Fiona,
Jake stopped.

“There’s
a path here,” she said, wiggling her toes. “Where are we?”

Jake
kissed her again, unable to get enough of that sweet mouth.

It
had been intoxicating to give Christine a fantasy in the moonlight, but Jake
wanted more privacy for their next encounter. He lifted his head and held her
shoulders in his hands, bending to touch his nose to hers and whisper. “
À
demain, chère.
” He pressed a kiss to
her temple, then her ear.

“Tomorrow,”
she whispered, then pouted. “What about tonight?”

“
À
demain,
” he repeated, treating
himself to one more slow deep kiss. Christine shivered at his touch. Her lip
trembled when he broke their kiss, tempting him to taste her again.

Instead,
he turned her in place, liking how she gasped. Jake spun her three times, gave
her on last quick kiss, then left her on the path. It wasn’t easy. He wanted to
follow her upstairs and spend the night making love to her.

He
stepped into the shadows of the garden, unable to keep himself from watching
her. Christine waited, biting her lip with uncertainty.

“Jake?”
she whispered. When he didn’t answer, she pulled off the blindfold and looked
around. She glanced toward the noise of the closest bar, then surveyed the
shrubbery.

“Tomorrow,”
she whispered, then blew a kiss before she darted up the stairs.

Jake
fought the urge to whistle as he returned to his cottage, knowing the sound
would only reveal his presence.

Take
me.
Christine’s breathless demand
haunted him and he knew he’d be awake all night thinking about doing just that.
Jake swallowed, hoping that someone in the wedding party had won the bet
already.

He
wasn’t sure he’d be able to resist Christine much longer.

* * *

Chapter Three

There
was a rap at the door first thing the next morning. Christine was already awake
but lingering in bed, happily recalling her interlude with Jake. Fiona had come
in much later and groaned at the knock, then buried her head under her pillow.
Christine grabbed a robe and answered the door.

One
of the maids stood there, smiling, with floral arrangement. There was a card
tucked in with the flowers, Christine’s name written on the front in that familiar
masculine hand. Her heart took a little skip, but she smiled and found a tip
for the maid, then leaned back against the door with the flowers in her grip.
They were beautiful, a dozen shades of yellow and pink, and beautifully
fragrant. She didn’t even know the names of all the flowers, they were so
exotic.

“What’s
that?” Fiona demanded, peering from beneath her pillow.

“Someone
sent me flowers.”

“Get
out!” Fiona sat up then, surprise and curiosity waking her up. “Who?”

“I
don’t know.” Christine was pretty sure she did know, but she wasn’t going to
confide in Fiona. She opened the card and scanned the contents.

Last beach cabana on the right. Be there alone at
noon.

Bring your mask.

Christine
caught her breath.

“Well?”
Fiona demanded.

“It’s
not signed,” Christine admitted, which was true.

Fiona
fell back into bed, burying herself beneath the pillow again. “So, you have a
secret admirer. Good for you.”

“Jealous?”
Christine teased and Fiona laughed.

“No.
I don’t like any secrets when it comes to admirers. Put it all in the window,
boys, and give me more. Hey, could you put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door
when you leave? I’ve got one hell of a hangover and I might bite any maid who
wakes me up.”

Christine
agreed and did just that. She pulled out her tote bag for the beach, knowing
she’d claim that cabana early. She showered and pulled her hair up in a
ponytail, then put on her bikini. When she came back into the room, Fiona
appeared to be sound asleep again. She moved quietly to keep from disturbing
her. She tied a sarong around her hips, packed sunscreen, water and a book,
then went down to breakfast.

She
wanted to dance in her anticipation.

Noon
couldn’t come soon enough.

* * *

Jake
was early to the breakfast buffet, partly because he had been awake half the
night thinking about Christine and partly because he was ready to see her
again. To his surprise, he wasn’t the first of their group to turn up for
breakfast.

Ryan
and his buddies were there, looking exhausted but jubilant.

“So,
did you score?” Mark demanded when he saw Jake.

“Me?
No. I figured I was just contributing to your winnings by joining the betting
pool.”

“It
was close,” Mark insisted, holding up a finger and thumb. “But she outsmarted
me.”

“Not
too tough when you’ve had ten beers,” Kade said quietly.

Jake
refrained from saying it wouldn’t have been too tough to do when Mark was
sober. The guy was not the brightest light. He caught Ryan’s twinkling gaze and
knew that man was thinking the same thing.

“It’s
not like you could have done much other than fall asleep in her snatch,” Steve
added.

“Maybe
that’s why she went for the windsurfing instructor,” Ryan said. “You know, picking
a live one.”

The
guys erupted into a lively discussion about Mark’s abilities and his condition
the night before, which was easy for Jake to ignore.

“Aren’t
you holding out on us?” Mark demanded of Jake. “I’d have to think you’d be able
to close the deal with Christine after that tonsil hockey in the airport.”

“Champagne
in business class,” Steve said with a roll of his eyes. “Unfair competition,
that’s what that was.”

“Hey,
you got an asset, you gotta use it,” Mark said, nudging Jake. “So?”

“So,
maybe I don’t want to talk about it.” Jake had to make sure that he kept
control until one of these guys won the bet. He didn’t want Christine to have
any doubts about his motivation—or that of her secret lover.

“Excellent!
He didn’t score, we’re still in the running!” The guys high-fived each other
and Steve went for more bacon and eggs.

“Hey,
here comes the ball and chain,” Darren teased, poking Ryan.

Ryan
swore. “Think she noticed I stayed out all night?”

Jake
took one look at his sister and knew she had. His mom was with his sister, her
expression filled with concern.

Christine
practically floated into the restaurant from the other side, her expression so
jubilant that Jake’s gut tightened in pleasure. She was wearing that bikini
again, this time with a bright sarong. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and
she looked luscious.

How
would he last until noon?

Christine
smiled at Jake, which reminded him that she’d called him by name the night
before. She knew—but part of her fantasy was that her lover was
mysterious. He had some work to do to disguise his identity from her.

Because
he sure wasn’t going to let her down, in any way.

Mark
looked between Christine and Jake, then jabbed an elbow into Jake’s ribs. “You
putting us on, man? Did you already win the bet?”

“No!”

“Liar!
Yo, he nailed her in one night!” Mark laughed, then gave Christine an
appreciative glance. “Maybe I can be next in line.”

Jake
saw trouble coming, and had to short circuit it. He leaned close to Mark on
impulse. “Hey, would you do me a favor and say that I was with you guys last
night?”

“You
dog!” Mark said with a grin. “You’re hedging your bets, aren’t you?”

“A
guy’s got to do what he’s got to do,” Jake said and the younger man grinned.

“Maybe
I should bet on you.”

“Take
lessons,” Steve suggested, his tone teasing. “I mean, man, you’ve got tons to
learn.” Kade watched quietly. Of all Ryan’s friends, he seemed most like a man.
He certainly didn’t say much, and he didn’t act as wild as the others.

“Good
morning,” Christine said, her smile a little warmer when she sat down beside
Jake.

“Good
morning. Sleep well?”

“Perfectly.”
She slanted him a mischievous glance. “Your mom will be pleased that you
shaved.”

Jake
grinned, then had an idea of how to confuse her. “I couldn’t stand it anymore.”

“You
don’t want to grow a beard on vacation?”

“No,
I’d have to shave it for Thursday anyway.”

“I
thought it looked good,” she said softly. “It made you look dangerous and
unpredictable. Not your usual look.”

Jake
tried to look as if he had regrets. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shaved it off after
dinner, then.”

Christine
looked at him, hard. “When did you shave it off?”

Jake
pretended to be interested in his breakfast. “Right after dinner. I couldn’t
wait to get back to the room and ditch it.” He sighed. “It felt so good. It
itches the first day or two.”

“Right
after dinner?” Christine echoed.

“Yes.”
Jake rubbed his chin. “And again this morning to get the strays. Nice and
smooth this way.” He cast her a smile, enjoying how discomfited she was. She’d
felt the stubble on his chin at midnight, Jake knew it. She looked down at her
bag and he saw the card he’d written, shoved into the bottom of the bag. He
leaned closer to her, bumping shoulders with her companionably, and dropped his
voice. “Hey, you want to avoid the wolves and go scuba diving today?”

She
looked at him and he strove to look innocent. “Uh, no, thanks. I want to work
on my tan.”

“Right.”
Jake chuckled, turning his attention to his eggs. “That’s right, that was your
plan.”

“What’s
that supposed to mean?”

“Sounds
like you don’t want the deal my mom nixed anymore.” Jake cast her a glance. “Or
maybe you’ve already found that secret lover.”

“I
don’t think so,” Christine protested, but she blushed in a way that made him want
to kiss her all over again.

Take
me.

Oh,
he would—as soon as he could be sure she’d never think he was just trying
to win a stupid bet.

* * *

Christine
grabbed the last cabana easily. The resort wasn’t full and there were more than
enough beach cabanas for the people who wanted them. Most people chose one
close to the resort and its bars. There were at least eight empty ones between
her and the next one that was occupied. She felt very alone, which presumably
had been Jake’s point.

She
tanned a bit, then took refuge inside the cabana, too restless to lounge. She couldn’t
lose herself in the story of the book she’d brought. She knew it wasn’t the
fault of the book—it was because of Jake. Had he really shaved right
after dinner? Or was he messing with her? Because the guy who had seduced her
in the moonlight had definitely been sporting a day’s growth of beard.

Was
it possible that it hadn’t been Jake?

Christine
couldn’t believe it. There were too many coincidences, including the fact that
her mystery lover had appeared right after she had told Jake her fantasy.

It
had to be Jake.

He
must be trying to confuse her.

She
wanted to know for sure.

The
cabanas were made of heavy nylon, striped in the same turquoise and white of
all of the resort’s outdoor furniture, and open to the ocean. They were planted
securely in the beach and could be folded back like the roof of a convertible
car. The space inside was big enough for several people to take refuge from the
sun. There were two chaise lounges from the resort already in this one, and a
third could have been fit in, as well.

Christine
had managed to evade the rest of the wedding party pretty easily. It seemed
that many of the guests had overindulged the night before. Fiona had offered to
take Jess shopping to console her—or distract her. Christine was just
glad the other woman was helping out. The suitcase with Jess’ wedding dress was
still missing, but Christine had promised to check in regularly with the
concierge.