Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: Unexpected Plans (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

Chapter Five

"Get over here!" Keira said between clenched teeth.

Monica pulled the villa's door closed behind her as she joined her friend at the end of the pier.

"What? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Keira grabbed her friend by her shoulders and positioned her so she was facing the last villa.

"Well hellllooo," Monica said as she noticed the man on the terrace. "Did you see how his butt fills out those jeans? This trip just keeps getting better."

"No, it doesn't. You have no idea who that is. That is Griffin Goodrich."

"Walt's son? What a coincidence. Did Walt tell you he was coming here?"

"No, he didn't, but why would he?" Keira took a quick glance over her shoulder and looked at Griffin through the curtain of her hair.

"How did you know him?" Monica asked.

"My parents used to tutor him. That's how I met Walt. They'd bring me along with them and I loved it because I always had such a crush on Griffin, but of course he didn't give me the time of day."

"What a jerk."

Keira laughed. "He really wasn't, but I was so much younger. I was four years younger than him so he probably didn't think of me as anything but some stupid kid who stared at him nonstop. I was so ridiculous I'm ashamed just thinking about it. But seriously, and I don't know if it's the air out here or what, because I've never admitted this to anyone before, but he is that
one
guy." Keira sighed dreamily. "Do you know what I mean?"

"No, I'm still waiting to meet that guy."

"Oh come on, there has to be someone in your past who just thinking about them gives you goose bumps and makes your heart do things a cardiologist might want to know about."

"No, there isn't. If there was, I wouldn't let him out of my sight. Especially if he looked like him." Monica looked past Keira at Griffin again. "You know who he reminds me of? Superman."

"I know, right? I thought that too."

Monica giggled, then lowered her voice.

"Oh my lord, he's looking over here," she said as she giggled more. "Wow, it's like I'm in high school all over again."

"Shut up, he'll hear you."

"I think he's checking you out," Monica whispered. "Seriously, he is staring right at us." Her hand shot up into the air and she waved to him. "Hi!"

"Stop that. What are you doing?" Keira said.

"Saying hi of course. I just remembered we are all adults, we don't need to act like high school kids anymore, that was ten years ago." She waved again at him. "Plus, you said you wanted someone to take your virginity, who better than your childhood crush? What did you call him? That
one
guy? Let's get you a memory you can really think about." She grabbed Keira's shoulders. "Oh my lord oh my lord, he's coming this way!"

"So much for acting mature," Keira snarked.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. Monica waved her hands frantically in front of her, and Keira grabbed them to stop her. Sometimes it made her envious that Monica could be so loud and out there, but right now she just wanted to hide.

The boy she had never stopped thinking about was heading her way. Only he wasn't a boy anymore, and she was definitely a woman.

She took another deep breath and held onto Monica's hands tighter to steady her own shaky hands.

"Excuse me," Griffin said, his deep voice tickling something deep inside Keira. "I couldn't help but notice you."

Keira placed her hand on her heart and urged it to calm down. Now wasn't the time to have a heart attack. She turned around and smiled at Griffin but didn't say anything.

His head tilted slightly to the side as his brow wrinkled. Slowly, his lips curved up and made wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

"Keira? Is that really you?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her into a hug and Keira melted against his strong body. "What a small world." He pulled back and looked at her as he slowly shook his head. "My God, you're gorgeous."

Keira felt her face burn as she flushed several shades of red.

"You're not so bad yourself," she said.

Griffin laughed. "How long has it been? I think the last time I saw you was senior year of high school. Has it really been twelve years? Gosh, you haven't changed a bit."

"Give me a break, I've definitely changed. I was fourteen then."

"And the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," he said.

"Shut up," Keira said. She looked away from him. She never imagined Griffin Goodrich flirting with her, and she thought her head was going to explode. "You're full of it. I know all about you and how you get around," she teased him.

"You'll have to tell me about that one day," Monica said.

Keira's eyes widened in embarrassment. She had been so focused on Griffin that she had forgotten her friend. She looked at Monica apologetically and smiled.

"Monica Strathorn, this is Griffin Goodrich. Griffin, this is my friend Monica."

"So is it just the two of you on this trip or are your boyfriends waiting for you somewhere?" he asked.

"It's just the two of us," Monica said. "We were just heading out to the restaurant by the main building for dinner. How about you and Keira go together instead?"

"Oh no, Monica, you can't do that. I can't leave you alone like that," Keira said.

"Please," Monica said, rolling her eyes. "I was just getting comfortable in that bubble bath when you forced me out. That was a long plane ride, and you know I don't travel well."

Keira lowered her voice as she searched her friend's eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Monica took Keira's hand and squeezed it. "Go. You know I wanted room service."

***

Keira was dazed throughout dinner. She knew she ate, but except for the floating orchids, she couldn't remember what was on the table. She and Griffin talked about everything, bouncing from one topic to the next as they caught up on the past twelve years.

A man sat at a grand piano in the corner of the room and started playing. Griffin held his hand out to her, and she looked at him with confusion. He motioned his head towards the dance floor and she put her hand in his.

As he led her onto the dance floor, she wondered if she was dreaming. Between the soft glow of the candles on the tables, the ocean, and the twinkling stars outside, she couldn't imagine a more beautiful place.

Slowly, they swayed to the music as he held her close. She could feel the heat of his body and the hard muscles of his chest pressed against her. She imagined what he must look like naked and felt her blood pump through her veins.

She didn't want the dance to end. She wanted to stay in his arms all night, but after a few slow songs, the pianist chose an up-tempo melody so they moved off the dance floor.

As they left the restaurant, Griffin slipped his arm around her waist. Instead of regular lamps, the pathway was lit with small torches that formed an arch over their heads.

"I was a wreck when you and your mom moved away," he said.

"Really? Your dad didn't tell me."

"I'm sure he didn't know. My dad and I are pretty close, but there's a lot that we don't talk about. I guess you're one of them."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, for example, I had no idea he had been in touch with you all these years."

"Really?"

"He never mentioned it and I guess since I never spoke about you, he had no reason to."

"You don't think that's a little odd?" she asked. "I mean after my mom passed away, he was the closest thing I had to a father figure."

He shrugged. "It's like I said, we just don't talk about certain things."

"And what if you did know that he and I were in touch?"

"Maybe I would have finally asked you out on a date."

"Maybe I would have said yes." She smiled up at him. "I always had a crush on you."

"I don't blame you," he said. "I'm pretty wonderful."

She laughed and elbowed him playfully in his side. He covered the spot with his hand and contorted his face as if he was in pain.

"You're terrible," she said.

"I can't be that bad. I remembered to bring Monica dessert."

He grinned as he held up a plain white box with a tiny window on top. Inside was a slice of pineapple cheesecake, Monica’s favorite. She knew it wasn't enough to make up for her leaving her to go on the date, but she knew Monica really just wanted to stay in that tub anyway.

The full moon was high in the sky as she walked hand in hand with Griffin along the cement pier back to their villas. He stopped in front of Keira's and she took the piece of cake from him.

"Any chance I can convince you to look at the moon with me?" he asked.

"I'd love that," she said. "Let me give this to Monica and I'll be right back."

She entered her villa and found Monica curled up on the couch watching a movie.

"Hey," she said. "I thought you'd be out later."

"He's waiting for me, but I wanted to give you the dessert we brought you."

Monica looked through the little window into the box and squealed with glee.

"My favorite! But wait, before you leave, you have to give me some details."

"He's perfect, Monica, he really is. He's exactly like I always imagined: funny, sweet, charming. Tonight has been amazing and honestly, I don't want it to end."

"Well then, no need to hang around with me anymore. But real quick, before you go, the guy who brought my dinner was insanely gorgeous and he has tomorrow off. He offered to show me around. I hope you don't mind."

"No, as long as you're happy."

"I only tagged along so I could lay on the beach, but if I get to spend the day with a hottie, I'm not going to turn that down. Plus I think it's crazy romantic that you ran into your old crush. Now get out of here so I can get back to my movie and eat this cake."

Keira found Griffin standing at the end of the pier. He turned around, reached for her hand, and kissed it before pulling her close to him.

"You were standing here alone when I first arrived," he said. "If I'm right, you were the king of the world."

Keira laughed and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, I can't believe you saw that. I thought I was alone. But actually I wasn't the king of the world, I was the queen."

"Well I'm sorry, but you were doing it wrong."

"Wrong? You mean there's a right way to do it? Or are you going to find me Leonardo DiCaprio?"

"I thought maybe I could fill in for him." Still holding her hand, he pointed to the bottom bar of the railing. "Step up on that."

He supported her as she stepped up, then intertwined their fingers together as he spread her arms out wide. She giggled as the wind swept past them.

"At least there are no icebergs out here," she said.

"Nope, none."

He lowered his head and brushed his lips along the length of her neck to her shoulder. A shiver ran through her and she gripped his hands tightly.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he lowered her arms and wrapped his tightly around her waist.

"No, I'm fine," Keira said, breathless. "I just don't know..."

Her voice trailed off. She couldn't finish her sentence. She couldn't even think. Was this it? Was she going to sleep with Griffin Goodrich, the man she had been dreaming about her entire life?

Griffin wasn't part of her plan. He complicated things. Her plan was a stranger, someone she wouldn't have to worry about running into back home. Someone she didn't grow up with. Someone she wouldn't develop feelings for.

"I want to make love to you," he said.

She turned towards him, and his lips crushed hers before his tongue slipped into her mouth. Her worries disappeared. She would regret it if it wasn't him and now that he was here, she knew no one would ever compare.

As he picked her up and carried her towards his villa, she thought about returning to Seattle and never seeing him again or even worse, seeing him with someone else. She needed to protect her heart. And she needed to stick to her plan. She didn't want anything complicated.

"Before this happens, we have to agree about something," she said.

"Anything. I'll do anything for you."

"What happens on vacation stays on vacation."

Confusion flashed across his eyes, but then he nodded slowly.

"If that's what you want," he said.

"It is. We'll have this week, and that's it. You can go back to your world and I'll go back to mine."

"But what if I want to see you again?" he asked. "I already know a week isn't going to be enough."

She shook her head, unable to believe he would really want that. She had to remember her plans. She had priorities, like her job, which she spent all these years in school for. Having a boyfriend wasn't part of the plan, even if he was
the
guy, Griffin Goodrich.