The Best Man (13 page)

“But
I don’t think he was, Mom,” Christine said quietly. Arlene met her gaze. “In
fact, I think he’s as interested as I am, but I said some things last night
that I shouldn’t have said. Now he won’t let me apologize.”

Arlene
turned to Christine, her expression pert. “Are you going to take no for an
answer?”

“Not
if I can help it.”

“Good.”

Christine
couldn’t help but notice that Jake was keeping his distance. It looked as if he
was making arrangements to go diving again, and she wondered if he intended to
come to eat at all.

“Mom,
I need your help. I need the key to his cottage, without him knowing I have it.
Will you help?”

Arlene
stirred her coffee far too long, her gaze fixed upon her son. “I’ll do it, but
only if you guarantee me that there will be another wedding as a result. I’m
not in the habit of arranging liaisons.”

Christine
smiled in relief. “I’ll do my best.”

“Well,
that’s all anyone can expect.” Arlene stood up. “Give me a moment, dear.” She
headed across the restaurant to talk to Jake. Christine watched covertly,
pretending all the while to be fascinated by her breakfast, but she couldn’t
completely hide her smile when Jake heaved a sigh and fished his room key out
of his pocket to surrender it to his mother. He turned away then, heading for
the beach even as Arlene returned to the breakfast table, her expression
triumphant.

“I
told him it was for Jess, that she needed some time to think alone,” Arlene
said as she pressed the key into Christine’s hand. “You’ll have to be
persuasive, dear. He’s in quite the mood.”

Fortunately,
Christine had a good idea how to do that.

* * *

Just
walking down the private pier to the cottage made Christine feel as if the
resort was a thousand miles away. The beach was deserted because of the rain,
the sound of falling water surrounding her. Heart pounding, she slid the key
into the lock of the cottage and opened the door.

It
was beautiful. The entire far wall was composed of windows facing the ocean, a
slight breeze wafting into the space. She could hear the rain falling on the
deck outside, and the gentle rhythm of the sea. The room itself was large and
luxurious, again decorated in those timeless neutrals. The palette ensured that
the view had no competition.

She
opened the sliding doors to the deck and stood listening to the rain. The
entire view was silver and blue, falling water and rippling waves. It was both
serene and sexy.

She
couldn’t have ordered anything better.

This
was going to work.

* * *

Jake
had had a crappy day diving, which was against the odds—but maybe not,
since he was so upset about messing everything up with Christine. He didn’t
like the other guys razzing her about having sex with him, and couldn’t even
begin to imagine what Fiona had said to her. Worst of all, though, was
realizing that he shouldn’t have been so dumb as to walk away from her the
night before.

Or
even this morning.

By
the afternoon, he’d decided. He’d talk it out with her for once and for all.
They’d get everything straightened out. He’d tell her how he felt and tell her
how he wanted them to be together, and accept her reaction, whatever it was.

He
wanted to get showered and changed, then go and find her. Maybe he could
persuade her to give him another chance. Maybe he didn’t care what he had to
say to make it happen.

Just
to make it worse, it had started to rain that morning. The gentle steady rain that
only made him think of Christine’s description of how she’d like to be taken
the second time. The first time had been awesome, but Jake was doubting there’d
be a second.

The
rain taunted him.

He
walked down the pier to his cottage, hoping his sister hadn’t fallen asleep in
the room, or that she wanted to talk. He wasn’t feeling like the great advocate
for love, marriage and happily ever after, and he was annoyed with Jess for
speaking sharply to Christine. Feet from the door, he feared that she might have
left the room locked to pursue another adventure. Jess wasn’t big on
consideration these days, which was completely unlike her. Even so, Jake really
didn’t want to spend the time to hunt down his sister.

Now
that he’d decided to go to Christine, he wanted to do that immediately.

He
raised a hand to knock on the door to his cottage only to notice that it was
open, the door latch resting against the frame. He pushed the door open and
called. “Jess?”

There
was no answer. He could feel the wind coming off the ocean and knew the doors
facing the water must be pushed open. The air in the cottage was cool and
soothing.

Maybe
she’d fallen asleep.

He
stepped into the cottage and left his diving gear by the door, unfastening his
wet suit as he walked into the space. The bed was empty and so was the couch.
He was going to call out again, then Christine stood up and he couldn’t make a
sound.

Time
froze.

Christine
had been sitting in one of the big chairs, facing the water. She was wearing
that halter dress, the hem swirling around her legs, the white more striking
now that she had a bit of a tan. She was wearing strappy sandals that made her
legs look exquisite, and had her hair would up, just one curl on the back of
her neck. Jake nearly groaned at the temptation she offered. If she’d dressed
like this only to toss him back, she’d kill him.

Then
he saw that she was wearing the pearls, and he hoped he hadn’t screwed up
everything forever.

She
smiled, and he was encouraged that he had a chance.

“Your
mom tricked you about the room key,” she said quietly. “Because I asked her
to.”

Jake’s
heart began to pound. “Have you been here all day?”

“I’d
wait even longer for you.” She took a step closer. “I’m sorry, Jake. I was
embarrassed and hurt, but I know you well enough to realize that you’re not the
kind of person who would do something like that just for money.” She smiled
sadly. “You probably weren’t even out of the room before I knew I was wrong.”

Jake
shoved a hand through his wet hair, relieved but still needing to explain
himself. “I didn’t want you to have any doubts about my reasons for being with
you.”

“And
you knew about the bet.”

He
nodded. “I never wanted you to think any of this was about a stupid bet. Not
even for a minute.”

“So,
what happened?”

“But
at dinner last night, Mark told me that Kade had won the bet. That’s why I came
to you. Once I heard that news, well, I didn’t even want to take the time to
confirm it.”

“But
Mark lied.”

Jake
nodded again. “I think Fiona was getting even.”

Christine
didn’t look too surprised by this. “She always wanted you for herself.”

“Well,
she’s out of luck.” Jake dared to take a step closer. “I’m hoping that I’m
committed to another lady for the duration.”

Christine
smiled at him but didn’t answer him directly. “I wondered what the issue was. I
didn’t think you were ever going to take me.”

Jake
swallowed and shook his head. “You nearly killed me. I’ve always wanted you,
but you’ve been driving me crazy this week. I don’t know if I could have waited
much longer.”

Her
smile turned mischievous. “So, maybe we would have won the bet anyway.”

Jake
grimaced. It all seemed so sordid. “I’ll give the money away. Or donate it to a
charity. Whatever you want.”

“I
have a better plan than that.” Again, she didn’t tell him what she was thinking,
just strolled around the chair as if she’d taunt him with what might not be his.
She flicked him a glance. “So, you’re not turned off by my fantasies?”

“Hardly!”
He strode after her, wanting to have everything clear. “But Christine, it’s not
just about sex. I didn’t want to risk our friendship by telling you how I felt,
not if there wasn’t some chance of you feeling the same way.”

“I
think it’s safe to say our friendship has changed, forever.”

Jake
didn’t know what to make of that. Did she mean she was going to reject him?

She
was watching him, her eyes bright. “What changed your mind about risking our
friendship?”

“That
kiss in the airport.” Jake heaved a sigh. “Jesus, woman, you had my attention
completely.”

She
smiled then. “That was my hope.”

Before
he could think of what to say to that, Christine lifted her arms. Jake was so
snared by her smile that it took him a moment to realize that she was untying
the halter neck of her dress. She let it drop, revealing her perfect breasts to
his view.

They
had to get everything cleared up before she touched him. Jake knew that once
she laid a fingertip on him, neither of them would be saying much of anything
for a while.

“You’re
not mad about winning the bet, then?” he forced himself to ask.

“I
was. But now, I think we can put the money in our house fund. We’ll need a
house, don’t you think?” She cast him a sweet smile. “For when the kids come?”

“Yes,”
Jake managed to breathe, overwhelmed that all of his dreams were coming true.

Before
he could say more, Christine unfastened the zipper and waistband of her dress,
letting it drop to the floor. It fell like a cloud around her ankles, but she
stepped gracefully over it. She was wearing only the pearls and those sandals.

His
beautiful angel—with very earthy passions. She was the perfect
combination.

“There’s
just one small problem,” Christine said as she strolled toward him. Jake didn’t
know where to look first. She was so beautiful, but her sexy smile and the
gleam of mischief in her eyes won.

“Problem?”
he managed to echo.

Christine
wrinkled her nose. “I could only convince your mom to get your room key for me
by promising her that there’d be a wedding as a result.”

Jake
grinned in relief. “You didn’t promise to let her plan it, did you?”

Christine
smiled and shook her head. “Just that I’d do my best to ensure there was one.”
She stopped right before him, her perfume rising to tempt him. He could smell
the wet heat of her sex and it was intoxicating.

“I’ve
been sitting here, touching myself,” she whispered, her confession sending a
jolt through Jake. Once again, her passion surprised and enticed him. She ran
her fingertips across his chest, starting an array of tingles that made him hot
and tight. “Ensuring that I’d be ready for you.” He caught his breath, unsure how
he’d keep from taking her as quickly as he had the night before.

Or
whether he’d ever get enough of her.

“Does
that confession bother you?” she murmured and Jake shook his head.

“Tell
me all your fantasies,” he said. “Every single one. And I’ll do my damndest to
make them all come true.”

“I
know.” Her eyes shone as she leaned close and brushed her lips across his. It
was a fleeting kiss, and one that left him hungry for more.

“Slow
the second time,” he whispered. “That’s what you said. Slowly and while it’s
raining.”

Christine
smiled. “The wedding isn’t until Thursday, and they do have room service if we
need to keep up our strength.”

“We
just might.” Jake chuckled and stole another sweet kiss. She was like fire in
his veins, her touch filling him with passion and promise.

When
he finally broke their kiss, they were both short of breath and it seemed much
warmer in the room. The wind drifted through the windows like a cool caress,
and the patter of rain on the deck was magical.

So
was the light in Christine’s eyes. She tilted her head to study him. “But what
I want to know is how you managed to make it rain.”

“I’ll
never tell,” Jake said. “I just wanted another chance.”

She
smiled, her expression revealing that he should never have had any doubt of her
feelings. “I love you, Jake.”

“And
I love you, Christine. Now, let’s do something about it.” He bent and caught
her lips beneath his own, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. He
eased one hand between her thighs, the wetness of her sex making everything
within him clench. He caressed her gently and she moaned, gasping against his
skin with a passion he’d never imagined she possessed—and one he would
never get tired of exploring.

“Let’s
make another fantasy come true,” he whispered into her ear, then carried her to
the bed to do just that.

* * *

Watch for

Always a Bridesmaid

and

Forever Bound

the continuation of