A Holiday Romance (16 page)

She swung her legs up. He sat on the other end of the sofa. “So there are strangers staying at your house on Osprey Island right now?”

“Yes. It’s odd to think of it.”

“Do you know anything about them?”

“It’s a him. One man. All I know is that he’s a police officer on vacation. He said he wanted solitude.” She leaned back on the cushions and ran her hands through her hair. “I sent him a ferry schedule and left the house keys in the mailbox.”

“That’s trusting.”

“I suppose I’m a trusting sort.”

He lifted his glass, let the liquor coat his tongue before swallowing. “Do you trust me?”

She took her time answering. “That depends what you’re asking of me.”

“I’m not sure.”

Her face was obscured by her tousled hair. “I’ll know when you know.”

“You trusted me today,” he said, surprising himself.

“I did?”

“Daisy said some unkind things. Probably Denver has, too.”

Alice looked away for a moment and he had a bad feeling. But then she brushed her hair back and met his eyes. “I see who you are. Even if they can’t.”

He rolled the glass between his palms. “I appreciate that.”

“Families,” she said with a chagrined smile. “They’re complicated.”

“Not what you bargained for on your vacation, hmm?”

“Truly? I didn’t expect any of this.” She sat forward, pulling her legs beneath her. “But I’m glad I found it. I wanted an experience.”

His gut tightened. He put his drink down. “Cactus needles included. How’s the arm?”

She extended it. “Feels good.”

He ran his hand along the skin of her arm. Soft, smooth, pink and gold like the skin of a peach. “Yes, it does.” His heart was a bass kettle drum.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
“And the leg?”

“You’re just hoping to get your hand up my skirt.”

He pretended shock. “Really, Miss Potter.”

She laced her fingers over her eyes. “Did I say that?”

“Alice…” Her name was honey in his mouth. “We shouldn’t.”

“No, we shouldn’t. Especially with your big day coming up.”

“Why don’t we forget about that for at least one night?”

“I can’t.
You
can’t.”

“You’re wrong.” He yanked her into his arms, almost violent in his urgency to prove he was more than a businessman.

She was trembling, her eyes huge. Her lips soft.

“I can,” he said, realizing that, indeed, he could. Far more easily than he’d expected.

Gulping she tried once more. “I don’t want to get you into tr—” But he cut her short, his lips coming down hard on hers. The kiss deepened. Their bodies tangled as they found the right configuration—as if they’d been choreographed.

No. As if they’d been freed.

T
HE BEDROOM WAS
completely dark when Alice opened her eyes. She felt Kyle beside her, exhilarated by his presence, comforted by his warmth. She listened to his breathing, wondering if he was as wide awake as she. It wasn’t so late that they could sleep through the night.

If he stayed.

Beneath the sheet, he touched her hip. “We missed the sunset.”

“There’ll be another,” she said. Then the realization that there might not be another sunset
for them
hit her hard.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He rolled onto his side, molding his body to hers. “Don’t say
nothing.
”

“Mmm.
Something,
then.”

“Something sweet.” She heard the smile in his voice.

“Something surprising.”

“Something sexy.”

“Something…singular.”

They both went quiet.

“How do you mean that?” he asked cautiously after a moment.

“I go home in three days.”

He didn’t respond.

She pushed further. “You go back to work tomorrow.”

He kissed her shoulder. “So?”

“We’ll have to pretend this didn’t happen.”

“Don’t say that. Not now.”

That was what he said. What she heard was
“Not yet.”

She turned over to face him, but found she’d become shy and couldn’t look directly into his eyes. She nuzzled against his chest. Began to pepper it with kisses.

With her eyelids closed, she wasn’t shy. With her eyelids closed, she remembered every kiss and caress and surprised gasp of their lovemaking. Whenever she’d felt uncertain, he’d known exactly how to put her at ease. How to overwhelm her with kisses so that she wasn’t thinking.

“I’m hungry,” she said.

He chuckled. “So am I.” He’d grown hard against her belly.

“There’s not much in the kitchen, but I do have cheese and crackers and half a bag of trail mix.”

“No cookies?”

“Macadamia nut.” She felt herself blushing in the dark. “There’s a spa in the private courtyard. We could be completely decadent and eat in the water, under the stars.”

“Like this? Uh, nude?”

“Haven’t you ever skinny-dipped?” She sprang from bed before she thought too much, aiming for the robe hanging on a hook on the bathroom door. “Meet you there in five.”

“I’
VE IMAGINED
doing this since I first got here,” she confessed, stretched out in the spa. “Look at those stars!”

“You could have asked Denver,” he teased.

“Oh, I considered that.”

“Did you really?”

The water bubbled around them. “Nope. Not
really.
But he’s not shy about being available.”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t put on the stern-boss face. That can’t be news to you.”

“I’ve looked the other way. After the disaster with Daisy, I didn’t want to know what Denver might do.”

“He’s pretty open about it—playing the cowboy Romeo, that is.”

“Right. It’s all fun and games until he flirts with the wrong woman.”

“Let it go, Kyle. He’s okay. I know you two have your problems, but he’s not mean, I don’t think. Not vindictive.”

“Like Daisy.”

“Well…yeah.”

“I’m sorry she was rude.”

“That’s not your apology to make.”

“I feel responsible, though. Someone has to be.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“You, too?”

“Jay tried, he helped, but…” She turned in his arms and leaned her forehead against his jaw. “At some point, you’re going to have to let go. You can’t be responsible for them forever.”

“You were, with your mom.”

“That was different. Your family is capable of making it on their own. Your siblings, anyway.”

“Don’t worry. When Denver goes too far, that’s it. He’s done for.”

“What if he surprises you?”

“I wouldn’t count on that.” Kyle toyed with a damp wisp of hair at the back of her neck. Finding his voice. “You, though. You, I can count on.”

She hunched her shoulders.

“No?” he said.

“It’s better not to make promises, don’t you think?” she said softly. It hurt like a blow. “That is the way you want it, right?”

His heart pounded. “But I didn’t expect that from you.”

“I’m known for my practicality.”

He felt heavy.
Singular.

“I thought we weren’t going there tonight.”

“It’s hard not to when you say…things like…” She was lolling, almost dozing off with her chin dipping into the water. “Say things like that to me.”

His arm splashed down into the water. “I can’t wait until you check out.”

Her eyes popped open. “Kyle!”

“Because then you won’t be my guest.”

“Oh.
Ohhh.
”

He caught her mouth with a kiss. “Don’t give me up so easily.”

“Giving you up would never be easy.”

Small comfort, but he’d take it for now.

A
LICE AWOKE
in the dark a second time, a bleak early-morning dark. She closed her eyes, knowing at once that she was alone in bed.

Would Kyle be in trouble for spending the night with her? She was afraid that in the light of morning
he’d decided they’d made a mistake. Dreaded that he’d be right.

She rolled her face into the pillow. Damn it, anyway. She was weak for losing heart so soon.

Also, increasingly angry at Kyle for leaving.

She sat up. Of course, he had to go, to show some discretion. His car had been parked right outside. She shouldn’t blame him.

But irrational or not, she did.

“It’s a woman thing,” she muttered. A catch phrase between her and Sue. If cell phone service wasn’t so spotty on the island, she’d call Sue right then.

“Dear Sue,” she said to the empty bedroom. “Last night I ordered in room service.”

Bawdy, but indirect.

“Dear Sue. Mom may be rolling over in her grave, but wow, am I ever getting my money’s worth.”

Crass.

“Dear Sue. Remember that hot tub I mentioned?”

“What was that?” Kyle stood in the doorway, dressed in yesterday’s clothes.

Alice yelped and yanked the sheet up to her chin.

“Sounded like you were having quite a conversation. I swear I heard ‘hot tub.’”

“I was writing postcards.”

“Where?”

“Imaginary postcards.”

“About hot tubs?”

She smiled. “P.S. Glad you were there.”

His grin was morning-after awkward. “Then you’re not mad at me for taking off so early? I was going to leave you a note.”

She swallowed. “Sure. No problem. I understand.”

He stopped rubbing the back of his neck. “You do?”

She waved him off. “Go on.”

“We could have dinner tonight. A late dinner. I’ve got a lot to get done today. The board members arrive tomorrow.”

“Let’s play it by ear, then.”

He hesitated, half turned to leave. “Okay.”

“Get,” she said, sliding down in the bed. “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Will you be around?”

“Today?” She yawned even though she was wide awake and taut as a violin string beneath the sheet. “I have to check with Chloe. She may have signed me up for cactus wrestling.”

He came back into the bedroom. “That reminds me. If you show any sign of infection from the cactus needles, call the concierge for an appointment at our clinic.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She was infected all right—with him.

“I guess I’ll go, then.”

She lifted a finger. “Bye.”

He went, but she didn’t hear the door. Sounds came from the living room and then he was back once more. He flipped something onto the sheet. “Here.”

She raised her head. “What is it?”

“A postcard.”

A postcard? “Great. Thanks.”

“I’m going now.”

“Then
go
already. Sheesh.”

He came back, swooping in with a kiss. “That’s better.”

Lots.
And right when she was trying not to fall in love with him, too.

Finally she heard the door click behind him and she could exhale. She let her arms drop. She hadn’t had that
many boyfriends, but was there anything more awkward than saying “goodbye, call me later,” to a first-time lover?

“Chalk up another one under ‘Strange New Experiences,’” she said to the ceiling.

She lifted the postcard. It was one of the freebies from a stack that had been left in the desk, along with brochures and hotel stationery. The front showed a nighttime glamour shot of the resort, lit like a movie set.

He’d written on the back.

But only one word.

She had no idea how to take it.

B
Y THE THIRTEENTH DAY
of her vacation, Alice had learned to horseback ride and waterski. She had driven a Razor in the desert and ridden a bike up and down a red-rock canyon. She’d boogie-boarded and sung campfire songs. Made a wedding cake. Had a massage. Drunk beers with a cowboy. Posed as a background model.

And fallen in love.

Rashly, recklessly, nonsensically in love.

With a man who’d told her “Thanks.”

“Thanks,” she said, shading her eyes at the stable door. “Thanks a lot. I owe you one, kid.”

At the other end of the stable aisle, a cowboy sprawled on a stack of hay bales was silhouetted against the brightly lit doorway. Set into the wall above the door, a giant electric fan swept air into the row of box stalls. Warm air, but at least it was moving.

Alice walked along the aisle, Denver’s eyes on her. A couple of horses dozed in the heat, their heads hanging over the stall doors. She stopped once to tickle Loco’s whiskered muzzle.

Denver wore jeans, boots and nothing else, the brim of his hat pulled low over his eyes. The rippled contours of his torso glinted with sweat and flecks of chaff. He could have posed for Mr. August in a beefcake calendar.

Whew.
“It’s hot in here,” she said.

“Sure is.”

“You’re not busy.”

“Nope. Pull up a seat.” He saluted her with a can of beer. “Want a cold one?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?”

“Help yourself, sweetheart.”

A sweating cooler sat on the patchy cement, packed with ice and the last two cans of a six-pack. She took one of them and sat on the edge of a bale of straw. “No trail riding today?”

“We had a few go out this morning, that’s all.”

She ran her fingers along the seam of her jeans. “I thought I could fit in one more ride before tomorrow night. The monsoon cooled things off.”

He grinned crookedly. “You’re acclimating if you believe that.”

“Maybe so.” Her blood must have thinned, too. It had been racing through her veins all day.

She knocked back a third of the can in one drink and then had to stifle a burp. “How about that ride?”

Denver just looked at her. “Does Kyle know you’re hanging out with his no-account brother?”

“Don’t call yourself that.”

“I’m sure you’ve heard it from Kyle.”

“We actually haven’t talked about you that much.”

“He doesn’t go around slapping himself on the back for giving his jerk-off brother a job?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Denver scratched his ribs. “That’s something.”

Something selfless.

He winked beneath his hat brim. “I’ll betcha he’ll have more to say when you’n’me go for that long romantic ride across the desert under the full moon.”

“I thought it was a group ride.”

“Doesn’t have to be. In Westerns, schoolmarms fall for the cowboy, not the prosperous town merchant.”

She shook her head, aware of the flush moving into her cheeks. “There won’t be any of that. This schoolmarm is taking the next stagecoach out.”

He chuckled.

She put her beer on the floor and got up to peek into the nearby stalls. Empty. Not much distraction there. She hadn’t come to flirt with Denver. But she’d felt some sort of urge. Could’ve been one last chance to enhance her experience, but more likely it was to try to make things right between the brothers. She was still a helpmate, after all.

Denver climbed to his feet and stretched, every move fluid but slow, as if he’d been dipped in warm molasses. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he got a saddle blanket, then a saddle. The smell of leather and horse and clean straw was comforting.

He paused beside her, holding the saddle against his hip. “Who’re you choosin’ to ride?”

Her face burned. Did
everything
Denver said have to sound so suggestive? Was he doing it just to torment her?

She licked her lips. “Loco.”

He upended the saddle on the floor. Came up close to her with his hand at the small of her back. His voice was low and intimate. “Are you
loco
for my brother? Or do I still have a chance with you, darlin’?”

“Oh, Denver. You know I’m not your type. Why cause trouble?”

“Who says you’re not my type? Kyle?”

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“The hell he wouldn’t. The day after I took you out, he sent around a memo reminding employees of the company’s anti-fraternization policy.” Denver moved closer. “Now, why’d he do that, d’ya think?”

She pressed against the stall boards. “I didn’t realize…”

“He can’t stand to lose.” His hand was on her shoulder now as he turned her to face him. “My brother knows that romancin’ the ladies is one area I’ve got him beat.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

Denver’s expression hardened.

She kept her arms crossed between them. “I would like to know—what did you mean, about Kyle cutting people out of his life?”
Me,
she thought, although the way Denver had said it made her wonder how he’d been affected in the past. “You said he has no heart.”

“You know what I meant, Allie. I can see it in your eyes. You’re as wary of him as a mouse with a rattlesnake.”

“You’re comparing your brother to a rattlesnake?”

“Why the hell not? He’s harmless most of the time, but you get too close and he’ll strike fast.”

“That’s absurd.”

“Ask Daisy.”

“Kyle told me about that. Daisy was stealing. She deserved what she got.”

“Did he tell you why she was stealing?”

Alice shook her head.

“It was our dad. He was in jail in Mexico over some damn business venture. He needed bail. And there was my brother with all the cash in the world and he wouldn’t help.”

“Kyle said he hasn’t seen his father in years.”

“Of course he hasn’t. He refuses to.”

She turned that over in her mind. “He must have his reasons.”

“The old man’s no saint, yeah. But I’m telling you—Kyle’s cold.” Before she could absorb that, Denver had shoved his hat to the back of his head and leaned into her, caging her shoulders between his arms. His face was so close to hers she smelled the beer on his breath. “You need someone warm, Allie.”

“Kyle’s been—”

Denver grazed his lips across her turned cheek. “Kiss me, darlin’. I’m so hot for you I’m burnin’ up.”

He was hot. Suffocatingly hot, parching all the air in her lungs. Her voice choked in her throat. She put her hands against his chest to push him away.

“That’s it,” he said, and brought his lips down on hers.

The kiss was electrifying, but not in a good way. The shock of having another man touch her the way Kyle had…She pushed him—hard.

Denver fell back, his arms pinwheeling and his face flashing his surprise.

Alice gaped. She wasn’t
that
strong.

Then she saw Kyle.

W
HEN HE’D WALKED
into the stable and seen his brother putting the moves on Alice, Kyle had had every intention of holding his temper and delivering the usual lecture, even knowing that Denver wouldn’t listen to a word of it.

But then Denver had kissed her, and the blood had roared in Kyle’s ears. He’d reacted out of instinct. The kind of instinct he’d thought his long practice of discipline had overcome.

One yank of his brother’s shoulder had pulled him
off Alice and sent him reeling into the stable aisle. That wasn’t enough. Even though Kyle had caught a glimpse of Alice’s shock, he couldn’t stop.

He went after his brother, swinging wildly. The first blow landed in Denver’s gut, a second caught him under the jaw. Denver’s hat flew off. His teeth clacked together and his lip bled.

Kyle froze. In slow motion, he saw Denver coming at him, his face twisted in a snarl. Alice had clapped her hands over her mouth.

His brother’s fist smashed into his face.

Kyle’s head snapped back. Pain exploded in his skull. He heard Denver swearing, his own ragged panting, felt sweat stinging his eyes, blurring his vision. The leaden heat. The sharp tang of the stable.

He whipped a hand across his face as Denver staggered toward him.

Kyle’s fists bulged.

“No!” Alice put out her arms.

She caught him in a tangle. “No more fighting.”

Denver shouldered in. “I can take him.”

“Stop it!” She held them apart with a hand on each man’s chest. “You’re fighting for nothing.”

“Nothing,” Kyle repeated.

“If you think—” She broke off to drag in a breath. “What you saw…that was nothing.”

“Bullshit.” Denver jutted out his jaw. “She liked it.”

Recognizing the bravado as so much bluster, Kyle bit down on his rage. He yanked at his tie and collar to loosen them. The damn things were choking him.

Alice held her ground. “Denver, you don’t really want me any more than I want you.” She looked from one brother to the other. “This isn’t even
about
me.”

She gave them each another push before flinging her hands up. “Figure it out for yourselves. I’m leaving.”

She stalked off, barging past a stable hand who was leading a horse inside.

Kyle opened and closed his fists. He glanced at his brother before swinging his head away in disgust. “Why did you do it?”

“Because you’re not—” Denver cut himself off. There was something strange in his eyes.

“What?”

Denver gave his head a shake. He spat blood. “You’re not better’n me.”

“Have I ever said I was?”

“You act like it.”

“You
think
I do.”

Denver grabbed his hat off the cement and slapped it against his thigh. “Yeah.”

A major concession.

“I’m sorry I hit you,” Kyle said. “I shouldn’t have.”

“Hell, yeah, you should have.” Denver put on his hat and puffed out his chest. The cocky grin was back. “I was making a play for your gal.”

Kyle didn’t speak. Down the aisle, the sound of the horse’s hooves on the cement reminded him of his position.

Denver made a chuffing sound. “She was right, you know. I don’t want her. She doesn’t want me.” He lifted the saddle off the floor. “So what’re you waiting for? Go get her.”

Kyle put out his hand.

Denver hesitated a couple of seconds before swinging the saddle down by his side with one hand wrapped beneath the cantle. He reached out with the other.

The brothers shook. Their eyes met.

“You’re gonna have a helluva shiner,” Denver said.

“What about that fat lip of yours?”

Denver’s smile cracked the dried blood. “I’ll get some tender loving care.”

“Not from any of the guests.”

“Nah. I got my eye on one of the maids. A sweet little
chica
with black eyes.”

Kyle just shook his head. His glance landed on their interested observer, the stable hand who’d come in at the end of the fight. Could be trouble, Kyle supposed, but at the moment he couldn’t make himself care all that much.

“Go on,” Denver said. “I’ll talk to him.”

They shared another look.

“Thanks.” Kyle said. “Thanks…brother.”

A
LICE HAD HOPED
to slip inside the condo unobserved, but Harriet Humbert waylaid her at the door. “Hank’s been asking about you. He wondered if you’d like a night out on the town.”

Alice’s head was not in the moment. She couldn’t think of a single excuse. “Oh, I don’t know…”

“Listen, toots. Hank may not be the dreamboat type like Mr. Jarreau, but the guy’s a catch. He’s got a house and a cabin cruiser, no STDs or ex-wives, and he’s even trained in Krav Maga for the past six years. He can take down a man twice his size.”

The thought that most were twice his size popped into Alice’s head. The idea of Henry Humbert, accountant, karate-chopping at some man-mountain’s knee made her smile. “I’m sure Hen—Hank’s a great guy. Thank him for the invitation, but I’m planning to stay in tonight.”

“That’s no way to vacation.”

“Yes, well, it seems I’ve been vacationing too hard. I need recovery time.”

“Uh-huh.” Harrie scrinched her elfin face into even more creases. “We’ve all heard about your late dates.”

“Late? I was home by eight o’clock.”

“Home, but not alone, heh?”

“What are you implying?”

“Never mind.” Harrie poked out a sharp elbow. “So what about tomorrow night?” She saved Alice from concocting an excuse by correcting herself. “No, I just remembered—that’s no good. Plans are brewing.”