Peachy Keen (7 page)

The sinking feeling in my guts switched to a soaring one the moment my hand slipped into his.

***

Harrison held up one finger when my first word slipped out, ready to tell him the events of the previous night. I smiled as he shut his eyes melodramatically, enjoying his first bite of crispy bacon. Finally, he swallowed and hummed a delighted noise before grinning at me.

“Fine. Proceed with your story, if you must.”

“Okay, so yesterday I spent a good portion of my morning with Clark—I mean, Nate—”

Harrison’s eyes widened. “You’ve got a real issue with names, don’t you? How many dudes did you meet yesterday?”

I scoffed and stole a piece of his bacon—calories be damned, I was on fucking vacation. “I know his name,” I protested. “It’s Nate. But before I knew him I was calling him Clark. You know, he’s got that whole Metropolis, Man of Steel thing going for him. Anyway,” I said just before he cut me off again.

“Wait. She’s gorgeous
and
she references comic books? Be still my heart.”

It was a quick joke, but it, along with his smile, made my heart thump for a moment. Hearing him call me gorgeous even offhand made me remember that first night all over again. I was trying like hell to forget all that and just be friendly. Harrison’s brown eyes squared on me and he lifted his brows as if to urge me to go on, no more mention of what I did to his heart.

Finishing the story would surely clear my head of thoughts of the way his hips pressed against mine. I cleared my throat and took a stab at the fruit salad on my plate anxiously. “So we hung out during the day then met up at the club last night and we were drinking…maybe more than I realized, but I was only tipsy. I guess it was around one when we ended up in his room and—”

“Whoa. Okay, you can stop,” Harrison said with a nervous laugh.

He was getting really good at interrupting me. The pink tint to his cheeks made me smirk and I knew I had to see the look on his face when I finished the story.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, it’s about to get good, I promise.”

“Oh, I imagine it was good. I just don’t—”

My turn to interrupt. I cocked one eyebrow just to make him sweat, anticipating the next salacious detail. “Nate had me on the bed, hands roaming,” I breathed.

Harrison raised one hand to cover his eyes with a groan, that nervous, boyish grin never leaving his lips.

“He took his shirt off and then he was just hovering above me with his fingers at the hem of my dress. I could tell he was going to kiss me and that was only the beginning…”

“Come on,” he pleaded.

My smile grew wicked and I pulled his hand away from his face. He sighed and rested his chin in his palm. A surge of glee shot through me as I saw a mix of embarrassment and objection on his face. The memory of Nate looking down at me with his eyes barely slit open drifted through my mind. He was a dirty talker, telling me all the things he was going to do to me all while licking his bottom lip every few seconds. I could smell the booze on his breath, so strong it was probably seeping out his pores. He gave me a goofy grin, slid his hands under my dress, and just as I let my arms float over my head I saw his expression change.

“And then…Nate turned pale and thankfully I had the smarts to roll out from under him before he hurled all over his bed.”

Harrison’s head dropped. A laugh rolled though him, shaking his broad shoulders. I bit down on my bottom lip to keep from beaming the cheesy grin his reaction sparked in me. A guardian angel must’ve been looking out for me because I sobered up quickly enough to roll lightning-swift to the side just as he emptied his stomach. I’d squealed and scrambled off the bed as he flopped forward with a moan and a mumbled, “I’m sorry, baby.”

Harrison’s laugh had gone silent and he sighed happily, shaking his head and returning to his breakfast. “That’s so awesome. You really had me going for a second, thinking you were about to give me a play by play of...you know.”

“You can’t say it?” I laughed. “If you can do it with me, you can say it to me.”

His dark brows jumped and his head ticked to one side as he averted my gaze. “I thought we were going to forget we’d ever seen each other naked and just be friends.”

“Right.” I nodded, a scant smile brimming on my lips.

Silence filled the space between us as we finished our breakfast, both of our mouths barely upturned as the story hung in the air. I pulled my phone from the pocket of my shorts and pushed back from the table at the sight of the time.

“Hey, I gotta run. Thanks for meeting me. I’m glad I got to apologize.”

“And I’m glad you told me that story,” Harrison chuckled. “I hope I see that guy today.”

As I stood from the table, I swatted his bicep, careful not to get too good of a feel of his hard muscle. “You better not say anything! Poor guy had to wake up in his own puke.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He followed my motions and stood, reminding me once again how tall he was, which in turn reminded me how much that had excited me two nights ago. “Where are you headed now?” he asked.

“I’m getting a pedicure in the spa,” I said as we started walking out to the courtyard together. “Do you wanna come with me? Maybe they could squeeze you in and we could keep talking…”

Oh my God. What the hell kind of offer was that? Why didn’t I just ask him if he wanted to go dress shopping or have a Reese Witherspoon movie marathon? Clearly, being friends with men was not my forte. I looked up at him and watched the self-satisfied smirk spread across his face as he stroked one hand down his jaw.

“Is that some kind of challenge?” he asked. “Like you think I’m not secure enough to get a pedicure with you?”

“God, no,” I blurted, trying desperately to recover. I wanted him to be my friend, not my gal pal.

“I’ll get a pedicure,” he said defiantly. “I’m from LA.”

A giggle broke free from my mouth before I could stifle it. He glared at me and I simply rolled my eyes at him as I led the way to the spa.

“You’re from Canada,” I countered with another snicker.

He palmed my shoulder and gave me a shove to the left as we headed to the spa…as friends.

***

I watched as Harrison used the remote control connected to the pedicure throne to adjust the seat. Even after he’d moved the seat as far back as it could go, he still looked too big for the chair, sitting with his feet soaking in the rumbling water. He shot me a look and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at him. Glancing around at the rest of the nail room, I noticed another man and woman sitting beside one another getting their feet massaged.

“I didn’t realize how much this place catered to couples. I always kind of pictured it as a continuous college party, but it’s…pretty romantic,” I observed.

Harrison didn’t respond with more than a hum and a nod and I wondered if I’d regret my invitation. Letting a cleansing breath flow in and out of my lungs, I shut my eyes and enjoyed the feel of the jets pulsating against my feet and ankles.

“Can I ask you something?”

His deep voice woke me from the peaceful state. My head rolled to the side, still rested back against the cushy leather chair, to look at him. One moment with my eyes closed and I’d nearly forgotten how handsome he was. A relaxed smile painted my mouth as I nodded.

“Why don’t you want Danielle to know you’re here?”

Good question. I’d been so adamant about keeping it to myself, I hadn’t really considered why. When it came to the way we handled our love lives—sex in particular—Danielle and I were polar opposites. She was discriminating and cautious and I was anything but. Thankfully, Danielle was probably the least judgmental person I’d ever met. She never so much as gave me a scolding look all the nights I came home from bars with different guys only to kick them out when the sun rose. She knew I was a big girl and could handle my own life, mistakes and all. So why did I care if she knew I was coming to the place I’d all but thrown her to a few months ago?

If there was shame in being at Desire, then we shared that shame. I’d never felt the need to hide anything from her before and here I was keeping one big secret that had led to another…and that bigger secret was sitting beside me, waiting for an answer.

“I have no idea,” I replied honestly.

His brow lifted and he nodded again but didn’t comment. He couldn’t stop interrupting me at breakfast and now the silent treatment? It was time to change the subject.

“Tell me about working for Evan. Isn’t it weird being his friend and working for him?”

Harrison scratched at the thick dark hair on his chin for a second. “Oddly enough, it’s never been weird. We work really well together. Most days it doesn’t feel like work.”

“What all do you do for him?”

I watched as he shifted to prop his foot where the nail tech had motioned. He looked so uncomfortable, I didn’t know whether to laugh or apologize.

“Everything you can think of. I run his schedule for everything from auditions, shoots, and interviews to dentist appointments and golf games. I make sure the legal stuff gets in his lawyer’s hands and the money stuff gets in his accountant’s hands. I walk his dog, pick up his dry cleaning, book his flights…you name it.”

“Sounds like you’re his wife,” I blurted with a laugh.

“Sounds like you’ve got the wrong idea of what means to be a wife,” he bit out.

It took me by surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a man read me so well so quickly. Setting my eyes on him, I drank in the taunting smile on his lips and couldn’t find my words. He lowered his head and peered over at me with a whisper of a grin and a sparkle to his eye. A shudder zipped up my spine when a daring thought crept in my mind.
What’s Harrison’s idea of a wife?

He averted his eyes and rested his head back against his chair. “But I guess considering I always blow him on his birthday and Christmas, yeah, I can see where you’d think I was his wife.”

The moment the words hit my ear, I snorted. I straight up snort-laughed. I clamped my hand over my mouth and held my head in my hands, half dying of embarrassment and half lost to hysteria. After I got myself together, I pushed my hands through my hair and looked over at him and his self-satisfied smirk. I snickered. “You’re such a smart ass.”

He grinned. “You’re the one who wanted to be my friend.”

I shook my head absently, completely aware of the sidelong gaze he fixed on me and the foreign sensation of butterflies letting loose low in my belly.

8.

If I Can’t Have You

Georgia

The next morning after my breakfast, my curiosity was piqued when I saw a crowd gathered along the edge of the open-air lobby. The moment I saw him with his brows knit neatly together looking over a glossy tri-folded pamphlet, I let a smile bloom on my lips. He didn’t seem to notice me sidle up beside him near the table covered in brochures and sign-up sheets. I glanced down at his flip flop clad feet and nudged him gently with my elbow.

“I’m still hurt you didn’t want to match me. Think of how great those toes would look in Mega Magenta,” I quipped, nodding toward his feet.

Harrison grinned down at me. I hadn’t seen him since we said goodbye after our joint spa service, though I admit I spent the rest of my time outside of my room last night casually glancing around for him. I’d taken the rest of the day to relax and enjoy a leisurely dinner alone. Then, boring as it may sound, I snuggled under my fluffy down comforter and watched a movie on Pay-Per-View. Of course it had to be some sickeningly sweet chick flick that damn near had me tearing up when the couple beat the odds, her parents finally accepting the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. What the hell had gotten into me and turned me into such a sap? I was noticing couples left and right at the resort and swooning over cheesy love stories that set me back nine bucks?! I needed to snap out of it. It was like all of Dani and Evan’s clichéd cuteness had rubbed off on me just before I got on the plane.

“I’ll stick with the natural look,” Harrison replied.

“What’s going on? Why the mad dash for the lobby?”

His hand jutted out to me, offering me the brochure he’d been reading. “Tomorrow is Adventure Day. You can sign up for field trips, I guess. I was just having a look.”

My eyes grazed over pictures of colorful fish and couples looking goofy in snorkeling gear. Turning the paper over in my hands, I read a little bit about the experience and the one thing that jumped off the page at me was the fact that the day ended at a place called Lover’s Beach. My head whipped up to find Harrison shifting on his feet and looking positively brooding.

“Would you want to…” he started as I handed him back the pamphlet.

I gulped.

“I mean, as like a f—friend thing,” he added.

I suddenly flashed back to our first encounter and the way he stammered, internally wrestling with his decision to take me to bed. Searching for words, I snapped mindlessly at the black elastic on my wrist. The beach looked beautiful. Spending time on a boat and having a day out by the rocks at the tip of the coast sounded great. But the list of reasons why I shouldn’t started unrolling in my mind. Starting with number one: I accidentally slept with my best friend’s boyfriend’s best friend and now we’re supposed to forget it ever happened. And number two: he’s too fucking gorgeous and the sex was too amazing to
ever
forget.

The list continued, but when I caught the grimace on his face I couldn’t bear to say anything other than yes.

“Sure. I gotta run, though, so I’ll meet you here tomorrow morning, okay? Sign me up.”

A genuine smile beamed on his face and he bent over to add our names to the sign-up sheet. “You’re always running,” he muttered under his breath as he straightened again.

“What?”

“You said the same thing yesterday. ‘Gotta run,’ it’s like your version of goodbye,” Harrison remarked.

Again, I swallowed hard and fixed my gaze on him. Shit, he was good. Every miniscule side comment he directed at me gave me the feeling he’d been analyzing my diary. My mouth hung open, rendered speechless.