Faking Paradise

by Lily Montgomery

  “Shit,” I said as the water ran over my face, washing off the last of the previous night’s makeup.

  We were having breakfast with my family this morning, and I needed to look decent. Not hungover and well-bedded. Once I toweled dry and dressed, I swept a bit of mascara on my lashes, leaving the rest of my face natural. I took the clip from my hair and ran my fingers through it as I walked out of the bathroom for my sandals.

  “Hey.” Grant was sitting up, stretching and rubbing his eyes.

  “Hey.” I sat on the end of the bed, slipping my feet into my sandals.

  The bed shifted as he moved, and he wrapped his arms around me, kissing my neck. I turned to see that the bedcovers were barely covering him, and he gave me a sly grin.

  “We have breakfast with my parents in ten minutes.”

  “Damn. Boner killer.” Not bothering to cover himself with the robe, he scooted to the other side of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Shamelessly, I watched him walk away, his ass looking even better in the light of day. Catching me off guard, he turned back and gave me a quick wink, causing me to blush. Despite our previous activities, having him catch me checking his backside out had me blushing.

  Once he was properly dressed, we joined my parents for a breakfast buffet that had me salivating. Taro bagels, ingredients for a smoothie bowl, sausage, and eggs as far as the eye could see. Despite having eaten midnight pizza, I was famished, and loaded my plate.

  I yelped when I felt a pinch on my left butt cheek, almost toppling my plate over.

  “I am starving,” Grant said, spooning a helping of eggs onto his plate. A quick kiss on the cheek and he went to the next hot bar for something I didn’t recognize.

  “Girl, you must have gotten it good last night,” Rebecca whispered in my ear.

  “What do you mean?” Shit, she could tell? How?

  “Grant hasn’t stopped looking at you all morning, and you’ve been grinning like an idiot. I know you like to eat, but not that much.”

  “I have not,” I said defensively. Was I eight?

  “Relax.” She popped a blueberry in her mouth. “Happy looks good on you.” Giving my butt a smack, she joined my family at the table.

  “Christ on a cracker.” Reluctantly, I took my plate to the table, taking my place by Grant. The last thing I wanted was for my sexcapades to be obvious. Sure, I was a grown, thirty-year-old woman, but I didn’t want my mom to know I’d been rolled in the hay last night. It was weird.

  “You look lovely today, Sophie,” Mom said, shocking the table.

  “She does, doesn’t she?” Rebecca said, stirring her coffee. “New moisturizer, is it?”

  I glared at her, knowing the sibling bond would be enough to effectively communicate my message of “I swear I’ll kill you if you don’t shut the hell up.” She shrugged, nonplussed, and sipped her coffee.

  “I think it’s the hair,” Mom continued, oblivious. “It looks shinier. Healthier.”

  “New shampoo,” I said, hoping that would be the end of it.

  “Your complexion looks good, too,” Mom added.

  “Hey, is anyone going surfing today? Or fishing? Or doing literally anything that’s not this current conversation?” I had to change the subject, but I wasn’t smooth about it at all.

  “We were thinking about going horseback riding after breakfast if you want to join.”

  “Actually, that does sound fun,” I said, looking to Grant, who nodded. We didn’t have anything to do until this evening when the bachelorette party would be taking place. “I haven’t been horseback riding since summer camp.”

  “Me, either,” Rebecca said.

  “We went a couple of years ago on vacation,” Maisy added. “I had fun.”

  “I’ve never been,” Grant admitted. His hand was resting on my upper thigh, like he’d done several times before, but now it was different. I was torn between leaving it and adjusting myself so he’d remove it.

  The contact was making me feel hot and bothered, which made me all kinds of confused, since Grant wasn’t someone I wanted to date. Last night had been incredible, but it was a one-time thing, and I was beginning to think it shouldn’t even have been that. Jesus, Soph. You were convenient and willing, that’s it. I shifted and crossed my legs, hoping he’d move his, but he didn’t. Instead, he slid his hand farther up until it was almost to the bend of my hip. My mind wandered back to his hands on my thighs last night as he pushed my dress up to my hips, just before...

  “I have to go to the bathroom.” I stood quickly, startling him. Tossing my napkin on the table, I turned and hurried off to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, trying to see what the others claimed they’d seen. Was my hair fuller? Skin smoother? I turned the tap on, letting the cold water run over my hands, then I dabbed my face, cooling myself off. If I was being totally honest with myself, the touch of his hand made me want to jump him right there on the breakfast table.

  “One time. One time only,” I repeated. “It’s not like you’ve never had dick before, girl, get a grip.” I exhaled. “Just not that good. Damn it.” After drying my hands, I went back to the table, hoping he’d keep his hands to himself.

  I wasn’t so lucky. Mom asked if I was all right no fewer than four times, and each time I lied and said I was fine, just anxious to get to the horses. Well, it was only a half lie. I was anxious to get to the horses, but mainly because I knew Grant couldn’t touch me while riding the trails. If he suggested we share a horse, I’d likely burst into flames.

  “I’m ready when you guys are.” The sooner we could get on the horses the better.

  We migrated outside and to the stables. Breaking off from the group, I leaned against the fence, watching the horses graze and trot back and forth. A hand slid across my lower back and down to my hip, followed by a kiss on the back of my head.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked.

  “Us. Last night.”

  “I can’t stop thinking about it.” He nuzzled the back of my head, giving me goose bumps despite the sun. Damn this man.

  “It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened, and we need to act like it didn’t. Work is going to be awkward enough as it is. No need to make it more so.” The words were difficult to say, and they came out a little harsher than I’d intended. I was afraid that if I didn’t spit them out fast, I wouldn’t. The Sophie who was in charge last night had been sated—for now—and practical Sophie was back on top.

  Someone called that the horses were ready, and I hurried away. It was cowardly, sure, but the less time I stood here awkwardly with Grant, the better. The stable worker extended the reins for a chestnut mare toward me and I took them, giving her muzzle a gentle rub. Growing up in a landlocked state may have meant that I wasn’t a proficient swimmer, but the Great Plains had plenty of stables, and I was known for sneaking off to a neighbor’s pasture to avoid practicing the French horn. Apparently, my method of avoidance was nothing new.

  “Aren't you a gorgeous girl?” I whispered, and she whinnied. Since I enjoyed hiking—and had to walk just about everywhere in New York—my legs were strong, so I didn't need to use the wooden steps to assist me into the saddle. Sometimes sneaking into my neighbor’s pasture involved a bareback ride on one of my favorite geldings. Grant was trying to get up without the steps but was having trouble. I sniggered, quickly trying to hide it. He wasn't a weak man by any means. Hell, he could pick me up. He was practically Hercules in my book, but getting on a horse for the first time wasn't an easy task. The stable worker had wrongly assumed he wouldn't need help and was currently assisting my mother.

  “Grant,” I said.

  He looked up, halfway on the horse, but struggling.

  “Get down for a sec.”

  He did.

  “Grab the reins in your left hand, and take the saddle horn with the same hand. With your right hand, hold the back of the saddle. Left foot in the stirrup. Don't pull on the saddle. Use your leg. Straighten it to lift you up and over,” I
instructed.

  “When did you become an expert at horseback riding?” he asked, settling in the saddle.

  “Nebraska born and raised,” I answered. Even though it had been fifteen years since I'd been on a horse, it all came back quickly. “We went to Camp Calloway every year.”

  “What else did you learn at camp?” he asked, suggesting the usual experimentations that typically occurred there.

  “How to make friendship bracelets.” I nudged the mare in the direction of the person who would be our guide. I felt like shit. In the hopes of preventing an awkward situation later, I'd created one now. Grant had a wounded animal air about him, and I almost regretted saying something, but I knew I'd made the right choice. I couldn't have him kissing or touching me with the memory of last night and the open possibility of a repeat. One and done.

  My mare and I lazily followed at the end of the group, not paying attention to what the guide was saying. Neither was Grant, if his posture was any indication. He was in front of me, but he wasn’t looking anywhere that the guide was pointing. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a quiz at the end of all this. I hoped his seemingly uncomfortable posture was due to not being used to being on horseback and he wasn’t hurt. Trusting my mare, I let my gaze wander from the path before me, looking down at the different flora that covered the ground. Everything was so lush here. The only concrete I had seen was on the road.

  Possibly my favorite leg of the journey was when we had a clear view of the beach, with the volcano standing in the distance. All these people lived at the mercy of this volcano. The very thing that had created the life on the islands could easily bring its destruction. How poetic. I smirked.

  A lizard caught my attention, and I watched as it scurried up a tree and into the safety of the limbs. The only thing that scurried away in New York was rats into dumpsters. I scowled at the thought. Field mice and sewer rats were vastly different, and it was possibly the biggest shock when I moved.

  “Sophie.”

  I jumped at my name being said in such close proximity when I’d been so careful about staying behind. He’d lagged behind while I’d been watching a stupid lizard.

  “What?” It was harsher than I’d intended, again.

  “Look. Last night may have been a mistake. And I’m willing to accept it if that’s the case, but I know you enjoyed it just as much as I did,” he whispered low enough for no one to hear.

  “Yes. I will admit that I enjoyed it.” Enjoyed was an understatement. I’d been thinking about it nonstop ever since. “But, Grant. Let’s not kid ourselves. This is a week-long relationship—fake, I might add—and we have to go to work together Monday. I really appreciate you stepping in this week. Really, I do. But it was going to be weird enough going back to normal on Monday. There’s no need to throw another wrench in this. I stand by my offer of letting you do whoever you want while we’re here, then as soon as we get back to New York, you can return to the rail-thin airheads you’re used to. I accept that I was convenient and willing, so you went with it. And I understand that you have...needs, but I have to do what’s best for me.” And that’s not getting involved with you any more than I already have, I added silently.

  “All right, listen. Last night was the best I’ve ever had.”

  I snorted my disbelief. Oh, how many women had been fed that line? He was fishing, and I wasn’t biting.

  “And that is not a line to get you back in bed. I’m serious. I don’t know where you learned that thing you did, but, dear God, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  “I learned it from that magazine you said was garbage,” I said snarkily. Okay, maybe I was nibbling.

  “Look. I’ll make you a deal. Let’s just enjoy ourselves in Hawaii, and what happens in Hawaii, stays in Hawaii. When we get back to New York, I’ll go back to dating whoever, and you’ll go back to, well…”

  Thankfully, he didn’t finish that sentence. I mulled it over. It had been an incredible night, and I wouldn’t hate another round. Then I thought of Monday morning, walking into the office with my paper cup of coffee that had likely made me run late. My dry clean only shirt that hadn’t been dry cleaned in ages. His perfectly pressed suit and overpriced cup of coffee that he’d not only had time to purchase, but also drink half of.

  “No.” My less reasonable half was pissed at me. She’d get over it.

  “You want to give up what happened last night?”

  Truthfully, no. I just wanted it to be with anyone besides Grant. Anyone besides the man I had spent the last few years watching come and go with different bimbos. Anyone besides the man who I couldn’t get out of my head. Anyone besides the man who was incredible in bed, smart, and liked art.

  “I didn’t want this to be a selling point, but I’ve had affairs with coworkers before. I know how to handle myself.”

  “Brenda?” I cocked a brow. “Or Drew.” Drew being the only other person at our office.

  “Neither. It was at my old agency.”

  “Is that why you left?”

  “I left because Brenda offered me a better contract. But my work never suffered, and no one in the office knew we were lovers. I’ve been thinking about you and last night, and I just want to get you out of my system before we go back to New York.”

  Something in his words struck me. Get me out of his system? There’s a thought. Perhaps I could use this week to get my silly little crush out of my system. It wasn’t as if I’d never had a friend with benefits before.

  “Deal,” I said. Hook, line, and sinker. I just hoped I didn’t live to regret this. The side that had been in charge last night did a fist pump at the prospect of getting Grant in bed again.

  He smiled. A broad smile that wasn’t his flirtatious half grin, but a genuine full face smile. It was contagious, and I couldn’t help but return it. This may go down in flames, but it would be fun while it lasted.

  14

  Grant stroked my hair as I lay on his chest, sunshine spilling in through the sliding glass door. The jump from “let’s just enjoy ourselves in Hawaii” to Grant running to the drug store for a box of condoms, gummy worms, and a soda, to an afternoon beneath the sheets was a short one.

  “Is this what I get now? Last night it was champagne, roses, and strawberries. Today, it’s gummy worms and soda.” I bit the head off a cherry-flavored worm. “I fell down that ladder hard.”

  “Gummy worms and soda in the afternoon, champagne and roses at night, darlin’.” He affected a southern accent on the last word, tapping my nose with a worm.

  I sat up, keeping the sheet across my chest as a cover as I stared out the door toward the beach. Grant’s fingers gently caressed my back, and I found myself enjoying the post-coital moments almost as much as the sex itself. Almost. He shifted and pulled me backward, leaning me against him as we sat against the soft headboard. I was grateful for the plushness, considering I’d bumped my head earlier. We’d giggled but never slowed down.

  “So, what else did you learn from that trash magazine?”

  “Oh, lots of things. Some good—”

  “Very good,” he interrupted.

  “—some terrible.” I bit the worm he was dangling over my lips.

  “What’s the worst one you read?”

  Over the years, I’d read some truly hilarious sex tips, but a few in particular stood out, and my girlfriends and I had laughed about them in the years since, daring each other to do them in the bedroom with our significant others.

  “Well, one particularly terrible one was to sort of...slap the guy’s boner between your hands like a tennis ball.” The mental image got me every time, and I could feel him shaking with laughter.

  “Please tell me you tried that on some poor guy.”

  “God, no. But hands down the worst one suggested that once in reverse cowgirl—”

  “Well, I’m loving it so far.”

  “Trust me, that’s where the appeal ends. Once in reverse cowgirl, the woman is supposed to bend way over—”

 
; “I still don’t see the problem.”

  “And tickle the tops of his feet with her nipples.”

  “Okay, there it is. That’s got to be one of the oddest things I’ve ever heard.”

  “And no, I didn’t try it, either.” Although, I might now. Somehow, I felt comfortable enough to think about a joke sex move, knowing that even if it resulted in laughter, we’d easily recover. That says a lot, Soph.

  “I don’t want to leave.” He chewed a gummy worm, washing it down with the soda.

  “Mmmm,” I agreed, rubbing the forearm that was across my chest. “Maybe Hawaii could use a couple of literary agents.” I had no idea what the cost of living was in Hawaii, but it couldn’t be as bad as Brooklyn.

  “Now I’m beginning to regret skipping lunch, even if I did enjoy the activities.”

  “Yeah, these gummy worms aren’t terribly filling.” I reached for another. “Do you want to get dressed and go get something?”

  “No. If we get dressed, then we’ll just have to take our clothes back off.”

  “Oh, is that so?” I leaned forward, turning toward him.

  “Yes, it is.” He kissed me. “Now that I have you here, I’m not letting you out. We’ll just have to call for delivery.” As he kissed me, he tackled me to the bed. I lost my gummy worm in the shuffle but couldn’t have cared less.

  After our second round, before which he forbade me from slapping his dick or tickling his feet, we called in food and I had to start getting ready for the bachelorette party that evening. Grant tried to join me in the shower, and as much as I wanted to, I needed to actually get ready, so I had to kick him out. I was tired already from this afternoon, and I was shocked he wanted to keep going. That boy had some stamina.

  I had picked out my dress for the bachelorette party with “single and just lost twenty pounds” in mind, so it was a little skimpy, but I was feeling myself today, and I didn’t even second-guess it.