I didn’t miss the tear that slid down her cheek. She had been moved. Her emotion had come through in the music. There were no words, but I felt her sadness. I felt the darkness with every note. I wasn’t the only one. It was just beautiful. I was proud of her and I didn’t really have any real claim to that pride.
I let the exhaustion of my week finally pull me under. I was beat. I fell asleep with her on my mind. It led to some very vivid dreams. When I woke up, she was the first thing I thought of. Her and coffee. I sat up and looked around.
Paislee was sitting at the small table. She had a cup in her hand as she read something on her phone. Clearly, she had figured out the room service thing.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile when she noticed me looking at her over the back of the couch.
“Did you go get coffee?”
“No, I ordered room service. I didn’t order breakfast, just coffee. I hope that’s okay.”
I turned to put my feet on the floor and rubbed my eyes. “It’s fine.”
I got up and made my way to the table. I poured myself a cup and sat down. I waited for the caffeine to infuse my system. “How long have you been up?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “Maybe an hour. I was so excited to see everything in the morning.”
“Did you go out?”
“Just on the patio,” she said.
I noticed she was wearing yet another pretty sundress. This one was a pale blue with pretty pink and yellow swirls. Her hair was pulled up in a messy, yet sexy bun on top of her head. It showed off her slender neck and exposed a great deal of skin. I stared at her sun-kissed shoulders and chest. I wondered what she wore to get that tan.
“I have a meeting this morning,” I said. “Do you have anything in particular you would like to do?”
“I think I’d like to lounge by the pool, unless you have something you need me to do.”
“No, your day is free to do whatever you want. Tonight is the opening party. We’ll need to make our engagement known.”
She nodded. “Okay, Ashton helped me pick out a dress for tonight. I think I’m ready. I’m a starving artist that dabbles in art and music. We met two months ago after the accident. We fell in love and you proposed a few weeks ago.”
I nodded as I drank my coffee. “Good.”
“Will you be in meetings all day?”
“Probably. I’ll try and get away, but today is a big day.”
“I understand,” she said.
I felt bad I wouldn’t be able to spend time with her, but this wasn’t a real thing. This was a business arrangement. I was going to try and catch up with her, but I knew how these things went. It was going to be me running around and putting out fires all day.
“Dinner tonight will be us with my family.”
“I’m ready.” She sounded confident.
“Great.”
“I’m going to change,” she said and got up from the table.
I rubbed a hand over my face once again. Spending the day by the pool sounded very appealing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I was going to work my ass into an early grave. Everyone told me to slow down. One day, I would but not today. One more opening. Maybe after this opening, I would slow down. I would take a week off and do nothing—with her if she’d let me.
“Shit,” I muttered. I was looking forward to a future with her in it. I had no right to do that. There was very little chance that would happen.
I was moving a little slow this morning. The night on the couch had not been restful, and a night on the couch thinking about her in a big warm bed just beyond the door really made it difficult to sleep well. I needed to get a move on but all I wanted to do was hang out with her. I was already thinking about how I could rearrange my schedule a bit.
I told myself it was important I made an appearance with her to help sell the story. I was already planning how I would stake my claim. I was going to kiss her in front of God and everyone. I knew I ran the risk of her pulling away in horror, but I was counting on her to remember our arrangement. If I warned her it was coming, she would tell me no. She would shut me down and I would never get to steal the kiss.
A sneak attack was the best option. I sipped my coffee and picked up the breakfast menu she’d obviously been browsing. I wondered why she didn’t order breakfast. “Paislee!” I called out.
“What’s up?” I heard her say from behind the closed door.
“Do you want me to order breakfast?”
“No thanks. I’ll grab something later.”
I was bummed my attempt to get her to stick around a bit longer failed. I grabbed the phone tablet that connected to the hotel services and ordered myself some bacon and eggs and more coffee. I needed the sustenance to get myself moving this morning.
I heard the door to the bedroom open and glanced over at her. My brain short-circuited. I looked again. She was wearing a black one-piece suit with cutouts on either side. A pretty floral sarong was wrapped around her hips, but the sheerness of the fabric gave a hint of the silhouette it was hiding. Pretty sandals with little jewels on the straps completed the look.
I was certain I groaned aloud. It was an involuntary reaction. That and the erection straining against my pants. I didn’t dare move. If she saw the wood I was sporting, she would run screaming out of the room like the virgin she was.
“Are you going to eat some breakfast?” she asked nonchalantly.
I nodded. With the lack of blood flow to my brain, it was all I could muster.
“Do you need me for anything?”
I needed her for a lot of things. “No.”
She had a bag slung over her shoulder and a big floppy hat in her hand. She looked the part of a tourist heading to the pool. “All right then, I’m headed to the pool. I’m so excited to get in the water.”
She was going to swim. That meant the sarong was coming off. She was going to be slick and wet and I wasn’t going to be there to see it. This wasn’t right. This was cruel and unusual punishment. She bent over, flashing me a healthy dose of cleavage. I hit the table in a knee-jerk reaction.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I forced a tight smile. “Fine. Have fun at the pool.”
“Oh, I plan to,” she said with a bright smile. “I’ve got my sketchpad and pencils. I’m hoping to get some drawing and relaxing in at the same time. Thank you so much for bringing me along. Are you sure there’s nothing you need me to do? I feel bad that you’re working and I’m lounging by the pool.”
She was so damn innocent. She had no idea what I needed her to do, preferably with that beautiful mouth. “I’m good,” I managed to get out. “Enjoy your day. I’ll check in on you later. If you need anything, one of the waiters will get it for you. Just let them know our room number.”
“Okay. Try not to work too hard today.”
She walked away just like that. She was happy as a clam and I was suffering immensely. I reached under the table and squeezed my erection. “Fuck me,” I groaned. How in the hell was I going to survive the next few days?
She was the forbidden fruit. She was the one woman on the planet that I couldn’t have. The one woman that didn’t want me.
She was perfectly naïve, flitting about in her bathing suit that I supposed could be considered demure by most standards but was turning me inside out. She never flaunted her ample assets. She never acted like she knew how fucking hot and sexy she was.
I had a feeling that was what was twisting me up. I knew it wasn’t a game. I knew a game when I saw it and she wasn’t just fucking with me. She wasn’t teasing. She was that innocent.
I needed a cold shower. I walked into the bedroom and immediately looked at the bed. I could smell her in the air. I felt like a damn dog searching for a female in heat. I headed for the shower, turned it on cold, and stripped. The icy droplets rained over my heated skin. The water was doing little to cool the fervor burning through me.
I needed to get this shit under control. If she knew how badl
y I wanted her, the deal would fall apart. She would leave and never look back. This was on me.
It was up to me to keep my shit together.
Chapter 22
Paislee
I had to keep reminding myself that this was real. I was really in Jamaica lounging by the pool of an exclusive, posh hotel. This was actually happening. The warmth from the sun radiated throughout my body. I had gone for a swim earlier. The water wasn’t too cold, but it wasn’t warm either. It was perfect. The whole place was perfect. It was a total trip to float right up to the edge of the pool. I kept feeling like I was going to topple over the edge. It was absolutely stunning.
I took another picture with the phone Jay gave me. This time, I did the typical vanity shot with just my lower legs and newly painted pink toes in the picture with the pool beyond. I sent the picture to Bella with a quick note that said not to be jealous. She was probably going to disown me. I’d been snapping pictures all morning and sending them to her. I wasn’t trying to brag but I wanted to share it with someone. She was my only someone.
I had sketched a bit but now I was feeling a little sleepy. I told myself I could be lazy for one day. Just for one day, I was going to lounge and do nothing at all. It was the epitome of me-time. It was something I had never really had before. If I wasn’t working, there were always a million things that needed to be done.
I took a drink of the sweet, fresh-squeezed lemonade and couldn’t stop the exhale of bliss. I popped a plump grape in my mouth and reveled in the burst of juicy sweetness that combined with the lemonade to give a bit of a sour flavor. I had died and gone to heaven.
This was how the rich and powerful lived. No wonder they were so greedy. I wouldn’t want to part with my money either if this was what it could buy. I wished Bella could be here beside me to experience this. If I ever got rich, I was treating her to a vacation at this exact hotel.
My mind drifted back to this morning. I spent a stupid amount of time watching him sleep. He looked so different when he was sleeping. He looked peaceful.
He didn’t have that pinched look that made it seem like he alone was responsible for the entire weight of the world. He looked years younger when he was sound asleep. His full lips and stern jawline had made me think of things that would normally have me running to confession.
I studied the scar that cut his eyebrow and imagined him as a boy. I had a feeling he was a serious kid. He seemed to be the kind of man who was always on the go. Sleep was the only chance his brain and body got a chance to just be still.
He was hot. If I wasn’t me, I would definitely be all over him.
But I was me, and no matter how attracted I was to him, I couldn’t jump into bed with him. I was certain he would ruin me forever. I would never find a man like him. I would feel like I was settling when I did find someone else to marry for real.
I would be ruined in more ways than one. The virginity I had held on to for so long would be gone. My virginity was the one thing I had to offer my future husband. I wasn’t sure who I was without it. It defined me. But damn, to be with him would be an elevated level of heaven.
Like I knew.
I was only imagining. My fantasies were the result of sappy movies, cheesy romances, and the limited information I got from Bella. In reality, there was a damn good chance sex with him could be a nightmare.
I needed to stop thinking about it. I was going to end up talking myself right into bed with him.
The heat from the sun was blocked. I felt a shadow over me. Excitement fluttered low in my belly. I smiled and opened my eyes, expecting to see Jay. It wasn’t Jay. It was a middle-aged man with perfect teeth and an equally perfect haircut. He was thin and I immediately pegged him for a salesman of some kind. He oozed fake charm.
“Hi,” he said with a smile that looked to have been perfected with hours in front of the mirror.
“Hi.”
“You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“I am.”
“This is a lovely place, don’t you think?”
“I do. It’s beautiful.”
“Is this your first time to Jamaica?”
I nodded once. “It is. What about you?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve been here a few times. I’m a regular at the Harrow Hotels.”
He was bragging. It was well known how much a room cost at one of these places. I couldn’t stand the flaunting of wealth. Jay didn’t flaunt his wealth. He was ridiculously wealthy, and he did have an air about him, but he never bragged about it. He had more class in his little finger than this man did in his entire body.
“I hope you enjoy your stay,” I said in an effort to end the conversation.
“Oh, I always enjoy my stays. I always find someone to enjoy my stay with.”
I didn’t like him. I had a very good instinct about people and this guy was a snake. I could feel the snakey vibes coming off him.
He was leering. I felt exposed, almost naked under his lascivious gaze. I forced myself not to squirm. He was trying to get a reaction. I didn’t want him to know he was bothering me, but he was making me very uncomfortable.
“Maybe you should get in the pool,” he suggested. “We could go for a swim.”
“No thank you. I’ve already been swimming. I’m enjoying a short nap.”
“You don’t look like you’re sleeping now.”
“No, because you’re here talking to me,” I said. I was no longer smiling. The guy was pissing me off. I found him to be rude and intrusive.
He apparently didn’t pick up on my clues to get lost or he was blatantly ignoring them. He sat down in the lounger next to mine and scooted it closer to my chair. He was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “It’s such a beautiful place. Don’t you want to see everything rather than sleep? You can sleep anytime.”
“I’d like to sleep now. This is my vacation and I think I can decide what I want to do while I am on it.”
“Have you taken a walk along the beach yet?”
I lifted my sunglasses and really studied the man. I wasn’t sure he realized I was speaking. I knew he wasn’t hearing impaired, which meant he was just ignoring what I had to say. “I have not taken a walk on the beach. I’m enjoying a leisurely morning by the pool.”
“I’d love to stroll along the beach and look for shells.”
The man was the most forward human being I had ever had the misfortune to meet. “Maybe you should ask your wife if she’d like to take that stroll with you?” I said when I noticed the gold band on his finger.
He grinned as he looked down at the ring. “My wife isn’t here. I’m here on business.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you call her while you are on your walk? I’m sure she’d love to FaceTime with you and see the beauty of the area.”
He waved a hand. “It isn’t the same as being here. Besides, she’s probably at her spin class right now. That or shopping. She likes to spend the money I bust my ass making. We have an understanding. I make the money, she spends it. I am free to do as I please while I’m making said money.”
I was trying to find a nice way to tell the man to get lost when I noticed movement behind the man. I looked up and saw Jay headed our way. He looked pissed. He was stalking toward me with a hard look on his face. His jaw was clenched, and I was certain I could see steam rolling from his ears.
Before I could say anything, he leaned down and kissed me. It was a powerful kiss filled with passion and I thought maybe anger. It damn near made my toes curl.
I heard a scoffing noise. Jay stood, keeping his hand on my bare shoulder as he glowered at the man sitting in the lounger. “Baby, I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he said with a forced smile.
His fingers were digging into my shoulder. I didn’t know why he was pissed but I didn’t appreciate the kissing thing. I needed to be warned before he did that. Well, maybe not entirely true. The kiss was amazing but that didn’t mean he could do it again.
/> “Jameson, dear,” I said and fluttered my lashes at him. I noticed the slight reaction when I used the name he hated so much. “I was enjoying the pool. We were just talking about how nice the water is.”
The guy got to his feet and muttered something under his breath before he walked away. I was satisfied. It was like killing two birds with one stone. Jay was irritated and the man finally left me alone.
“You can remove you hand now,” I told him.
“What the hell was that about?” he snapped.
“I told you I was going to be at the pool. I don’t know why it was so hard to find me.”
“How long has your friend been here?”
“Not long.”
“Do you know who that is?” he hissed.
“No.”
“That’s the sales rep for the linens we use. Part of the contract includes him getting a free week stay during the grand openings. He and his shitty company say it is for our benefit so he can make sure we are well taken care of. He uses us as a cover to cheat on his wife. Did you know he was married?”
“I did.”
He reached for my hand. “Come on.”
“Jay!”
“I need you in the room. Now.”
I looked up at him and contemplated pushing him into the pool. He obviously needed to cool off. “I’m fine here,” I said.
“Paislee, don’t play with me.”
“I’m not.”
He grabbed my hand and tugged. “Let’s go.”
“What are you doing?”
He tugged my hand again. Unless I wanted to make a scene, I needed to go with him. I stuffed my sketchpad into my bag and snatched my sarong and sandals.
“Put it on,” he ordered.
I shot him a dirty look. “No.”
He glared at me. “Fine.”
It didn’t look like it, but he was practically dragging me through the building. I did my best to look like we were taking a relaxing stroll. “Do you want to tell me what is going on?” I whispered.
“You cannot be in public in that thing.”
I looked down at my swimsuit that was about as demure as one could get. It was a burlap bag compared to the skimpy bikinis I saw by the pool already today. “Are you referring to my bathing suit?”
Pay Up Hot Stuff: A Billionaire Fake Fiancée Romance Page 14
