by Nina Singh
He was smarter than that. He would never allow such basic needs or desires to change who he was at his core. Not like the parent who had utterly betrayed him and his siblings.
Clay pushed away the unpleasant wayward thoughts. This was to be a celebratory night, after all. He may as well try to enjoy it.
He hadn’t expected to see Tori here, but her presence was a pleasant surprise. No offense to his lovely sister, but beachside dinner parties weren’t exactly his kind of scene. But suddenly the hours ahead were looking quite a bit more promising.
At least he’d have someone engaging to talk to. Most of the guests were either Gemma’s or Tom’s friends. Other than immediate family and a handful of cousins he hadn’t seen in ages, there was no one he would exactly call a friend or even an associate. And he was growing tired of small talk with people he didn’t know from random strangers on the street.
In fact, the only person in attendance he’d directly invited was an officer of the charity Clay had founded—an outreach program for underprivileged kids in the Boston area.
“Look who I convinced to join us,” Gemma said with a warm smile once they reached his side.
“Why, it’s my lovely doubles partner. Has my sister informed you she’s challenged us to a rematch?”
Tori laughed and the sound of it had his smile widening. He’d never been one to wax poetic, but she really did have a face that lit up whenever she smiled.
Oh man. Get a grip on yourself.
His sister was looking at him funny, the corners of her lips trembling ever so slightly. He didn’t even want to know what she found so amusing. He’d have to be sure to set her straight if she was harboring any illusions that something might be brewing between him and the baker hired for her wedding.
Gemma should know him better than that.
Around them, several tiki torches were being lit one by one.
“That’s our cue that all the food is out,” Gemma informed them. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go let folks know they can begin eating. Clay, would you mind showing Tori to our table after you two get your plates?”
Subtle, she was not.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me,” he said with a wink when his sister left.
“And vice versa.”
Tori appeared tense, less than comfortable. Was she thinking about their drink in the tavern earlier? Heaven knew he hadn’t been able to get those moments out of his mind. But there was no reason they couldn’t behave like mature adults. A few unguarded moments this afternoon didn’t have to define or mar the rest of the evening. And the last thing he wanted was for Tori to be uncomfortable around him.
First, he had to somehow break the ice between them. “I’m not all that hungry yet. Though I could use a drink. How about you?”
“That’d be nice. Thanks.”
He took her gently by the elbow and led her to the poolside cabana bar several feet away. The evening’s specialty drink was a coconut rum punch and Clay ordered one for each of them. The infinity pool was aglow with soft, neon lights from within. Several more tiki torches surrounded the area around the crystal-blue water.
After getting their drinks, he led her to a pair of poolside chaise longues.
“So what’s the full story about your sister? How did you happen to just stumble upon a long-lost twin?” He paused. “I can’t believe I just actually asked that question.”
Tori’s soft chuckle echoed slightly in the air. “It happens to be the truth.”
“Please tell.”
“My friend Josh—I told you about him on the boat ride to the island, remember?”
Clay remembered, all right. He remembered all too well the twinge of jealousy he’d felt until she’d clarified that they were nothing more than friends. “I do.”
“Well, he came across a picture of a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to the sister of his two closest friends. Me.” She pointed to her chest as if there was any doubt who she was referring to. “When he showed me the pic, it was like a missing piece of a puzzle fell into place. I suddenly had an answer to questions I didn’t even realize were nagging at me.”
Her eyes glittered with excitement as she continued. “Josh had a business trip planned to Australia—where she lived then—so I asked him to check her out. What happened next was straight out of a fairy tale. Eloise and Josh fell madly in love and, after a few bumps in the road, decided they couldn’t live without each other. They were recently married in a beautiful ceremony.”
“Huh.” That was all Clay could manage as a response. What a remarkable tale. The woman sitting before him was fascinating in myriad ways. He’d never met anyone like her.
Tori jutted her chin toward the crowded buffet. “I hope we’re not being antisocial.”
He shrugged. “It’s hard to be social with people you haven’t even met yet.”
Both eyebrows quirked. “You don’t know most of them?”
He shook his head. “Not really. Gemma and Tom created the guest list and picked the venue. In fact, I only invited one of the guests here. If we’re not including you, that is.”
“Just the one, huh?”
He nodded. “I mostly just write the checks.”
She was silent, playing with her cardboard straw and swirling the ice at the bottom of her glass.
Clay felt compelled to explain. “My future brother-in-law is a graduate student with a boatload of student loans. He insists he’ll pay me back as soon as he’s solvent. I won’t accept it, of course, but I appreciate his desire to do so. The man is a brilliant engineer and studying something I can’t pronounce at MIT.”
“Sounds like you’re okay with the man your sister is about to bond herself with.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I guess I am. Don’t understand why anyone would want to get married in the first place, but Tom’s a good guy. He’ll be a welcome addition to the family. Lord knows we need some good character to make up for—” He stopped. Tori was easy to talk to, and he was letting himself be carried away, but there was no use delving into the past. And he certainly didn’t want to dampen the mood of the evening by rehashing all that unpleasantness. Nothing good ever came of looking backward, after all.
There really was no point in dredging up memories of how his life had been completely upended after the loss of his father. Or the way his mother had let him and his sisters down time after time.
All that was water under the bridge.
“I beg your pardon?” she asked after waiting several beats for him to continue.
“Never mind,” he answered. “It’s not important. You haven’t tried it yet.” He gestured to the glass she held.
Tori took a tentative sip of her drink. Her eyes widened. “Oh my.”
He laughed at her reaction. “Good?”
“Dangerously good.”
He chuckled. “Dangerous, huh?”
“Yes, tasty but strong. It would be much too easy to overindulge if not paying attention.”
He got the impression she didn’t indulge very often, didn’t often let her guard down. It surprised him how badly he wanted to be the one to somehow change that about her.
But that was wishful thinking. The sweet, pretty pastry chef was off limits and out of his league.
* * *
So, he was something of a loner.
The revelation surprised Tori. All the parties he was photographed attending, all those high-society soirées with a beautiful woman draped on his arm—it all painted a much different picture than the man she was starting to get to know.
The fact that he was here solo was also pretty telling. Not that she had any business speculating about his personal life. Given his reputation as a ladies’ man, it was more than clear where he stood on things such as marriage and commitment. Apparently, the only thing Clay was committed to was remaining a bache
lor. And if that thought had her bemoaning reality, well then, that was her issue, wasn’t it?
Polishing off the tropical drinks, they made their way over to the festivities and grabbed two plates of heaping food before heading for the table. Clay’s being a bit more heaping than hers.
Tori was happy to see the cupcake tower almost empty. People were not waiting to finish their meal before grabbing their dessert.
In Clay’s case, he wasn’t even waiting to eat dessert. The first thing he bit into when he sat was her key lime concoction with citrus-cream filling. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. “You are a magician. This should be criminally banned it’s so good.”
The sheer enthusiasm of his compliment sent warmth through her body. She had to acknowledge she was actually having a really good time. It had been at least two years since she’d been at any kind of social event that didn’t involve the bakery or her parents.
In fact, the last time she’d been at any kind of party had been with Drew. Toward the end, any time spent with him had felt obligatory and stressful. She’d been so afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing around him, she’d constantly walked on eggshells. It was so tense that, after a while, Tori had simply become accustomed to feeling coiled like a tight spring whenever they were together. She’d almost forgotten what if felt like to just enjoy herself. No small factor in all of this, she had to admit, was that Clay had a way of putting her at ease.
The coconut drink by the pool earlier also didn’t hurt. Now, with a plate of delicious and exotic food in front of her, another tropical drink, and the rhythmic notes of calypso in the air, she felt more at ease then she had in months. Maybe even years.
Too bad it was all so temporary.
* * *
Thirty minutes after they’d taken their seats, Tom and Gemma stood and called for attention.
“All right, everyone, it’s time for the entertainment portion of the evening,” Tom announced. “First, we’re starting off with some fun and games. Followed by a night of dancing with the island’s most popular DJ.”
Gemma took over. “And we’re going to kick it off with some competitive fun. Grab a partner and join us by the water for a bag toss contest. There’ll be prizes for the winners.”
A split second of panic shot through Tori at the word “partner.” The last thing she wanted was for Clay to feel obligated to spend the whole evening with her playing beach games. She turned to tell him so, but before she could so much as speak, he gently took her by the wrist and guided her up.
“Come on, I want one of those prizes.”
Tori felt laughter bubble up her throat. “Do you even have any idea what the prizes are?”
He shook his head. “Not a clue.”
“Then why the mad dash?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I have a competitive streak.”
She let him tug her toward the activity, unable to hold her laughter. “Wait. There’s something you should know before this goes any further.”
“What’s that?”
“I draw the line at three-legged races.”
He scoffed. “No promises. I’ll carry you if I have to.”
The image that statement prompted sent a bolt of excitement through her chest and brought forth memories of the way he’d held her after they’d played tennis.
She absolutely could not go there. She’d spent most of the day trying to convince herself that her reaction had been nothing more than reflex and had no basis in anything authentic.
Clay was an attractive man oozing with sex appeal. And she’d simply had a natural reaction to being the target of his charms. Who could blame her?
Their opponents turned out to be Tom’s college roommate and his fiancée—Steve and Brenda. They were an attractive couple who weren’t exactly shying away from physical affection, their arms wrapped around each other’s waists as they started to play. Tori felt a pang of longing that took her by surprise at the picture they presented.
“You go first, Tori,” Clay prompted, distracting her from the disquieting thought and handing her a small beanbag.
Though she did her best, when she tossed it, the bag landed nowhere near the target hole. In fact, it landed perilously close to the water and was nearly swept away on a wave. Clay dashed to catch it just in time.
He groaned as he returned to stand next to her, and Tori’s heart sank. It was just a silly game, but she remembered how Drew could become so disappointed with her at times. Even when it came to silly games. Nothing was lighthearted where Drew was concerned.
She swallowed and turned to apologize, to vow that she would try to do better with her next toss.
But Clay didn’t look disappointed. He looked amused. And the grin he gave her had her heart jumping in her chest. “That was a bad toss, sweetheart,” he told her, topping off the statement with a wink.
Tori felt the relief clear to her toes. She shrugged at him. “Oops.”
In the end, they lost soundly, but they managed to win the next event, a couples’ beach volleyball game. Their winnings consisted of a helium balloon and a bottle of chilled white wine, which Clay explained wasn’t really any kind of prize at all, seeing as all food and beverage was already paid for.
By him.
Clay handed her the wine after the game. “This belongs to you,” he said with an exaggerated bow.
“We won it together,” she argued.
“That we did. But I insist you take it. A token symbolizing our triumph.”
She thanked him and took the sweaty bottle. To think, she hadn’t even wanted to be here tonight. But she couldn’t recall the last time she’d enjoyed herself quite as much. It had been a while since she’d felt so relaxed and been able to just let go and play. She’d forgotten what it was like to be carefree. The fun-loving, lighthearted girl she’d once been had been slowly and determinedly crushed. And though she was working on it, rediscovering that girl was proving to be tougher than she would have liked. It was going to take some time and effort.
What better opportunity to do so than a night like tonight? She was in the Bahamas playing beach games! Without anyone judging her, or making her feel less than. She could laugh as loud as she wanted, let her hair down and thoroughly enjoy herself. There was no one here to look down on her or to ridicule her for letting loose a little. It would be a wonder if she could even remember how after so many years of being stifled and put down.
A wave of bitterness threatened to wash over her when she thought of just how much of her natural personality she’d squelched all those years she’d been with Drew.
But bitterness wasn’t going to restore what she’d lost during that time. And she’d vowed to do just that. To rediscover who she’d once been before the ill-fated relationship that had only managed to dampen her spirit and almost crush her soul. She owed it to that young woman she’d once been to try to bring her back. In full form. No, bitterness was the last thing she needed to be focused on right now.
So she focused on Clay instead.
“All these activities call for people partnering up. I bet you’re sorry you didn’t bring anyone along, aren’t you?” she teased, her voice bubbling with laughter.
His eyes suddenly darkened and the air between them grew thick. “Actually, I think it might have been the best decision I’ve made in as long as I can remember.”
Right then Tori realized that, for one of the very few times in her life, she knew exactly what she wanted, despite the fact that every sane sense she possessed was screaming to her that it was oh so wrong. She wanted Clay to kiss her. It didn’t even matter that they were surrounded by others. It didn’t matter that she knew no one here and barely knew the man himself. She wanted to feel his lips on hers.
And she wanted it with every fiber of her being.
* * *
How many times in the span of a day could a
man feel an overwhelming desire to pull someone into his arms and kiss her senseless?
Clay could see in Tori’s eyes that was also exactly what she wanted. It was clear as the full Bahamian moon above them.
Also clear was the fact that he had no business thinking such thoughts at all. Tori wasn’t the type any decent man would entertain indulging in a fling with, knowing he would then walk away. And he simply didn’t have it in him to offer anyone much more than that. His years simply trying to survive and ensuring that his sisters did so, as well, had taken too much out of him. There were days he barely felt like more than a shell.
Someone like that had no business even entertaining the idea of any kind of real relationship.
If only things were different. If reality wasn’t what it was, he would be thanking his lucky stars that he’d run into Tori Preston and he’d be moving heaven and earth to be able to call himself her man. But his father’s death served as a marker that delineated the before and after that defined Clay’s life.
Maybe if his father had survived, Clay would have grown into the kind of man whose future included someone like Tori. But fate had thrown tragedy his way at such a young age.
So it made no sense that, instead of bidding her good-night and walking away, he reached his hand out to her when the DJ started the first song.
“Dance with me?”
She hesitated just long enough that he thought she might turn him down. Part of him felt a flood of relief—at least one of them was showing a lick of sense. A bigger part felt like someone might have kicked him in the teeth.
Finally, she slipped her palm into his and walked with him onto the makeshift dance area where several couples were already bouncing and swaying to the upbeat reggae tune.
“It’s been a while since I’ve gone dancing,” Tori whispered in his ear over the music. Like it was some sort of confession.
“Oh? Operating your own successful business must take a lot of your time.”
She looked away but made no further comment. Was he imagining it or was there something in the way she was moving so stiffly, as if she were holding herself back?
