by Lori Wilde
Before she could formulate a plan of action, the sound of Tanisha dragging into the office twenty minutes late drew Katie’s attention to her coworker.
She took in Tanisha’s disheveled appearance, wrinkled clothes, her lovely braids coming undone, eyes red-rimmed. She’d never seen her confident, stylish friend looking so demolished.
Katie sprang to her side. “Omigosh, are you all right?”
“No,” Tanisha whimpered, and plopped down in her chair, knees pressed together, feet splayed apart.
Katie knelt beside her, wrapped her hand around Tanisha’s forearm. “What is it?”
“It’s Dwayne.”
“Has something happened to him?”
“He broke up with me.” Tanisha’s voice cracked, and a single tear slid down her caramel cheek.
That solitary heartbreaking tear startled Katie. She’d never seen her friend cry, much less shed a tear over some guy. She pulled a tissue from the box on the desk and pressed it into Tanisha’s hand. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. What happened?”
“He said he couldn’t trust me.” Tanisha pressed the tissue to her eye.
“Why would he say that?”
“Because,” Tanisha mumbled, “I sort of lied to him.”
“Sort of?”
“He wanted to be open and honest. He told me about his past, the women he’d known, and then he wanted to know how many men I’d been with.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“Two.” Tanisha cringed.
“Why did you lie?”
“Because he’d only been with two women. How could I tell him the truth? I was afraid he would think I was slutty or something.”
“So how’d he find out that you weren’t being honest with him?”
“He met Jerome.”
“Your brother ratted you out?”
Tanisha nodded, sniffled. “He said if I would lie to him about this kind of thing, how could he trust me when it came to the important stuff?”
“You were only trying to salvage his ego.”
“I know,” Tanisha wailed.
“He placed you in a no-win situation.”
“Exactly, but he’s an honesty-is-the-best-policy type of guy.”
Katie let out a soft sigh. It certainly didn’t sound like a happily-ever-after ending for her friend. To think, strong-minded, independent Tanisha was reduced to rubble over a man. If it could happen to her, it could happen to anyone. Her heart gave a strange jerk of disappointment and she realized she’d secretly been rooting for Tanisha’s relationship with Dwayne to be of the soul-mate variety.
See what happens when you believe in fairy tales?
Katie rose to her feet. This was precisely why she avoided committed relationships—too much chance for heartache.
“I knew better than to tell Dwayne a white lie. I made a mistake. I know it now. But he won’t even take my calls.”
Not knowing what else to do, Katie patted her friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”
“You were right to stick to sex and avoid romantic entanglements,” Tanisha said. “Love, marriage, happily-ever-after, it’s all bullshit.”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “I was wrong. Yes, maybe I’ve never been hurt, but I’ve also never had the depth of intimacy you found with Dwayne.”
But you could have it, if you let yourself.
Yeah, right, willingly lay herself open to the kind of pain Tanisha was suffering. No thank you.
“I love him so much. I’ve never felt this way before and it’s ripping me apart inside to think I’ve lost him because of my own stupidity. How can I ask him to forgive me when he won’t even talk to me?”
“If he’s this unforgiving, maybe he’s not the right one for you,” Katie ventured.
“He was the one,” Tanisha said, and shed another tear.
“Then if Dwayne’s the one, you guys will work this out,” Katie said, not believing what she was saying but knowing it was the only thing that would make Tanisha feel better.
“You really think so?”
Katie crossed her fingers behind her back, telling her own white lie. “Absolutely. Give him some time to deal with his bruised ego and he’ll figure out he can’t live without you.”
Tanisha smiled sadly through the tears. “Thank you, Katie, for being such a good friend. You’re probably right, the male ego being what it is. Dwayne really is a stand-up guy.”
Katie forced a smile of her own. For Tanisha’s sake, she prayed it was true.
WHILE KATIE was consoling Tanisha, Liam was staring out the big plate-glass window of his office building watching the bustling city go about its daily activity. He knew she was holding back, keeping her emotions in check. Using sex to keep from experiencing something deeper. He had a feeling she’d been using adventure as a barrier against intimacy for most of her life. He’d just had to figure out a way to knock that wall down.
Truth was, he was out of his league when it came to this romantic stuff. But like any successful executive, he knew where to turn to find answers. Breezing past Vanessa, he headed down the corridor to Tony’s office.
He knocked at Tony’s door but charged in without waiting to be invited.
Tony glanced up from his paperwork. “Hey, boss, what’s up?”
“I need your advice.”
“Sure.” Tony tossed down his pen, leaned back in his chair. “What can I do for you?”
This suddenly seemed like a stupid idea, and Liam almost turned on his heel and walked away. But the thought of winning Katie’s heart had him taking a seat across from his best friend’s desk.
“I’m here for you. What do you need to say?” Tony arched his eyebrows.
“It’s complicated.”
Tony steepled his fingers. “Do you want my advice or not.”
Liam cleared his throat. “Okay, here’s the deal, I think I’m falling in love with Katie, but she’s terrified of intimacy and I don’t know how to get through to her.”
Tony snorted. “Katie’s not the only one afraid of intimacy.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“How many years has your love life taken a backseat to romance?”
“Thirty-one,” Liam admitted.
“Exactly.”
“But that’s not because I didn’t want to fall in love. I was just too busy.”
“And why is that?”
Because he’d been determined to prove to Finn Delancy he was worthy of his respect, but he couldn’t tell Tony this. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Because you were terrified you’d screw it up.”
Liam laughed harshly. “Okay, that’s a fact. So what do I do about Katie?”
“Tell her you’re falling in love with her.”
Liam swallowed. The thought was daunting. “I’m afraid she’ll run away.”
“Then take her someplace where she can’t run away. A place where she has to face her feelings and talk things out with you.”
“And where would that be?”
“I dunno. A tropical island.”
“You mean, take a vacation?”
“I know that word isn’t in your vocabulary, but if you want to romance this woman, then you’ve got to think of her desires. You both need time away from work and family to create a fantasy world all your own.”
It made sense. “But what if she doesn’t have real feelings for me?”
“Better to know now and cut things off clean than to keep dating her and hoping she’ll start to feel something. It’s like a real-estate deal. You’re either in or you’re out.”
Tony was right and Liam knew it, but cutting things off with Katie was easier said than done.
“You gotta take a leap of faith, man,” Tony said sagely. “Take a risk with her the way you take a risk on the stock market. Make your plans, do your research, dive in and pray for the best.”
“And if I fai
l?”
“At least you tried. And, hey, I’ll be here to help you pick up the pieces.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.” Liam got to his feet.
Tony came around the desk to punch him lightly on the arm. “Go get her, dude. I’m living proof the rewards are worth the gamble.”
12
KATIE CAME UP with a brilliant plan for luring Liam to Fiji.
Their mother’s will bequeathed the Fiji property equally to Brooke, Joey and Katie. Briefly, they’d discussed the idea of selling it, but so far, none of them had either the heart or the emotional energy to fly out to the Pacific island paradise and check on the bungalow.
She now had the perfect excuse to complete her Martini dare.
There were so many things she wanted to do to Liam. She wanted to sleep with him in a macramé hammock hung between two palm trees. She wanted to make him cry out her name in ecstasy as they made love over the vibrating engine of a snorkel boat. She was dying to do it in a secret alcove of a rocking dance club, in the swimming pool, in the lanai of the bungalow. She fantasized about riding his hard-muscled body in a volcano grotto, beneath a waterfall, in the hot tub.
During her afternoon break, she slipped off to the employee lounge and called him up on her cell phone.
“Liam,” she murmured, all hot and bothered by her fantasies.
“Yes.” He sounded curt, abrupt. She must have interrupted him in the middle of his work. She almost apologized and hung up. But her determination to complete the Martini dare kept her hanging on.
“It’s me,” she said, then cringed. What if he didn’t know who me was?
“Katie.” His tone immediately melted into a buttery soft timbre.
Did the sound of her voice make him as horny as the sound of his voice made her? “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“I was about to go into a meeting, but I have a few minutes. What’s up?”
“Um…since you’re an expert on real estate, I was hoping you might be willing to give me your opinion on some property my mother left me and my sisters. We’re considering selling it, but we don’t know if that’s the best way to go. Do you think you might be able to look at it for us?”
“Sure,” he said. “Where’s the property?”
“Um…that’s the thing.”
“Oh?”
“It’s in Fiji.”
“As in South Pacific Fiji?”
“Uh-huh. I’d pay for your airplane ticket, of course. We can stay at the bungalow. I can put in for three vacation days and we could make a long weekend of it.” Please, please let him say yes.
She heard his intake of breath and she could almost see him standing there, thinking about the work he’d be leaving behind if he took off for five days. Was his attraction to her strong enough to overcome his addiction to his work?
“You could have your own room,” she ventured. “Keep this strictly a business trip.”
“Now, why in the hell would I want to do that?” he asked.
Glee tickled down inside her. She grinned. How she wished he was with her so she could fling her arms around his neck and kiss that firm, angular mouth of his.
“So you’ll go?”
“Under one condition.”
Her heart squeezed. She held her breath. “What’s that?”
“We take my private jet.”
THE VIEW OF Fiji Island from the window of Liam’s jet was breathtaking. The water was a mesmerizing color of turquoise, the sky cloudless. Even from the air, you could make out the lush growth of brilliantly colored flowers—bougainvillea, anthurium, birds-of-paradise, a stunning palette of red, yellow, orange and green.
Luxury hotels with private bungalows ringed the beach among a proliferation of palm trees. The smell of plumeria blossoms filled the air the minute they stepped onto the tarmac. In the terminal, they were greeted by smiling hostesses with leis made of orchids, along with the soothing, rhythmic sounds of island music. The scenery was so beautiful it felt surreal.
They had taken off from Boston nineteen hours earlier, but the flight had been so much fun it had seemed like nineteen minutes. They’d talked and played cards, watched in-flight movies, napped, eaten filet mignon, drank wine and talked some more.
She found out his favorite actor was Tom Hanks and she confessed to having a mad crush on Orlando Bloom. She learned he liked his steaks well done while she preferred hers rare. He was a whiz at gin rummy, but she thrashed him soundly at poker. But when she suggested a hand of strip poker, Liam refused because he knew he’d end up naked within five hands. Katie told him that was the point.
They’d also done a little kissing—okay, they’d done a lot of kissing—but that was all. Even though Katie had tried her best to initiate him as an official member of the mile-high club, Liam had been equally determined to hold her off. His theory was they’d heighten their enjoyment of this trip by making her wait for sex.
They grabbed a cab at the airport and Katie gave the driver directions to her family’s bungalow on the beach. It was tucked into a quiet area. Liam carried their bags inside and Katie immediately ran to open the sliding partition that opened out onto a large private lanai. The ocean rolling softly against the shore lulled them with a sweet hypnotic sound.
“I forgot how beautiful it is here.” She sighed and breathed in a deep draw of air as she stood looking out at the beach. “We used to come here every summer when my father was alive.”
“You miss him, don’t you?”
“Something fierce. He was a great father. Strict but fair.”
“I wish I knew what that was like,” he said. “Having a father’s love.”
“I wish you did, too.”
Liam studied her and his heart reeled. She looked incredible in a pair of white denim shirt shorts and a tangerine halter top with her hair pulled back into a girl-next-door ponytail. No one could have known just by looking at her that she was a Boston blue blood.
This was it, his big chance to take their relationship to a new level. But was she ready? Could he convince her he was a man worth overcoming her fear of commitment for? He prayed he could.
Liam realized how much his outlook on life had changed since he’d met her. Suddenly, something was more important than his work and she was standing right in front of him.
She turned in the doorway to grin over her shoulder at him. Damn if her smile didn’t warm him from the inside out.
He grinned back.
She crooked her finger at him. “Come ’ere.”
Liam sauntered over.
Katie wrapped her arms around his waist, leaned back to look up into his face. “Let’s have sex on the lanai.”
“Whoa, slow down. We just got here.”
She reached up to stroke her index finger down the length of his cheek. “You’re doing this on purpose,” she said, pretending to pout.
“Doing what?”
“Withholding sex to tease me.”
“Yes, I am,” he admitted. “There’s something to be said for delayed gratification.”
“How long are you planning on holding out on me?”
“For a while.”
“You sure you want to get into this?” Her eyes danced.
“Get into what?”
“Making me beg for sex. Because buddy, two can play that game.”
“Yeah?”
She licked her lips. “Yeah.”
“Go ahead, hit me with your best shot.”
“Oh, it’s on,” she said, and proceeded to untie the string of her halter top.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Getting naked.”
“Give the man a cigar.” She grinned and let her top drop to the floor.
Liam ogled as she reached for the zipper of her white denim shorts. Did the woman have any idea how hot she was making him?
She wriggled out of her shorts and kicked them across the room. She stood, hands on her hips, wearing noth
ing but a skimpy peach-colored strapless bra and matching thong panties. In her navel, she sported the cutest little gold ring.
Sassily, she stuck out her tongue, and then reached around to unhook her bra. She twirled it over her head a few times before tossing it in his direction.
“It’s not working,” Liam said through gritted teeth. He could handle this. Yes, he could.
“Coulda fooled me with that world-class boner.” She cast a knowing glance at the zipper of his pants, strained with the outline of his rock-hard erection.
She shimmied out of her panties and strutted out onto the lanai naked as the day she came into the world.
He followed her. The sun was warm on his skin, the ocean spray salty against his tongue. Watching Katie’s bottom twitch as she strode toward the lounge chair at poolside, experiencing his desire for her rocketing hard, made Liam feel as if he were a one-celled animal, responding to every stimuli.
Everything about her was intoxicating—the wave of her hips, the perky jut of her breasts, the patch of pecan-blond hair curling at the apex of her thighs.
Glancing over her shoulder again, she gave him a saucy wink and settled herself down on the chaise lounge, legs provocatively spread. She wet her index with her mouth, and then slowly trailed it down to her breasts.
She was driving him insane.
Every whim of her body made the hairs on his wrist quiver. Every vagary of sunlight dappling across her sumptuous breasts registered spiky and vibrant on his retina. Sensation after sensation washed over him. Nothing was lost in translation.
His senses were on high alert, his body tuned for pleasure.
She looked at him with an extraordinary light in her eyes. It worried him and he evaluated her, trying to decode what was going on inside her head. His body took stock of his surroundings, of this moment, like a strong but cautious corporate raider moving through an intricate negotiation, searching for hidden agendas and subterfuge. The novelty of her, the surprise of the expression she was giving him, riveted him.
Life had taught him to be wary. His mother had taught him to be strong and in control. It was difficult for him to drop his emotional armor and allow her to see his vulnerabilities. But he was willing.
Too willing.
She astonished him. Not only by her stunning individuality but also by the way she made him feel special. He had to face up to what was happening inside him, but at the same time he feared it.
