The Work Wife

by Allison B Hanson

There was that humor she liked so much. But he’d wanted to talk about it. She was going to talk. “Let’s take a moment to look at what would happen to me if things went wrong between us, compared to what would happen to you.” She paused as he tilted his head and crossed his arms over his impressive chest.

  “Go on.”

  “If we were to pursue whatever this is and it ended, I could lose my job. While you would only be inconvenienced by having to tell your new assistant how you like your coffee.”

  “That is ridiculous. First because you know I get my own coffee, and secondly because I wouldn’t ever fire you if this didn’t work out. And what makes you think it won’t work out?” Oh, he was looking at her now. Those blue eyes had turned stormy.

  “Because the alternative to things not working out would be that they did work out and we ended up together for the rest of our lives.”

  “Okay. Let’s do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “That second thing. The one where spend the rest of our lives together.” He just looked at her like it was a normal request.

  She choked on the air that rushed down her throat. She’d been trying to force him to see things were more dangerous from her position, and if she was willing to give it a try he shouldn’t be so skittish. She hadn’t intended for him to make a lifelong commitment. “What? That’s not—”

  “I’m being forced to choose right now between giving up because it’s not going to work, or moving forward because it could. I want the one that means I get to be with you.”

  “But . . .” She had no argument. Not one. She found she wanted it to work out too, as unrealistic as that was. But she could imagine it. Even though they hadn’t even gone on a formal date, she could picture them living together and having kids. She felt at peace when she was with him. She needed some peace in her life.

  “Let’s back up, okay?” She physically backed up as well. She’d been hinting for another round of sex, not a wedding.

  “Maybe you would agree to middle ground. Can we go to dinner on Saturday night?” he asked.

  “I’m playing at MacGregor’s.”

  “What time?”

  “Eight.”

  “We can go to dinner at six, and then I’ll take you to your gig.” His lips quirked at the last word as if he liked using it.

  “Okay. You’re suggesting we see each other outside of work, and keep things professional in the office?” She wanted to be clear on the rules.

  Ben moved closer. One hand snaked around her waist, pulling her against his body while the other cradled the back of her head as he kissed her. His tongue parted her lips and infiltrated her defenses. She clutched the lapels of his suit, pulling him closer, except there was no way he could get any closer with clothes on.

  The kiss continued for minutes or maybe hours, she couldn’t be sure. But when he backed away she leaned in to take one last small kiss.

  “No. We won’t be keeping things professional in the office. It’s unrealistic to think I’m capable of keeping my hands off you.”

  “Okay” was the only thing she could think to say to that. God help her.

  * * * *

  Wes walked into Romance 101 with a smile on his face and Jamie’s hand in his. They’d spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach, and while neither of them mentioned the kiss during the hike—or what it might mean, they did continue talking about their goals and what was ahead of them. And right now, the easiest workshop in the world was ahead of them.

  Weston didn’t pretend to be a Casanova when it came to women. He often had difficulty asking them out or making the transition at the end of the date to sex, but one thing he had been told over and over by nearly every woman he’d dated was that he was the most romantic guy they’d ever dated.

  Originally he thought it was merely a platitude like You’re so big or You rock my world, but after a number of times he finally asked if it was true.

  Meredith Owens affirmed that he had a sweetness and honesty about him that made women melt. He’d not tried, it just came naturally.

  Without thinking, his natural skills at romance had him pulling Jamie’s hand to his lips as soon as they sat down. She smiled at him, and his heart fluttered from the knowledge he’d made her happy.

  Jamie seemed to like simple reassurances that she wasn’t alone. Didn’t everyone? Sometimes he noticed her staring off. A slight touch brought her back to him and she relaxed. Even in the office he would notice her off in her own world, and a word or his singing would bring her back.

  “All right. It looks like everyone is here. We’ll go ahead and get started with Romance 101.” Misty glanced around the room. “How many of you think you know how to be romantic?”

  No way would Weston raise his hand. It was a trap. A trap into which Curt fell, with a dopey grin. As if he hadn’t learned his lesson in the conflict resolution class and pretty much every other workshop, there he was, raising his hand.

  “Oh, good. Then you can come up here and tell us what you think is romantic.”

  Curt laughed and stepped to the front, like a lamb to the slaughter. “Holding the door for her. Telling her she looks pretty when she gets dressed up. Breakfast in bed on her birthday. Those kinds of things.”

  It was difficult to watch.

  The instructor looked at Wendy, who cringed.

  “He believes this because you let him believe it?” she asked, and Wendy nodded guiltily.

  “Holding the door is chivalry, not exactly romance, but it’s a nice gesture. What about telling her she looks pretty when she’s not dressed up?”

  Curt blinked in confusion.

  “How about breakfast in bed when it isn’t her birthday, but for no other reason than you want to make her happy?”

  Curt’s brows had creased as he looked at his wife for direction.

  “It would be nice,” Wendy said.

  “Doing romantic”—here Misty made air quotes—“things when you feel it’s expected isn’t really romantic. That’s the same as following a playbook. It’s instructional, not emotional. You need to act from your heart. It doesn’t need to be grand, but it does need to be sincere. Breakfast in bed once a year doesn’t have the impact of a simple daily reminder of why you were married to begin with.”

  The instructor turned to face Weston, and his stomach clenched.

  “Even if I didn’t know it, I would have guessed you two were the newest married couple. Do you know why?” She looked around the room and no one answered. “When they sat down he kissed the back of her hand.”

  Jamie nudged his arm and laughed.

  “Why did you do that?” Misty asked Weston.

  “She seemed nervous, and I wanted her to know I’m here with her.”

  “Did you feel like he cared about you?” She pointed to Jamie with excitement.

  “Yes.”

  “And that’s why you married him, correct?”

  Jamie looked up at him, her warm brown eyes searching his face. “Yeah. That’s why.”

  He couldn’t even detect the lie, even knowing it wasn’t true.

  “Romance isn’t all on the men either. I noticed you brought him a bottle of water.” She gestured to Jamie.

  “He’s a Northerner. He gets hot faster than me.” She joked it off, but he smiled at her. She’d brought him the water because she cared about him too. They were acing this thing.

  Having made her point, the instructor moved on to pointers and tips. Pointing out that romance wasn’t one-sided. That the women needed to have game in that area as well. When she seemed satisfied that everyone grasped the goal of the project, they were told to break off and practice.

  Wes turned his seat to face Jamie and took both of her hands in his.

  “We don’t have to do this. I think you beat every guy in the room as soon as we sat down.”
/>   “Still, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on my skills.”

  He cleared his throat and looked into her eyes. She made them really wide in an effort to make him laugh, but then settled in to seriousness.

  “Do your worst. I’m invincible.” She stretched her neck to each side and rolled her shoulders.

  “Oh, you think so? I haven’t unleashed a fraction of my abilities on you.”

  “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “It’s on,” he threatened, and took a deep breath.

  “Bring it.”

  “Your hair glimmers in the sun like strands of gold,” he started.

  “Please. It’s called light refraction. My brown hair has a hollow shaft which bounces light at a different angle on certain strands, giving it the appearance of being a different color than the rest. It’s an illusion.”

  “I was just getting warmed up.” He shook out his hands as she crossed her arms in front of her. It reminded him of their relationship. Even before the fake wedding, they challenged one another to be their best.

  “In the mornings when you come into the office all grumpy like a wet kitten, I like the way you soften up when I make a joke. It’s like I have the key to unlock you from the unhappiness of the morning. I feel like I have a superpower or something.”

  “Morning Man?” She laughed.

  He smiled, envisioning a spandex suit with bacon and eggs on the chest plate. “Maybe, but it works after bad meetings and stressful proposals too.”

  “Your calmness makes me calm.”

  “Hmm. I guess that’s not very romantic, is it?” He pulled his lips to the side.

  “Actually, it is.” He looked up to see her arms unfold. “That you care enough to want to cheer me up in the mornings or want to reassure me when we sit down at a Romance 101 workshop. That’s more valuable than grand gestures.”

  “I do a fair job at grand gestures too.”

  “I see that,” she said, holding up her left hand to display the ring on her finger. “Very grand indeed.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  “Actually, I do. My muscles have strengthened enough for me to lift it, so it’s become easier to live with.” They laughed together and then she looked around before she whispered, “Plus it’s bigger than everyone else’s. Even if it’s fake.”

  “You’ve turned the symbol of my commitment into a competition.”

  “Everything is a competition.” She gave him that mischievous smile that made his heart kick up a notch in fear as well as attraction.

  “You’ve already won the competition for having the most beautiful smile on the entire island.” He expected her to laugh at him. He’d laid it on a little thick, despite it being true.

  She blinked at him. He’d obviously stunned her with his words. Time to move in for the kill. He leaned down to place his lips at the edge of her jaw in the place that made women breathless, but before he made contact she turned and kissed him. Not just a little kiss either.

  A big, steamy kiss with promises of more to come. It was the same all-consuming kiss that had nearly overtaken them during the hike to the waterfall. It made him forget they were in a room with other people. At least for a moment.

  “Well, these two seem to have figured out how to spark the romance.”

  The sound of applause made him pull away.

  They stared at each other as if it was the first time they were seeing one another. Maybe it was. Things had been shifting between them, but now everything had upended and reformed. He didn’t know what to do to get them back to the safety of friendship, and for the life of him he couldn’t tell if he even wanted to try.

  He was so confused. And the one person who might be able to help him figure it out looked just as thrown.

  “Class dismissed,” the instructor announced, and he and Jamie stood up and woodenly left the room.

  Afraid to be near her in their room, he broke away and walked off in the other direction. Until he could get a handle on things, it was best to keep a distance.

  “I’ll see you at dinner.” He didn’t even look back. He just kept walking before he gave in to temptation and did something stupid like ravish his wife.

  “Okay,” she called after him.

  No. Nothing was okay.

  * * * *

  Jamie might have been a little foggy on what happened during the hike. One moment they were losing a battle with gravity, and the next they were tangled together, renting out mouth space to one another for a very reasonable rate.

  But there was no doubt this time. She had kissed him. He was obviously going for her cheek, and she’d moved to capture his soft lips, and then it escalated into something passionate and frightening. She couldn’t mess this up.

  She’d promised Weston they wouldn’t endanger their friendship. That meant keeping things friendly. It was apparent there was some attraction between them she hadn’t known existed before now. She’d felt his eyes on her, and his physical reaction when they were in the water. And in bed in the mornings.

  She also knew how she felt when he walked around without a shirt. Giddy.

  But that kiss was something else. Attraction was foremost in her thoughts, but the connection she always felt with him was there too. And it seemed to grow like a vine being touched by sunlight for the first time.

  It had coiled around her heart and squeezed.

  “Damn it to hell,” she cursed and went to change for dinner.

  She worried Weston wouldn’t show. He wasn’t there when she arrived.

  “Did you wear him out?” Curt joked, earning an elbow in the ribs from Wendy.

  The waiter placed a salad at the empty space next to her and she nearly ran away. She couldn’t take back all the emotion that was unleashed in that kiss, but maybe she could downplay it and joke it off so they could go back to being friends.

  The chair next to her moved and she jumped as Wes sat next to her. His blond hair still dark from his shower, the scent of his soap filled her head.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said to everyone else.

  No doubt he’d waited for her to leave before going in to shower and change. He was avoiding her. Maybe that was for the best. She didn’t know if she was capable of keeping her hands or her lips to herself.

  Other than resting his arm on the back of her chair, he didn’t touch her during the whole meal. She found she missed it.

  How would they go back to being friends now that she knew what it felt like to kiss him, and the feel of his hand in hers? Wouldn’t their co-workers expect them to be affectionate? They would be in a state of constant turmoil. Playing the doting couple during the day to spend the nights alone.

  “Jamie,” he whispered while everyone focused on the performers up on stage. She hadn’t even noticed them, but they were swinging around flaming sticks.

  “Yeah?”

  “One of us needs to hold it together,” he said.

  “I vote you,” she said at the exact moment he said the same thing.

  They both laughed and then he shook his head.

  “We’re friends. We got a little bit in over our heads, but we can do this. Just relax, okay?” he said.

  Relax? He wanted her to relax after the way they’d kissed? She’d never been kissed like that. It was more than just a good time; it was as if they’d shared some elemental part of themselves. Every cell in her body had sat up and taken notice, and he wanted her to relax?

  “Sure.” She agreed to the impossible and turned to watch the spinning fire act.

  Fortunately there were no games with the group. They simply watched the show, ate their meal, and were dismissed to go enjoy themselves.

  Jamie swallowed as they stood to leave the group.

  “Have fun,” Wendy called to them w
ith a tone that implied she knew what Wes and she would be doing to have fun.

  Jamie couldn’t think of that. She was supposed to be relaxing.

  She glanced up at her husband, who didn’t look very relaxed himself.

  “Whose great idea was this?” she muttered under her breath.

  * * * *

  Wes followed Jamie back to their bungalow. He didn’t know what to say. Mostly because he didn’t know what to think or how to feel. Everything was strange. Like an alternate reality.

  Then he looked at her waiting for him on their small patio. The moonlight filtered in through the almond tree, catching her in the most amazing way.

  He’d known she was attractive. It was just a general knowledge kind of thing. He had never been attracted. But now he found her breathtaking. She was smiling at him, waiting for him to open the door. It felt like the most natural thing in the world for him to carry the key because she had no pockets in her sundress.

  They were married. And right now he was incredibly attracted to his wife.

  He’d told Jamie to relax, but he wasn’t able to follow his own advice.

  Instead, his heart was beating faster than the drums at the juggling act earlier. His body was responding without his permission.

  Unable to help himself, he stepped closer and rested his hands on her hips, pulling her closer as he bent to kiss her. The heat picked up right where they’d let off earlier, and God, did it feel good.

  She let out a little gasp of surprise, but kissed him back, opening her mouth for him. He swept in like a starving man, needing her more than he ever realized.

  When they came up for air, she looked over his shoulder.

  “Is someone looking?” she whispered, checking over the other shoulder as well. He had an opportunity to play it off as part of their charade, but he was done with that. He wanted more. He wanted what would happen when they went inside. Or hoped would happen.

  “Yes. Me. I’m looking.” He watched her throat move as she swallowed and stared up at him in surprise. She didn’t move away or take her arms from around his neck. “And I think you’re absolutely beautiful.”

  She blinked at him, and for a split second fear stirred in his stomach. He was sure she was about to laugh or reject him, but instead she pulled him down and seized his mouth.