“I still can’t believe we’re all getting married,” Maty said with a wide grin. “It’s such an exciting time.”
Josie wanted to correct them; she wanted to confide in someone that this was all a farce and there was no way she could marry Reese.
He didn’t actually mean what he’d said. He’d gotten caught up, that’s all. He would realize once he had time to come down from this high of the opening that they were better off as friends.
That nice, safe zone they’d lived in for so long was just waiting for them to return. Josie wanted that normalcy back because being in limbo with her emotions, her hormones, her heart…it was simply too much to bear.
She’d felt so brave wearing this red gown, but when it came to her feelings regarding Reese, she wasn’t feeling so bold anymore. She’d tried. She wanted to be that daring woman. But…what if the risk was too great? What if they destroyed the life they’d built during all those years of friendship?
“I see the guys are talking with Reese’s mom and dad.” Josie nodded to the bar area. “I’m so glad this is all working out for him.”
Silvia nodded. “Nick was worried if the third brother came forward that he would be like Rusty. I’m just grateful they’ve all found one another. Nick said he’s going to do everything in his power to buy out Rusty, and Sam and Reese are joining forces.”
Reese had mentioned that to Josie. She couldn’t believe he was adding more business ventures to his plate, but that was Reese. He lived for success and to her knowledge, he’d never failed at anything.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to let her go. Would he see this public announcement calling off their engagement as a failure, like she had said at the start?
“Is everything all right?” Maty asked, placing a hand on Josie’s arm.
Josie blinked back to the moment. “Oh, yes. Sorry about that. It’s been a long couple of weeks.”
Understatement.
“Would you two excuse me?” she asked.
The ladies nodded and Josie stepped aside to go get some fresh air or a moment to herself. Even with all the chaos of the successful opening, she was having a difficult time concentrating on anything other than this ring weighing so heavy on her hand.
The ring that Reese wanted to mean more than it could.
Josie made her way to the private office Reese kept in the back. Once inside, she closed the door and leaned back against it. She just needed a minute to compose herself, that’s all. Then she could go back and play the dutiful, proud fiancée.
Because at midnight, this Cinderella story was over.
SIXTEEN
Reese stood on the second-floor balcony once again, staring down onto the empty first floor. The launch had been a huge success. The reservations were all booked up for the next three months and several reviewers were already talking about them during some prime spots on their social media accounts.
He wondered if Josie took mental notes or if she’d just checked out after he’d dropped that bomb on her.
Reese trusted her. He knew she’d still cover the event and make a good article for Cocktails & Classy.
Which reminded him, he still hadn’t seen their post on the blog. Part of him didn’t want to see it, if the images had impacted Josie so much. Was that why she’d been so scared? She’d seen the photos and realized what they had was real?
Reese pulled his cell from his pocket and quickly found the site. He skipped the dialogue; he knew exactly what they’d said during their interview. That had been the easy part.
The first image he came to was the one where Josie had her eyes closed, her head turned toward her shoulder and he had placed a kiss on her head. The tender, delicate picture made him smile.
He scrolled through more words and stopped when he came across the picture of when they had to lean in for the “almost” kiss. His fingertips splayed over her jawbone and neck as he tipped her head back. Josie’s eyes were locked onto his, her lips slightly parted.
Even though he’d been right there in that moment, he’d had no clue what this shot had actually looked like. They definitely looked like they were in love, like they were literally half a breath away from closing that narrow gap between them. She’d been nervous, worried what this would do to them.
If only she’d let those fears go and see what she had right in front of her.
Heels clicked on the tile below and Reese glanced from his phone to see Josie step into view. She immediately glanced up and caught his gaze.
“I thought you took a ride back to the penthouse,” he told her.
“I was going to, but I couldn’t leave.”
Reese glanced from the phone back to her. “I was just looking at the announcement online. We look good.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, giving him a delicious view from this angle.
“We do,” she agreed.
The tension in that vast gap between them was charged and Reese felt it best to keep a good distance. If he got too close, he’d want to touch her, hold her, tell her every reason why they should be together, but she had to come to that realization on her own.
“I know you think it’s a good idea to keep going,” she started. “But I can’t marry you, Reese.”
So they were still at that stalemate. Fine. He was a patient man and Josie was worth waiting for.
“You have to understand,” she added.
“I understand you’re afraid. I understand this isn’t what you had planned, but you have to see that none of this is new.”
She jerked like he’d surprised her. “Not new? We’ve only been faking this for two weeks and we’ve crammed quite a bit into that short time frame. It’s all quite new.”
He couldn’t stand the distance anymore. Reese came down the steps and stood at the bottom of the landing, his eyes meeting hers across the way. She still wore that red dress, those red lips. She still took his breath away whether she had on black, red or nothing at all.
“None of this is new,” he explained. “Everything between us has always been there. We are just now bringing it to the surface.”
Her arms dropped to her sides as she shook her head. Her fear and hesitancy made him want to reach for her, but he also recognized he needed to give her some space.
She glanced down to her hand as she toyed with the ring. He stared, knowing what was coming, hoping he was wrong.
But she slid the ring off and held it out in her palm. When her eyes came up to meet his, there was no way she could hide the unshed tears.
“I’m not taking it back,” he told her. “I bought it for you.”
“You never bought me something this expensive for my birthday before.”
He stared at her for another minute, but knew which battle he wanted to fight. He didn’t want to be a jerk about this, and she obviously needed time to think. Fine. He’d hold it for her until she was ready.
Sliding the ring into his pocket, he extended his hand.
“How about we head up to the rooftop, take a bottle of champagne and relax?” he suggested. “We’ve both had a rough few weeks and I could use some quiet.”
She looked at his hand, then back to his face; her brows drew in as she cocked her head.
“That’s it?” she asked. “We’re just going to move past the fact that you wanted to marry me and now we’re going back to being buddies that fast?”
Damn woman was confusing him…and herself, which was probably a good thing. If she was confused, then that meant her mind wasn’t completely made up.
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked. “I still need my best friend. Do I want more? Of course. But I’m not pushing you out of my life simply because we don’t agree on the future.”
Her lips curved into a grin as she reached for his hand. “One glass,” she told him. “And no sex.”
She
was killing him.
“That dress was made for sex,” he informed her, leading her to the elevator.
As they stepped into the elevator, she slid her hand from his. “I can’t, Reese. As much as I want you physically, I can’t risk my heart. I need a clean break from this, or someone is going to end up hurt.”
Too late. Her rejection stung, but he wasn’t giving up and he had to believe she wanted more and was just too worried to grab hold of what was right in front of her.
Her actions said more than her words ever could.
She’d stepped out of her structured life to take a chance with him; she’d worn the red dress, the red lipstick…she did want to be bold and brave, but he knew she was afraid.
He respected her and knew she would realize what they had… eventually.
“Fine,” he conceded. “Champagne on the rooftop with our clothes on to celebrate a successful night.”
She nodded. “Deal.”
Reese led her up to the rooftop with flutes and an unopened bottle. If she wanted to slide back into friend territory, then that’s what they’d do. He hoped she realized he never backed down from a fight, and having Josie permanently in his life was the one fight he would never give up.
* * *
Josie stared at the blue bikini. Should she? She was home in her own element and going to her own private beach. Who would even care? Besides, she’d donned that red dress for everyone to see and she had to admit, she’d felt pretty damn good about it.
After flying back to Sandpiper Cove, Josie had moved back into her own home since the renovations were done. The crew had put everything back the way it had been before. Her spare closet needed to be reorganized, but at least the mess was completely gone and nothing had been ruined.
Josie needed to spend the day on the beach, to decompress after a whirlwind trip, meeting Reese’s new family in Tennessee, his opening in New York and the proposal that never should’ve happened.
It shouldn’t have…right?
Yes. She had made the right decision to save them further hurt down the road. Not only the hurt, but she was also saving them from destroying a friendship that she could never replace. He was her one constant. She needed him to always be there, and if they married and decided it didn’t work or he grew tired of her, where would she be?
Alone with only her work to keep her company.
Josie stripped from her pajamas and pulled on the blue bikini. To hell with it. For two weeks she’d been so happy. Perhaps that was due to taking chances and being that bold woman she’d always thought she could be, a bold woman like her mother had been.
She grabbed the matching sheer cover and her straw hat. After sliding into a pair of gold sandals, she stepped from the closet and caught herself in the mirror. Well, she didn’t look terrible, just different. But she was keeping it and spending the day in the sun, with a cold beverage and a good book.
Though with the way her mind was spinning, she wasn’t sure any book could hold her attention.
The alarm from her driveway dinged. Who would be coming here? She wasn’t expecting anybody.
Reese. Had to be.
She glanced at her reflection one more time, but decided not to change. He’d seen her in a bikini countless times over the years. Just because they’d been intimate didn’t mean she had to do things differently. They were back to being just friends and a bikini was something she’d wear with a friend. Besides, this was her house. She could wear whatever she wanted without worrying about unexpected guests.
Josie headed down the hall and to the foyer just in time to see Chris pull his car up near the steps. On a sigh, she pulled her wrap around her and stepped onto the porch.
The second he got out of his car, he caught sight of her. Thankfully, he remained in the drive and didn’t make his way to her.
“I’m not going to bother you,” he promised with his hands up. “I just wanted to come by and tell you I’m happy for you.”
Confused, Josie took another step until she was at the edge of the porch. “You couldn’t text?”
“After all we’ve been through, I needed to see you one last time. I saw the blog and I realized that you and Reese have something I could never have with you. As much as I hate it and wish we were still together, I know you two belong together. Too bad we didn’t realize that sooner.”
She didn’t know what to say, so she remained silent.
“Anyway, congratulations,” he stated. “You deserve to be happy.”
Josie could tell he truly meant it. “Thank you. I want you to be happy, too, Chris.”
He offered her a smile and stared another moment before he waved and got back into his car. She watched as he drove off and she wondered what he’d seen in those images that she hadn’t. True, she’d stared at the blog longer than necessary; she’d even pulled it up again this morning.
She and Reese did look happy, but they were happy. They had a bond that was unmistakable. But they were going to have to discuss a mutual press release regarding their “breakup” and make it sound like they were still ridiculously happy and loved each other…they were just not in love.
The thought tugged at her heart and she pushed the emotion aside as she went back into her house. She reset the alarm and went to the kitchen to whip up a mai tai.
Just as she was pouring her blended drink into a large travel cup, her cell rang. Josie sat everything down and reached across the island to her phone.
Not Reese. How silly that she’d been expecting him to call or come by. True, they’d just gotten in yesterday, but it’d been over twelve hours since she’d seen him.
Her editor’s name lit up the screen and Josie knew she still had to pretend the engagement was on.
“Hello.”
“Jo, the blog is breaking records,” Melissa squealed. “Have you seen? The comments are astounding and we are getting emails that we can’t keep up with.”
When she’d gotten online this morning, she hadn’t even looked at the comments—she’d been too wrapped up in the photos.
“That’s great news,” Josie stated.
“We’d love to keep this momentum going,” her editor tacked on. “Do you know when formal engagement pictures will be ready or when you will be dress shopping? If we could do a weekly wedding update, I think that would be best. There are so many details that we could easily make this work.”
Josie rubbed her forehead. “Let me think about this, okay? Reese and I just got back last night and I’m still a bit fuzzy.”
“Yes, of course. Oh, and honey, that red dress was fabulous,” she praised. “Great move on your part to branch out at your fiancé’s grand opening. You two looked absolutely perfect.”
Guilt weighed heavy on her, but another emotion overrode the guilt. Regret.
Had she made the right decision turning Reese down? Since the moment she’d slid that ring off, everything had felt wrong, out of place.
“Thanks,” Josie replied. “Let me think on weekly blogs and I’ll be in touch.”
“Sounds great. I’m just so happy for you guys. You really look like you’re in love and that’s so rare to find these days.”
Unable to handle anymore, Josie said her goodbyes and hung up. She grabbed her drink, ignored her phone on the counter and slid her beach bag from the kitchen chair and onto her shoulder.
No phone, no uninvited guests at her door; she just needed peace and quiet and the ocean. That’s all. The space in her head was filled to capacity.
And the man who occupied each and every thought was the man who claimed to love her, who wanted to spend his life with her.
Josie pulled in a deep breath and headed out to the beach. She had so much thinking to do and serious decisions to make. Was she ready to take that leap? Was she ready to take the biggest risk of her life and create a brand-new box?
&nb
sp; One where she and Reese were together forever?
SEVENTEEN
A shadow came over her and Josie squealed.
“Good grief, Reese,” she scolded as she jerked her legs over the side of her lounge chair. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“Well, you scared me, because I’ve been texting and calling. Usually, you are glued to your phone.”
She adjusted her hat and stared up at him. “I wanted some time alone and didn’t want to be interrupted. What are you doing here?”
“I was going to see if you wanted to take the boat out?” he said. “Nick, Sam, Silvia and Maty are at my house.”
“They are?” she exclaimed. “Did you know they were coming?”
“We had discussed it, but it was kind of a last-minute thing. I invited them yesterday before we left New York and they came this morning. Frisco is going to work up a shrimp and crab boil. I know how much you love that.”
Josie came to her feet and reached for her cover-up, but too late. Reese’s eyes raked over her barely clad body and every one of her nerve endings sizzled with arousal.
Well, clearly this was going to be a problem. Now that she’d had him, she couldn’t simply turn off that need.
She slid her arms into the sheer material and stared back at him. “We aren’t engaged anymore,” she reminded him. “So how is this going to work?”
Reese shrugged. “I would have asked you as a friend even before we did this fake engagement. Nothing has changed there, Josie. I want my best friend by my side and I figured you’d enjoy the day out. You seemed to really hit it off with Maty and Silvia.”
“I did. They’re amazing.”
Reese smiled and her heart ached. “So you’ll come? I can take you over if you’re ready now. It looks like you’re all set for a day on the boat.”
This was weird. He made no move to touch her. Except for that wandering gaze, she would swear he was right back in that friend zone.
Had he moved there so easily? Had he already forgotten that he’d told her he loved her?
Harlequin Desire June 2020 - Box Set 1 of 2 Page 29
