by Nana Malone
“First of all, I ‘m not apologizing, because when two people are dancing, it’s the man’s job to lead. And secondly, what flowers?”
“Orchids. They were delivered to my office today. Maybe one of the execs heard about the job announcement.”
She thought he’d sent her flowers. Maybe he should one day. If it made her blush like that. “There was no card?”
“It was blank.”
Caleb didn’t like the sound of the card. But he didn’t press her.
After thirty minutes, Caleb found himself engrossed in the show. The female judge was whoohooing. “C’mon lady, don’t put her in the too-hot-to-touch category.”
Micha laughed. “I see you’re totally into this now.”
He blinked. “I am not. But how can she put them in the too-hot-to-touch category and not Carson and Julia?”
Micha grimaced. “Julia with her expressionless face? Oh, come on.”
They sat in a companionable silence through another beer and three more routines before she asked, “So the rehearsal next week, are you bringing anyone?”
To the rehearsal dinner? He hadn’t really thought about it. “I—uhm—are you? Bringing anyone?”
“What?” she squeaked. “I, uh, of course I have a date. I mean I figured since the invitation said and guest.”
He narrowed his eyes. Right. She couldn’t lie for shit. But he wouldn’t be caught without a date in case she wasn’t lying. Note to self, rustle up a date. He’d assumed that since they were in the wedding party they wouldn’t be bringing guests. “Yeah, I’m waiting to hear from my date.” He fumbled and wondered how he’d get through a dinner watching Micha with a date.
Caleb stood and outstretched his hand. She glanced at it.
“C’mon Micha. Let’s see if we can get this right.”
“What? Right now?” Her eyes darted back to the TV. “But the rest of the show…”
“I don’t bite.”
She frowned as she stood. “That’s too bad.”
Caleb’s brain stuttered, but he regained his composure enough to take her hand and pull her toward him. “I thought we could try that move again. This time, you could maybe try letting go.”
Micha fit so well in his arms. In her bare feet, her forehead barely reaching his nose. When he looped his arms around her waist, she stiffened at first, but when he tucked her body against his, she sighed and relaxed into him. Home. It felt like home. Caleb stepped into her, and she automatically slid into the modified salsa step. Their hips moved in conjunction, and he tried to focus on the steps, not how her body felt gliding with his, their hips moving in time. He executed the spin that had landed her on her ass yesterday. Today, she spun easily.
He pulled her back to him with a simple but authoritative tug, and she spun into him directly into the next step. Easy. Like they’d been doing it for years. Their breath mingled, and he could smell the strawberry shampoo she used.
She gazed up at him with her lips parted and pupils dilated. She didn’t blink her wide grey eyes, instead met his gaze directly. Her high cheekbones colored with a hint of pink.
Every instinct inside him screamed at him to press his lips to hers. His whole body was rigid with constrained need. But he knew her. She might look ripe for kissing, but if he did now, she’d only push him away later. Automatically, his hands tightened on her hips, relishing the feel of her in his hands. “Micha, I—”
Her voice was husky and low. Her gaze, half lidded. “Yes, Caleb?”
He cleared his throat. He ached to kiss her. To finally savor the taste of her on his lips. But he had to be patient. Instead, he stepped back and let her go. “I think we’ll do fine at the wedding.”
Micha blinked rapidly before taking two more steps away from him. He hated letting her go, but if he didn’t, he’d do something stupid.
“Yeah, I, uh, great.” Her tongue peeked out to lick her bottom lip.
Caleb rolled his lips inward to keep from groaning. He needed to do something with his hands before he tugged her back into his arms. “You want another beer?”
She was still staring at him like she wanted to jump on him. Her eyes trained on his lips and her ample chest rising and falling with each shallow breath she drew. For several hopeful moments, he thought that she might drop one of her walls and tell him she wanted him.
“Actually, it’s been a long day. I probably better call it a night.”
Of course. He’d known she was going to run. “One of these days, Micha, you’ll ask me to stay.”
“Unlikely.” She tipped her head up, meeting his gaze.
“If you say so.”
Chapter 4
Micha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, certain Jaya was trying to torture her. Why had Jaya insisted they all bring dates? All week Micha tried to rustle up a date but had come up empty. Eventually she’d stuffed her poor assistant into a monkey suit and told him he had to escort her. She’d rather have taken a bullet to the eyeball than show up alone tonight. Why the hell Jaya had opted to seat her next to Caleb during the rehearsal dinner was beyond her. And now she could feel him staring at her. Oh, he wasn’t blatant about it, a sly look here, a drifting glance there. Every time she moved, his knee nudged hers. She reached for her wine glass and grazed his arm. Every time accidental contact occurred, it sent electric jolts through her body, and her skin felt like she had a prickly heat rash.
Refocusing, she turned to her date. Smile pretty, Micha. Don’t be a bad host. She should at least make an effort. “So, Ryan, you were telling me you like rafting?” There, she’d made her effort.
Next to her, Caleb shifted in his seat and turned to face Ryan’s direction as her assistant told everyone about the class five rapids and his less-than-experienced trip buddies.
Without concentrating, she could actually feel Caleb’s breath, tickling her spine. Curse Jaya and Ricca for suggesting she wear her unruly curls up. Sure, they liked to wear their hair up because it gave their honeys easy access for nuzzling. Immediately, a memory flashed of her and Caleb on the dance floor the night they’d met. The way he’d leaned in to whisper to her that he wanted to take her out.
Wait for it. Ah, there it was—her body softened for him immediately, responding to the memory. God, she had to get laid and pronto, before she gave in and actually slept with Mr. Handsome as Sin.
Micha crossed and uncrossed her legs again.
When Caleb leaned in to whisper in her ear, a shiver stole down her back.
“Seriously, Micha, you need to stop moving around. Why are you so antsy?”
As if he didn’t know. She whispered back through a false smile, tight enough to crack her molars. “Why are you watching me so close, Atkins? See something you like?”
His answer was immediate. “Yes. But then, you already know that.”
The timber of his voice was low, and his words rolled over her like whiskey on a cold night. Hell, that man was sexy. She turned her attention to her date more resolutely. You will not sleep with Caleb Atkins. You. Will. Not. Sleep. With. Caleb. Atkins.
She met Ricca’s gaze across the table, and when her friend beamed at her, Micha couldn’t help but relax a little. Ricca was also blissfully in love. She had that totally sated been-on-honeymoon look on her face that all newlyweds wore. They weren’t married yet, but if Micha had to bet money, it was only a matter of time.
And as for Jaya, well, she’d found her Mr. Right. Alec was the perfect complement to her friend’s serious type-A personality. He actually forced her to have some fun. For years, that had been Micha’s job, but it was nice to see Jaya happy. Both her friends would tell her to date Caleb already. But it wasn’t that easy.
Micha hadn’t had a real relationship since leaving New York. Finding out she’d been living with a married man and that his wife was crazy enough to try and carve little chunks out of her, had sort of soured her on the whole happily ever after thing. And she would never forget how Simon hadn’t even bothered to try and see her or apologi
ze. Her judgment had been all wrong about him, and she’d vowed she would never let herself be blinded by feelings again. No matter how genuine they may seem.
She’d dated plenty. But she never let any guy get too close. Even when she tried to let people in, it was like an invisible barrier repelled her from whoever she was with. She’d made pushing people away an art form. After what Simon had done to her, she had no intention of getting hurt like that again.
Add to that, Caleb wasn’t just any guy, but practically family. She wasn’t going anywhere near a relationship with him. If she messed with him, Alec and Beckett would be all up in her business. Everyone would. And that wasn’t in the playbook. Caleb was the kind of guy who wanted open and uncomplicated, and she was complicated as hell. When it didn’t work, it would be her fault.
She liked her privacy. She liked her freedom. Eventually, no matter how hot and heavy they were, she’d feel hemmed in, and then it would be messy and ugly for everyone. Especially me.
But maybe if she scratched that itch, she’d get Caleb out of her system.
Who was she kidding? Once wouldn’t be enough. He seemed like the slow lover type.
Micha shook her head, trying to get the image of him over her out of her head. Fantasies would get her nowhere.
“Something funny, sweetheart?”
She fought the urge to lean into the caress of his voice. “Yep, you, calling me sweetheart. You’re sure your date won’t get jealous? I have to tell you, I’m not in the right outfit to fend off a girl fight.” She made it a point to smile at the pretty blonde seated on the other side of Caleb when what she really wanted to do was rip that chignon out of the woman’s head. But she would only do that if she were jealous. Which she wasn’t.
Still, she gripped the edge of her chair to be safe.
“Is something wrong, dear?”
Micha raised her eyes to meet Adele’s, and she did her best not to scowl. She wouldn’t be forgiving Adele anytime soon.
Through her teeth, Micha muttered, “No ma’am.” She glanced around the gilt room in all its splendor. “Taking everything in.”
Adele nodded then slid a glance to Caleb before speaking again. “Well, now that you’ve all imbibed in the fantastic wine and enjoyed this meal, I want to move on to the next part of our festivities. A little game.”
Oh fuck. Jaya had promised there would be no games. Micha glared at her friend, but Jaya only shrugged. Micha stifled a groan. Sure, she wanted to extricate herself from Caleb and make a much needed appointment with her B. O. B. but this was Jaya’s night. She could behave.
Adele addressed the table of twenty. “Now, you know I don’t normally do frivolity, but as you all are among family and the closest of friends, I thought this might be fun. A little scavenger hunt.”
Jaya grinned, her competitive nature flaring. “In the hotel? Fantastic.”
Adele chuckled and winked at her. “Sorry, darling daughter-to-be, you and Alec are sitting this one out. You’ll be judges.”
Jaya looked genuinely crestfallen, and Micha had to giggle. Maybe while they were on their little scavenger hunt, she could beg Ryan to take her home.
“The game will be partnered. To make it more interesting, you won’t be partnered with your dates. As you know, Alec and Jaya have some Westhorpe business to take care of over the next month and will be in and out of town. I thought it would be a good way to have everyone get acquainted. You’ve been paired with a partner. And you’ll be tied together with these.” She held up an exquisite silk scarf. Knowing Adele, it was probably Hermes.
As Adele droned on, Micha stopped listening. She was definitely getting out of here. She’d have to convince her partner to either do the work of two or to ditch with her. There was no way she wanted to be paired with Caleb’s date, Beth, or Jaya’s sister, Tamara. And tied to them no less. She didn’t have enough patience for that tonight.
When Adele called her name, she only peripherally listened to her partner’s name. She didn’t know anything was wrong until she met Jaya’s gleeful expression. Micha narrowed her eyes. Oh that little—
“Looks like we’re partners,” Caleb said smoothly.
***
Caleb didn’t believe in luck. He wasn’t an idiot; he knew a set up when he saw one. He’d known something was up the moment he’d arrived and taken a look at the table arrangement. One enormous round table. He’d be able to see Micha from any vantage point, although, admittedly, Alec and Jaya had surprised him with the blatant seating arrangement. But he could roll with the punches. He’d begged the two of them to stop trying to match make.
When he and Micha got together, it would be because she decided that being with him was far less detrimental than not being with him. No amount of pushing would get her there. Stubborn woman. He might not believe in luck, but he also wasn’t a fool. When an opportunity presented, he was going to take it.
But this thinly veiled ruse from Adele Westhorpe was pure torture.
All night, Micha had been knocking knees with him. Brushing his arm with hers, teasing him by leaning in and giving him a whiff of her perfume. He was half drunk with lust. But he didn’t move away. The way the lights danced on her cinnamon skin made her look like she was shimmering under the stars.
“Oh, Caleb, I can’t believe we won’t be paired together,” Beth whined.
He glanced at his date. Shit. He should have been focused on her. She was beautiful and poised and didn’t have a mouth like a gutter snipe. Plus, she’d also made it clear that she wanted in his pants. So why the fuck was he torturing himself by chasing after a woman who said she didn’t want a relationship? Because you’re a masochist, you moron. Yeah, that or he was so stubborn he never gave up on anything even when he should.
“I know, but you’ll have fun. I’m sure Adele knows what she’s doing.”
He’d have to remember to thank her later. The old lady had been on him for years to find a nice woman who would give him hell and settle down already. She’d been a second mother of sorts, growing up. She was also a world class meddler.
He watched as Beth stood up to join her scavenge partner.
Turning to grin at Micha, he asked, “Do you want to go get our silk scarves, or shall I?”
She narrowed her almond-shaped, grey eyes, and most of his blood rushed somewhere south of his brain.
“If you think I’m going to let you tie me to you, then you have another think coming.”
“You really want to disappoint Jaya and Adele and all their hard work? I know you’d rather make an escape, but I promise you this will be painless. I’ll even do all the hunting. You only have to come along for the ride.”
She straightened her back and smiled. He studied her. She was way too calm. She was going to try to ditch him anyway.
As she stood, she said sweetly, “You wait here. I’ll go get our package.”
He grinned. “You know, on second thought, I’ll come with you. “
Her smile vanished.
As they walked, he placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her through the small crowd. Who was he kidding? He wanted to touch her. Little spikes of electricity traveled from his fingertips throughout his whole body as they walked. God, this woman would literally be the death of him.
As one of the assistants tied them together, he wondered about the smartness of his plan. Micha was prickly on her best day. Now she was forced into close proximity with him. How the hell would that go?”
She paused when they stood in front of the assistant with the scarves. “You know, I’ve changed my mind. If I have to do this, I’m leading the way.” She put out her palm expectantly.
Chapter 5
“Come on, Micha, you might actually have some fun if you let yourself.”
Micha sniffed indignantly. “Who says I don’t have any fun?”
Oh, Caleb knew she had fun. He’d seen her do it. “I’m just saying this is an opportunity for a good time. Besides, I’m excellent company.”
She glanced down at their tied hands. “Yeah, I’m sure you get that a lot.” She sighed deeply, as if trying to psych herself up. “Okay, Mr. Good Times, what’s the first clue?”
Caleb grinned as he opened the envelope. Micha leaned in, and he caught a whiff of her perfume again. For three long seconds, his body stilled.
“Well, are you going to stand there, or are you going to open the envelope?”
He shook his head to clear it. “What the lady wants, the lady gets.”
Once he ripped the envelope open with his free hand, they both peered at the clue. In bold, embossed calligraphy was one question. He read it aloud. “In what room were Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio caught having sex on New Year’s Eve?”
Micha barked out a laugh. “Why, Adele Westhorpe, who knew?”
Caleb slid a glance over at Alec’s mother and boldly winked at her. She’d orchestrated this. She might have had help from Jaya, but this had been her idea. “That old lady has tricks up her sleeve.”
Micha wrinkled her nose. “Tell me about it. Any ideas on the clue?”
“Well, we can assume that Marylyn and Joe could afford the best, which usually means penthouse. We should hit the elevators.”
Micha’s brow furrowed. “What are you, some kind of scavenger hunt rookie? We don’t want to tip off the others. First pair back gets a killer surprise right? I want the surprise.”
He knew she was competitive. Every day he watched her workout in the park and go on runs. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who liked to lose. “Okay, then where to?”
“Back stairs, away from prying eyes.”
“Lead the way.”
They meandered out, in the opposite direction of the majority of the tied duos. No one followed. As soon as they rounded the corner, Micha paused and slipped off her dangerously high stilettos, using his arm for support. Once she had them in hand, she broke out into a light jog. “Try to keep up, Atkins. I have no intention of losing.”
“You think I do?”
“I don’t know,” she huffed as they rounded the third flight of stairs. “You don’t really seem to have that killer instinct.”
