Loving Necessity: The Complete Necessity, Texas Collection

by Margo Bond Collins

  She wanted to see that look again.

  What happens in Antigua can stay in Antigua, right?

  If she were frugal enough for the rest of the trip, she could buy the minidress, go snorkeling once, and still have enough cash to buy a wedding gift for Seth and Kristin. Something unique from the island. Something that carried more than just a monetary value.

  More shopping.

  Maybe she could get Grant to accompany her on that trip, as well.

  She checked out the dress in the mirror one last time.

  “I like it, I’m pretty sure Kristin will approve, and I think I saw a tie back at that last shop that would match it.” Crossing her fingers behind her back, she hoped she could find something there that would work, anyway. And that she could keep him distracted enough to make the purchase.

  “Does that mean we’re almost done?”

  She laughed. “You sound pretty hopeful about that.”

  “Let’s find a tie and find someplace to eat. I’m starving.”

  “After the tie,” she warned, handing the dress to the shopkeeper and moving to the counter to pay. “Don’t get distracted by the thought of food. I know how you are when you’re hungry.”

  “Hangry,” he corrected, but his grin belied his claim. “I get very hangry.”

  “Mm-hm. And I don’t want to see you when you’re hangry. Come on, Hulk. Let’s find you a tie so I can feed you and get back to my beach chair.”

  While they were at it, she would pick up her own special seduction dress.

  Then she could start figuring out how, precisely, she could seduce him into another one night stand.

  Even if, on some deep level, she knew that she really wanted more.

  She shook the thought away.

  I’ll take what I can get.

  And I know I can get Grant, at least for a night.

  Somehow.

  “LOOK, THAT CAFÉ HAS outside seating.” Grant pointed at a bright green, corner building situated almost at the end of the street, underneath the looming cruise ship. Ava’s earlier excitement at its proximity hadn’t waned as they had moved through St. John’s downtown area, and he had taken every opportunity to move them closer to it.

  “I love it here. I need to travel more.” She used her phone to take more pictures of the ship.

  Her delight was infectious, and her wonder at every new thing she saw made him smile.

  Oh, hell. I’m in trouble.

  He should have realized it after their one-night stand. But he had been too panicked at the thought of Seth’s reaction to his best friend defiling his baby sister to consider the full implications of what had happened.

  Since then, he had been too busy avoiding her to think about why they had ended up together that night.

  Now, as he pulled out a café chair for Ava to take a seat, he couldn’t stop thinking about it, even as he carried on a superficial conversation about the giant cruise ship looming over them.

  It’s not like I’m the one-night stand type, after all.

  No. But he had pretended to be, primarily to avoid the realization that he actually cared about Ava as more than his best friend’s little sister.

  After he ducked out on her the next morning, he had waited for an angry call from Seth. At the time, he’d been glad not to get one.

  Now he almost wished he had. At least then he would have had to face up to what he’d done.

  And what was that, exactly?

  Been an absolute prick to the woman you’re in love with, just to avoid having to admit how you felt.

  If he’d been alone, he would have banged his forehead against the table.

  I am going to have to find a way to talk to her about this.

  But not now. Not at a table at an outdoor café in the Caribbean. Not while the sun was shining down on her face, its brightness matched by the happiness reflected in her smile.

  Coward, some inner voice chastised him.

  I will do it, he promised himself. Before we leave this island, I will talk to her about what happened that New Year’s Eve, and I will do everything in my power to make things right with her.

  With the woman I love.

  Chapter 4

  Ava closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the ocean waves only a few yards away, on the other side of the manicured hedge that separated the hotel bar from the path to the beach.

  “We have a license to get married anytime, and the gazebo is reserved for Tuesday afternoon,” Kristin announced, pulling out a chair across the table from Ava and dropping into it. “It was crazy. There was a line at the Ministry, and a notice that one member of the couple had to be in Antigua for fifteen days before we could get married. For a horrible minute, I thought we were going to have to find a way to put the whole thing off, but then Seth took over, and he had all the paperwork ready to apply for a special license. He had already talked to the people in the office and had it perfectly planned.”

  For the first time, Ava saw Kristin turn a besotted glance toward Seth, who returned her smile and sat down as well, setting drinks down in front of all three of them.

  That’s the look I’ve been waiting to see her give my brother. I needed to know that she’s as much in love with him as he is with her.

  “Seth’s the organized one in this relationship?” Grant drawled as he pulled out a chair of his own and settled in. “You’re doomed.”

  “Somehow,” Ava said, suddenly willing to go to bat for her almost-sister-in-law, “I don’t think that the woman who almost single-handedly put together the Necessity prom three years in a row is a bad planner.”

  “See?” Seth said gently, bumping his shoulder against his fiancée’s. “I told you people would remember things like that.”

  Kristin blushed and grinned, and Ava realized that she couldn’t remember the other woman ever receiving a compliment on anything other than her appearance—not even when they were in school together.

  And this wasn’t even much of a compliment.

  Maybe Kristin really did need Seth as much as he wanted her.

  And with that, all Ava’s concern about their upcoming marriage vanished.

  “Y’all want to have dinner at the resort tonight or check out the St. John’s nightlife?” Kristin asked, turning the attention away from her again.

  Imagining her bank account dwindling away—before she even had a chance to go snorkeling—Ava spoke up.

  “Here,” she said, at the same moment Grant said, “Here at the resort,” and Seth said, “Let’s check out the city.”

  At a loss, Seth glanced back and forth from his fiancée to his sister and his best friend.

  “Go ahead and go out,” Ava said. “I want to stay here and...” She racked her brains for a reason other than money to stay behind. Seth and Kristin had already paid for enough. She flicked a look toward Grant, who was watching her interestedly.

  I can’t very well say I want to stay here and seduce the best man.

  “And go for a walk on the beach at night,” she finished, more lamely than she had begun.

  “Are you sure that’s safe?” Seth’s brow furrowed.

  “I’ll go with her.” Grant turned to Ava. “If that’s okay with you.”

  Well. This whole seduction thing might end up being even easier than I expected.

  “If you’re sure.” Kristin didn’t press the other two to join them. From the way her eyes sparkled when she glanced at Seth, Ava was fairly certain the bride was looking forward to some time alone with the groom.

  “Sounds like a plan. Now that we’ve got all the wedding stuff straightened out, what’s everyone doing tomorrow?” Seth took a long drink of his Wadadli, the Antigua Brewery’s flagship beer. Kristin waved a waitress over to order a second rum punch.

  “I’m going snorkeling,” Ava announced. “It’s the one thing I’ve wanted to do since I found out we were coming, and I want to do it soon so I can spend the rest of the time helping with wedding stuff, since we only have a few
days to deal with anything else that crops up.”

  And then she and Grant would be heading back to the U.S., leaving Kristin and Seth alone for a week of honeymooning.

  “Oh, snorkeling. That sounds fun.” Kristin clapped her hands. “I have the best idea.”

  Don’t say a snorkeling tour. Please don’t suggest a tour. I can’t afford one.

  “I saw a snorkeling tour advertised at the activities desk. We could all go together.” Kristin beamed at Ava.

  Of course.

  Ava worked to keep the anxiety off her face. She could hardly blame Kristin. The other woman had no idea what it was like to have to live on a budget, and it’s not like Ava had exactly announced that her funds were limited.

  Even Seth didn’t know how much she had been helping Grandma Jordan lately. The cost of almost everything in Necessity had increased lately, from property taxes to electricity to rent, and the two of them had been pooling their resources. Ultimately, though, Gran’s fixed income and Ava’s tips from her job at The Chargrill weren’t enough to cover all their bills easily, so after this trip, Ava was almost certainly going to have to give up her apartment and move back in with Gran.

  This was supposed to be her last little taste of freedom before she settled into the rest of her life in Necessity. Until recently, Ava had been perfectly content—she might not have much, but she had her own space and her own life, and she liked it that way.

  Now, though, the rest of her life spent living in her family home stretched out in front of her, long and unchanging.

  Not that living on her own was a crazy party. In fact, not much would be different at all, other than her address.

  She glanced around the table. Kristin was watching her eagerly, waiting for an answer. They were just beginning to build something resembling a friendship, and Ava hated to do anything that might put a damper on it.

  Anyway, if she was going to have a last hurrah, this was it.

  If she used all the money she had budgeted for souvenirs, she could probably manage a snorkeling trip.

  Besides, in order to seduce Grant, I have to be around him.

  Assuming she didn’t manage the seduction portion of her wild island fling during their walk on the beach tonight.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “A snorkeling tour sounds great.”

  “I’LL GO SEE WHAT I can find out.” Grant waved everyone back into their seats as he stood up. “Wait here. I’ll report back.”

  He didn’t think anyone else had seen the flash of panic cross Ava’s face when Kristin had mentioned the tour, but Grant suspected he might have some idea what that was about.

  Even if, as Grant suspected, Kristin had covered Ava’s flight and resort stay, the incidental expenses of this trip were beginning to add up, and Ava had always been careful with money in a way Seth wasn’t. It really was for the best that Seth was marrying into the richest family in Necessity. Grant loved his friend, but he also knew that it wasn’t in Seth’s nature to economize.

  Seth was a dreamer. Ava, on the other hand, was eminently practical.

  He had seen the same look on Ava’s face when they were young and she had been put in the position of spending her carefully saved allowance money to join the other kids at the movies. She wanted to go, but she had to calculate what it meant giving up.

  Seth remembered the trip to the Dallas mall for Ava’s prom dress as a trek from store to store to store as Ava searched for something perfect.

  Grant remembered it as Ava searching for the best deal—something that was both pretty and affordable.

  He didn’t know how yet, but he would figure out a way to make sure she didn’t feel compelled to pay for a snorkeling trip she couldn’t afford.

  And the walk on the beach tonight would give him a chance to have that talk with her he’d been promising himself all afternoon.

  AM I REALLY GOING TO go for a moonlit walk on the beach with Grant?

  Ava leaned her elbows on the patio railing. What she wanted to do was watch the sun set over the ocean, but she was on the wrong side of the island for that.

  Not that she would want to watch that sunset with Grant, of course. Or go for a sunset walk, either. No, a walk on the beach with a gorgeous man during a beautiful sunset was a little too greeting-card cute for Ava.

  At least, that’s what I’m going to tell myself.

  She had been glad when Grant returned to their table at the bar that afternoon to announce that the next day’s snorkeling excursion was sold out—until she had seen the disappointment on Kristin’s face. Then she had felt guilty for wanting to save her pennies.

  If I go for that walk with him, I could seduce him tonight.

  Moving back inside the room, she took the Floral Floozy minidress out of the closet where she had hung it earlier and draped it across the bed, smoothing one hand across the fabric before taking a step back to regard it.

  If she met him wearing it, would he know what she wanted? Could she convince him to have sex with her on a moonlit beach?

  The thought made her shiver.

  Maybe I could invite him up here for dinner. Skip the beach altogether.

  Her stomach twisted at the thought.

  Why was this so terrifying?

  Because I don’t want him to say no.

  The thought surprised her. She had known that his rejection of her eighteen months ago had stung, but she didn’t realize she hadn’t gotten over it. If nothing else, his reaction to her wearing the dress suggested he was unlikely to turn her down.

  History, however, suggests he’ll probably leave before I’m awake the next morning.

  Clearly she needed to think about this more.

  Hanging the dress back in the closet, she considered her remaining options.

  She would cancel with Grant, have room service on the balcony, and listen to the night-song created by the tree frogs and cicadas on the resort grounds.

  If I want to take a walk on the beach at night, I can go by myself.

  While she was on that walk, she could work on figuring out how to seduce the only man she had ever really wanted.

  Chapter 5

  The morning sun didn’t bring any more answers than her nighttime stroll had—though they both ended up with Ava in the same beach chair, staring at the waves splashing against the shore.

  The guide at the equipment rental shack a few dozen yards down the beach had told her that noon was the best time for snorkeling—the jellyfish tended to come out in full force in the mornings and evenings, but at midday, she could avoid getting stung more easily. He had also assured her that she was unlikely to get stung at all, but she preferred not to take chances.

  And that’s the story of my life.

  At any rate, she had the whole morning to herself, and a new romance novel to read.

  If I’m too chicken to seduce a man on a beach at night, I’ll have to settle for reading about it on the beach in the morning.

  Smiling wryly and settling back into the reclining beach chair, Ava pulled her enormous, floppy-brimmed straw hat over her face. She could doze here for a little while, soaking up the heat and the sheer nothing-to-do-ness of it all.

  A glorious day in paradise.

  “So what’s the point of lying in the sun if you cover yourself in SPF-one-million sunscreen?” Grant’s voice interrupted Ava’s contemplation of what she might see in her snorkeling later that day.

  She pulled her wide-brimmed straw hat off her face enough to peer at him through one squinted eye. “I’m enjoying the warmth.”

  “Can’t you get that at home?” Grant sat down in the empty chair next to her, picked up her sunscreen—only SPF 100, actually—and was turning it around in his hands, ostensibly reading the fine print on the bottle. Apparently her tone hadn’t been repressive enough to ward him off.

  “At home, I have people demanding my attention all day.” She settled back onto her chair, tilting her hat back over her face. Maybe he would take the hint and go away.
/>   No such luck.

  “Just because they demand your attention doesn’t mean you have to give it to them.”

  Yeah, right.

  How could she possibly begin to explain to Grant—a man who had always, as far as she could tell, done whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted—what it meant to feel responsible to other people?

  She opened her mouth to justify her response, then changed tacks at the last minute. “I don’t have the sound of the waves at home.”

  “You could. All you need is your phone and some earbuds.”

  Ava was beginning to wish she had those things now. Then she could block out this whole conversation.

  What was he doing here, anyway?

  “What is it about the ocean that draws people to it, do you think?” His tone was contemplative, and this time when she moved her hat to look up at him, he was staring out across the waves.

  Apparently he didn’t even need her to carry half a conversation. “You think maybe it’s something about how immense it is?” he continued.

  After a long, silent moment, he spoke again. “Have you seen the people out there learning to wind-surf?”

  Struck by a sudden insight, Ava sat up, knocking her hat into the sand next to her chair. “Grant, are you bored?”

  “Maybe a little.” He shrugged, the muscles of his shoulders rippling in the sunlight.

  If he doesn’t get some sunscreen, he’s going to end up burned.

  Ava shoved away the image of her hands smoothing lotion over his broad back.

  “I didn’t really think about Seth being too busy to go do stuff while we’re here,” he continued.

  I’m going to regret asking this.

  “What kind of stuff?”

  Grant’s eyes brightened, and Ava was reminded of what he had been like when they were much younger—always eager to try new things, willing to take risks in ways that had impressed the tagalong little sister of his best friend. “Well,” he said, “there’s another island nearby—Montserrat—with an active volcano, and they do tours of the last eruption site. The whole place is nearly deserted these days, and you can see the houses all filled with volcanic ash.”