by Kira Archer
“Oh, good. Thank you.”
“No problem. I was hoping we’d meet up before all the wedding festivities got into full swing. Didn’t want our first meeting to be when I escorted you down the aisle,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
The sudden image of them walking down the aisle with her dressed in a gorgeous white gown instead of the mint-green bridesmaid number she’d wear that weekend had Lena’s cheeks flaming again. Where the hell did that come from? She’d known the guy, what, five minutes? Usually, the married-happily-ever-after fantasies took a few weeks to start running rampant. Though, really, he’d kept Tyler entertained, and he was funny and drop dead gorgeous. She’d certainly done a lot worse.
Then again, Elliot really wasn’t relationship material. Lena had heard stories from Cher. Stories that were funny when told over family dinners, but not so funny when her child was in danger of becoming too attached. Elliot was much more the sweep-them-off-their-feet-love-’em-then-leave-’em type. Different girl on his arm every week. Not the type a single mother needed to be messing with.
Thankfully, Elliot had turned his attention back to Tyler and didn’t seem to notice her momentary flusterfication.
“Tyler’s been telling me all about being the ring bearer,” he said.
Tyler didn’t take his eyes off the game but called over his shoulder. “I have ta carry them on a pillow, and I have ta go slow so I don’t drop ’em. Elliot showed me.”
Elliot laughed. “You’re going to do great.” He turned back to Lena. “We practiced a little.”
“Yep!” chimed in Tyler.
Lena’s heart was in danger of melting around the edges. Until she reminded herself that no matter how hot or charming the man in front of her was, he was a headache, or heartache, waiting to happen. For her and Tyler. She shoved her hair behind her ear and looked around the room. Anywhere but directly at the handsome hunk-of-a-hero in front of her. She needed to steer clear. “So, what happened? I passed out?”
“Yeah. Damn near gave me a heart attack. I almost didn’t catch you.”
“Sorry about that,” she mumbled.
Her cheeks burned, both in mortification that she’d dropped like a fly for no real reason and at the thought that he’d caught her. And carried her up to his hotel room where he had tucked her into his bed. Where he slept, probably naked as gorgeous hunks do. In her fantasies, at least.
She swallowed and tried desperately to get a grip. She was drooling over the poor guy like she’d never seen one before. Her gaze raked over him while she pondered that thought for a second. To be fair, she hadn’t seen one quite so well put together before. At least not close up. Still. She needed to chill the hell out.
He laughed, an easy going, happy sound that eased her embarrassment. There was something about him that was extremely comforting. Well, aside from the high school crush-like tingles running riot through her body. But instead of wanting to die from sheer humiliation because she’d passed out while her son had been in two feet of water, Elliot made it seem like a normal, everyday occurrence that was no big deal. He was very sweet.
Too sweet. Tyler was already looking at the guy with a mild case of hero worship that was only going to get worse.
“It was no problem at all, really. I had the hotel doctor come up. He said you probably have a mild case of heat exhaustion. He gave you some fluids and a little something to help sleep it off. You should be feeling much better in a few hours, but he suggested taking it easy and said to make sure you drink lots of water. Oh, speaking of which…”
Elliot hurried to the small fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “Here you go. Drink up. Doctor’s orders.”
His light brown eyes had such a lighthearted twinkle in them Lena couldn’t help but give him a grudging smile.
“Yes, sir,” she said, cracking the lid off the bottle and taking a sip.
“Tyler was telling me you don’t really like the water. Pools and things, I mean.”
Lena’s cheeks grew warm. “Yeah, that’s a bit of an understatement.”
“Hmm. And you’re about to spend an entire week at a beachside resort, surrounded by them.”
Lena’s mouth went dry. “Yeah,” she managed to squeak out. She cleared her throat and tried again. “My best friend was supposed to be here to help with Tyler. Take him to the pool and the beach and basically wrangle him while I’m busy with wedding stuff.”
She repressed a shudder, barely. “But when I called her this morning, her flight had been delayed due to weather, so I’m not sure when, or if, she’ll make it. And Tyler wanted to swim so badly. There’s a view of the pools from our room, and it looked so fun. And I don’t want him growing up with the same issues I have, so I thought it would be okay if I took him down for a few minutes. But then he wouldn’t get out…”
Elliot took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “No worries. I’m glad I was there to help.”
Lena tore her gaze from Elliot and focused on Tyler. Who was still playing video games and had been for who knew how long. It was past time for them to leave.
“Well, Elliot, thanks again. Really. We’d… We’d better be going. Tyler, clean up your mess, please.”
“Ahhh,” he grumbled.
“It’s not tragic, make it magic,” she said, using the little prompt she’d made up for him to get him to clean up. “Mary Poppins it.”
“Okay!” Tyler popped up and started snapping his fingers and running around like a loon while he picked things up and ran to put them away.
Elliot’s mouth dropped open a little, and Lena laughed.
“It looks crazy but it works,” she said. “I can’t make stuff magically clean itself up like Mary Poppins does, but he snaps and pretends it’s happening magically.”
They watched as Tyler snapped over an empty bag of chips and then scooped it up and shoved it into the trash as fast as he could. He was done cleaning up his mess in two minutes flat.
Elliot leaned against the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the action. He turned to her and nodded. “Impressive.”
“Thanks.” Lena held out her hand to her son. “Tyler, let’s go, bud.”
“Okay, Mommy,” he said, sighing the sigh of a child being made to do something he didn’t want to do but knowing it was no use arguing. Good thing, too. He’d already gotten away with a lion’s share of mischief.
“Can I come play again?”
“Sur—” Elliot stopped and looked at Lena, eyebrows raised in question.
“We’ll see,” she said again, with a slight frown.
Tyler sighed. “That means no.”
“No. It means we’ll see.”
Though he was right. It meant no. At least in this case. She’d always hated it when her mother had used that phrase. But it was handy when she didn’t want to say no outright. It got her off the hook long enough that she didn’t have to be the bad guy. At the moment, at least.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you soon,” Elliot said, walking them to the door. “I think Oz and Cherice have a family dinner planned.”
“Yeah. We’ll see you there.”
“Looking forward to it,” he said, his eyes locking on to hers.
Lena’s heart clenched again. She’d never be able to resist a whole week of that. Was it bad form to hook up with the groomsman at your brother’s wedding? She’d have to Google some wedding etiquette.
Chapter Three
Elliot closed the door behind Lena and Tyler, his head completely in an uproar. What the hell had just happened? Crazy coincidence that hot-as-hell Panic Attack Lady had ended up being Oz’s sister. He’d never have guessed they were siblings, though he supposed they looked enough alike. Aside from the height thing. Oz was an inch or two taller than Elliot, at six-foot-one. Lena definitely got the short end of the stick in the height department. She probably wasn’t more than five-foot-six at the most, with curly, blond hair and sparkling blue eyes that lit up every time she looked at her son. Not his usual type, by a lo
ng stretch. He liked his women exotic, mysterious, and uninterested in anything more than a fling. No single mothers. Ever.
Not that he didn’t like kids. He did. He just had no direct experience with them. Like at all.
But to his surprise, he’d enjoyed hanging out with Tyler while they’d waited for Lena to wake up. The kid was a riot. And a hell of a lot smarter than he’d assumed an almost seven-year-old would be. He wouldn’t mind hanging with him again. And he really wouldn’t mind seeing Lena again. A thought that should scare the hell out of him. She was a single mom. Mad respect to her. But Elliot could barely run his own life. The last thing he wanted to do was mess with anyone with a kid. Lena should be firmly on his off-limits list.
But he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on her face in the pool. The only thing he’d wanted to do was help her, protect her. And the feel of her in his arms when he’d laid her in his bed…small and soft and utterly his, for that moment at least. That was something he’d like to feel again.
But he had zero business getting involved with someone like her. Elliot was no good for either of them, and he knew it. But the fact that their siblings were getting married, and they were stuck together on an island with all the pre-wedding festivities, was going to make avoiding her damn near impossible. Especially since he couldn’t pretend, even to himself, that he really wanted to avoid her.
By the time dinner rolled around, he’d definitely decided that pursuing Lena would not be in either of their best interests. However, five seconds after Lena walked in, he regretted that decision. Big time. She looked incredible in a blue, sleeveless sundress that almost exactly matched the shade of her eyes. Her hair was pulled into a haphazard bun that left little tendrils escaping down her neck. His fingers itched to wrap those locks around his fingers, see if they were really as silky as they looked.
Well, he didn’t have to pursue her, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to be friendly. They were going to be family, sort of, after all.
It only took about two minutes of the meal for him to realize Lena had avoidance plans of her own. She entered the room, and although there were two seats right next to him, she headed to the opposite side of the table. Tyler, however, spotted him and refused to move once he planted himself next to Elliot, so Lena reluctantly followed.
Elliot had his reasons for avoiding her, but the thought that she wanted to keep her distance made the perverse anti-authority side of him want to redouble his efforts at getting her attention. Reverse psychology at its best. Of course, the fact that he wanted her to want him confused the hell out of him. Her disinterest should have been a good thing. So why did his gut twist in a knot every time she looked away or avoided his attempts at conversation?
The resort had a live band playing tropical versions of non-tropical songs that Elliot had done his best to tune out. They weren’t bad. Just not his thing. But when they segued into a Johnny Cash song, Tyler shot to his feet.
“Mommy! It’s the face song. You gotta dance!”
Lena’s pale cheeks flushed red, but she didn’t argue. She stood and took her son’s hand. He climbed onto her feet, put one hand on her waist and held the other, and they danced as a man with a thick island accent crooned about the first time he ever saw her face.
Cher leaned over to Elliot. “Oz told me she’s been singing this song to Tyler since the day he was born. They are so adorable.”
Elliot turned his attention back to Lena and her son. Yes, they were adorable. And it was obvious how close they were. Even more reason for him to leave them the hell alone. But he couldn’t. Even though if things went south with her, it wouldn’t just be her life he messed up.
The song ended, and Tyler bounced back to the table.
“You are an excellent dancer, little man,” Elliot said, high-fiving him.
“Thanks.” Tyler shoved a piece of pineapple into his mouth. “Do you want to dance with my mommy?”
Elliot opened his mouth to say no but couldn’t seem to get the words out. The truth was he’d love to dance with her. He just couldn’t. Or shouldn’t. But oh yes, he wanted to.
Not that it mattered. Lena beat him to it. “No, Tyler. We don’t need to bother Elliot. Besides, I’m all danced out.” She smiled down at her son, and the sheer beauty of her in that moment had a small headache forming between Elliot’s eyes.
The internal fight between wanting to charm his way into Lena’s life and knowing he should do no such thing was going to make his head implode.
Perhaps he was going about it all wrong. They didn’t need to have a relationship. He was no good for her and wouldn’t have the first clue what to do with a child in his life. But he’d caught her eye on him when she thought he wasn’t looking, so she wasn’t totally immune to him. And while they were on the island, their real lives were put on hold. Why couldn’t they have a little fun together?
“So, have you ever been to the island before?” he asked her, determined to capture her attention.
Lena yanked a sugar packet from Tyler’s mouth and barely spared a glance for Elliot. “No, I don’t travel much.”
“That’s too bad. Well, you’ll have to make the most of it while you’re here then.”
“Huh?” she said, squinting at him. “Tyler, put that down and sit in your seat,” she said, grabbing a coconut that Tyler had snagged from the centerpiece in front of them.
“I said you’ll have to make the most of it while you’re here,” he repeated.
“Oh. Yeah.” She yanked Tyler back into his seat with one hand and rescued a nearly overturned cup of water with the other. Multi-tasking at its best.
“So, if you don’t travel much, what do you do for fun?” he asked, trying another line of questioning.
She gave a short, humorless laugh and snagged the knife Tyler was trying to cut the table with and placed it out of reach. “I don’t really have much time for fun.”
She kept her attention on her son and his antics, avoiding eye contact and interaction with him whenever possible. She answered any questions he asked her, but despite turning on the charm higher than he’d ever had to before, he couldn’t pull her into a conversation. Granted, she continued to have her hands full with Tyler. The kid was a hyper ball of energy. He bounced in his seat, climbed under the table a few times, and almost over it once.
Since the sugar rush that had apparently hijacked the little boy’s system was 100 percent his fault, Elliot tried to assuage his guilt by helping to distract him. But his efforts only succeeded in Tyler climbing all over him until Oz finally got up, plucked Tyler from Elliot’s shoulders where he’d lodged himself, and plunked him into his seat. A stern warning, complete with finger waving and the parental look-of-death, and Tyler settled into his seat to pout. Wow. Impressive.
Tyler perked up once the food came. A boy after his own heart. While the kid was busy stuffing his face with pulled pork, Elliot tried again to draw Lena into some kind of conversation. But she barely paid attention to him. She fussed with her plate, with Tyler’s plate, and with Tyler himself until the kid finally groaned in exasperation and she let him alone. She did nothing overtly rude or standoffish, but she more than got the point across that she wasn’t interested.
He’d never, in his twenty-six years of life, ever had a woman ignore him so completely. Usually, one glance and she was his. But since flirting, winking, casual, innocent brushes of his body against hers, and all the other tricks in his bag weren’t working, perhaps he should try being direct and asking her out?
He hesitated, a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach. It took him a moment, but he finally realized he was nervous. That realization surprised him enough that he sat there for a second, unsure of how to proceed. The thought that she might actually turn him down was so foreign he didn’t know what to do. Maybe it would be better to ask her in private. If she was going to shoot him down, he didn’t want her doing it in front of their family.
“Hey, Len,” Oz said, raising a glass that vaguely resemble
d multicolored cracked safety glass. “This reminds me of those mugs you tried to sell once.”
Lena rolled her eyes at him, and her brother laughed.
“What’s he talking about?” Elliot asked her.
Her cheeks blushed a gorgeous pink, and she shook her head. “Oh, nothing. Just one of my ideas that crashed and burned.”
“Ideas?”
She shrugged. “Until Tyler started school, I stayed home with him, but I still wanted to help bring in some money, so Oz didn’t have to work so hard.”
“Mommy makes really cool stuff!”
Elliot’s eyebrows rose. “Yeah? What kind of stuff?”
“She made me name letters for my room.”
“Name letters?”
“Yeah, I got new ones this year. Soccer balls. I had dinosaurs for a while.”
Elliot looked at Lena, totally lost. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through some pictures before holding it out for him to see. She had taken wood letters that spelled Tyler’s name and painted them to look like soccer balls. She flicked to the next picture, and the name Brianna was decorated in pink and purple with sparkles and jewels and ribbons.
“Those are really cool.”
She shrugged, but her shy smile showed she was pleased. “I have an Etsy store where I sell some crafty-type stuff. I’m always trying to bring in some extra cash. I keep hoping one of them will take off so I can get out of my generous brother’s house,” she said. “No luck so far.”
“And one of the ideas was cracked glasses?” Elliot asked.
“No,” she said with a little laugh. “I used to take this pottery class, and my instructor showed us how to make these really fun mugs. She had several shaped like dragons and trolls, really cool shapes. And I made one that turned out really well. I carved this pretty leaf design into it. It was nice.”
“That sounds like a good idea. People love mugs. They always make great gifts.”
She gave that little self-deprecating laugh again. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Problem was I had no idea how much all the equipment would cost. Plus, I didn’t have a kiln or anything and firing them in my oven didn’t quite work.”
