Dangerously Distracted

by Angela Evans

  They had reached their destination and stopped to finish their conversation outside Lacey’s office door.

  Leslie raised an eyebrow and shook her head. “Maybe they’re like you, but I’m pretty sure they don’t spend their evenings tucking in rambunctious toddlers after a dinner of macaroni and cheese out of a box.” She laughed and knocked on Lacey’s door.

  Lacey opened the door almost immediately, which made him wonder if she’d been listening from the other side. But that seemed odd, so he dismissed the idea as paranoid and a cost of the job. Lacey had curly strawberry-blond hair and a bright smile. Her eyes darted between them and widened slightly before she squinted at him a bit.

  “You must be Dani Gwendolyn’s bodyguard?” She extended her hand as she introduced herself.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He nodded and shook her hand. “Michael Duncan.”

  “Have you had a chance to tour the resort?” she asked, catching him off guard.

  “Um, I’ve seen a little of it, but I haven’t had much of a chance to see the whole thing. What I’ve seen is beautiful though.” He wondered if she was angling for a compliment on her business or if she had another motive.

  “Maybe you could show him around Barefoot Bay and Mimosa Key later?” Lacey asked Leslie, and from Leslie’s startled expression, it was clear she was as surprised as he was.

  Lacey hadn’t been fishing for a compliment; she was trying to stage a date for the two of them. The idea of spending more time with the beautiful baker was tempting, but he forced himself to wait silently and not act like an eager teenager getting his first chance to grope a girl behind the bleachers.

  Chapter Three

  “I cannot believe Lacey did that to me!” Leslie groaned loudly for at least the hundredth time since she’d returned from the resort earlier.

  Amelia was pacing the bakery office, a hand on her ever expanding belly. “Oh, will you get over yourself? All Lacey did was push you in a direction you already wanted—and needed—to go!” She rubbed her belly and breathed sharply in through her mouth.

  “What’s happening with you there? Contractions?”

  “No, he’s just super active today and keeps kicking me right here.” Amelia pressed her palm against her side.

  “Are you sure?” Leslie asked in concern. Amelia’s due date was a few weeks away still, but she knew as well as any woman that babies came when they wanted to.

  “Yeah, I just need to get him to move off whatever he’s playing soccer with at the moment.” Her friend grimaced again. “Don’t distract me from my tirade. You should go out with this guy. He’s hot, he’s single, and you haven’t been on a single date since I’ve known you. It’s not normal.”

  “I don’t want to date!” Leslie threw up her hands in frustration.

  “Then don’t date. Have a fling, a one-night stand, a booty call, whatever you want to call it. Go have fun!”

  She couldn’t even believe Amelia had said that. “I am not looking for a booty call!”

  “You need to get laid.”

  The door dinged to let them know a customer had come in, but Leslie was too shocked to even hear it. Had her friend honestly just said that? Amelia had definitely lost her mind to pregnancy hormones. She never talked that way, and she had certainly never spoken to Leslie that way.

  “I do not need to get laid!” Shock had her raising her voice. As soon as she said the words, she realized that whoever had just walked in the door of the bakery had definitely heard her and might have heard Amelia.

  Amelia was distracted, rubbing her belly and pacing again, which left Leslie to face the customer. She felt her face heating as she opened the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the counter.

  “Hello.” She stared straight into the warm brown eyes of Michael Duncan. The laughter in those eyes told her that he had definitely heard her. Her face burned. “You heard that, right?”

  “Heard what?” he asked with feigned innocence.

  If he thought she was going to repeat what she’d said, and he’d obviously heard, he was dreaming.

  “When I called out saying I would be with you in a second.” She avoided meeting his eyes. She was lying and he knew it, but she didn’t care. “What can I help you with?”

  “No, sorry, I didn’t hear that. Are you ready to take me sight-seeing?” he asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

  “Take the rest of the day off. I’m just going to finish balancing this month’s books and call it a day,” Amelia said from the doorway.

  Her friends were conspiring against her at every turn, she thought in frustration. She was without any excuse to say no, and truthfully, she didn’t want an excuse not to go with him. That fact was as surprising as anything could be. She didn’t want to want to spend the day with him. She didn’t want to be attracted to him, but it was there, and she felt pulled toward him in a way she hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

  She was content on her own, without a man to set things off balance and make everything unstable. Amelia’s words echoed through her mind. Have a fling, get laid, have a one-night stand. Could she do that? Why not?

  “I need to change.” She met his startled gaze. Was he startled that she was accepting the arranged date? Or was he startled by what he’d overheard when he came in the door?

  “We can swing by your house. I have the whole day, so no need to rush.” His smile made her skin tingle.

  * * *

  He kept finding reasons to touch her, and he had no doubt that she had noticed. He should find it embarrassing, this constant need to touch her. Not half as embarrassing as the fact that he’d spent the entire afternoon halfway to a hard-on, but still, embarrassing. He’d put his hand on her back, he’d brushed his fingertips across her shoulder, he’d fixed a hair that fell out of place. As quickly as it fell, he had the urge to touch it again. He was a grown-ass man who made a living by always being in control. Yet somehow around Leslie, that went right out the window.

  If he didn’t kiss her soon, he thought he might go insane, but she was sending out a flurry of mixed signals. He only had a few hours left in Barefoot Bay, it was time to force the issue and get a direct answer one way or the other, he decided.

  “So do you need to?” he asked as they rode in the convertible rental car he had acquired for his stay.

  Her head was leaned back against the headrest, her hair blowing carefree in the wind as a soft, relaxed smile played around her mouth. Her hair smelled faintly of coconuts and something else he couldn’t name. Her cheeks were pink from a day spent showing him around the island. He resisted the urge to touch her cheek to see if it was as soft as it looked. He got the distinct impression she didn’t relax often, or for long, so he took it as a compliment that she was relaxed with him now.

  “Do I what?” She swiveled her head to look at him. Her eyes were a deeper shade of green than they’d been before.

  He ignored her question for a moment as he pulled the car into a parking space at the resort and put it into park. He flipped a switch and set the motorized top into motion. Soon they were shaded from the Florida sun. A moment later, they were cocooned inside the warm interior.

  “Do you need to get laid?” he teased and watched her reaction carefully.

  Her eyes widened, her mouth opened in surprise, and her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. He liked playing with her, making her smile, but this was even better.

  She hesitated then met his eyes, and he saw when she registered that he had heard her and her friend earlier. Her lips parted just enough he could see her pink tongue behind her white teeth. He gave her a full minute to answer before he gave in and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers and feeling her warmth seep into his body.

  She gasped, and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside. He met no resistance and felt her melt into him as he pulled her closer. He had his answer, but he wouldn’t rush her.

  He pulled back, cupping the back of her head to keep her from pulling too fa
r away. “I’ve enjoyed our day together.”

  “Me too,” she whispered back, her eyes cast down and her breath warm on his face.

  “I would really like you to come inside. I have a room upstairs.”

  She hesitated, and he knew he didn’t have a prayer of getting his wish, but he could tell she was tempted. Before he could pull her in for another kiss, she braced a hand on his chest. Her eyes dropped to his mouth before she spoke, and he knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She had put on some lip gloss when he’d taken her home to change, but most of it was gone between the day and his kiss. Her lips were full and perfect for kissing.

  “I work here. I know almost every person who works here. I cannot waltz into your hotel room in broad daylight and then face them all tomorrow.” Her cheeks flushed as she said it.

  If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was a blushing virgin. Just his luck—the first time he was tempted to break his long stretch of celibacy, the woman he wanted to break it with wasn’t the type to be seen slinking out of a room with her shoes in her hand at seven in the morning.

  “I’m not saying I don’t want to. I just have to think about how it will look, and how it will affect my life after you’re gone.”

  For whatever reason, the idea that she was dismissing him as just a fling, as a one-night stand with no hope of anything more, had him bristling. Granted, it was all he had intended to offer her—it was all he ever offered any woman—but he wasn’t used to them being the ones to lay down the ground rules.

  When he didn’t speak, she said, “What? You’re not about to try to convince me that we’ll have some kind of long-distance relationship, are you?” She scoffed, her hand still on his chest, directly over his rapidly beating heart.

  “It’s not out of the question.” His argument sounded lame even to his own ears. Leslie had him off his game in every conceivable way. He grasped for any idea to get them out of this car, so there was enough distance between them he could think clearly. “Let’s walk on the beach.”

  She nodded, and he climbed out of the warm car, as he hurried to open her door he sucked in a deep breath of fresh air to try and clear his head. As he opened her door he reached for her hand and pulled her close, not wanting to lose that feeling of connection they’d had in the car. When they reached the beach, he held her arm so she could slip off first one sandal then the second. He took them from her, toed off his own shoes, and picked them up. As soon as they stepped onto the sand, he realized his mistake. Sure, there was plenty of fresh air and space around them, but the ocean breeze carried her scent, something tropical and completely feminine, right to him. Her loose-fitting floral sundress was pressed tight to her curves, highlighting each swell and valley and leaving nothing to his overactive imagination.

  Michael pulled his thoughts back to something safer and tried to remember why they were walking on this gorgeous beach. “I meant it when I said I’ve enjoyed the day with you. I won’t say I’m not disappointed you don’t want to come upstairs. I understand your reason, but it seems like there is more to it than that.”

  “I’m not interested in a relationship, not with you or anyone else.” Her stare was unflinching, she was pushing him away and he didn’t know why. He’d wanted an answer, but this wasn’t the one he was hoping for. “I fell in love once, and outside of getting my boys, it was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

  He pulled her to a stop with a gentle hand on her wrist. “I think there’s a story there.” He stroked her inner wrist with his thumb and felt her pulse kick up a notch. “But to be fair, I wasn’t asking for anything more than an opportunity to see where this goes. I’d like to spend the night with you, or the afternoon with you, or hell, a whole weekend if you’ve got the time. But I’m not asking you to give anything up or change your life in any way.”

  Her gaze drifted to somewhere over his shoulder then came back to his face. “Oh.”

  “I don’t want to rush you though.” He saw her relax slightly, and a hint of her smile returned. Just as it had all day, his lower half responded immediately to even the slightest hint of a smile from her. “Let’s walk.”

  He pulled her hand into his and tried to remember the last time he’d actually held hands with a woman. Most of the time he was so focused on work and building his business, he didn’t even think about making time for a woman—beyond a casual thing here and there. He didn’t make time for flirting with anyone or slowing down to get to know them.

  * * *

  Her head was spinning. She felt as if she’d just gotten off of that Tea Cups ride that her boys loved, and she felt as though her head would spin forever. She’d spent a long time guarding her heart, and her emotions, from exactly what she was feeling now. Because she had been down this road, and she had more than just herself to think about. Her boys were everything and deserved better than a ride on the Tea Cups every day just for the fun of it. That was what life had felt like with Daniel. A fun ride on the Tea Cups, or any other amusement park ride, followed by nausea when reality came crashing back down.

  Only Daniel had avoided reality at all cost. At first, that had been the attraction. She’d worked hard her whole life and watched her parents do the same thing. Daniel never did anything as practical as go to work, but he always had cash to spend on her. He’d bought her gifts, sometimes silly and inexpensive, sometimes extravagant. He’d surprised her with vacations and weekend getaways. He’d made life an adventure.

  “Where’d you go just now?” Michael pulled her back to the present with his words.

  She found him watching her, and for a moment, she wondered if maybe he could read her mind.

  I was remembering my husband. That was what she wanted to say, what she should say, but she couldn’t force the words past her lips. She didn’t want to bring Daniel into this moment. It was too perfect.

  “Just daydreaming,” she said instead. “Do you live in New York?”

  He glanced at her as if just realizing they’d spent the entire day talking about her, and where she lived, and she didn’t really know much about him at all. “I guess I have peppered you with questions all day, haven’t I?”

  “Not peppered exactly, but I do feel like I did most of the talking.” Their hands linked in a way that felt natural and comfortable. In fact, their entire day together had felt that way.

  “We have offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. I spend most of my time in the New York office, mostly because it’s where the majority of our clients are based. The LA office is growing though, so I have been dividing my time more and more.”

  They found an open cabana with the tent flaps pulled back, letting the sun and sea air inside, where a pair of matching lounge chairs waited. He gestured inside to ask her if she’d like to sit and she nodded, not wanting him to stop his story. Inside, the cabana felt quiet, the sound of the water and wind quieted just slightly. Leslie sat on the nearest chaise lounge and was startled when Michael sat next to her instead of on the opposite chair.

  “Did you start the business yourself?” she asked, curious to know more about him. He seemed so young to have started and built such a large business by himself.

  “I started a small agency and slowly acquired other agencies—buying up the competition, I guess you could say.”

  Their hands were still linked, fingers interlaced. In the privacy of the cabana, it felt more intimate than it had casually strolling on the beach of Barefoot Bay in public view. Still, she didn’t want to pull away. The warmth from his hand seemed to seep up her arm and course through her body. Almost as if he was touching far more than just her hand.

  When was the last time she’d held hands with anyone? Her husband, of course, but even then, hand holding hadn’t been his thing. He was more likely to grab her in an embrace and kiss her senseless. Love with Daniel had never been tender or soft; it was always a whirlwind that left her spinning, trying to figure out which way was up.

  No, she thought with a start. Sh
e would not compare Michael and Daniel. That was not going to happen, at least not anymore. Daniel was her past, and a rocky one at that. Michael was here now and she was just getting to know him.

  “Why bodyguards?” she asked, wanting to keep him talking but also curious as to how someone chose such an unusual career as their life’s work.

  He shrugged, which made his T-shirt stretch across his impressive chest and shoulders, distracting her for more than a moment. “It’s a long, boring story.”

  His reluctance to tell her told her that it was anything but boring, but more likely was something he didn’t want to share. That made her want to know it that much more.

  “You’re looking at me like I’m a puzzle to be solved.” He laughed.

  “No, I’m just…curious.” She smiled and couldn’t help letting her eyes drop to his mouth. The kiss in the car had been breathtaking, heart-stopping, sweet, and smoking hot all rolled into one. Being kissed by Michael was like being savored. The kiss was seductive—no mistaking that—but it had also been tender in a way she wasn’t sure she could explain if she had to.

  “You’re going to need to stop looking at me like that or I’m going to forget that we’re in a cabana on a public beach and take advantage of you,” he teased.

  “What?” She glanced up, startled, and was relieved to see the teasing glint in his brown eyes. She smiled a bit. “Sorry.”

  She really wanted him to kiss her again, but she didn’t know how to ask for a kiss, and only a kiss, and not have it lead anywhere else. She wasn’t ready for more, despite what Amelia clearly thought was best for her. Leslie needed to go slow, if she went at all.

  “What if we make a deal? What if I tell you my boring story about how I became a bodyguard, and you tell me about your husband?”

  His question caught her off guard. She immediately pulled back, putting distance between them. She didn’t really talk about Daniel. She hadn’t even said his name in years. The boys knew him only from pictures and called him Daddy, not Daniel. Her mother frowned with disapproval anytime anyone spoke about him, so Leslie just avoided it. She felt so many things about the years she had foolishly stayed with him, and she’d never told a soul that she’d had her bags packed to leave when the policeman came to her door that night. There were a lot of things she’d never said out loud about her years with Daniel. She never wanted the boys to get word of their father’s flaws. She wanted them to have the image in their memory of their fun daddy who always tossed them in the air and tickled them until they couldn’t catch their breath.