He ran his fingers through his hair again. “I was supposed to have the afternoon off, but it’s all hands on deck.”
“Because of the flu.”
“Right. And then there’s the floral part of the crisis. That’s where you come in.”
Her guarded glance didn’t deter him from explaining. The order from their usual florist for a big event that night had been damaged by a minor vehicle accident upon delivery. The arrangements were in a jumble and some of the vases had broken. The florist and her own staff had also been hit by the flu and no one was available to repair the damage in time for the party.
“Calls could be made to other florists around town, but it’s pretty late to find someone. I think a couple of people could handle it—you, with actual experience, and there’s a pair of free hands here to help you.”
“But I don’t truly have actual experience,” Audra protested.
“You know what you’re doing. I’ve seen you at work on the arrangements in your bungalow.”
She hesitated. “How many need rebuilding?”
“I don’t have an exact count, but it’s for a dinner party for sixty, at six o’clock.”
“Kane…”
“I guarantee you’ll sleep tonight.”
Audra looked down at her lap. The thing was, she felt confident she could do a decent enough job, and she supposed no one was going to be too picky under the circumstances. But she was supposed to be staying away from Kane and this seemed like the opposite of that.
“About those free hands?” she ventured.
“They belong to someone from the kitchen.” He blew out a breath and for the first time she could see he was tired. “I have some other assignments.”
Okay. He would be otherwise-occupied and it would help her while away the afternoon hours. “Yes,” she said, rising. “I’ll do it.”
Kane shot to his feet, a relieved smile on his face. “Thank you.” As if it was the most natural thing in the world, he leaned in, the hand not holding his phone curving around her cheek.
His head lowered.
Time stood still.
Audra felt his breath on her lips and it was like the lightest of kisses. Her entire body quivered and she found herself looking at his mouth instead of into his eyes. She braced, willing her knees to keep her up.
“Audra,” he whispered.
Was he asking her to look up? But if she did, she knew it was an invitation, and acceptance of what he seemed to be offering, and she wasn’t ready for this, even though her blood was humming and she could feel the flush of heat on the surface of her skin.
Another of his breaths wafted over her mouth, making it tingle, and then he did kiss her, but on the cheek, and she could feel the smile on his lips.
“Wise choice,” he murmured, then his voice rose. “Let me show you to the flowers.”
Audra walked a little behind him on the shady path, trying to regain her composure. Her cheek burned where he’d touched her with his mouth and she found herself reaching up to investigate, as if she could feel some kind of mark. But it was smooth and when Kane glanced back, she instantly let her hand drop.
As soon as they reached their destination, she thought, picking up her pace, he’d go off to his other tasks and her pulse would subside and her brain would unscramble and this…this…want would seep away.
He led her to an outdoor room created by an open-sided pavilion with walls of long, gauzy drapes. The tables were already covered in white linen and there were a couple of carts holding what she’d need. Set beside them were boxes of flowers tipped from their vases, foam bricks and sticky clay scattered. She noted that all of the blooms were white, which would make things easier.
“I’ve got this,” she said, not looking at Kane. As always, the thought of creating beauty out of these beautiful, natural things calmed her nerves. “I’m all right now.”
He left and soon she was joined by a young woman that she recognized—the very person who usually delivered the meals she ordered from room service. “Gwen!”
The young woman grinned. She was a part-time college student and worked at the resort to pay for her undergrad degree. Her hands came up and she wiggled her fingers. “We’re ready.”
They sorted out what was damaged from what could be reused and then got to work putting together centerpieces. Audra and Gwen worked well together and the other woman was a fount of information about The Hathaway at Dragonfly Beach and the many calamities that came about in the course of running a luxury resort.
Audra’s question for the younger woman seemed a natural segue. “What do you think about the whole Heartbreak Hotel thing?”
She glanced over. “What about it?”
“I…um, gather some of the staff here don’t like the nickname.”
Gwen shrugged. “The genie’s out of the bottle. Whether anyone likes it or not.”
“I guess you’re right.” Audra walked a finished arrangement of lilies and roses to one of the tables.
“And isn’t it true that your own friend found romance here with another guest?” Gwen asked.
Right. But Lilly hadn’t met Alec at the resort. She’d met him at the pre-wedding festivities a few days before they’d checked in. Though her BFF hadn’t been feeling at all charitable toward the male sex upon arrival, so maybe The Hathaway could claim some of the credit…
“Can you finish up alone?” Gwen called out, looking at the time on her phone. “I’m due back in the kitchen.”
“Sure.” She glanced around. “There’s not much left to do.”
The other woman saluted and started out, then paused. “Warning.”
“Yes?”
“The kitchen’s going to be a disaster tonight due to being short-staffed. I highly recommend you go out for dinner instead of calling room service…that could take hours.”
“Thanks,” Audra said, then waved Gwen on her way.
It was near 5:30 when she finally finished with the floral work. Serving staff had arrived on the scene fifteen minutes before and the table settings were almost complete as well. Audra moved the detritus of her task onto one of the carts and both were trundled away by a willing waitperson.
Feeling the hours in her tired feet, Audra left the event area and found the nearest bench. She settled onto it, sighing. Somehow she wasn’t surprised when Kane discovered her there. He also took a seat, slumping against the back of the bench, his eyes closing.
She glanced over at him, noting smudges of dust. “There’s dirt on your shirt,” she said. “You should have worn your jumpsuit.”
One of his eyes slitted, enough to deliver his displeasure.
“Coveralls,” she said innocently. “Sorry.”
The corners of his mouth tipped up. “I heard your work went well. Thank you. We’ll find a way to compensate you for your time and the effort you took on the resort’s behalf.”
She’d thoroughly enjoyed herself, of course.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, then sat up straight and met her gaze.
So tired, Audra thought in sympathy. He looked exhausted.
“Can I get you a drink from the bar?” he asked. “Sam at the one by the pool makes a mean margarita.”
“How about dinner at some local place instead?” she suggested, without thinking anything but that Kane needed a meal and likely time away from the resort. “My treat.”
Chapter 4
“You’re not paying for my dinner,” Kane told Audra. That offer and the cute crack about him wearing his jumpsuit reminded Kane that he needed to tell her his real name and explain he wasn’t a simple maintenance man. But God, the idea of being Kane Jones a little longer sounded damn good.
Kane Jones wasn’t staring down a life-altering decision.
Kane Jones didn’t have to juggle the staff schedule thanks to the damn flu.
Kane Jones didn’t have to stick to Kane Hathaway’s vow to never date a guest.
Maybe he could be Kane Jones for one more might.
Though he wouldn’t be dating Audra, no. But he could take her to one of his favorite places in gratitude for how she’d come through for him today.
“We’re going to Abuelo’s,” he said, hauling himself up from the bench. “But first, why don’t you show me what you did this afternoon?”
As they entered the event space, Kane made a note to compliment the wait staff who’d managed to prepare for the upcoming party with a reduced crew. The cloths covering the tables was perfectly smooth, china and crystal gleamed, and the bar in one corner looked fully equipped.
“The centerpieces are great,” Kane said. He’d seen the extent of the damage to the original arrangements, but not a one of those Audra had created looked any less than lush. He knew the difference between a hibiscus and a hydrangea, but that was about it. Still, he could appreciate the effort and the results. “Really great.”
A smile broke over her face and it felt like a spear of heat to his chest. “Thank you,” she said, then leaned conspiratorially close. “Don’t tell the management, but I went out onto the grounds and harvested some fern fronds to fill in here and there.”
He breathed in her scent, something light and fresh. He steeled himself to keep upright instead of leaning closer to bury his nose in the light strands of her shimmering hair. Clearing his throat, he shoved his hands in his pockets. Don’t touch. “The management won’t care, but the groundskeepers can be very possessive.”
“Our secret, then?”
Secret. At the word, his cock twitched, because it suggested intimacy. A particular kind of intimacy in which they traded kisses, body fluids, and their dirtiest sexual fantasies.
But he was not the man for Audra, God knew, and Kane edged a bit farther away from the temptation of her.
She noted his movement, and the curve of her mouth flattened out as she took her own step back, her face coloring in that pretty, honest way of hers. “You know, I shouldn’t have mentioned dinner. We don’t have to go. I don’t know why I even asked.”
“Because you’re hungry,” he said gruffly, hating that he’d dimmed her upbeat mood while also cursing himself for not taking the out she offered. When she’d suggested dinner, he could have said he was busy. He could have said he was Kane Hathaway, the general manager of the resort, and so unable to get away at this time.
But he wanted to be Kane Jones for a little longer and have a nice meal with a beautiful woman, even though he promised himself he wouldn’t touch her in any intimate manner. It wasn’t a date.
But if felt a little like a date, because when they reached the restaurant in his truck, he hurried around the front bumper to open the passenger door for her. And he had to help her out, the seat was so high, his hands spanning her slender waist, the warmth of her skin transferring to his palms.
That scent of hers in his lungs.
Shit.
Struggling to control his reaction to her, he gestured her toward the entrance, denying himself the pleasure of taking her by the hand. She smiled at him over her shoulder when he held the door for her and he almost reached out to grasp her shoulders to turn her to him, to take the kiss he wanted so damn bad.
But she’d pulled back from him before and he’d applauded her decision. Wise choice.
He was not the man for her.
Abuelo’s served excellent Mexican food, piping hot, in quantities that made it a popular hangout for construction workers and guys who’d earlier spent a couple of hours surfing. Nothing fancy décor-wise, but there were also dining couples dressed in sleek office-wear. It was that kind of place.
They were seated on the small patio and a basket of hot tortilla chips was placed between them as well as salsa and a generous bowl of guacamole. Abuelo’s assumed everyone coming in wanted their famous avocado dip.
“They don’t make this with Hass,” he said, mentioning the name of the popular California fruit when she rolled her eyes in pleasure at the first taste. “All their avocados come from Mexico.”
As she consumed the next chip, she moaned, and Kane had to look away and pick up one of the ice cold beers they’d ordered. Anything to cool him off.
It didn’t take long for the pile of chips to be reduced to a single one. Seeing Audra eye it, then place her hands firmly in her lap, his lips twitched.
“Go on, baby,” he said softly. “Take it.”
Her gaze shifted to him.
He smiled. “I have sisters. I know women eat. And we can always order more.”
“You have sisters?”
“Two.” Kane held up that many fingers. “I promise, your butt will never look big.” Her ass was perfection, and though he liked her in that ladylike dress, he liked her more in fabric that curved over the peached halves of her behind. His hands itched to peel it away to find…what? a thong? Boy shorts? Either would be fine with him, because they’d be coming down too, so he could palm her skin and then kneel to rub his whiskered face against her smooth, pale cheeks until she blushed there, too. Then he’d slide his tongue—
“Kane?”
He blinked, jerked out of his heated fantasy. “I’m sorry?” Grabbing up his beer, he took a long swallow.
“I asked if your sisters were younger or older.”
“Younger. Pests both of them.”
“Your smile puts a lie to those words.”
“I suppose they’re all right,” he conceded. Better than him. Open and approachable. At times he worried they were so much that way, and had so much self-confidence, that they’d each find some broken man, or a brooding one, and think they could save him.
Some men—due to nature or circumstance—just couldn’t provide the commitment women with big hearts and sunny temperaments deserved.
“Older brothers are nice,” she said. “Mine always looked out for me, glowering at the neighborhood bullies and promising to break the legs of any guy who broke my heart.”
Their server showed up then, with huge platters of food that Kane had selected. Since it was his local place, she’d asked him to order for her.
It had appealed to the Neanderthal side of him, and he’d nearly lost himself in another little hot fantasy of dominant sex.
He steered his mind from it again now and forked up some food, watching Audra’s face as she sampled her first bite.
Another moan.
The thick muscle between his legs came to life. Christ, he thought, Kane Jones was quite the horn dog.
Damn it, getting away from the resort in his other guise was supposed to be relaxing after the crap day of trying to keep the place running smoothly with nearly one-third of his employees calling in sick. Not to mention that he’d had to eye those that did show up to make sure no one had dragged themselves in, thus potentially spreading their illness to their co-workers or the guests.
With effort, he applied himself to his meal for a few minutes, then restarted the conversation. “So…did he break the legs of your ex?”
She glanced up, her brows knitted together.
“Your brother should have beat the shit out of that bastard,” Kane said, just to be clear.
“We’re not teenagers anymore,” Audra said, her voice mild. “And it’s not his fault I said ‘yes’ to the wrong man.”
“It’s the wrong man’s fault for being such a weasely bastard,” Kane declared.
“I share the blame,” she insisted, “at the very least. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”
“What have you been thinking?” Kane heard himself ask, alert and interested and then his brain went what? Kane Hathaway didn’t do alert and interested like this. He professed to everyone who would listen that he didn’t like complications or complicated women and an almost-bride who’d been doing some thinking was about as complicated as it could get.
Audra’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you really want to know?”
“Talk to me,” Kane said. It must be Kane Jones who was such a touchy-feely guy. He stretched a hand in her direction. A request. A demand.
&
nbsp; Without taking her gaze from his face, she placed her small fingers in his palm. He curled around them, squeezed. “Talk to me,” he repeated.
“It’s the stupid pleaser gene,” she blurted out, and her fingers twitched in his grip.
He let them go with a final pat. “Eat your dinner and tell me about this stupid pleaser gene.”
Having something else to look at seemed to help her continue the conversation.
Her family life sounded like a 180 in comparison to his. Supportive, involved parents and grandparents, a close-knit group that operated on an all-for-one, one-for-all basis. “They didn’t expect me to work in the family business,” Audra said. “They didn’t order me to take a job in the PR department,” she said.
“But…”
“It made sense.”
“It made your parents happy.”
She paused, her fork in the refried beans. “Yes. I wanted that for them.”
“What did you want for you?” he asked, studying her over the rim of his beer.
“I never thought it through completely, to be honest.” She sighed. “And then Jacob…”
“Yeah. Tell me how a dick like him could get a woman as beautiful as you.”
Her gaze flew up and she looked at him, as if assessing his truthfulness.
“C’mon, baby. You’ve gotta know you’re extraordinarily beautiful.”
Now her eyes shifted away. “Not the kind that a guy like you would notice,” she said, matter-of-factly.
His brows shot up. “What’s that mean?”
“I know I look like a Goody Two-Shoes. My first Halloween costume was an angel, complete with halo and wings. When the Girl Scouts put on The Wizard of Oz in fourth grade, I was cast as Glinda the Good Witch. I’ve been the teacher’s pet from the first time I had teachers. Ugh,” she said, making a face. “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“You have been giving this a lot of thought.”
She nodded. “Well, in between watching TV shows featuring grisly murders.”
He grinned. The girl hadn’t lost her sense of humor.
“You’re wrong about a guy like me not noticing, by the way,” Kane said. “I definitely noticed.”
“But I’m not your type.”
Me and Mr. Jones (Heartbreak Hotel Book 2) Page 5
