by Elyse Riggs
“Of course you do,” I say, “I’m doing my best to channel my inner Kardashian.”
“Well, it’s working for you.”
“Okay, what’s the plan here?” I ask him, because judging by the look on his face, it’s not me who’s going to have a hard time focusing, it’s him.
Not that I don’t want a round two with those luscious lips. And I wouldn’t mind a handful of his thick brown hair too.
His sea-green eyes study me, making me weak in the knees. The only thing I can do is get us both back on track.
“Big plan?” He wipes a stray hair away from my face with his hand and leans in close enough to kiss me. Is he going to kiss me? Or is he daring me to kiss him? My pulse quickens.
“Your plan,” I say, as I take a deep, calming breath. “You know, your plan? The one about getting your company back? Or not losing it in the first place?” This is hard because I really didn’t pay attention to any of the details earlier. It all happened so fast. “Any of this ringing a bell?”
He shakes his head, like he’s forcefully breaking himself out of his own trance. I know exactly how he feels.
“Yes. Right. The company.” The worry frowns return to his face and for a very brief moment I feel bad about reminding him. Then my sympathy passes. After all, this whole thing is his damn idea.
He palms his square jaw with his hand for a moment, like he’s going to say something. But he doesn’t. Instead, he turns and goes back into the living area.
I tell myself I absolutely did the right thing by getting both of us back on track. That’s what my brain says. My body is saying something else entirely, and I am trying very hard to ignore it.
When I come out of his bedroom, he’s sitting on the comfy sofa overlooking the beach and I sit next to him.
“Okay, I found a central location. Right there.” He points to the best, most prominent part of the beach. The part that everybody fights over. There’s a large lounge chair for two in the center of an expansive roped off area. Already, beachgoers are giving the giant empty lounge chair the stink eye.
Without asking me first, my mouth pops open and I sit there looking like a codfish. I have to stop doing that. “How did you get them to cordon off the whole area like that? It’s going to piss people off, you know.”
He grins at me. It’s a wolfish, competitive, savage grin that makes me clench my thighs together.
“Exactly,” he continues. “It’s going to attract lots of attention.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kaylee
The next thing I know, I’m setting up my towel on the most expensive double lounge chair available. Seriously. I’ve never seen this particular chair out on the beach before, it never makes it out of the storage shed.
That’s probably because it costs four hundred dollars a day. I know, because I looked it up when Chase was busy getting his sun care regimen together.
The great part about a four hundred dollar a day lounge chair for two? A personal concierge that will bring us drinks and food all day. Seriously, there’s even a generator-powered fridge set up next to the lounge chair and a mini cabana over it so that we can adjust to get as much or as little privacy and/or sun as we want.
When the concierge shows up just as I’m snuggling in and asks for my drink and food order, I don’t complain. Then I remember I have to go back to work later. Bummer. “Um, can I get a virgin margarita and the fresh fruit platter?”
The concierge nods enthusiastically and it makes me smile.
It’s Chase’s turn. “I’ll have a burger, fries, and beer.”
The concierge turns on her heels and heads back toward the resort bar and grill. I admit I could get used to this kind of thing.
Once we’re alone again, I turn to talk to Chase and can’t help but take in his entire tan, sexy body lying next to me on the beach. A girl could do worse. But we’re here for a reason, and I’m trying ridiculously hard not to get distracted. “Okay, now what? Do we make out for an hour in between meals, snacks, and drinks?” I ask with a smirk.
Chase turns toward me. “No, nothing like that. Are you kidding me? That’s not how any of this works. Okay, I’ll show you. Sit up for a minute.”
Chase gets up to a sitting position and I join him. It’s a beautiful spot overlooking the ocean, not too far from where the waves lap gently onto the shore. Other than an occasional beach walker, there’s literally nobody here to bother us. “Why are we sitting up?”
“Okay,” he says, “good. Keep looking at the ocean, but then casually look to the south.”
“South?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.
He sighs heavily. “Left. Glance over to the left. Between us and that tiki hut in the distance.”
“The Beaky Tiki,” I correct him. “You should pay attention to these things. That is after all, the place where we met. History in the making right there.” I know I should give him a break, but I can’t help it, he’s just fun to mess with.
He turns to me again and raises an eyebrow.
“I’m kidding,” I say. Then I do as he suggests and glance over toward my favorite beach bar. There, off in the distance between us and the Beaky is a group of a dozen or so people being walled off by a few other people in uniforms. I don’t recognize the uniforms, but if I have to guess it would be private security.
“So that’s the paparazzi?” I ask.
“Yes,” Chase answers.
“Well, who are the people holding them back?”
“Just some security I hired this morning,” he answers.
“Why hire security to keep the photographers away from you when the plan is literally to have them photograph us together as proof?” The whole thing seems counter intuitive.
Chase lies back down. “You can’t make it too easy for them, they’d get suspicious. Or even worse lose interest.”
The concierge returns with our drinks. I accept mine happily and Chase sits up to get his. I look around and then I have to suppress a shriek of glee. The lounge chair for two has drink holders. I take a nice, long sip, watch the waves for a minute, and then lay back down.
“Do you think it’s working?” I ask.
“So far so good,” he says.
I’m just too excited to really lay down, so I get up on my elbows to see what’s going on. This is after all the first time I’ve ever been stalked by paparazzi.
I’m reclining, absolutely minding my own business, and having a wonderful time, even if I am wondering what the holdup is on my fresh fruit tray.
Every once in a while, a beachgoer or jogger will pass by. But all of a sudden, as I scan the shoreline, I can’t believe my eyes. There is a large, hairy, head chef trudging down the beach in this direction. His face is red and sweaty with the effort, and he still has his coat on, but not his hat. Who the hell walks the beach in the heat of the day in their uniform?
I’m still wondering when he gets even closer. I can see his eyes roaming the beach in front of me as he trudges forward.
Oh shit. I have somebody covering for me in the kitchen. If he catches me here, relaxing in the four hundred dollar a day lounge chair, he’s going to fire my ass.
I have to think of something, and fast.
Out of pure instinct and panic, I do the only thing I can think of in the split second before Ralph is right in front of the lounge chair.
I roll all the way over and lie lengthwise, body on body onto Chase. The last thing I see is the very surprised expression on his face before I throw my lips on top of his to keep Ralph from being able to see my face.
I don’t want to take any chances, and when Chase pauses the kiss, I press in even further, slipping in my tongue. That brings a slight moan to his lips. And then, suddenly, my heart is pumping wildly for a completely different reason.
I pull out of the kiss. My body is on fire now and every inch of it is hyper aware of the body underneath me.
A quick glance down the beach confirms that Ralph is gone. The coast is clear. Tha
t was a close one.
“What the hell?” Chase asks, when he finally comes up for air. His green eyes flash fury at me. “I thought you didn’t want to do this in public?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Calm down. I only did it because I had to. I saw Ralph. That means he could have seen me. And that would get me fired, Chase. We also agreed that I could keep my job. He was right there,” I pointed to the waves. “What else was I supposed to do?”
I exhale and start to roll gently off of Chase and back to my original spot. Only a firm hand grips my nearly bare hip, stopping me. It sends a surge of want through me.
It’s my turn to shoot him an angry glare. Ten seconds ago he was angry at me for the PDA. Now he’s on board? “What the fuck, Chase? Let me go.”
“Nope,” he says. “Stay here for a couple more minutes.”
“Why?”
He smirks up at me, and there’s no longer anger flashing in his eyes. “Don’t be alarmed, but I have a huge boner.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Hey,” he objects, “you’re the one who rolled on top of me and started sucking out my tonsils in full view of the public. Plus, you were squirming. To quote your exact words from earlier, there’s nothing I can do.”
“You can’t turn that thing off for, like, ten seconds?” I ask.
“Um, that’s not how dicks work, Kaylee.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kaylee
After the whole Ralph incident, the time passes pretty quietly. Except that my fruit tray finally arrives and it’s delicious. It’s everything I have ever hoped for in a fruit tray that I can’t afford.
Every so often I glance over in the direction of the Beaky Tiki to check on the throng of paparazzi gathered there. Unless I’m seeing things, the group of people over there tussling with Chase’s private security continues to grow. I guess he does know what he’s doing. “Your plan seems to be working,” I tell him.
He sits up again and glances over there. “You’re right,” he says. “There are even more photographers now. We’ve got them right where we want them. I’m starting to think we’re going to be able to pull this off. I’m going to need you all weekend though.”
I look at my watch. “What? I only got three hours off. And you have no idea how hard it was to swing that. I’m supposed to be back at work in an hour and a half.”
“Can’t you call in sick?” he asks. “Besides, soon you’ll be going into business for yourself, remember? So who cares?”
“Who cares? I care, Chase!”
I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. I’m feeling worse and worse about all of this. What if lose my job over this and he leaves town pouting because he doesn’t get or lose his company or whatever? Even worse, what if he does win and he jets off into the sunset anyway? Where does that leave me?
Admittedly, I know nothing about billionaires, much less of the Covington variety. And I’m pretty sure I’m nothing but a pawn in a game I know very little about. Okay part of this is because the business end of his goals is very boring and I tend to get distracted. But every step forward into this feels like a step away from everything that is comfortable and familiar to me.
“Look you,” I hiss at him. “Even if I do call in sick. Here. At the place where I work. Where I am currently lounging in a lounge chair with a cabana eating delicious fruit instead of working at said job…” I try very hard to help him understand the point that I could get discovered at any moment because of the proximity of me playing hooky. At my exact place of employment.
I’m still not at all sure I’m getting through to him, but the concierge girl appears with a welcome refill of my virgin margarita. As soon as I see her, I shut up and wait pleasantly for her to set the drink on the little table next to the plate of fruit.
“Here ya go,” she says. She hangs around for a few seconds, probably to see if either Chase or I am going to ask her for something else. We don’t.
As I sit there waiting for the two of us to be alone again, I get the feeling I better enjoy the perks I’m getting right now, because it could be all I walk away with. And then the concierge takes off and we’re were alone again.
I try to pick up where I left off. “Long story short, I can’t call in sick to the place I work while I hang around here all weekend long not being sick. I mean, you get that right? You’re going to get me fired.”
I stare at him, but I still get the feeling that none of this is getting through. “I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen now. I’m going to stay here with you on the beach for a while longer. Then I’m going to work. If you need me for anything else, we can do it after five, yes?”
His eyes flash angry again, and I’m sure that whatever he’s going to say next is going to cause a huge argument between us.
I put a hand on his sculpted abs. “I’m just saying that I feel like there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air right now.”
Chase responds to my touch by scooting closer to me. “I think we can do anything if we do it together. That’s why I think you should call in sick this weekend. Then it can be just you and me.”
He’s infuriating, and I really want to argue with him. But he has that adorable look on his face. The one that makes me forget, even if only for a moment, that this is all fake. I consider the entire situation while I grab my glass and finish my drink. It sure got hot out here. I sigh and climb up out of the lounge chair for two. “Well, we’re at the ocean, honey. We might as well go swimming.”
Chapter Fifteen
Chase
Kaylee gives me a teasing glance and then heads out to the water. She has every right to be mad, she’s the one doing me a favor.
And overall, she’s being a good sport about the whole thing. But she also drives me crazy. A fact that I completely forget about the minute she walks away. Kaylee in that bikini is making me hard. Again.
She’s beautiful, fun, and strong. Unlike any girl I’ve ever dated. She’s stubborn too. And oh-so-distracting. A part of me is really glad that she’s the one who is playing the part of my fake fiancé.
I catch up to her and look around. We’re attracting even more attention. For the first time in my life, I realize that the attention we’re getting now is because of Kaylee. Not because of my family or my family money or notoriety. It’s an odd feeling.
We get to the shoreline and keep walking out into the calm, blue waves. It feels good to cool off. We wade into the sea all the way to chest-level and then bob around listening to the planes overhead and the occasional shouts of beachgoers in the distance.
Paddleboarders move effortlessly past us making good time on their colorful boards. “This takes me back to family meetings,” I say.
She splashes me. “Seriously? Your family has meetings in the ocean?”
She’s clearly skeptical. I shrug. “True story believe it or not. You see, you can’t secretly record a meeting if you’re in a bathing suit in the ocean.” I swim closer to her. “Because the only place to hide the wire would be inside your bikini top and trust me, that’s the first place I would look.”
She smiles back at me, and for a moment everything in the universe feels right. It doesn’t last long. Her face turns serious.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Why do you want this company anyway?”
I frown. “What?”
“So let’s say, worst case, you lose control of this particular company. I mean, you’re still be a billionaire, right?”
I blink at her.
“Okay,” she says, laughing and swimming even closer. I lose my entire train of thought because now she’s close enough to wrap her arms around me. Close enough to steal a kiss. Only she doesn’t. She studies me.
“Don’t get me wrong,” she continues. “I’m going to help you. What I mean is, let’s say you lose the company. Worst case scenario. Will you be okay?”
“Are you asking about my net worth?”
She slaps me playfully. “No, not y
our stupid net worth. Your goals, hobbies, dreams. That kind of thing.” She puts a finger on my chest and lets it slide down. Every time she touches me, it’s magic.
“What are you passionate about?” she asks.
The truth is, I have never framed my existence that way. I don’t even have an answer. And before I can come up with one, I hear her let out a yip. Then she jumps on me and pushes me under the water.
I come up for air a few seconds later sputtering. “What the hell, Kaylee?”
She turns to face me as my head resurfaces. Her boobs are in my face, and her back is to the shore. “Shhh…” she puts one finger over her mouth and one over my mouth. “It’s Vivian.”
“Who’s Vivian?” I whisper ask. I don’t care who Vivian is though. My eyes travel across Kaylee’s waist while she’s distracted. I stare at her innie bellybutton and gorgeous abs.
“That girl over there,” she says. “The one walking the shore in normal clothes. I have no idea why” she whispers. “What is with these people?”
I can’t get over the fact that she dunked me in the water. Me. Chase Covington. I splash her. She screams. Then her eyes get wide and playful panic washes across her face. Then she dunks herself. I watch her head disappear under the water.
I smile and wait.
Kaylee resurfaces, all dripping hair and wet bathing suit. “Is she gone?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I have no idea who you’re talking about.”
She pushes my chest playfully. The feel of her hands on me, the sight of her wet bathing suit top exposing enough skin to drive me wild, and the smile on her face makes me forget all about everything else going on in my life. No other woman has ever had this effect on me.
I growl and tackle her gently below the waves, eliciting another playful shriek from Kaylee. And then we’re submerged, a tangle of arms and legs under the water.
When we come up for air a moment later, we’re both soaked and refreshed and smiling. It feels like a perfect moment, or at least a nicer one than I have had in a long time. I take a photograph in my mind. It’s a little slice of happiness that I don’t want to forget.
