has been nothing but impossible to pin down over the last year. I shouldn’t be surprised she’s holding hard and fast to rules, but I am disappointed she doesn’t seem to be swayed by what feels like explosive chemistry. Then again, it’s always been there for me—from the first time I saw her in the grocery store.
She takes my hand without argument. I see that as a good sign. Once we clear the dock, we head toward the conference center along the main road. It’s a five-minute walk, and the cool night air feels good. At least I don’t have to fight to get her to hold my hand, which seems even more hopeful because no one is watching us. Maybe, little by little, us playing boyfriend-girlfriend will become so natural, it’ll just continue after this retreat is over.
My mind snags on that idea and tumbles backward, searching for the last time I wanted to keep a woman around for more than ten days.
“Did you see Piper?” she asks. “She’s working at the market tonight.”
“I did. She evidently heard about us dating from friends.”
Chloe darts a frown my way. “Oh, shoot. I didn’t think about that.”
“Me either. Not until she ran up to me as soon as I got out of my car and told me how cool you were and how I’d better not screw it up.”
Chloe laughs. “I love that kid.”
The conference center is lit up and buzzing with activity. There’s a positive, upbeat energy in the air amid conversation and laughter.
We find a quiet corner on the deck while others make their way inside. Chloe takes a deep breath, then sighs it out. “Once I go in, there’s no telling when I’ll get out, but you don’t have to stay.”
I catch sight of Bodhi approaching from behind Chloe and divert my gaze back to her beautiful face. I step in, slide my arms around her waist, and ease her against me. “Ready to make this look real?”
“I, um, what—”
I lift one hand to her face and lower my head to kiss her. She tenses and makes a noise of surprise against my lips, but after a second, her lashes flutter and close. Her lips are just as full and soft as I remember, and, damn, I want so much more than this. So much more. I should have known better than to play with fire. I should have known I couldn’t pull off this fake relationship without getting burned.
I’m working up the strength to let her go when her muscles soften and she leans into me. When her hand fists in the back of my shirt and a sexy little moan vibrates in her throat.
My brain skids sideways. I tighten my arm and move my lips against hers. A sliver of my brain is keeping track of what’s happening around us, but the rest of it is on standby, just absorbing the feel of her lips parting and kissing me back. I’m on autopilot when I stroke my tongue across her lip, but she must have forgotten all about the no-tongue-in-public rule, because her tongue touches mine, and a fucking rocket launches through my body.
I take the kiss deeper. Fuck Bodhi. Fuck the conference attendees. I’ve been waiting for this woman for a goddamned year, and she’s finally kissing me back. Which means she’s just as lost in the kiss as I am, because every one of her red lights just turned green. I wish time would stop and everyone would disappear. All I can think about is how little she’s got on under this dress, how good she tastes, and how amazing it feels to have her relaxing into me instead of keeping up all her barriers. I want her so badly, my teeth ache.
By the time a throat clearing draws us apart, my heart is racing like a jackrabbit.
“Good evening,” Bodhi says.
But Chloe’s looking at me, blue eyes dark with passion, lips a little swollen. She lowers her head and looks straight at my chest, closes her eyes for a deliberate second, then turns to face Bodhi.
“Good evening.” She takes my hand and meets my gaze. “Ready?”
When I nod, she sidesteps Bodhi, holding tight to my hand, and I’m, once again, floored by this woman’s moxie. Very few women would have the guts to face a man who betrayed her the way Bodhi betrayed Chloe, let alone do it with maturity and grace.
Bodhi follows us inside like a tail, and we stand at the back