“I’m not sitting across from you—looking all drop-dead gorgeous—without looking equally sexy. Or at least as sexy as I can manage. It’s called balance, Cavanaugh. Deal with it.”
I think it’s the first time she has called me by my full name, and my brain skips forward to some vision of the future where she’s telling me to suck it up and deal with her primping for the red carpet premiere of one of my movies.
Fuck, having her on my arm for that would be a dream. Every time I’ve stepped in front of the flashing cameras for a premiere, I’ve wondered if she’d see the pictures. I wanted her to see the pictures. I wanted her to wish she was with me instead of that fuck Tristan.
And now she is.
Taking one last long look at her as she does something to make her eyes look even deeper and darker, I turn to wander the house. If I keep watching her, I’ll bend her over the bathroom counter, tell her to keep her hands on the mirror and her eyes on mine as I bury myself inside her.
Soon.
I make my way through the living room, loving how fucking untouchable we are here. The outside world can’t break into our bubble. Rea and Juan have followed my instructions from the first day impeccably—that we not be bothered with any calls they might receive—in exchange for a healthy tip to express my gratitude.
A table is already set up on the patio, a candle flickering on the white tablecloth between two plates. I can hear Rea in the kitchen, finishing up dinner preparations.
Snapper, shrimp, and lobster with coconut rice and vegetables. Fresh pineapple-coconut ice cream for dessert, all at Greer’s request.
“Mmm . . . that smells delicious.”
I turn to see Greer behind me, her borrowed purple dress hitting high on her thighs, her dark hair wild around her shoulders. Greer undone—that’s the look she has right now, and it’s completely at odds with the smooth sophistication she exuded in New York. Both are sexy, but this is more . . . real.
“Are you ready to be served?” Rea asks.
“We are, thank you. Would you like a hand?”
“No, sir. I have it all ready.”
Greer weaves her fingers through mine and together we walk toward the table. The ocean is dark, and the only light on the patio comes from the candle on the table and the glow of iron fixtures attached to the cement walls of the house.
“Romantic,” she whispers.
“Rea did a hell of a job.” And from the aroma wafting off the plates she’s carrying behind us, she knocked dinner out of the park as well. She sets them on the table as I pull out Greer’s chair for her.
“Everything look good?”
“It looks amazing,” Greer replies. “Thank you.”
“I’ll bring the wine, and then I’ll leave you two alone.”
She bustles away as I seat myself across from Greer.
When Rea returns with the bottle and departs with a smile, we unwrap the cloth napkins from around our silverware and dig into the meal.
Greer’s moaning with pleasure over the lobster, and I want her moaning like that on my cock.
Soon. She has no idea what she’s in for. Tonight, I’m going to show her exactly what it means to be mine.
All day, I’ve been wishing I could call Banner and beg for advice. My best friend would get my head on straight. I asked Cav if we could pretend that this was real, that we were an us, and I got the tropical island fantasy version of it.
So, why am I panicking now? Because pretending this is real is pulling me down a path that terrifies me. This was supposed to be a fling, and then I had to go and change the rules, putting my heart in jeopardy.
I’ve always struggled to be a live in the moment kind of girl. My brain doesn’t stop at oh, today is a great day, I should enjoy this. No, I’m always thinking about what happens next. And for me and Cav, what’s next is a gray and murky space.
Without cell service or Wi-Fi, I can’t throw this problem at Banner and get her slightly crass but real advice. WWBD. What would Banner do? I can hear her voice in my head.
He’s hot as shit, Greer. Fuck the hell out of the guy. Get as many orgasms as you can and save those memories for a rainy day with your vibrator. And make sure to give me all the dirty details. But whatever you do, don’t let your heart get involved, you silly little sap.
The voice is right. I need to take everything I can from this moment and hold the memories close like I did the ones from three years ago. Ride the high, but fortify the walls of my heart to protect against the inevitable crash.
The entire time my mind is furiously working at problem solving, I’m also caught up with staring at Cav.
Never in a million years could I have anticipated that we’d be having a candlelit dinner with the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the beach only feet away. Even my fantasies are never this creative.
Several minutes have passed since the last word of conversation, and he’s staring at me as well.
“Your dinner okay?”
I look down at my plate, which I’ve nearly cleared already.