Who would have thought?
Once she was back in her room and alone, she began to organize her wardrobe. Because she was such a neurotic worrier, she tried to anticipate every possibility. She checked and then checked again to make sure both the suit and the dress were in the garment bag she would take to The Garden. She didn’t plan to change into her performance outfit until an hour or two before she went onstage, and if anything happened to it, she’d have the other in reserve. She even packed an extra pair of shoes.
With all of those preparations completed, she moved on to her plans after Nathan’s Bay. She needed to arrange for a driver to take her to the airport Monday, which meant she would spend Sunday night at the hotel. She felt guilty that she had misled Dylan by agreeing to ask Damon to go with her. While she would love to see her good friend again, she never had any intention of inviting him along. Besides, she was perfectly capable of going to Scotland alone.
As she was zipping her wardrobe bag closed for the last time, she heard voices coming from down below. She went to the window to look out. Everyone was outside by the pool, laughing and carrying on. The moon was bright, and when she checked the time, she was astonished by how late it was.
She could hear the shower running in the bathroom and knew Michael was still inside. When the water stopped, she waited until she heard him leave the bathroom and go through the door to his bedroom before she tried the door on her side. It was locked, so she tried to enter the bathroom from the hallway. That door was also locked. She was about to knock and ask him to unlock them, when his bedroom door opened and he stepped out. A towel draped around his neck and his hair still wet, he was dressed only in a pair of boxer briefs that rode low on his hips. She didn’t need to see that.
“Please unlock the bathroom door on my side. I want to brush my teeth,” she said, trying to act indifferent.
Even though he turned around and did what she asked, she could tell from his expression that something was bothering him. He was wound up tight tonight. After brushing her teeth, she flipped off the bathroom light and went back into her bedroom, closing the bathroom door behind her.
She had just pulled down the comforter on her bed when there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find Michael standing inches away.
“What?” She hadn’t intended to sound surly, but it was too late.
“I was going to ask if you were going down to the pool, but from your appearance I’m guessing not.”
“What’s wrong with my appearance?”
She took a step back and looked down at herself. Oops. She was dressed for bed.
“Never mind,” she said when he gave her his are you kidding? look. She folded her arms across her chest and continued. “I’m staying in. What about you? Are you going down to the pool?”
“Maybe.”
“You should,” she said.
He leaned against the doorframe. “Why?”
“Because you’re angry tonight.”
“The hell I am.” Michael realized how foolish he sounded the second the words were out of his mouth. He sounded as angry as he felt. The problem he was trying to work out had nothing to do with her, and yet she’d somehow gotten right in the middle of it, and that didn’t make any sense at all. “You shouldn’t be walking around dressed like that.”
She knew he was serious. “I’m not going to walk around. I’m going to bed.” She couldn’t leave it alone. “You know what, Michael? You’re a giant pain in the backside, and I’m going to be very happy when I can get away from you.”
“Yeah?” He walked her backward into her room, shoving the door closed behind him.
He was at it again, trying to intimidate her. He still hadn’t caught on that it didn’t work. She poked him in his chest. “Yes.”
“Isabel, you’re a temptation and a hell of a distraction I don’t need.”
Drawing back, she demanded, “Was that an insult?”
“You can’t tell?”
She decided to be honest. “No, I can’t.”
He folded his arms and frowned. “I know you’ll be going to Scotland Monday.”
“And?” she prodded.
“I want to clear something up.”
She waited, but he didn’t say another word for a long minute. Why was it taking him so long? She suddenly thought she knew what he was going to say.
“Oh no, you don’t. You’d better not be breaking up with me again. I’m not in the mood to hear it.”
“What? No, that isn’t it,” he said. “I just need to tell you something.”
“Yes?”
“You said I was smarter than you are. That isn’t true, and it bothers me that you think it is. The fact is, you’re a hell of a lot smarter than I am, and no, I’m not going to explain why.”
He turned to leave, and as he headed to the door, she stepped up behind him. “Flattery isn’t going to work on me. You’re still a bonehead.”
Michael started to laugh. Shaking his head, he spun around just as Isabel took a step forward and bumped into him. Instinctively, he reached out to her. With his arms wrapped around her, he responded. “It wasn’t flattery.”
“It sounded like it.” For the next few seconds they stood pressed together, neither one of them moving, and then Isabel kissed the pulse at the base of his neck.
He flinched. “Stop that.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Stop fooling around, and let me get the hell out of here before I do something we’ll both regret.”
Michael let go of her and stepped back. The problem was, she wasn’t letting go. He had to get out of her bedroom and away from her bed. The longer he stayed, the more difficult it became not to touch her. He admitted he loved being close to her. No other woman had this effect on him, but Isabel . . .
all she had to do was walk past him or smile at him, and every part of him reacted. He kept telling himself it was nothing more than raw animal attraction, but that lie wasn’t working any longer.
“Good night, then,” she whispered. She leaned up and brushed her mouth against his. There wasn’t anything wrong with a good-night kiss. It was . . . platonic, nothing more. But then he pulled her to him and kissed her, and it was anything but platonic. His mouth was hot, and his tongue made love to her as he lifted her, her pelvis pressed against his.
Michael had kissed her before but nothing like this. His passion ignited her own, and Isabel suddenly couldn’t get enough of him. She moved restlessly against him, her tongue dueling with his, and when he abruptly ended the kiss, she all but collapsed against him.
Without a word, he pulled her hands away from him and walked out the door.