It wasn’t the first time I’d said any of those things, but I loved the way she looked at me like I was the center of her world every time I did. “As soon as we’re old enough, I’m going to say yes. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Kent, but I’m already yours, Will.”
“I belong to you,” I promised without any hesitation. A lot of people had warned us that our feelings weren’t real, that we were too young to feel the way we thought we did, and that high school relationships hardly ever worked out.
I didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought. They didn’t know our relationship, and we would be one of those rare examples of first love lasting the distance. “My heart and soul belong to you, Anna. My body, too. That will never change.”
“That makes two of us then.” She smiled before lowering her head to slant her lips over mine. These days, she always kissed me like she knew I was hers to do with as she pleased, and I fucking loved it.
I let her take control of the kiss for as long as I could stand it before taking over. My tongue stroked hers, our lips mashed together, and our bodies were so close they might as well have been fused together.
My hands roamed the soft curves of her sides, up and over her ribs until I reached the undersides of her breasts. I pulled my torso back slightly to fit my thumbs between us, running them over the hardened nubs of her nipples.
She moaned into my mouth, arching her back to give me better access while grinding her lower half against mine. My muscles trembled with anticipation, and I was so hard the tip of my cock had escaped from underneath my loose swimming shorts.
Anna gasped when she noticed it, immediately working her hand between us to wrap her fingers around me. Groaning as I thrust my hips into her fist, I moved her bikini top to the side to knead her perfect breast.
My other hand trailed back down her side, toying with the strings on her hip before I dragged my fingers past her waistband. She writhed against me, angling her pelvis as my hand went lower.
The smoothness that met me between her legs was new, and I almost lost it when I felt how soft and slippery she was. “Fuck, Anna. When did you do this?”
My words were barely groans between kisses, but she heard them and chuckled against my lips. “You like it? I did it a couple of days ago.”
“I love it. I can’t wait to feel it properly.” And I did. I spent the rest of the afternoon feeling every part of her around every part of me, and when she looked into my eyes when she came apart underneath me, I didn’t have a choice. I let go right along with her, coming harder than I ever had before.
Jerking upright in bed, it dawned on me that I’d just had a dirty dream about my ex. Well, not a dream so much as a memory of one sunny day a dozen years ago, but still.
I was as hard as I’d been in that dream, horny as fuck as I fell back against the mattress. Planting my hands over my eyes, I breathed deeply and tried to calm my body the hell down. This was not good.
The grandfather clock in the corner of the room when I peeked out between my fingers said it was only six in the damn morning. It was way too early to be awake for someone who had absolutely nothing to do today.
My dick twitched as if it was trying to remind me there was something I could do, but I refused to get off over a memory that was twelve years old. With that thought in mind, I heaved my legs out of bed before my resolve could crumble and headed to the shower.
After making sure the faucet was turned to ice cold, I stripped out of my boxers and climbed in. The spray felt like shards shooting into my still overheated skin, but it would be worth it if it could take care of the persistent problem between my legs, reaching for the sky like he had a fucking dream and was shooting for the stars.
That wasn’t even my biggest problem. Jessie’s whole plan hinged on Anna and me being able to keep things fake—a business transaction and nothing more. It wasn’t going to work if I was already dreaming about how good things used to be and about how good she used to feel against me.
Chapter 14
ANNA
Mildred glowered at me when she hobbled out of her office. Her crooked finger was raised, and she waved it in my direction. “This place is filthy. Filthy!”
I frowned, giving the Tourism Center a onceover from my perspective. The shelves and countertops were gleaming. I’d just wiped them down this morning. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the windowsills or on top of the pamphlets, and I’d washed the floors too.
“Could you tell me what I missed?” I asked, already pushing to my feet. If Mildred had it in her head that the place wasn’t cleaned to her standards, I was going to have to start all over. “I triple-checked the list in the bathroom. Everything was done.”
Her eyes narrowed so much I couldn’t even make out the color anymore. “Everything was rushed over, you mean.”
“No.” I lifted my hands, trying my best to get her to calm down. “I did everything exactly the way you told me to. If you could just tell me—”
“Maybe if you’d had a mother who could’ve taught you how to clean, you’d have been able to do it properly,” she snarled. “It’s no wonder she didn’t want you. You can’t even mop floors.”
“I was a baby when she left. She couldn’t have known whether I’d be able to mop floors or not.” I kept my tone as even as I could force it to be. My voice still wobbled, though.
It didn’t matter how many times Mildred and I went through confrontations just like this one. She always managed to land a few punches. She had too much ammunition not to. She knew my entire life story from having witnessed it all as it had played out.
Being respectful and apologetic almost always led to her getting nasty, and I couldn’t take it anymore. The woman was a grouch, and I knew it, but it didn’t make it okay for her to use me as her personal punching bag. She’d had a hard life and seemed to have lost all perspective, but I wasn’t taking it.
Not this time.
She sneered at me. “I’m sure she could see how useless you were even as a baby. You can’t do anything right.”
“Excuse me?” My voice had gone dangerously soft. I advanced on her, stopping when there was only a few feet of space between us. “I’m the only reason you’re still in charge of this Tourism Center. You never do anything around here. You’re hardly ever here anymore. If you want it cleaner, do it yourself.”
“If I’m going to do it myself, then why do I need you?” she snapped.
“Cleaning isn’t even a part of my job, remember? You fired Rachel, and then Maria, and then Poppy. I volunteered to do it while you were looking for someone else crazy enough to take on doing any kind of work for you.”
“They were useless too. You all are. I don’t need any of you.”
Laughing without a shred of humor, I threw my arms up to my sides. “Let’s see how well you do without me. I’m going out for the rest of the day. I’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll talk again then.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Oh, I would. After what you just said to me, you better believe I’ll leave you alone with three tour groups coming in this afternoon. Two families have requested transportation from the docks, and there are several emails from clients waiting for itineraries for the Lilac Festival.”
“You love that part of the job,” she said with a malicious glint in her eyes. “You won’t—”
I laughed again. “That’s where you’re wrong. I love my job, but you’re ruining it for me. I know you’re my boss, but that doesn’t give you the right to drag up my personal history and distort it however you see fit.”
Her head jolted like I’d slapped her. “It doesn’t? You could’ve fooled me. You work for me, girl. You serve at my pleasure.”
“You’re not the president or the damn queen.” I rolled my eyes, pivoted on my heels, and marched toward the door. Yanking it open, I gave her a final glare over my shoulder. “If any of today’s tourists complain to the Tourism Bureau about our service, I’ll be sure to tell them I wasn’t working.”
> I stormed out and let the door slam shut behind me. It was only the middle of my shift, but I was done for the day. This time, I wasn’t changing my mind because I was worried about our clients. There had been a few occasions when I’d wanted to leave, but I hadn’t because I hadn’t wanted to take the risk that someone’s hard-earned vacation would be ruined because of it.
Guilt already clawed at my insides as I pictured the families arriving on the docks, excited and on the lookout for their names. If Mildred didn’t arrange it… No. Enough. The island is tiny. They’ll manage just fine.
I’d been her doormat for too long. She lashed out at me at least twice a month, and it was about time I stood up for myself. Enlightenment and empowerment and all that jazz.
Without even really thinking about it, I headed straight for Jessie’s B&B. No one bothered or stopped me when I stormed inside. It seemed even her staff could see I wasn’t in the mood for small talk today.
Immediately, I felt terrible about that too. None of this was their fault, but I was grateful they were leaving me alone. I’d probably end up apologizing to them about this later anyway.
The Kent siblings were in the study, joking around before I marched in. They both stopped laughing when they saw me, faces dropping and expressions hardening.
“Are you okay?” Jessie rushed over, running her hands down my arms before winding her fingers around mine and tugging me to the nearest chair. “What happened?”
William was right next to us in a heartbeat, his gaze searching mine and jaw tightening to stone. “Say the word, Holland. I’m still willing to fuck up anyone who messes with you.”
I slumped back in my seat, the fight draining out of me at their show of support. It had been a long time since I’d needed them to back me up like this, and a part of me was amazed at how naturally it still came to them.
“You can’t beat her up.” I sighed and let my head drop forward, pressing my palms to my temples as I took in several deep gulps of air. “It’s Mildred. She’s in her sixties. I’m pretty sure you’d get arrested if you tried.”
He dropped to his haunches in front of me, sliding his finger underneath my chin and lifting it until I was looking into those eyes. I swore it was like looking out over the sea when the sun shone on the water and reflected a green hue from sea grass a few feet down.
I almost got lost in them before I realized he was speaking to me and snapped out of it.
“That’s your boss, right? What did she do?” There was a harsh urgency to his voice I hadn’t heard in so many years that it made me smile.
“Calm down, Captain Overprotective. She does it all the time.” His lips formed a tight line but he didn’t interrupt me. “I didn’t come here for your help with her. There’s nothing anyone can do about that. I came to tell you that I’m in. I’ll help William.”
A light came on in his eyes, and I almost freaking swooned. “Really? You’re in? I honestly thought it would take a lot more convincing than that.”
“So did I.” There was no point in being dishonest or holding anything back from him. I’d never done it before—except of course for that one huge thing I’d lied to him about—and if we were going to make this ruse work, he needed to know my motivations for agreeing.
“Lay it all out for me, Anna,” he said, proving he was still strangely in sync with my thoughts. “Why are you agreeing without more convincing? It doesn’t seem like you.”
“I hate my job,” I said. “Well, no. Not my job. My boss. If I do this, I might have enough money to move out of my apartment, which is just another thing she holds over my head. If I’m careful with what I have, I might even be able to take a couple of months off to find something new once I’ve moved out.”
“Can’t we just go talk to the Tourism Bureau about her?” he asked. “They’re still ultimately in charge of the Tourism Center, aren’t they?”
“I’d never do that to her. Plus, they wouldn’t remove her anyway. She’s been a part of the Tourism Bureau for decades. Everyone knows how she is. The Tourism Center is hers, and if they haven’t taken it away from her by now, they’re not going to. Nor should they. She’s given her life to that place.”
“You know there’s always a place for you here,” Jessie said, her tone gentle as she sat down on her desk beside us. “Any time. Any day. It’s yours. William and I could even help you move in this afternoon.”
My heart soared when I thought about how awesome that would be. It wouldn’t even take us long to move my meager belongings out of my apartment, but I couldn’t do it. Especially not like this.
Decisions of this nature should never be made in anger. Even I knew that. There was a reason I’d declined her offer for this long, and that reason hadn’t changed.
“I have to find my own way, Jess,” I said, turning my head to flash her a small smile. “I can’t cower behind you guys for the rest of my life.”
“You wouldn’t be cowering,” she started but cut herself off abruptly. I didn’t know why, but I was assuming William had done something while I’d been looking at her. She huffed out a breath but didn’t argue.
I turned my attention back to him, giving him a questioning look that he ignored. He stood up again, moving as far away from me as he could get without leaving the room and perching on the windowsill at the far end.
“Let’s shelve all that for now,” he said once his gaze came back to mine. “Are you sure you don’t need a few more days to think about this?”
“No. I’ve already given it a lot of thought. I was going to come over here after my shift to tell you guys anyway. It’s not a spur-of-the-moment decision.”
He nodded slowly, his eyes moving from one of mine to the other as if he were searching for any trace of uncertainty. When he didn’t find any, he grinned. “It’s good to have you onboard, Anna. We’re going to have a lot of fun together.”
I didn’t doubt that. I’d just have to stop it before we started having a little too much fun. “So, how do we start?”
“Easy. We go on a date.” He looked so damn handsome sitting there in his washed-out jeans and a black button-down shirt, his dark hair mussed and inked forearms on display, that hearing him say the word “date” made my body overreact.
Butterflies took flight in my stomach before I could tell them to chill the heck out, and I was suddenly flooded with memories of all the dates we’d had before. Jeez, Louise. I’m going to have to hang onto my panties as well as my heart, or else this isn’t going to end well for me.
Chapter 15
WILLIAM
Anna didn’t stop smoothing her skirt or running her hands over her ponytail after I picked her up. Eventually, I bumped my hip into hers and smiled. “Calm down, would you? It’s just me.”
“Just you is now a celebrity who’s used to the possibility of being in the public eye. Just me is neither of those things, and I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be.” I slung my arm around her shoulders, surprised to find we still fit together as well as the two halves of one of those friendship bracelets she used to make me before we became more. “Let’s do something that will take your mind off of it. Do you still love the island as much as you used to?”
Her hazel eyes jumped up to mine, but she wound her arm around my waist even though she gulped while she did it. We needed to sell that we were reconnecting, though, which meant there would have to be some touching. “Of course I do. What’s not to love?”
“In that case, I’ve got a plan. I’ll treat you like a tourist and swap roles with you, since you’re always the one showing people around.”
“Do you really think you still remember enough to show me around?” she asked, her voice light and teasing. Or at least, as light and teasing as she could make it under the circumstances. “Go ahead, then. I’d love to see this.”
My lips automatically started forming the smirk I was famous for, but I caught myself before it took hold. It didn’t feel right looking at Anna that way.
S
miling at her instead, I led her down the dirt road toward a store I’d seen when I walked over to get her. “You’re in for a surprise. Prepare to have your socks knocked off.”
“Now where have I heard that before?” She laughed, and my fucking ears actually heated up when I remembered I’d said almost the exact same thing to her before our real first date.
So much for remaining cool, calm, and collected. I’d promised myself before leaving the cottage that I wouldn’t make an idiot out of myself. “It must have been from me, but that was a different lifetime. I’m not even sure I moved your socks back then, never mind knocked them off.”
“You didn’t need to knock them off. They packed their own bags and left when they saw you coming. I think they knew they never stood a chance when pitted against you.”
My heart did the weirdest stutter. “I thought you weren’t going to stroke my ego while I was in town?”
“I’m not. It’s just the truth.” Glancing at my hand where it dangled over her shoulder, she brought her free arm up and ran her fingers lightly over the edge of one of my tattoos. “These are new. Or new to me anyway. How long have you had them?”
My skin burned where she’d touched me, but I knew it wasn’t really happening. It had to be my imagination, and therefore, I could ignore it. Pretending to think, I cleared my throat and shrugged.
“I got them at different times. Some are from parties. Others are from times when I was with my crew or my friends.”
“Your crew?” She frowned up at me. “Are you—”
My laughter cut her off. “God, no. I meant my filming crew. I might’ve gone through some stuff, but I didn’t join a gang.”
“I was just about to rethink my decision.” She winked, relaxing just a tiny bit against my side. “Do you mind talking about them? Your tattoos?”
The Billionaire’s Second Chance: A Small Town Romance Page 9