The Accidental Boyfriend

by Maggie Dallen

One of his arms was wrapped around her waist and he moved his free arm around her back so she was imprisoned against him. They stood that way for a moment, frozen in an embrace. His head was tipped toward her and she was gazing up at him. The air was too thick to breathe.

  She couldn’t see his eyes but she could feel his stare on her lips. Nervous excitement made her lightheaded as she waited. What was he waiting for? Her lips parted for air and she heard his soft groan.

  She couldn’t have moved if she wanted to once he started to lower his head toward hers. His lips were strong and hard against hers as he crushed her against him. This was nothing like the sweet, torturously teasing kiss at the wedding, with its promise of a slow seduction. This was passion.

  Her mind went blank as sensations wreaked havoc on her sanity. She met him kiss for kiss with an urgency that was almost overwhelming. White-hot heat coursed through her as his lips moved against hers, their tongues tangling, almost battling in the most intensely passionate kiss she’d ever experienced.

  He stroked her back with one hand, the heat of his touch cutting through the thin cotton of her blouse. With gentle pressure, he held her even closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging tighter, trying to slake the aching desire that was bordering on painful.

  She wanted him everywhere, she wanted him inside of her.

  The hand on her back moved up, through her curls to cup the back of her neck, his thumb brushing against the base of her throat in an intimate gesture. She let out a moan of pleasure as his other hand moved from her waist to the side of her breast, tantalizingly close to where she needed his touch but still teasing her.

  He pulled back his head just enough to lean his forehead against hers to give them a moment to catch their breath. His voice was low and husky with desire when he muttered, “God, Holly, you’re so beautiful. I’m so glad I found you.”

  Found her? A distant part of her brain echoed the words. What did he mean, “found her?”

  Thoughts slowly started to form through the haze of desire and sluggishly clicked into place like puzzle pieces. Jack had come here to find her. To save her. Because she’d gone to the wrong Paris. For Benjamin.

  Benjamin.

  Her stomach plummeted. Oh God, she was going to hell. Pulling back from his embrace with more strength than grace, she turned away from Jack in horror.

  “I can’t do this.” She’d meant to speak the words but they came out in a harsh whisper. She was supposed to be here to win Benjamin and instead she was in another man’s arms? What was wrong with her?

  Jack stared at her wide-eyed. He was still holding his arms out toward her but dropped them abruptly and ran a hand through his mussed hair. He let out a loud exhale. “Yeah, of course. Sorry if I…” his voice trailed off and he made an awkward gesture in her general direction.

  Holly shook her head. “You didn’t.”

  She should explain her actions. She knew that but her brain was having a hard time formulating sentences.

  This was agony. Her body was screaming for completion and Jack was right there. It took every ounce of willpower to maintain that distance. He was hovering near the doorway. Why did he have to look so good? With his shirt partially unbuttoned—had she done that?—his disheveled hair and a five o’clock shadow, he was sexy as hell.

  It was like he was trying to make this difficult for her. She backed up a few more steps and braced herself against the railing for support. Her legs were still trembling and the throbbing heat at her core had barely subsided.

  He started backing away toward the balcony door. “I, uh…oh hell, I need a cold shower,” he said with a humorless laugh as he ducked back into the apartment.

  She let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She could breathe again now that he was not in kissing distance. She collapsed into one of the chairs on the patio and took several deep, steadying breaths.

  What had she done? Guilt gnawed at her stomach. She had come all this way for a grand romantic gesture and ended up in the arms of another. She laughed bitterly in the darkness. Well done, Holly.

  For the first time all night the reality of her situation struck her. She had flown to France to surprise the man she loved—and he wasn’t there! Now she really did start to laugh as her eyes filled with tears of self-pity. The whole thing was ludicrous.

  She propped her feet up on an end table and let her head fall back against the back of the chair. She made a game of trying to find stars in the night sky, not an easy feat with all the lights from the city spread out below her.

  After a little while, the anxious pit in her stomach subsided and her brain was clear once again. Her body was still a bundle of sensitive nerve endings thanks to that kiss but she was no longer aching in all out agony.

  What would Benjamin say when he found out? Not about the kiss. There was no reason to confess to that. For all she knew, he was shacking up with some Paris, Texas floozy right now. That thought only managed to bring back the pit in her stomach.

  She’d been in a battle for his affection for the past six months—or at least that’s how it felt. First it was a battle to help him overcome any lingering feelings for his ex, then she’d struggled to make him see that she was capable of settling down—that she could be the stable, reliable woman he needed. And now she’d gone and proven to him that she’s just as flaky as ever by running ever off to another continent on a whim.

  Love shouldn’t be this hard.

  A wave of exhaustion washed over her and it had nothing to do with the wine or running all over Paris. She was tired of trying to make things work with Benjamin. What more did she need to do to make him see that they were meant to be together? A flicker of doubt shot through her. Maybe it was time to give up.

  Her chest tightened in pain at the mere thought. An image of the life they could have—of the family they could have—filled her mind. The dream she’d been harboring ever since that terrible night when she’d lost her baby washed away the uncertainty. The hope of the family to come was what drove her, it was everything. No way was she giving up on that dream. She just needed to find a way to get through to Benjamin, to make him realize once and for all that she was serious about their relationship.

  And Jack? He was a remnant of her past, a living reminder of the lifestyle and choices she was leaving behind.

  Chapter 5

  Jack woke late the next day. He’d tossed and turned all night in a miserable attempt to sleep, thanks to his irresistible new roommate and their late night make out session that had ended far too soon, as far as he was concerned. But it was for the best.

  There was no sign of Holly when he woke so he made his way to the kitchen to scour the pantry for some coffee. He was glad Holly had ended things when she had, he told himself for the fifteenth time since waking. She was his best friend’s sister which meant she was off limits. Besides, she was in love with another man, which meant she was really, really off-limits.

  That thought should have been a relief. It meant that he was in no danger of hurting her heart, just like she’d been completely unfazed by their kiss at the wedding. He should be happy. Instead he found himself scowling at a nearly empty pantry, which was how Holly found him a minute later.

  “Did that peanut butter do something to offend you?” he heard her ask from the kitchen doorway.

  He glanced over and quickly looked away. Dammit. She looked hot as hell in an oversized T-shirt with tousled hair and no makeup. She looked like she’d just come from bed.

  He sucked in a deep breath at the vivid image of her lying naked in his bed. Was it too early for another cold shower? He shut the pantry door a little too loudly. “Hey,” he said. He couldn’t think of anything else to say. Him. Jake Everett. A man who had a retort for everything, a witty aside for any time of day. But this morning, when he needed his wits most? Hey. That was all he could come up with.

  She gave him a little smirk that had him half convinced she could read his mind as she sidled pas
t him to grab an apple from the fruit bowl. “Please tell me there’s coffee.”

  She leaned against the counter beside him, so close he could feel the heat from her skin. So close he could touch her if he so desired. And oh, he desired.

  Pushing himself away from the counter he strode to the other side of the kitchen as though pillaging the almost bare fridge was an urgent matter. “Sorry,” he said. “No coffee.” He turned to see her pursing her lips in a comically exaggerated scowl.

  “Well, that just won’t do,” she said, tossing the apple onto the counter. She whirled off toward the bedroom she’d claimed the night before and called over her shoulder, “Throw some clothes on, Everett, we’re going out.”

  He threw a jacket over his T-shirt and jeans and was surprised to find her already waiting by the door, her wild curls thrown up into a messy bun and clad in simple jeans and the same oversized-T, which, he now noticed, sported a faded band logo with an illegible autograph.

  He raised a questioning brow and nodded to the name. “Big fan?”

  One side of her mouth curved up in a saucy grin. “I was that night.”

  Struck dumb for the second time that morning, Jack could only watch in wide-eyed wonder as she swung around, her massive tote nearly knocking him over as she led the way out the door.

  * * * *

  They found a tiny café a couple of blocks away and Jack watched Holly take her first sip with eyes closed while letting out a loud moan of ecstasy. She opened her eyes when he laughed. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  She was smiling at him and her face was fresh-scrubbed and makeup-less. He was sure she’d never looked more beautiful.

  “You are,” he said, taking a sip of his own brew. He let out a contented sigh, which made her laugh in return. She held her mug up to cheers his.

  “To coffee,” she said.

  “No,” he said in an exaggerated French accent. “To café.”

  She feigned a serious look to match his and echoed, “To café.”

  She linked her arm through his in a friendly, almost sisterly way as they walked back down the street, neither apparently in much of a hurry to return to the scene of the crime, as he was beginning to think of last night’s epic make out session.

  They were walking the opposite way from the apartment, toward the Seine.

  “So how long do I have?” she asked.

  “To live?” he teased.

  She rolled her eyes at the lame joke. “In Paris. When do we have to head back?”

  He looked at her in surprise. “I thought you wanted to see Ivy.”

  Her eyes widened in offense and shock. “Of course I do! I just—” She stopped talking abruptly and her lips pursed to the side in a chagrined look.

  “You just…” he repeated.

  She shook her head and gave him a sidelong glance. “I’m not exactly excited to show up…like this.”

  She didn’t explain but she didn’t have to. “Like this” was having been found in the wrong Paris. Chasing after a guy. An unexpected wave of annoyance made his voice sharper than he intended. “I take it she doesn’t approve of Benjamin?”

  Her brows drew together in confusion. “I don’t need her approval.”

  So she basically admitted it. Ivy didn’t like him which meant, he wasn’t good enough, which meant….what? He could go for it? He wasn’t sure that logic would stand up to Daniel’s standards.

  “It’s just embarrassing is all,” Holly said with a sigh.

  He looked down at the top of her head, surprised by the honesty in her voice. He found it oddly brave of her to admit. Most people would bluster and joke their way through something like this. Not that “something like this” was a common event, but still.

  He wanted to say something to make her feel better about facing her family but drew a blank. What did he know about sibling conversations? He had one brother and they hadn’t spoken in years. He had long since established his role as the disappointment in his family—he was definitely not one to be doling out advice.

  So instead, he found himself shamelessly digging for information. “You must really care about this guy to travel halfway around the world to surprise him,” he said. He waited for her to respond, even though he didn’t want to hear what he knew she would say.

  “I do,” she said with a sigh that spoke volumes. He mentally kicked himself for bringing it up. He didn’t want to hear about this. He wanted to flirt and tease and watch her laugh with abandon—but instead she was staring off into the distance with such a forlorn expression, he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  “Have you been together long?” he asked.

  She glanced up at him as though surprised to find him there beside her. Rather insulting, actually. He was usually in demand with women, not forgotten while standing by their side. But even Holly’s voice sounded dreamy, like she was lost in memory.

  “We’ve been together forever,” she said. She sipped her coffee and he caught a hint of a smile on her lips. “We got engaged,” she said.

  Her words were a swift kick in the gut and Jack was temporarily paralyzed, unable to form words to respond. Holly looked up and laughed at the surprise on his face.

  “When we were in kindergarten,” she finished.

  He let out the breath that had caught in his chest with what he hoped was a normal sounding laugh. “So it was serious.”

  “Mmm,” she mused, a thoughtful look on her face. “It’s been a very long engagement.”

  “So what happened? You grew apart in grade school?”

  Her head fell back as she let out a loud, contagious laugh that had other passersby smiling in their direction. “College,” she corrected. “I wanted to see the world, meet people, have exciting adventures and Benjamin….well, he’s a homebody.”

  Somehow Holly made “homebody” sound like a sexy trait. He had a fleeting and bizarre desire to be a homebody, which was ridiculous.

  “But we stayed great friends,” she continued. “Best friends.”

  She stopped talking abruptly so he filled in the blanks. “But now you want more.”

  He thought she wouldn’t respond, she was staring fixedly at the river which had come into view. “Yes,” she finally said.

  They walked in silence for a bit, sipping their coffee and taking in the view of longboats floating down the Seine. He meant to let it go. He didn’t want to hear anymore. But despite himself, he heard his voice asking, “What changed?”

  She turned to him with a quizzical look, her forehead creased in confusion. “What?”

  “What changed?” he repeated. “What happened to make you want more after so many years as best friends?” He heard the mockery in his tone at the way he said “best friends” and clamped his mouth shut. He sounded like a jealous ex.

  She gave a little shrug which he knew to be a lie, although he didn’t know how he knew that. He also noticed that she avoided outright answering the question. “I think—when we were younger, he was always cleaning up my messes, you know? He was always getting me out of some scrape or making an excuse to get me out of trouble.” She shot him a lopsided grin that rendered him speechless. “I was always in trouble,” she added.

  “So Mr. Homebody was your knight in shining armor,” he said.

  She nodded with a twinkling laugh and Jack decided right then and there that he absolutely despised Benjamin, whether it made sense or not.

  “That’s exactly it,” she agreed. “He was my knight.”

  They came to a stop by the water’s edge and Holly gave a little sigh that tore at his heart. “And now I need to convince him that he can trust me. That I won’t make a mess of this.”

  “Make a mess of what?”

  She continued as if he didn’t speak. “I don’t think he trusts me…to be a mom. To make a lifetime commitment.”

  His heart hurt at the pain he heard in her voice. He’d never met anyone who was so open, so defenseless with their emotions. Her words slowly made their way to his
brain and he swallowed down the knee-jerk reaction to run in the opposite direction.

  It’s not like she was asking him to be a husband or father. But still. His feet were ready to run. He had learned a long time ago that he was not that sort of man—the kind people can depend on. Anyone who leaned on him ended up crashing to the ground when he let them down—and he always let them down. Disappointing people, hurting the ones he loved—whether it was intentional or not—that was all he could be counted on to do.

  “I get it,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

  She turned to him in surprise and he instantly knew that she’d misunderstood. “I mean, I understand what it feels like to let people down. To not be trusted by the people you love.”

  He shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. He didn’t regret saying what he’d said—he wanted her to know that he understood what she was going through, at least to a certain extent. But still, he’d never opened up to anyone like that and the fact that she was now staring at him in that all-seeing omniscient sort of way was terrifying.

  Forcing a grin, he added. “So yeah, I get the trust part. The kids and family part? Not so much.”

  Holly laughed at that and rolled her eyes. “Believe me, I know.”

  His brows shot up at that and it was his turn to study her. She turned away quickly and he was more than a little amused to see a pink blush spreading across her cheeks.

  “You know?” he said.

  She shrugged and toyed with the lid of her coffee cup. “Yeah, I mean, everybody knows that.”

  Her vague answer only made him more curious. He was well aware of the reputation he’d made for himself but Holly’s unease made him want to know what exactly she thought she knew about him. “Everybody knows what?” he pressed. He couldn’t help it, he was absurdly entertained by the sight of her discomfort.

  She cast him a look out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face him, she let out an exasperated sigh. “I read the article Vanity Fair did on you, okay? You made it very clear that you have no interest in marrying or settling down.”