by James, Avery
“I am now,” he said. He shook his head. “I’ve only just met you, but I’m fairly certain that you won’t waste a minute of your life. Take that from a prodigal son. Besides, it takes real dedication to waste your potential. And you seem far too likely to lapse into bad habits like hard work and emotional connection.”
“Is that right?” she said.
“I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re doomed to lead a meaningful and fulfilling life. If it’s any consolation, I can help you waste at least this weekend.”
“Is that so?” she asked. She locked her eyes on him. She was so full of nervous excitement. She almost felt like she was a teenager again. “And how do you propose we—”
Harry leaned in and kissed her before she could finish the question, wrapping his arms around her as she melted into the warmth of his lips. Soft and slow and sweet. Maggie had been wondering what his kiss would feel like since they started their walk, but she hadn’t expected him to be so tender. She melted into his arms and let out a little sigh of delight.
He pulled back slightly, letting his lips hover just shy of hers. She could still taste him on her tongue, but she wanted more. She wanted to dip back into this bliss of kissing him. She wanted that whole-body thrill. She pressed against him and slid her tongue against his lower lip. It was like adding oxygen to a fire. Harry pulled her tight and deepened the kiss as he ran his hands up and down her back.
Maggie was breathless, dizzy and thrilled. She wanted him. Maybe she could let herself have a one-night stand just this once. When Harry broke the kiss, Maggie couldn’t help but smile. She laughed as an image of Abby cheering her on popped into her head. They wanted me to enjoy myself, she thought, and now I’m makin’ out on the beach.
“That bad, eh?” he asked. “I thought that was particularly good.”
“No, no,” she said. “I mean, it was good. It was very good. I just thought of something. I made a promise to a friend that I would find the most handsome man I could find and kiss him before the weekend was over. And now I’m kind of at a loss for what to do next.”
“I could make a few suggestions,” he said.
She was still thinking about that kiss, the way she’d melted at the warmth of his lips, how wonderful she’d felt in his arms. She wondered if she could actually let herself sleep with a guy on the night she met him.
“Am I being seduced?” she asked. She took a step away and turned back toward the hotel, holding her hand out for Harry to hold. “If so, you’re doing a wonderful job.”
He took her hand. “Well, I was planning on it, but now I’m starting to like you.”
“So you only sleep with people you don’t like?” Maggie asked. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
“If my exes are any indication, yes,” he said. “You’re different. I like that.”
“If you’re trying for another kiss, you’ll have to do better than that,” she said.
“Now that you’ve kissed me, what do you have left on your list? Maybe I can help you out.”
“I think I’ll make up the rest of the list as I go,” she said.
“Do you want to hang out tomorrow?” he asked. “Regardless of what happens tonight, I really like you, and I’d like to spend more time with you.”
“What did you have in mind?” she said. They were walking fast toward the hotel. Maggie was ready to break into a run.
“Do you like alcohol and six-toed cats?”
“That is an oddly specific question,” Maggie replied.
“The Hemingway House,” he said. “We can take the tour, and I’ll show you around while you figure out the rest of that list. Who knows? Maybe I’ll convince you to kiss me again.”
“If you play your cards right, you can keep kissing me tonight,” she said. The hotel was getting closer and closer. Soon, they’d be back inside. “You really don’t have anything to do tomorrow?”
“I’m just waiting for my babysitter,” he said.
“Babysitter?” Maggie said. She felt her heart drop in her chest. “You have kids?” Had she just misread everything?
Harry laughed. “No, the babysitter will be watching me.”
“I’m not sure I follow,” she said.
“It was a joke. My father doesn’t trust me enough to let me get on a flight on Monday, so he sent a babysitter to accompany me. He thinks I’ll tarnish the family name more than he already has.”
“Am I missing something?” she asked. Please tell me this is just a coincidence. “What’s your last name again?”
“Howard,” he said.
Gavin Howard, Maggie thought. Please tell me you’re not related to Gavin Howard… “Harry Howard?”
“Gavin Harris Howard. My friends call me Harry,” he said.
Chapter 4
“You are dead to me. Of course, that doesn’t matter because I’m dead too. Abby, my life is over. How did this happen?” Maggie said as she paced back and forth across her suite. As soon as she had learned who Harry was, she’d bolted. She’d made an excuse about it being late and not wanting to ruin what was an otherwise wonderful night, and he had graciously planted a goodnight kiss on her cheek and not, as he easily could have, on her lips. That had saved her at least some trouble. Even though, when his lips had touched her skin, she had found herself wishing she could meet his kiss. Now that she was back in her room, she was trying to figure out just how screwed she was.
“Easy, tiger,” Abby said on the other end of the line. Maggie could hear people talking loudly in the background. “The last I heard, you were enjoying yourself on the beach. What’s going on?”
“I took your advice. I let my guard down, stopped worrying for a minute and met a guy. And he was sweet and handsome, and charming, and we got along amazingly. We kissed on the beach, and it was an incredible kiss, and now my life is over.”
“Huh?” Abby asked. “You’re not making any sense. How is any of this bad? You’re supposed to enjoy yourself.”
“Not like this,” Maggie said. “The guy is Gavin Howard.”
“WHAT?” Abby exclaimed.
“I accidentally went on a date with Gavin Howard.”
“How do you accidentally go on a date with Gavin Howard? Spilling a drink or breaking a heel, those are accidents. Kissing your client on the beach? That’s not an accident.”
“I didn’t know he was him.”
“Wasn’t it a tip-off when he told you his name was Gavin? Or when he looked just like the face in the file?”
“You didn’t give me the file, remember? You said I had to earn it.”
“Looks like you’ve done that.”
“And he goes by his middle name.”
“Harris?”
“He goes by Harry.”
“You kissed Gavin Howard?”
“Multiple times,” she said.
“Did anyone see you?”
“No, no one saw us,” Maggie said. “It was dark out and we were down the end of the beach.”
“Was he good?”
“Of course he was good. He was incredible. What does that have to do with how screwed I am?”
“I just figured it would be some consolation. Calm down. You’re not screwed. This is an unexpected turn of events, but it isn’t the end of the world.”
“Amy and Callie are going to kill me,” Maggie said.
“They’ll understand. It was an honest mistake, and it was more my fault than yours. Besides, if you remember, they both ended up marrying clients.”
“What do I do?”
“Did you tell him?”
“No, as soon as I learned his name, I made an excuse and ran off. Abby, I need your help. I should have told him. I should go find him and tell him now.” Maggie sat down on a chair by the window and took a deep breath. Everything’s going to be okay.
“No,” Abby said. “Call it a night and explain things to him tomorrow. Everything’s going to be fine. You just need to get him on a plane by Monday morning. As long as you do that
, you’ll be fine. You really made out with Gavin Howard?”
“Yeah, and it was really good.”
“I’m proud of you for putting yourself out there. Next time, choose someone who isn’t a client.” There was more commotion in the background as Abby talked.
“That wasn’t my fault!”
“I’m teasing,” Abby said. “Just get him here, and everything will be fine. I have to go, though. This Hill scandal is going to be big enough that no one will have any time to care about your dalliance. It’s too bad we’ve already found him a wife. I think the two of you would have made a wonderful couple. Gotta run.”
Maggie stared at her phone after the call ended. Maybe her professional life wasn’t over, but she still had no idea how she was going to explain to Harry that she was his handler. She tried to work through the possible ways of explaining herself without ruining everything that had happened between them. She knew that was dumb, that he was her client and that she should keep things professional, but she wanted her relationship with him to mean something more than that. Why was it that when she finally met a guy she really liked, he was the one person in the world she couldn’t be with?
Her buzz from the alcohol and the kissing was starting to wear off, and Maggie felt exhausted. She made her way over to bed and set an alarm for the next morning. She wanted to close her eyes and put everything out of her mind for a while. Instead she thought about that kiss, the way Harry or Gavin or whatever he went by tasted, how she had felt beautiful and wanted in his arms. If she hadn’t asked him his name, he’d be in bed with her right now. Half of her wished that had been the case, and the other half knew she’d just narrowly averted disaster.
She wondered if she’d be able to tell him the truth or if she’d ignore reality for a little while, giving them a shot at happiness for even a moment. One moment, she thought, Harry would like that. She didn’t know what she was going to do when she saw him next. The only thing she did know was that Monday morning couldn’t come soon enough.
***
Maggie arrived in the lobby half an hour early for her meeting with Harry. She couldn’t think of him as Gavin, and, until she told him the truth about who she was, she had to push his real identity out of her mind. She had been a bundle of nervous energy all morning. She’d had trouble sleeping, and what sleep she did get had been filled with dreams of what it would be like to kiss him again.
Harry found his way to the lobby ten minutes late. Maggie was almost glad to have some reason to be annoyed with him. Maybe he’ll be a jerk and make my confession that much easier, she thought. But his eyes lit up as soon as he saw her across the room. “Hey there, I thought we were meeting outside,” Harry said. He hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek. The feeling of his lips was enough to make Maggie consider waiting another day before telling him the truth. “I was starting to think you had stood me up before I realized I’m an idiot,” he said. “Come on, I pulled up the car. Let’s go.”
He led her out the convertible she’d seen him step out of the day before. He opened the door and helped her in. So much for him being a jerk. “I like your car,” she said as he pulled onto the street. The sun was shining, and the wind was blowing through her hair. Everything would be perfect if Harry wasn’t her client. “I have to tell you something,” she said.
“If it’s about you running off last night, don’t worry about it,” he said. “I don’t want you to think it was my intention for anything to happen.”
“It has nothing to do with last night,” she said.
“As soon as I told you who I was, you ran off,” he said. “I’m not saying it was a bad decision, I’m just curious as to why. Usually, it has the opposite effect. As soon as people find out who I am, they become much friendlier. Can I make a confession?”
“If you let me make one too,” she said.
“I like that about you. I like the fact that you seem to like me for who I am instead of who I am.”
“I ran off because I’m the person responsible for bringing you back to D.C.,” Maggie said. “And I need you to stop being so charming and nice.”
“You’re my handler?” Harry asked. “Is this some kind of joke?” He pulled the car over on the side of the road.
“I’m not sure I’d call myself your handler, but yeah, I work for Haven Communications, and your father retained my company to help with your transition into your new position.”
“I just want to make sure I’ve got this right,” he said. “You are my handler, and it’s your job to marry me off to someone so the board of my father’s company will think I’m a grown-up? Yes or no?”
“Yes,” Maggie said.
“And you thought it would be a good idea to kiss me?” he asked.
“I didn’t know you were you,” she said. “There was a mix-up, and…” She shrugged and looked him in the eye. “Does it really matter to you? I didn’t know who you were, and I might end up losing my job over this. I meant to tell you as soon as I found out, but I panicked, and I didn’t know what to do. I really like you and, I don’t know, I was hoping to spend more time with you before you realized you don’t like me. I’m sorry. Just turn the car around, or let me out and I’ll walk back to the hotel.”
Harry shook his head. “You’re not going to lose your job, Maggie. It is Maggie, right?”
“Yes, my name is Maggie. You’re the one who goes by a different name. If you’d been Gavin from the start, this wouldn’t have been a problem.”
“All the more reason to stick with Harry,” he said. “So you have to get me back, and that’s your entire job?”
“Yes,” she said. “I had the weekend off, and I thought I’d enjoy myself for once. It seems like the universe had other plans.”
“Speaking of plans, this really messes with mine,” he said.
“I thought you were about living in the moment,” she replied.
“Well, I only came up with this last night,” he said. “If today went well, I was going to ditch out on my babysitter and ask you to run off with me.”
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Yeah, it’s going to be much harder to run off with and from you at the same time, but give me a few hours, and I’ll figure something out. Besides, I pulled a few strings and got a private tour of the Hemingway Home. I’d hate to waste a good favor simply because you lied.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t know who you were. Everything I told you was the truth,” she said. “I’m sorry. I owe you an apology. I just don’t really know how to handle this situation.”
Harry pulled the car back onto the road. “What if I give you a second chance?” he asked.
“As your handler or as your weekend fling?”
“What’s with all the labels?” he asked. “How about as my friend? I like you, Maggie. I like you a lot, and I’d like to spend the day with you. You can do your job and keep me out of trouble, and I’ll keep my promise and show you around.”
“You’re not mad at me?” she asked.
“At least this makes your reaction last night make more sense,” he said. “You didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know who you were. And now we do.” He held out his hand. “Gavin Harris Howard.”
She took his hand. “Maggie Walsh.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“From who?” she asked.
“Just some girl I met last night. She totally bailed on me when things were getting interesting, though.”
“That’s funny. I heard they had been interesting for a while before that,” she replied.
“No, last night things were enjoyable, but now that I know what’s going on, now they’re interesting.”
***
Although it was located in the center of town, and the streets outside were crowded with tourists and full of the sounds of summer, the Hemingway Home was quiet. Its yards and gardens filtered out the sounds of the outside world, and as they approached the front door,
it was hard to believe they were in the middle of a bustling town.
Inside the house, the air was cool and still. Maggie had thought Harry was joking when he said he’d arranged a private tour, but sure enough, they were alone, save for the tour guide, Dolores, a white-haired woman with a name tag who was waiting for them with pamphlets. “Aren’t you a beautiful couple,” she said. She nodded as she looked at them. “I know young love when I see it.”
“Oh we’re not—”
Harry elbowed her gently. “Maggie’s just being modest. She gets embarrassed when people point out how stunning she is,” he said. He shrugged. “I don’t mind it at all.”
“We’re so excited that you’re considering making us part of your big day.”
Maggie grabbed Harry’s arm and whispered, “What did you tell them?”
Harry grinned at Maggie. “We’re keeping it hush-hush for now, right, honey?”
“Very hush-hush,” Maggie said. “If I have my way, no one will hear about it at all.”
“Oh, an elopement,” Dolores said. She clapped her hands together, crumpling the pamphlets in her excitement. “My husband and I eloped on my eighteenth birthday.” She gave Maggie a conspiratorial look. “Juan was a sea captain, and my parents didn’t approve. He was older, and he couldn’t get enough of me. He used to look at me the way that one’s looking at you right now.”
“Is that so?” Maggie asked.
“I guess he still does,” she said. “I’ll let you two look around. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”
As soon as they were alone again, Maggie glared at Harry. “You said we were engaged?”
“It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he said. “I thought you’d find it amusing.”
“That’s not the word I’d choose,” she said.
“Well, I didn’t know you’d be the one in charge of my arranged marriage,” he said. He laughed. “It’s funny, isn’t it? My father had an affair, so I have to get married and take a job I don’t want.”
“You poor thing,” Maggie said. “Just as you were about to marry me.”