“And I’m not your friend.” He raised his brow with the observation and she closed her eyes.
“Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”
“No. I get it.” He nodded. “But I hope now I’ll be able to call you Bellz.”
His voice had dropped from his normal low to sultry. Had he meant to give her goose bumps? Was he toying with her?
“We’re back on in five,” Murray, her drummer, mentioned as he passed with a bottle of beer.
“I have to go.”
“Sure. I won’t keep you.” He stepped back with a smile. “Go knock them dead.”
“Will you be staying?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
She felt the smile take over her face. For someone as busy as Benjamin Archer, it meant a lot that he would spend his precious free time watching her performance. She was touched.
“Can I buy you a drink when you’re done?”
“I’ll be playing until one.”
“I’ll wait.”
She was so nervous she about dropped her guitar as she stepped up on stage to start the second set. Ben was here, watching her and waiting until she was done, so he could buy her a drink.
But it was during her best performance of one of her favorite songs that she looked over to see him and he wasn’t there. She searched the dim room and found him on the phone, heading for the door.
She hid her disappointment and smiled wide at the crowd, forcing the fantasies back to the depths of her soul.
* * * *
Wes had made it through the first night. Almost.
They’d slept in the same bed before. But there was something about sleeping next to her in this place that felt different. And his body had taken notice.
He’d woken up hard and pressed against her. For a moment he didn’t know whether to roll away or press closer. Fortunately the alarm on her phone went off. She rolled away to turn it off and he quickly turned and turned again when he noticed the bulge in the sheet.
“Are you ready for another day in paradise?” she asked as she got up to dig through her suitcase. He could have told her he had just been in paradise, but he needed to rein it in. It was only day one.
Maybe it was all the talking about feelings, or the unlimited supply of rum punch that caused him to notice all the things he’d managed to hide from himself until now. He had a whole day to prepare himself for sleeping beside her again tonight. He’d just have to find a way to keep things friendly.
He heard a knock from inside the bathroom.
“Is it safe to come out?” Jamie called.
“Yes.”
Since she was smaller and could change in the bathroom, they’d worked it out so they would change at the same time.
She stepped out wearing what looked like a very large T-shirt. For a second he thought she was wearing one of his until he saw the tiny, colorful fish all over the fabric and realized it was a cover-up for whatever swimsuit lurked beneath.
God, he hoped it wasn’t a bikini. Not that a one-piece would protect him from his imagination. He was doomed. So much for reining it in.
After breakfast the group met down at the beach and Misty clapped to get everyone’s attention.
“Welcome, everyone. This exercise will teach us the skills necessary to communicate effectively. We’ve probably all done some form of this exercise at work during team building, but this version takes it to the next level.”
That didn’t sound good. Especially the way she wiggled her eyebrows.
“We’ll start with everyone in the water. Wives will sit on their husband’s shoulders. Husbands will be blindfolded, and you’ll be following your wife’s directions to locate the balls floating in the water. The team that is able to gather the most balls is the winner.”
Jamie snickered next to him, causing him to laugh. He knew she had slipped into her fifth-grade-boy humor and found “gathering the most balls” amusing. He knew because he also found it amusing.
“Are you ready to win this?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“I’m thinking I’ll just hold on to your ears and pull them in the direction I want you to go.”
“I’m thinking, no, we’re not doing that. I don’t think that’s in the spirit of the exercise. We’re supposed to communicate.”
“Gotcha.”
Wes wasn’t as worried about following Jamie’s directions as he was about the fact that he would technically have his head between her legs. This was the opposite of where he was hoping the day would go.
Things only got worse when she peeled off the cover-up and revealed the orange bikini underneath.
Damn.
* * * *
Jamie fidgeted with her bikini while Wes stared at her. She couldn’t tell from his expression if he was repulsed or pleased by what he saw.
The frown and loud swallow weren’t good signs, but once his gaze found its way back up to her face, he smiled. Kind of.
“Let’s go grab some balls,” he said and trudged into the water without her.
Once in the water, he dove in and swam between her legs. When he stood, she was hoisted up six feet three inches into the air. It was at this point she realized how close his face was to her—
“Everyone ready?”
No. She was feeling a little out of breath. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she ran them through his wet hair and used his locks as a handle to hold on to.
“I think we should go with clock hand directions,” Wes suggested.
“Fine. That sounds good.” She felt a little dizzy, and she didn’t think it was because of the height.
“Ladies, please tie the bandana around your husband’s head. Guys, no cheating. Make sure you can’t see anything.”
“Can you see anything?” Jamie asked after adjusting the blindfold.
“No.”
He twisted at his waist, back and forth, as if readying himself for a run. She in turn spun with him, nearly falling off, as he’d intended. He put his hands on her thighs to secure her, causing a shot of heat to run through her body.
Wes was touching her bare skin. Why was it so much different when it was her thigh than all the many times he’d touched her arm or her hand?
“Ready. Go!”
Jamie sprang into action, or as much as she could act from her restricted position on her partner’s shoulders. It only took her a second to start calling out instructions, leading Wes to a pink ball off to their left.
He picked it up and handed to her so she could drop it in the net bag they were given. She was already leading him to the next one.
Wes was great at following her directions, even knowing he was supposed to turn around and head the other way when she said six o’clock.
Meanwhile, Beth was yelling, “Over there!” to the man who couldn’t see where over there was. And Holly was leaning over to pick up a ball herself. When she fell off Lance’s shoulders, they were forced to go back to the starting line.
It was an easy win for Wes and Jamie.
They were awarded another gift card, and Rob stuck his tongue out. “Who invited you two?” he joked. “It’s like you share one brain.”
“And a heart,” Misty added with a smile.
When Jamie attempted to slide off Wes’s shoulders, he surprised her by diving into the water, dunking her.
He came up in front of her as she wiped the water from her face and splashed him.
“Congratulations,” he said as he bent down and kissed her. It started out as a light little peck, but soon they had their arms around each other under the water, and his tongue had slipped into her mouth.
Someone clapped, and Jamie remembered this was just a show. She struggled to keep the disappointment off her face as he took her hand and helped her out of the water. He
rested his arm on her shoulder as Misty gathered everyone around for their marching orders.
“Good job, everyone. I hope you all learned something that might help you communicate better with your partner.”
Curt grumbled something about being kicked in the nuts.
“This afternoon is free time. Go for a walk, have a swim or a snorkel. We’ll meet in the big room at eight for dinner and a workshop in conflict resolution.”
The only conflict Jamie was having at the moment was with her sex drive.
* * * *
After spending an hour or so with the McCaffertys to casually chat about what they were looking for in their new headquarters, Wes spent the rest of the day sitting next to Jamie on the beach. Both of them were content to relax on a chaise lounge in the shade and look out over the water. Occasionally they’d go in the ocean or the pool. A constant supply of drinks was delivered as the sun dipped toward the ocean. Every once in a while Jamie would pick up her tablet and draw something. She hadn’t shared it yet, which meant she was still in the exploratory stages of her creation.
“We should probably go get ready for dinner,” Wes said as he let his head fall to the side to look at her. She’d pulled on her cover-up, but after spending the day with her in that bikini, the image of those curves was burned into his brain, along with the memories of that kiss.
“I don’t want to move. I just want to spend the rest of the week right here.”
“Come on. You don’t want to miss conflict resolution, do you?” he teased.
“Do we have conflicts?” she asked, scrunching up her nose the way she did when she was thinking.
“No. You mostly boss me around and I just give in because it’s easier.” This wasn’t exactly true, but to tell her he didn’t disagree with her often would point out yet another area where they were well suited for one another. How had they not noticed how great they were together before now? Sure, they knew they got along, but on all levels they seemed perfectly matched.
“Hmm. Maybe we’ll actually get something out of this workshop,” Jamie said.
“You didn’t get anything out of the communication exercise this morning?”
“Sure I got something. I got another gift card.” She rubbed her palms together.
“We did well at herding all those balls,” he said, getting a snicker out of Jamie as he’d expected. “Better than the married people.”
“I’m not surprised. How many times have we had conversations without even speaking?” she pointed out. It was true. It happened quite often. Sometimes a look was all it took for him to know what she was thinking or how she felt about something.
He knew all her looks. Like the one now.
Utter happiness.
“I’m going to go shower. You can stay for a little while longer if you want. Don’t fall asleep,” he said.
“I won’t. I’ll be in soon.”
Without thinking, he leaned down and kissed her lips. Just a quick peck, like he’d seen real couples do when saying goodbye. Jamie glanced over her shoulder when he straightened, no doubt looking for someone from their group.
He’d kissed her as a reflex. Something he’d gotten in the habit of doing when her father was around. Playing the part of the doting husband was an easy role to step into. Too easy apparently.
“Give me twenty minutes and then the shower is all yours,” he said before he hurried off.
As he took the shortcut to their room, he heard a familiar laugh and slowed down so he wouldn’t be accused of storming off and leaving Jamie alone. The last thing they needed was for the group to think they were having another fight.
Lance laughed again, but as Wes got closer he realized Lance wasn’t with Holly. He was leaning into the personal space of another woman.
Wes stopped for a moment to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. Yes, his potential client was flirting with another woman while on a couples’ retreat.
And since this resort was couples only, that meant the woman he was touching inappropriately was most likely someone else’s wife or girlfriend.
Unsure of what to do, he hesitated a moment too long. When he turned to go he spotted Holly heading their way. The only thing more uncomfortable than stumbling across adultery in action would be watching the teary, emotional reaction of the other party when the gig was up.
Wes looked around for an escape plan, and even glanced up, as if shimmying up one of the nearby palms would help things.
He didn’t want Holly to find out this way. He certainly didn’t want to be involved in the dissolution of their marriage when he was hoping to get Lance to let them design his building. Still, he hated cheating more than anything, and didn’t want Lance to get off the hook.
“Hey, Lance!” he called, as if the guy wasn’t behind a shrub playing with some stranger’s hair not two inches from her breasts.
Lance backed away from the woman like she was on fire and pasted on his smarmy smile.
“Hey, Wes. Where’s Jamie?”
“She wanted a little extra time on the beach, so I decided to shower first.”
Lance had just found his way out of the bush when Holly spotted them.
“Look, there’s Holly, your wife. Coming this way. She’s probably looking for you.” Wes made his point clear.
“If you keep this between us, I’ll make sure you get the job for our new building. I know that’s the real reason why you’re here. You and your new little hottie sure don’t need this crappy retreat.”
Oh, hell. Wes didn’t know what to do. He stood there staring at the man—a loose description—as he waved at his wife like he was happy to see her. Wes was stunned into silence.
“There you are,” Holly said. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I thought you said you were going to play pool.”
“I did. But then I ran into Wes.”
“I’m going to shower,” Wes said as a way to extricate himself from an impossible situation.
“Uh-oh. The honeymoon must be over if you’re taking separate showers. Remember when we used to conserve water, peaches?” Lance said to his wife. “Maybe we should see if we still fit in a shower together.”
Wes held in the groan as Holly frowned at her asinine husband and said, “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Uh. Just that the bathrooms are so much smaller down here.”
Oh, he was really bad at this.
Holly crossed her arms and tilted her head. “And what were you and Wes doing all afternoon?”
Wes could tell by the look on her face that she suspected something was up, but Lance wrapped his arm around her and pulled her away.
“I’ll catch you later at dinner,” Lance called over his shoulder. “Thanks for kicking my ass at pool all afternoon.”
If it had been anyone else, Wes would have blurted out the truth right then, but doing so would mean he and Jamie would lose their chance to bid on the job. This wasn’t just about him and what he thought was right.
He’d promised Jamie he would do whatever it took to get them to number one. He couldn’t blow their chances without talking to her first.
Rather than get caught up in another lie, he held up his hand. “I just saw him on my way back to our cottage. I was with Jamie all afternoon. I’ll see you guys in a little while at dinner.” And with that he left Lance to face his fate.
He didn’t understand why some men couldn’t be faithful.
* * * *
Jamie was still trying to gather the energy to get up and go to the cottage when a shadow fell across her face. Wes was back and he was still wearing his board shorts.
Maybe dinner was canceled and she wouldn’t have to get up.
“We have a problem,” he said as he sat on the edge of the chair he’d vacated earlier.
“I have a spare key in my bag.”
“No. Bigger than being locked out.” She sat up so she could look at him without the sun in her eyes.
“What is it?”
“I just stumbled across Lance fooling around with another woman.”
“No!”
“Yep. Right as Holly was looking for him.” Wes shook his head. “Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Poor Holly. Did she catch him?”
“No. Because he told her he was with me all afternoon.” He wiped his hand down his face. “Then he told me if I didn’t keep my mouth shut, our team wouldn’t have a chance to bid on the building.”
She gasped in shock. “What did you do?”
“I told her I wasn’t with him, but I didn’t tell her about the other woman. I came here to see what you want to do. I promised you I would do whatever it takes to get us to the top spot. Telling the whole truth would negate that promise. I didn’t lie, but I didn’t tell her what I know either.”
“But you want to tell her what you saw.”
“Yes. I don’t think there’s any way I can enjoy working on the project when I know I’m working for a cheating bastard.”
She shouldn’t have been surprised by the look of disgust on Wes’s face as he’d told her about the way Lance behaved. She’d always known Wes was a standup guy. On the few occasions he’d dated someone, he’d always been faithful and courteous.
Even when he broke it off, he was respectful and checked in to make sure the woman was all right. He was the perfect boyfriend. And the ideal husband.
And now he was asking her to make a decision that affected both of them. He was willing to turn his back on his honor to keep from ruining an opportunity she badly wanted.
She took his hand in both of hers and smiled. There really wasn’t any choice to make.
They had to do the right thing.
“Come on. Let’s go tell Holly the truth,” she said, and felt as well a saw the wave of relief.
“Thank you. I’m sorry if this messes up everything.”
“It won’t. As my dad would say, ‘You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror.’”
When they got to Lance and Holly’s cottage—much bigger than their own—Holly was sitting on the patio with a glass of wine and Lance was nowhere in sight.
The Work Wife Page 18