by Jo Leigh
“Nope. Well, yeah, but not right this minute,” she said.
“Hey, I’ve got it. Let’s both quit. Just walk away. Move to, I don’t know, Idaho or Colorado. I’ll write my book, you work part time at an animal hospital. One where you get to go home at five,” he said.
Meg opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. She simply looked at him with an odd expression on her face. He expected her to laugh. She didn’t.
15
“AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE doing something?”
Alex turned his head toward her, putting his hand up to block the sun. “I have no idea.”
“Damn,” Meg said, “I left the schedule in the room. Don’t remember much of it.”
“Want me to go get it?”
“No,” she said as she sat up, her skin warm, her hair almost dry. It wouldn’t have bothered her to stay on the beach and vegetate, but there were too many people bringing too much noise with them. She didn’t want to hear dueling boom boxes. She wanted peace and quiet and Alex. “How do you feel about going to the hotel?”
“Whatever you’d like.”
“Come on, don’t say that. What do you want to do?” she asked.
“I want to be with you and I don’t much care where that happens,” he stated.
She grinned. Ran her hand down her thigh, remembering his touch, the way his large hands made her feel very small. “Let’s do it. We can get a copy of our schedule and see if we want to do any of it.”
“Good plan.” As he stood up, he raked a hand through his hair, making it stick up in just the right places. Gathering up his towel, he looked around, evidently trying to find a clear space to shake out the sand, but he was surrounded. With a shrug, he folded the thing and stuck it under his arm. When he glanced back at her, he seemed surprised. “What’s that smile for?”
“Nothing in particular. I just think you’re cute.”
“Cute. First nice, now cute. Great.”
She got up herself, debating whether she should put on her dress, but since everyone around her was fine with wearing bathing suits everywhere, she just folded it in with her towel. They walked to the end of the cove where they’d parked their cart. The sand had gotten warmer since they were there that morning, which meant they’d been at the cove for a while. It could have been an hour or three. It didn’t matter. There was no place they had to be, even if they were signed up for something.
She was feeling quite languorous, and the idea of doing anything too physical didn’t appeal. In fact, she kept thinking about the hammock by the bungalow. Maybe a cool drink. Some shade. Alex. Heaven.
Only heaven had to wait.
It was Tina. With Walter in tow. Both in beach gear, but Tina wore a big floppy hat.
“Hey, how are you two kids doing?” Alex asked. He gathered Meg close to him, arm around her waist.
Tina glanced at all the people on the beach, then back at Alex. “We’re doing fine. Did you know there’s someone looking for you?”
Alex’s hand tightened. “A guy named Charlie Hanover?”
“He said he was a friend,” Tina stated.
“I’ll bet he did.” Alex shook his head.
“Of course, we acted as if we didn’t know a thing. I told Walter there was something fishy going on,” Tina said, glancing at her husband.
Alex looked at Meg. “I guess I’m going to have to do something about him.”
“It’s still your vacation. I don’t see why we have to give him the time of day,” she said.
“I told you. He’s relentless,” Alex explained.
“Can we help?” Tina asked.
Alex smiled at her. “I appreciate the offer. I’m just not sure what’s going to stop him.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what does he want?” Tina asked.
“An interview. It’s a long and dull story. If I was back in D.C., it wouldn’t be a problem, but out here…”
“He was in his cart when he left, driving toward the boat dock. We’re going back to the hotel, seeing as how Walter doesn’t care for the crowds. But we’ll be on the lookout for him, try to keep him away,” Tina promised.
“He knows we’re staying at the bungalow, so he’s not going to go far,” Alex said.
“Then let us go first. We’ll distract him. Send him on a wild-goose chase.” Tina’s voice rose in her excitement, and her face glowed. It wasn’t much, but she finally had something she could sink her teeth into. “Everyone deserves to be left in peace on their vacation.”
Meg’s gaze went from Tina to her husband. Walter was looking at her. It was, Meg thought, the first time he’d done that, at least when the four of them were together. And he was smiling.
“Thanks,” Alex said. “But don’t let it interfere with your own plans. Worse comes to worst, I’ll talk to the guy.”
“Not at our bungalows, you won’t.” Tina nodded once, as if she would brook no arguments.
Meg believed her. She gave Tina a hug before she took Alex’s hand and they went to where they’d parked the cart.
She put her towel in the backseat, then climbed in next to him. He got the vehicle going, slowly though, since they had to watch for pedestrians, mopeds, bikes and other golf carts.
“Are you hungry yet?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Breakfast was huge. And wonderful.”
Alex touched her leg. It was just a touch, nothing to get excited about, but that’s just what happened. He touched her and her heart sped up, she stopped breathing, and when his hand lifted, she felt the loss.
She looked away, her pulse still racing, but for a completely different reason. God, she liked him. He was so much better in person, and he’d been terrific online. Leaving Escapades was going to hurt. Much worse than the little twinge at missing his touch. There was nothing in her real life that would make up for it, either. Just work.
She’d done it to herself, that much she knew. If she’d been stronger, if she hadn’t felt so responsible for her clients, she could have had a rich life. There were a million things to do where she lived, a million people to get to know. Adult education, local gyms, groups of every kind. She used to belong to a professional organization that had pretty nifty monthly meetings, but after missing so many, she’d let her membership lapse.
She still had her girlfriends, but even those relationships were suffering. It wasn’t that she didn’t adore Becky and Debbi, she was just so damn tired all the time.
It was no way to live, and she had to do something about it. Period. No more screwing around. If the people on the mountain didn’t like it, well, too bad. There were other vets, good ones. Alex was right. She was tired of being at their mercy.
When he’d made that joke about them running off together, it had hit her hard. What she’d been missing out on. The feelings she’d convinced herself she didn’t have.
She looked at him again, at his strong profile. At his dark hair blowing in the breeze. The slight unconscious smile curving his lips.
What would it be like to be with him? Not for a few days, but for real? For keeps? What would it be like to wake up to him every morning? Sleep with him every night?
Longing gripped her, and the harder she tried to shake it, the deeper it ran. Things had changed for her since she’d first met Alex. Even though it was online, it was as real as it gets. She’d let him into her life. Given him an all-access pass. Last night, she’d given him the map to her body, and wouldn’t you know it? He already knew the way.
“Meg?”
She turned to him, pasting on a smile. “Yeah?”
“Did you bring a camera?” he asked.
“Yes, I did,” she answered.
“So did I.”
“Why haven’t we taken any pictures, then?” Meg wondered.
“I was just pondering that. I want to have pictures.”
“Me, too.”
“We’ll have to get them as soon as we can. I don’t want any more time to go by without a record,” he said.
She touched his hand. “A record?”
“I want to remember all of this. Everything,” he explained.
“I’m not going to take those kinds of pictures, you know,” Meg said.
“Chicken,” Alex teased.
“You betcha.”
He slowed for another cart, then sped up as they approached the hotel entrance. After a few moments searching for an empty spot to park, they got out and went inside.
It felt perfectly natural to drift together, for their hands to meet. As if it was second nature. They fit. Which was wonderful. And a little sad.
They climbed the stairs, passed the fountain and entered the lobby. It was the least crowded place they’d been all day, but still there were folks. Couples. All of them cocooned in a haze of happy bliss. All of them touching, whether it was hands, or bumping hips, or arms around waists and shoulders. It was in the very air, pheromones being stirred by the big plantation fans.
At the activities desk, they got a copy of the schedule. It turned out to be just a little after ten, and they were up for the rock wall at ten thirty.
Alex tried to make Meg believe he was excited about it, but she could tell he wasn’t enthused. At two, they were scheduled for the Jet Skis, which really did sound like fun. She’d never done that before, and she’d always wanted to.
She made her decision, and went back to the concierge. “We won’t be rock climbing at ten thirty,” she said. “So if someone else wants our spot, that’s fine.”
“Would you like to reschedule?” the woman asked.
Meg shook her head. “No, thanks.”
When she turned to Alex, he seemed troubled. “You sure?” he pressed.
She nodded. “One thing first, then let’s go back to the bungalow.”
He cheered right up. “I’ll sign up for that. Now, what’s that first thing?”
“Waterfall,” she said firmly.
“Ah, yes. Waterfall.”
She took his hand and they walked toward the side exit to the big pool.
“So here’s my question,” Alex said, moving closer, his voice low so only she could hear. “Do you think there was anyone at all on this entire island that didn’t have sex last night?”
She laughed. “I was just thinking that.”
“Oh?”
“It’s the island. I told you. Magic,” she whispered.
He slowed. “You think?”
“You don’t?”
He didn’t answer.
THE LONGER CHARLIE WAITED, the more he wanted to pin Alex Rosten to the wall. He’d finally found out that Rosten was staying in the bungalows, not the hotel, but he still wasn’t sure which bungalow. So he’d been driving in a circuit between all twelve of them, stopping anyone he could to ask. But no one seemed to know anything about Rosten or the woman he was shacking up with.
He’d called his editor, who’d told him the heat was on and that he’d better get the damn interview pronto, because every news organization in the country was on the trail. No way was Charlie going to miss out on being first.
He took a drink of tepid water from his bottle, wondering whether room service would deliver to a glorified golf cart. He hadn’t remembered to bring any sunscreen, so he was turning into a goddamn tomato as he drove in his little circles.
When he did finally hear another cart coming down the path, he was more than ready. He had his tape recorder in his shirt pocket, his notepad on the seat next to him.
He spun the cart around and slammed on the brake. Shit. It was that older couple. They’d been useless before, and he doubted they’d be better now.
“Hello! Mr. Hanover!” the woman called out.
He sighed, but he waited. Maybe they knew something. But he wouldn’t bet on it.
They drove up, the woman still waving, the man looking at him as if he wanted to sell him some insurance. “Mr. Hanover. Hello. Any luck?” the woman asked.
“No, no luck.”
Their carts were parked too close together, and even though they were in the middle of a big expanse of sand and grass, he felt hemmed in.
“Well, we didn’t actually see Alex…” she said.
He waited for the rest of the sentence. And waited. “Yes?”
The woman looked at her husband, then back at him. She pushed back her big hat, revealing a strip of pale skin. “We did happen to see his name on a list.”
“A list?”
She nodded, turned to hubby once more. “Didn’t we, Walter?”
“Yep. His name. On a list,” Walter said.
“What list?”
“It was for the spa,” she said.
“Oh?”
“It was a massage, I believe.”
Her husband lifted his hand. “No, no, Tina, I think you’re mistaken. It wasn’t a massage at all.”
“No?” She turned to him again. “Are you sure? Because I thought it was a massage.”
“I think it was for something else. Some kind of hydrotherapy. Not sure what it’s supposed to do for a body, but it was his name, all right,” he insisted.
“But that wasn’t the same list, Walter. That was the second list,” she said.
“Second?” he echoed.
“There were two. Don’t you remember? They were right there on the clipboards. Sitting on that beautiful marble desk,” she said.
Charlie closed his eyes and cursed the day he was born. He listened to them jabber on until he couldn’t take another second of it. “Hey!”
Tina and Walter turned to him, blinking.
“Did any of these appointments have times on them?” Charlie demanded impatiently.
“Why, yes,” Tina said. “Alex should be there right now.”
“Thank you.” Charlie backed up his cart at the same time Walter got his in gear. Only, when Charlie started forward, so did Walter. Right into the side of Charlie’s cart.
THE POOL WASN’T as crowded as the beach. In fact, one of the attendants put two lounges together for them, right near the deep end, and signaled the cocktail waitress. Alex settled down, watching Meg as she stared at the waterfall. She only looked away when it was time to order drinks. They both asked for a Bloody Mary, and they both wanted them weak.
He waited until they were alone, and turned to Meg. “What’s the deal with the waterfall?”
“Oh, I just love them,” she said, sighing.
“No story?” he asked.
She shook her head, but if he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks got a little pink. “It’s stupid.”
“Come on. I’ll never tell.”
“Last of the Mohicans,” she said.
“The book?” he asked, confused.
“No, the movie. Daniel Day Lewis. Madeleine Stowe. The score. The waterfall. I swooned.”
“Swooned? Really?”
“If you must know, yes. Really. I didn’t actually fall to the ground or anything, but yes, swooning occurred. So now you know my secret. It goes with you to the grave.”
He crossed his heart. “They can torture me. Not too much, mind you, because I hate pain, but they can pinch me from now until tonight, and I won’t say one word.”
She laughed, and he wanted her. Now. Under the damn waterfall. He looked at it, but there didn’t seem to be enough privacy for his diabolical plan, and he had no intention of getting kicked out. At least they could kiss. Maybe do a little fondling. Fondling was good.
“Shall we?” she asked. “Swim?”
He nodded. As he was lifting his hands to dive into the pool, she pinched his ass.
“Hey,” he protested.
“Just testing that theory,” she said.
“Do it again, and I sing like a bird, honey.”
She shoved him in.
He sputtered as he came up in the cool water, determined that the assault would not go unavenged. Worse, she was standing at the edge, laughing. Laughing!
Swimming toward her, he thought about grabbing her ankle, but that seemed foolhardy. And too direct. He needed to get h
er back when she least expected it. “You gonna stand up there all morning?”
She shook her head, then dived over his head. She was no Louganis, but the dive succeeded well enough. And when she came up for air, with her hair all sleek and dark, her eyelashes pearled with water, her lips parted showing just a hint of teeth, he figured he’d give her ten minutes by the damn waterfall and then they were going to the bungalow.
“Hey, you look pretty good wet,” Meg said, swimming into him with such fervor his back smacked against the side of the pool.
“What is it with you? Do you take delight in hurting me? You’re the one who likes that kind of thing, not me.”
She pushed herself against him, her pelvis to his. “Oh, I think I could show you a thing or two. Make you beg for mercy.”
“Oh, really?”
She nodded, her upper teeth biting her lower lip. And her hand slipped into his trunks. The front of his trunks.
He panicked. Grabbed her wrist and pulled her free, then swam away as fast as he could. Hadn’t the woman ever heard of shrinkage?
By the time she caught up with him, they were at the waterfall. She grinned like a loon. But as she approached him, she gave him a pathetic attempt at a frown. “I’m sorry, Alex. Did I scare you?”
“You’re asking for it, woman.”
“Asking for what?”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her against his body. Her mouth opened in surprise and he took full advantage, kissing her hard. It wasn’t easy treading water, but he managed to keep them from drowning. When he finally let her go, she sank. But only for a minute. When she came up, she swam past him to the waterfall, ducked under it, swam behind it, held her hands out to feel it, swam back under it, yelled, “You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you!” Then she swam back to him, and when she was in the exact position she’d been in two minutes before, she smiled. “Bungalow?”
MEG CARRIED THE DRINKS up the stairs while Alex got the towels from the back of the cart. The table had been cleared from breakfast, the drapes had all been opened and the bed was made, the netting flapping gently in the breeze. She took a sip of her Bloody Mary, put both glasses down on the table, and went for the bathroom, feeling guilty she was leaving a trail of sand.