Harlequin Desire June 2020 - Box Set 1 of 2

by Maureen Child

  The moment she hit the top of staircase, a delicious aroma wafted up from the first floor. The chef had only made his presence known once and that was to ask her what she wanted for her lunch. Josie was so used to making her own things or grabbing something from a seaside café that she might get spoiled if she hung around Reese’s house too long.

  Whatever Frisco had made for dinner smelled like it was going to be divine. The hint of something with peaches hit her as well. There was no way Josie could ever be that masterful in the kitchen; her skills were relegated to her keyboard.

  The second she reached the bottom of the steps, Reese walked in the front door. His eyes locked onto hers and Josie gripped the wineglass as she froze. She hadn’t seen him since last night, since she fled the room after he’d kissed her. Likely he wasn’t awake all night replaying that moment; at least, he didn’t look haggard.

  That bright blue button-up, folded up on his forearms, showed off not only his tanned skin, but also that excellent muscle tone she knew he worked hard to maintain.

  Damn, that kiss had changed everything.

  “Looks like you need a refill.” Reese broke the silence as he nodded to her glass. “And dinner smells amazing, so this is perfect timing.”

  He closed the door and tossed his keys onto the accent table before crossing the foyer. Those cobalt-blue eyes locked onto hers and she would have sworn they were more intense than ever.

  Yes, that kiss had changed everything.

  She’d thought their dynamics had changed with his fake engagement, that first embrace at her door, but that was nothing compared to having his lips on hers. She couldn’t seem to put him back in the friends-only box.

  Josie had always noticed Reese’s striking features and the beauty of his gaze, but she’d never felt it before. Josie couldn’t begin to share with him what he was doing to her, not when she couldn’t even explain all of this to herself.

  “I just finished my article,” she told him, trying to have what should be a normal conversation. “It’s not where I want it, but I can’t think anymore today.”

  Reese reached for her glass. “Let’s go have dinner and you can bounce your problems off of me.”

  Her problems? That was quite laughable considering he was the problem. Well, not him physically. No, physically he was the answer, but that was the problem.

  Ugh. She was such a mess with her mixed emotions and wayward thoughts. She knew what she meant, but trying to categorize all of her views was proving to be impossible. Josie didn’t care for this out-of-control feeling or not being able to maintain some regulation over her own life.

  “I’d rather you tell me what’s going on tomorrow,” she countered, coming down off that last step.

  Reese laughed as he started guiding her toward the back of the house. That hand on the small of her back seemed too intimate, but just days ago that would’ve merely been his friendly gesture. Now she questioned everything…including these newfound emotions.

  “We’re doing the thing for your magazine and then I have a surprise.”

  Josie rolled her eyes as she came to a stop. Turning to face him, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “That thing?” she repeated. “You can’t be that relaxed about an interview and photo shoot for this fake engagement.”

  “I’m not relaxed,” he amended. “But it’s scheduled and there’s nothing we can do to change that.”

  She could call the whole thing off. She could come clean to her boss, just tell her it’s a farce, but that would only damage her credibility. If she were going to reveal the truth, she should’ve done so right off the bat.

  “Oh, my mom and dad are thrilled, by the way,” Reese added.

  Josie gasped. “You told your parents?”

  “You know my mother reads your Cocktails & Classy blog every single day. I didn’t think to warn them off ahead of time.”

  Guilt overwhelmed her. Josie closed her eyes, pulling in a much-needed deep breath. This lie was spiraling out of control faster than she could keep up. She truly loved and respected Martin and Laura Conrad. What would they think of her after she and Reese “broke up”?

  “Hey,” Reese said in that calming tone of his. “This is all going to work out. We just need a couple weeks of make-believe and then we’re back to being friends and nobody has to know otherwise.”

  Two weeks might as well be two years or two decades. With the way she was feeling right now, the end result of this charade would be that she’d possibly get intimately attached; her heart might get even more involved, because she didn’t know if she’d have the willpower to put a stop to this madness.

  Josie focused back on Reese. “Two weeks,” she sighed. “We can do this.”

  The smile that spread across his face packed a punch and she forced herself to return the gesture. Who knew one kiss could cause so many emotions?

  “I believe you said something about refilling my wine?”

  He nodded and gestured for her to go ahead. “I had my chef make all of your favorites for dinner, so I hope you didn’t have a big lunch.”

  Josie laughed. “He tried to feed me a five-course meal at noon.”

  “I told him to make sure you were well-fed and taken care of.”

  Taken care of. That’s exactly what Reese lived for. He was always taking care of his parents, taking care of his staff of hundreds, taking care of her. He was the most selfless, giving man.

  Before that kiss, those selfless traits were just part of what she’d loved about him as her friend. But now…well, she couldn’t help but wonder how that generosity would carry over into the bedroom.

  The instant mental image had her stilling, fantasizing for just a moment. Then she crashed back to reality as she refocused on Reese’s gaze.

  “I would’ve been fine with a banana or a smoothie,” she told him. “But I appreciate it.”

  They stepped into the vast kitchen with views of the ocean through the windows, which stretched across the entire back wall. The sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the horizon and making the bright blue water sparkle like diamonds.

  A million-dollar view.

  Josie turned her attention to the long island and nearly gasped. “What is all of this?”

  Reese laughed as he went to the wine fridge at the end of the island. “Dinner.”

  “For all of Sandpiper Cove?” she asked, her eyes scanning each dish.

  “I told Frisco to prepare all your favorites and I gave him a list.”

  And from the looks of things, Reese hadn’t missed a thing. There was even a little bowl of Tootsie Rolls, which made her laugh.

  “How in the world did he pull off all of this?” she asked. “And the lunch he prepared was insane.”

  Reese shrugged. “That’s why I can never let him leave me. I’d starve, and he’s a magician when he’s in his element.”

  Her eyes locked onto his. “You know we can’t possibly eat all of this, right?”

  “Of course not,” he agreed. “Frisco always takes any extras to the homeless shelter, so I don’t mind that he goes all out. I know none of this will actually go to waste.”

  Flowers to the hospital, food to the homeless shelter. Seriously, her best friend was not a typical jet-setting billionaire. She’d always admired his giving nature, or maybe it was that she’d just not seen him in this light before. Because the fact that he always put others first was becoming sexier and sexier.

  “What’s that smile for?” he asked.

  She circled the island and placed a hand over his heart. “You’re just remarkable. I mean, I’ve always known, but lately you’re just proving yourself more and more.”

  He released the wine bottle and covered her hand with his…and that’s when the memory of that kiss hit her again, hard. She shouldn’t have touched him. She should’ve kept he
r distance. Because there was that look in his eyes again.

  Where had this come from, this pull between them? When did he start looking at her like he wanted to rip her clothes off and have his naughty way with her?

  “We need to talk about it,” he murmured.

  It.

  As if saying the word kiss would somehow make this situation weirder. And as if she hadn’t thought of anything else since it happened.

  “Nothing to talk about,” she told him, trying to ignore the warmth and strength between his hand and his chest.

  “You can’t say you weren’t affected.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  He tipped his head, somehow making that penetrating stare even more potent. “It felt like more than a friendly kiss.”

  Way to state the obvious.

  “And more than just practice,” he added.

  Josie’s heart kicked up. They were too close, talking about things that were too intimate. No matter what she felt, what she thought she wanted, this wasn’t right. She couldn’t ache for her best friend in such a physical way. If that kiss changed things, she couldn’t imagine how much anything more would affect this relationship.

  How could she maintain control of her emotions if she let this go any further? She was already having a difficult enough time trying to cope with the current circumstances.

  “We can’t go there again,” she told him. “I mean, you’re a good kisser—”

  “Good? That kiss was a hell of a lot better than just good.”

  She smiled. “Fine. It was pretty incredible. Still, we can’t get caught up in this whole fake engagement thing and lose sight of who we really are.”

  His free hand came up and brushed her hair away from her face. “I haven’t lost sight of anything. And I’m well aware of who we are…and what I want.”

  Why did that sound so dangerous in the most delicious of ways? Why was her body tingling so much from such simple touches when she’d firmly told herself not to get carried away?

  Wait. Was he leaning in closer?

  “Reese, what are you doing?” she whispered, though she wasn’t putting up a fight.

  “Testing a theory.”

  His mouth grazed hers like a feather. Her knees literally weakened as she leaned against him for support. Reese continued to hold her hand against his chest, but he wrapped the other arm around her waist, urging her closer.

  There was no denying the sizzle or spark or whatever the hell was vibrating between them. She’d always thought those cheesy expressions were so silly, but there was no perfect way to describe such an experience.

  And kissing her best friend—again—was quite an experience.

  Reese deepened the kiss, parting her lips and exploring further. She’d stop him in just a minute—she just wanted a little more.

  Josie slid her hand from his and gripped each side of his face as he leaned her back a little more. That strong arm across her lower back held her firmly in place. Threading her fingers through his hair, she tilted her head to give him even more access, but those talented lips trailed across her jaw and down the column of her neck.

  Any second she should end this, but it felt so damn good she couldn’t muster up the strength to tell him to stop. She also couldn’t remember why this was such a bad idea.

  That hand behind her started shifting; a thumb slid beneath the hem of her shirt and caressed her bare skin. Josie let out a moan, then quickly bit down on her lip to quiet herself. Reese’s lips continued to explore her neck, the sensitive spot behind her ear, then down into the vee of her shirt.

  There were too many clothes in the way. Her body ached like it never had before and she wanted to feel his skin against hers.

  “Reese,” she panted, though she didn’t know what she was begging for. She just knew she wanted him to keep going, to keep making her feel everything she’d deprived herself of.

  An alarm echoed in the room, but Josie ignored it. She didn’t want this moment to end…at least not yet.

  But the insistent beeping kept going. Reese rested his forehead against her shoulder and she noted his body trembling just as much as hers…if not more.

  “I have to get that,” he murmured.

  Get what? Her mind was still spinning and she didn’t know what the noise was, but she wanted it to go away.

  Reese slowly released her, holding her steady until she looked up at him and nodded. Her legs weren’t quite as steady as she would’ve liked, so she rested a hand on the edge of the island and willed herself into a normal breathing pattern and heartbeat.

  When Reese grabbed his cell from his pocket, Josie realized that hadn’t been an alarm at all, but a call. Maybe the interruption was a blessing, because she still wasn’t convinced she could have stopped what had been about to happen…and she was already wondering when it would happen again.

  SEVEN

  Reese cursed the caller before even looking at the screen. He needed to get in control and back to reality before answering, but he was having a difficult time with that considering he could still feel Josie’s sweet body beneath his touch.

  Damn it, how far would he have taken things? How far would she have allowed this to go?

  Glancing down at the screen, he saw Sam Hawkins’s name.

  Sam Hawkins, the man who was very likely Reese’s half brother and one of the men Reese had gone to see last week. The owner of Hawkins Distillery in Green Valley, Tennessee, was a pretty remarkable guy, considering he was the youngest distiller in the country.

  Reese glanced to Josie, who was staring down at the floor, her eyes wide with shock. He wasn’t sure if she was shocked over their behavior or shocked over the fact that she’d enjoyed it so much—because those pants and moans and the way she’d clutched his hair were all clear indicators she’d been more than eager for things to progress.

  Turning from temptation, Reese answered the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Reese,” Sam responded. “I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

  Bad time? Reese supposed it could’ve been worse—like if Sam had called in about ten minutes when clothes were strewn across the floor.

  He looked again at Josie, who still seemed to be trying to catch her breath. Yeah, same here. He’d only meant to see if the effect of the kiss last night had been a onetime occurrence, but the moment his lips touched hers, there had been another internal snap that he couldn’t control.

  “Now is fine,” he replied, focusing on the sunset outside instead of the beauty before him. “I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

  “I know. Nick and I were going to give you some time to process everything,” Sam stated. “Especially considering you don’t know Rusty like we do, it’s still a shock to discover your father at our age.”

  Understatement. Reese hadn’t even known there was a father to discover. He thought Martin Conrad was his father, for nearly four decades.

  “Since Rusty is home from his stint in jail for embezzling from one of our local charities, Nick and I planned on confronting him with the truth.”

  Reese was well aware that Rusty had been arrested for skimming funds from a charity that Lockwood Lightning endorsed and supported. From all the stories Reese had heard and from the bits and pieces of what he’d dug up online, Reese had drawn his own conclusions that he’d lucked out in life by not having Rusty Lockwood raise him as his child.

  “And you want me in on that meeting?”

  Reese had to choose his words carefully because he still hadn’t explained everything to Josie—they’d sort of been busy pretending to be engaged, fighting a magnetic attraction—and he still wasn’t sure how the hell to handle any of this.

  “We don’t want to pressure you, but I did want to include you,” Sam told him. “All of this is still new to us as well. I wouldn’t mind getting to know m
y half brother a little more, but that’s going to be your decision.”

  Half brothers. Reese had grown up an only child and used to wonder how having a sibling would’ve changed his life. He likely would’ve been sharing the family business. Having someone else to lighten the load wouldn’t be a bad thing. He would’ve had an automatic friend growing up, too, but he’d had plenty of friends even without siblings.

  Friends like the one he’d just groped until she was moaning in pleasure.

  Pushing aside those delicious thoughts of Josie, Reese focused on what he wanted to know about Nick and Sam. Discovering two guys who were prominent in their fields of luxury liquor and hospitality—fields surprisingly similar to his own—and who were both eager to get to know him sounded promising, and Reese found that he did want to explore these new relationships.

  This whole new chapter in his life would take some time to wrap his mind around, but new ventures never scared Reese. He welcomed challenges… including kissing Josie Coleman.

  Again, he shifted his focus back to the call and away from Josie.

  “I could make another trip to Green Valley,” he told Sam. “Why don’t you tell me when would work for you guys? I’m opening a new restaurant in Manhattan next weekend. Maybe we could discuss a possible working relationship as well.”

  “That would be a solid start,” Sam agreed. “I’ll talk with Nick and text you. We plan on confronting Rusty soon, though.”

  Reese swallowed and wondered if tag-teaming was the answer. What good would come from all of them going to Rusty? What did Sam and Nick hope to accomplish? Did they just want to let the mogul know that his sons had all been identified?

  None of them needed money and Reese certainly wasn’t looking for a father figure to fill a void. He had plenty of love and affection from the amazing couple who’d raised him.

  Reese really needed to talk to his own parents before he went to Rusty. He needed all of the history, no lies, no secrets. Reese needed every bit of his life revealed to him.