by Virna DePaul
Annie raised her glass. “I’d like to toast to my best friend.”
Ryan hesitated. He knew he was her best friend. He loved being her best friend. But damn it, every time he heard those words lately they made him think about what else they could be to each other. “To us,” he finally said.
They clinked their glasses together then drank. He watched her throat work as she swallowed and barely contained the urge to take the glass from her and taste the champagne directly from her mouth.
Whatever was happening with him wasn’t good. Instead of fantasizing about kissing Annie, he should be tending to her wounds. With determination, Ryan put down his glass, rubbed his palms together and said, “You do know how lucky you are, right?”
“Lucky?”
“Sure, you have a certified firefighter slash paramedic at your disposal. I’m going to fix you up so well you’ll never want to go to the doctor again. You’ll come straight to me.”
“I’ll save a lot of money that way,” she said with a laugh. “Unless you’ll expect compensation?”
“Since I’d never take money from you, I suppose I’ll have to think of some other way you can pay me back.” Her cheeks heated as she stared at him, and he wanted to kiss his own ass. She’d responded to his sexual innuendo as one would expect, only he shouldn’t have made it in the first place.
“Scoot up there against the headboard.”
Annie did as she was told, and Ryan sat down next to her with the first-aid box and ice pack. He used the hand sanitizer then put the ice pack beneath her knee and said, “Rest your leg on that.”
Annie let her leg down on the bed on top of the ice pack. Ryan moved his hand, relishing the way her soft skin felt against his fingers.
He opened the first-aid kit next and found a packet of Neosporin. He opened it and then spread the ointment on a clean, white two-by-two piece of gauze. He pressed it to the cut on her leg, and she sucked in a breath.
“Did I hurt you?” he said, worried.
“No, it just stung a little. It feels fine now.”
Ryan put a piece of medical tape across the gauze and then took out the Ace wrap. “I’m going to start near your thigh because I don’t want to wrap it too tight on your knee and cut off your circulation, okay?”
Annie nodded.
Ryan took the rolled-up Ace wrap and slipped it beneath the lower part of her thigh. His hand trembled when he touched her, and he hoped Annie didn’t notice. He felt like a high school kid touching his first girl. He brought the wrap over the top of her leg, tucked it under the other side, then repeated the motions. Each time he lifted her thigh, touching her warm skin, his jeans got tighter. Annie watched his hands, riveted. Goose flesh scattered across her skin.
He wasn’t in denial anymore. He knew his touch did something to her, just like touching her did something to him. It wouldn’t be smart to do anything about it, yet it took every ounce of willpower he had to resist. Ryan looked up at her, just barely letting his gaze rest on her hardened nipples, visible even through the robe. “Are you cold?”
Annie sucked in a breath. “No, I’m—I’m fine.”
Ryan kept treating her leg, moving the ice pack when he reached her knee, then wrapping until he got to the top of her muscular calf. He was sad to see the end of the roll. Annie had gorgeous legs. Lightly toned and smooth. He wanted to explore the patch of skin behind her knee, and nibble on her cute little toes; the nails were currently painted a deep purple and reminded him of ripe berries. He settled for securing the wrap with another piece of tape, then slowly sliding his hands down her leg, thigh to calf, as if smoothing down the bandage.
“Good as new,” he told her.
She stared at him. Her breath was coming quicker now, and her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink. His gaze returned to her chest, currently concealed by her robe. He wondered how far down her body she blushed. What color her nipples were. That night on the phone—she’d said they were both pink and brown, but there were so many lovely possibilities. He wondered if she waxed or kept a tidy patch of hair at the top of her mound.
God, her thighs would be so pale. So creamy. And he bet she’d taste amazing. He bet—
“Thank you,” she said, causing his gaze to jerk back up to her face. She drank down the rest of her champagne. “You’re a good friend.”
Her hand trembled slightly.
“Would you like more?”
She smoothed down her hair. “No, I better not stumble into the police station drunk,” she said with a smile. “Let me fix myself up, and I’ll be ready to go. Are you going to change?”
He grinned. “Why? Embarrassed to be seen with me now that I’m the only messy one?”
“Never,” she said. “Besides, the women always did like you wet. Remember how many girls you picked up at the pool the summer before college? I thought you were going to set some kind of world record.”
He frowned as he watched her walk to the bathroom. “Right.” Had she deliberately brought up other women because she’d caught him staring at her? “If I recall, plenty of girls flirted with me, but they never stuck around for long once they knew they couldn’t compete with my best girl.”
She paused at the bathroom door then looked over her shoulder at him. “That’s sweet, but you forget the day you ditched me for Angie Florentine the last day the pool was open.”
“What? I never ditched you.”
She smiled almost sadly. “Yeah. You did. But it’s okay. I’ve always known how much I mean to you. I’m your best friend, right?”
“Right,” he said softly.
But she’d already walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Chapter Nine
After Ryan changed, they took a cab to the police station. On the way, Annie called and canceled her credit cards. She had no money. She didn’t even have an ID. Her naughty weekend in Vegas had turned into a disaster.
She almost started crying again, but she tamped her emotions down. She wasn’t going to wallow in them and let some slimeball ruin her trip.
After she finished canceling the cards, she called her sister. “Hey, Janie!”
“Hey, Sis, what’s up? I thought you’d be in Vegas by now.”
“I am,” she told her. Then she told Janie what had happened. “Don’t tell Dad. He’ll just worry.”
“Oh man, Annie, I’m so sorry. You’re okay, though?”
“Yeah. But I need a favor.”
“Sure, anything.”
“I need you to dip into that joint savings account we have and wire me some money.”
Janie and Annie’s grandmother had left them some money that the girls had put into a savings account that either of them could access. They called it “rainy day money.” This day certainly qualified.
“Sure, no problem. Where should I send it?”
Annie told her sister how much she wanted and the name of the hotel to wire it to. “Send it to Ryan Hennessey so he can use his ID to pick it up.”
“Uh, wait a minute. Ryan went with you?” Her sister knew exactly how Annie felt about her best friend. She constantly urged her to tell Ryan before it was too late and he got serious with someone else. Annie knew exactly what Janie was thinking by her tone of voice.
“He sort of invited himself along.”
Ryan smiled.
“That’s a good sign,” Janie said.
“We’ll talk later,” she told her sister, unsure if Ryan could hear Janie or not.
“Right. Talk about Ryan later. As usual.”
“Bye, Janie. I love you. Thank you.”
“I love you, too. You’re welcome. Be safe.”
“I will. Kiss Dad for me.”
After she hung up, Ryan said, “I would have lent you some money.”
Annie put her hand on his. “I know you would have, but you’ve done enough.”
An hour later, after giving her statement, Annie and Ryan headed back to the hotel. Luckily, the money her sister sent had arrived, so they stopped to pick it up. As
they turned away from the counter, Annie ran smack into a wide chest. It felt like hitting a wall.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” she said. The man she’d run into was extremely handsome, with blondish-brown hair and light green eyes. He had an elegant build that was still plenty sexy. And his smile was pure bad boy.
“It was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” The man turned to look at Ryan and smiled. “Ryan?”
“Max! Great to see you. Annie, this is Max Dalton. He and his brother, Rhys, are friends of Jamie Whitcomb’s. And now we’re friends, too. We met at Eric’s bachelor party.”
“Ah.” Annie thought about the bachelor party. About how wild it must have been. About how handsome Max was. Not as handsome as Ryan, but given all the hot men at that bachelor party—including Jamie, Cole, Luke, Gabe and Eric, all friends of Ryan’s—the women must have been dropping around them like flies. “Nice to meet you, Max.”
“A pleasure to meet you, as well. I’m sorry for being so clumsy. I had my mind on work, and it’s been a busy day.”
“Max has the coolest job ever. He’s a professional magician, and he just opened a theater. Jamie told us all about it. Said it was amazing and is booked solid for the next few weeks.”
“That’s incredible,” Annie said. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you. So what are you two doing here? Sneaking off to The Little White Wedding Chapel, perhaps?”
Ryan and Annie both laughed nervously.
“We’re just on a little vacation,” Ryan told him.
Max reached into his coat and pulled out two tickets. He handed them to Annie and said, “As an apology for my clumsiness. I hope you don’t already have plans.”
Annie looked at the tickets. They were VIP passes to his magic show that evening. Annie squealed with delight and said, “If I did, I’d cancel them. Thank you so much!”
Ryan grinned. “She was just saying how she wanted to see a magic show earlier. You just made her day.”
“Great,” Max said. “Will you be able to make it, Ryan?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Then I’ll see the two of you tonight. My fiancée, Grace, won’t be able to make it, but you’ll be sitting with Rhys and Melina, and I’ll see you after the show.”
“I can’t wait,” Annie told him excitedly.
After he walked away, Annie said, “It’s funny how one thing leads to another.”
“What do you mean?” Ryan asked her.
“Well, if I hadn’t gotten mugged, we probably wouldn’t have been here to bump into Max and we wouldn’t have VIP tickets to a fabulous sold-out show. So I guess that’s proof that there’s always a reason to be optimistic.”
Ryan glanced at his watch. “The show doesn’t start for a few hours, but why don’t we get ready? We can do a few things beforehand.”
They went to their separate rooms to change clothes. Annie unwrapped her leg, smoothed the remaining scrapes with lotion, then chose another new dress that she’d bought specifically for Vegas. This one was a form-fitting jade-green mini that covered her breasts completely in front but left her back open to the waist. She wore a pair of sandals with a small heel. She curled her hair along the bottom and let it hang loose around her shoulders. She applied her makeup carefully, adding a touch of purple eye shadow that made her eyes look slightly golden.
She’d just finished getting ready when she heard a knock on her door.
Ryan’s eyes widened when he saw her. “Wow. You look amazing, Annie.”
She smiled and said, “Thank you. So do you.” Ryan was wearing a nice pair of black slacks and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt that looked so soft Annie wanted to touch it. But the truth was, she always wanted to touch Ryan.
“You want to hit the slots or something?”
“We could do that,” he said. “Or we could take a gondola ride at The Venetian. I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Really? Isn’t that supposed to be, like, for couples or something?”
“It’s a ride, that’s all. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Okay, then maybe we can hit some slots,” she said. “Since we ran into Max, I’m feeling like maybe my luck has changed.”
Ryan grinned. “You get to spend the weekend in Vegas with me. How much luckier can you get?”
Oh, there were so many ways. If only he felt something for her besides friendship.
They walked down to The Venetian. It was quite a walk, but it put them at the halfway point on the way to their show, and it was a really nice day. They walked through the casino and took the escalators to the second floor. The ceilings were painted, and the lighting was soft. It was like being on a romantic street in Venice, strolling along beneath a summer sky dotted with big, white puffy clouds.
Annie sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong,” she said with a smile. “This is amazing. I’ve always dreamed of having my honeymoon in Venice.”
“With anyone in particular?”
“Just Mr. Perfect,” she laughed.
“So me, then?”
She looked away, fearing her heart would be in her eyes, when he suddenly hooked his arm through hers. “Come along, Mrs. Hennessey. We’ve got a honeymoon to enjoy.”
They headed toward the ticket booth in the main part of the shopping center. Ryan turned to her and said, “Would you rather do the indoor or the outdoor ride?”
Annie shrugged. “I’ve never been on either, so I don’t know.”
Ryan asked the girl in the booth which one was better.
“They’re both great,” she said. “The indoor one is a tiny bit longer, about five minutes, I think.”
“Okay. I’ll take two for that one,” he told her.
“Private boat or shared?” the girl asked.
“Private,” he said with a grin.
The girl gave him the tickets, and Ryan took Annie’s hand, leading her down another escalator, where they got in line for the gondola rides. A boat floated by with an older couple that looked pretty bored. The next one that went by had a younger couple in it. They were locked in a passionate kiss.
Annie tried to imagine her and Ryan on their real honeymoon. They’d have locked themselves in their honeymoon suite, only coming out long enough to eat, take romantic walks, and then take their gondola ride and listen to the sweet serenade of their boatman. She pictured them sitting in the gondola, her between his legs, leaning her head back against his chest. She imagined his strong arms around her and the brush of his lips against her neck. Once they were back in their room, they would lock in a passionate embrace and—
“Hey, Earth to Annie…”
“Oh shoot, I’m sorry.”
“What were you thinking about?” Ryan asked her.
“Just daydreaming,” she said. “Look, it’s our turn. Let’s get this honeymoon started.”
Ryan held her hand as they stepped into the white gondola, carved and lined in gold with intricate detail. They sat closely side by side. The gondolier introduced himself as Marco. He didn’t look Italian, but as they started down the canal, he belted out an Italian opera that was so beautiful it almost brought her to tears.
As he sang he rowed them through St. Mark’s Square, past the lovely shops and cafés and under walking bridges where fascinated tourists would stop and listen. Marco’s voice was beautiful, but he sang in Italian, and Annie’s romantic and curious mind couldn’t help but wonder what he sang about.
She turned toward Ryan, and their thighs brushed. Annie felt a surge of heat ripple through her body.
“What do you think he’s saying?”
“I know exactly what he’s saying.”
“Really? So you have a secret ability to understand Italian that you’ve been hiding from me?”
“Nope. I just know what he’s singing about.”
“So tell me.”
“He’s singing about a girl with long pretty hair that has highlights tha
t shine like gold in the moonlight.”
Annie grinned and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Go on.”
“He says that the reflection of the moon on the water is hardly noticeable because her eyes shine brighter, like precious stones.”
Annie closed her eyes, relaxing against him and still smiling. “What else?”
Ryan put his lips close to her ear, sending chills running down her spine and arms. “He’s saying she should come lie down with him.”
“Why?” Annie breathed out in a whisper of her own. He shifted his position slightly, his arm brushing against one of her cold, hard nipples. The tingle that had settled between her thighs turned into a rush of moisture, and she automatically pressed her legs together.
“She’s beautiful, and he wants them to be alone together. He wants to have her all to himself. He wants to make her forget the rest of the world exists.”
Annie took a deep breath. “What would he do…if he had her alone?”
Lowering his voice even more and speaking even closer so that she could hear him over Marco’s sweet crooning, he said, “He would make such passionate love to her that time would stand still and the world would stop turning.”
Slowly, still keeping her eyes closed, Annie turned her face back toward Ryan and pressed her lips to his. Immediately, his hot tongue snaked into her mouth, and his fingers brushed her breast. Her body was on fire, and Ryan was the only one who could put out the flames.
The kiss lasted for several minutes before Annie pulled back. Ryan looked out of breath, his cheeks flushed. He stared at her, desire and obvious confusion in his eyes. God, of course he was confused. She’d gotten too caught up in the fantasy of being his wife, and that’s what she told him.
“Are you sure that’s all it was?” he said. “Getting caught up in a fantasy?”
Annie, embarrassed and appalled that she’d let herself lose control, said, “Of course. What else could it be? You were saying those romantic things, and Marco was singing in his beautiful voice and… Like I said, I’m sorry.”
Ryan cupped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up toward his. He pressed a sweet, close-mouthed kiss on her lips. “Don’t be.” He grinned. “Too bad, though. That had to be in the top five of the best kisses I’ve ever had.”