by Sue MacKay
‘You’re right.’ Did properly mean more kisses? If so, bring it on.
I am toast. Burnt toast.
Falling for Mac is a huge mistake. He’s been married, is still grieving the first one. And those are only his points against a relationship. She hadn’t the energy to drag up all hers. They’d spoil the weekend—if she hadn’t already done that by kissing Mac within moments of walking in here. ‘I’ll change out of my heels. That sand isn’t going to be as forgiving as the promenade at Darling Harbour.’
Mac became busy, unzipping his suit bag and withdrawing two suits to hang in the wardrobe. Shirts followed, jeans and chinos. He hadn’t skimped when it came to packing. ‘Better hang that dress up,’ he commented.
‘Good thinking.’ She hadn’t gone to the trouble of getting it pressed to just leave it lying over the back of a chair in a full-length carry bag. Like Mac, she’d unpack everything now. Anything to keep her distracted from Mr Diversion who was quickly becoming Mr Attraction. Ah ha, could be why he was so intent on emptying his bag too. ‘Did you leave anything behind?’ she asked when he began to fill a drawer with tee shirts and a jersey and everything a man could need when isolated on an island for a month.
Mac shrugged. ‘There was room in my bag so I kept putting clothes in until I couldn’t any more.’
‘You weren’t a Boy Scout, then?’
‘No. I don’t like being caught short and having to make do.’ He looked over at her bag, nearly as large as his, and shook his head at her. ‘You weren’t one either?’
‘As if. Did you leave any hangers for me?’ Hotels never provided enough.
‘One or two.’ Mac grinned. ‘Want a water before we hit the beach?’ Obviously over that awkward moment.
‘I’d better.’ Once they reached the bar it wouldn’t be water she’d be drinking. Her brothers would make a beeline for the drinks department and line them up as soon as they’d dumped their bags in their rooms. No fussing about hanging clothes for them, though these days their wives didn’t let them get away with such behaviour quite so easily.
Mac was opening two small bottles from the fridge, looking relaxed. Looking as if he were on holiday, not in the middle of a family occasion where he knew no one. She’d be uptight and fearful of making mistakes if it were her. Taking a closer look at him, Kelli couldn’t find any hint of stress or worry. No, that heart-stopping face was open and happy, so unlike the doctor she worked with. Yes, her heart was doing the stop-start thing as she gazed at him.
Snatching up a light jersey to sling around her shoulders in case the breeze turned chilly, Kelli slugged back some water and aimed for the door. ‘Let’s go.’ The room had become airless and small. At least the beach was wide and long and there’d be lots of fresh air coming in on the light sou’wester.
* * *
Mac strolled along the beach, his hands jammed into his pockets, his stance relaxed, his mind anything but quiet. Kelli did this to him. Stirred him up something shocking, tossing possibilities of happiness at him, then knocking reality back in place with her honesty.
Beside him she was chirping away non-stop about incidentals: one of her brothers’ passion for rugby, the colour of her outfit for tonight’s dinner, her mother’s penchant for arriving exactly on time for everything. Kelli was nervous, and it was becoming contagious. Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he said, ‘I am house-trained: don’t pee on the carpet or hoick my food back up under the table.’
She flipped around so she was walking backwards, annoyance fighting with laughter in her expression. ‘I am acting over the top, aren’t I?’
‘Totally. Why the nerves? You were okay up until we got here.’
And you kissed me in our suite.
Was that the cause of her jumpiness? That kiss had been unexpected, and the perfect antidote to his nervousness. It had loosened the tension that had begun gripping him since they’d gathered with her brothers at the helipad. Not that he had any difficulty with meeting new people and sharing a weekend at a special occasion with them, but the lie he and Kelli were living had hit home when he saw Andy wrap his sister up in a bear hug and get swiped for crushing her new blouse. Family stuff that spoke volumes about love and understanding and didn’t need a lie sitting bang in the middle.
As a kid he’d never minded being the only child because it had meant he’d got all his mother’s attention. Not that there was a lot going spare after she’d seen to his father’s demands. Watching Kelli with her lot, he felt a pang of envy. If he’d had siblings he might’ve coped a little better with losing Cherie. Not gone off into solitude in an attempt to shut down his feelings. Something he’d achieved all too well. Now it was difficult letting go of the restraints he’d placed on those emotions.
Not when you’re around Kelli.
And that was the problem with being here.
Impervious to where his thoughts had gone, Kelli was answering his question in some depth. He focused and tried to catch up.
She was saying, ‘You’re already fitting in. It’s like they’ve always known you, but don’t be fooled. The boys will test you, make sure you’re good enough for me. Hardly fair, considering.’
‘You want my take on that?’ When she nodded, her teeth nibbling her bottom lip, he ignored the cuteness and continued. ‘It’s good they do that, shows how much they care. And for the record, I can handle whatever they throw at me.’
‘You’re as cocky as them.’
He winced. Bad word. While his body might appear relaxed there was a lot of tension in certain areas that needed relief—and that wasn’t going to happen any time soon, if at all. He hadn’t come here with the intention of becoming intimate with Kelli. But if it was on offer how would he be able to turn her down? ‘You reckon?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘Watch out!’
Too late. Still walking backwards, she hadn’t seen the piece of driftwood in the sand. Mac grabbed her before she could trip and fall to the ground. Holding her again. Twice since they’d arrived. His hands burned from the feel of her skin under his palms. Other parts of his anatomy tightened. ‘I’m going to sleep on the deck tonight.’
‘What?’ Cobalt eyes locked on him.
Showed how thrown he was, saying that out loud. Now that he had, he might as well put it all out there. ‘If you think I can share that huge bed with you and not touch you, then, lady, you ain’t got a clue.’
Kelli stared and stared. The air cracked with heat between them. And still she stared. Then she did that lifting-up-on-her-toes thing and he knew what was coming, and was incapable of stopping her. Didn’t even want to.
Those full lips he pretended not to fantasise about brushed his mouth softly, left to right, and her tongue did a slow lap of his lips. A groan ripped out of him. He had to hold her close, to kiss her senseless, to feel her body pulsing against his.
His hands found the edge of her blouse and tugged to make room to slide up underneath, to caress that hot, silky skin. Her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples pebbles against his pecs. Driving him insane with need. Tipping him further into the mire he did not want to be in. Yet had to be in. It was unavoidable. Kelli did that to him.
Her arms were around his neck, keeping him close as that sweet, tormenting mouth worked magic on him. Kisses weren’t meant to knock your knees out from under you.
‘Oi, you two, this is a public beach,’ Phil called out from a balcony nearby.
Kelli spun out of his hold, her hands caressing as they slid from his neck. ‘Great. Now there’ll be no end to the teasing.’ Her forefinger ran slowly over her lips, touching where his lips had been, as though sealing in the kiss.
Mac fought the urge to take her hand and draw that finger into his mouth, to brush his tongue up and down the length. He won, but only just. His hands remained at his sides in tight fists as he st
rived for nonchalance. To be seen in a horny state in front of Kelli’s brothers would only give her more grief and lead to a weekend of hell. In the nicest possible way.
He ground his teeth and banged on a smile. False, fake, whatever; it was a smile that hopefully said, ‘I’m here for your sister and don’t dare interfere,’ in case Phil could read him across the fifty metres of sand that separated them. Mac nudged Kelli. ‘Game face, remember. We’ve got to act the part or everyone will know.’
Kelli flipped her head back to glare at him, a big, fat question in her eyes. ‘That kiss wasn’t genuine? You were role playing?’ Hurt darkened her words.
Say yes, and he wouldn’t even get the deck to sleep on. Say no, and there was a possibility he’d be raising hope in Kelli for something he wasn’t prepared to contemplate. Rock or hard place? Try honesty. Then buy a shovel to get out of the mess that’d get him into. ‘I only do genuine kisses.’
The glare softened, but didn’t completely vanish.
Mac leapt further into the mire. ‘When we kiss I forget everything sane and sensible.’
Her mouth dropped open. ‘Oh.’ That familiar red shade coloured her cheeks and she looked away, out to sea.
Bet she wasn’t noticing the water or the boats buzzing past.
Why had he told her she distracted him so much? Because he’d been distracted. Why else? Thing was, what would she do with that gem of information? Toss him off the deck, or send him home when the helicopter returned shortly?
‘Mac, I shouldn’t have kissed you. Both times. It’s my fault we’re going to get stick from the family.’
He was off the hook. If he let her take the blame. ‘It took both of us to make that kiss so hot. If I hadn’t been totally immersed in kissing you I’d have remembered what we agreed to.’ It was impossible not to lose himself in her kisses. This was like coming out of a drought and soaking up all available water to the point of saturation. Doubt there was any such thing as too many of Kelli’s kisses, but he had to try. ‘Let’s aim to keep ourselves under control. A little bit anyway.’
‘Got any suggestions on how to go about that? Apart from one of us moving to a different resort for the weekend?’ The words were sharp but there was confusion in Kelli’s beautiful eyes. ‘I don’t understand. It’s as though when we’re away from work there’s nothing keeping us apart. Like when we were in Sydney.’
Don’t mention Sydney.
That night was etched into his brain, right at the front where there was no avoiding it. ‘Unfinished business?’ Ouch. ‘We didn’t want that night to finish.’ Until he’d wised up outside her door and left to go to his room alone.
Relief pushed aside whatever else Kelli had been thinking. ‘You’re right. We’ve had one amazing time together so naturally we want to do it again. But we can’t. We work together now. Imagine how we’d deal with spending eight hours a day in the same department if we repeated ourselves? It would be next to impossible. I’ll stop kissing you.’
At least one of them was being rational. Shame it wasn’t him. ‘You’re right.’
He wanted to risk messing with his job? To take Kelli to bed and put up some more memories, then have to see her day in, day out, so close he would know her scent, her voice, her everything? ‘Come on. Let’s head to the bar and join the rest of your family.’
No amount of challenges or teasing from those guys could be as difficult as this conversation. There were no answers to half the things they were talking or thinking about. He was not in the market for romance. Could not bear the thought of losing someone else even if he had love to spare. Somehow over the coming hours and days he’d have to dig deep and find that remote place he favoured so much. The place that kept his heart safe and his head on the job, not on a lovely, sexy, fun woman.
‘The helicopter’s back. That means everyone from my family’s here. And Jason.’
‘Can’t wait to meet him,’ Mac muttered. Couldn’t wait to show him that Kelli was unavailable. For the next few days at any rate.
And then what? When the wedding was done and they’d all returned to Auckland City what would happen between him and Kelli? Would Monday night be the big announcement night?
Hey, guys, Kelli and I are calling our engagement off. See you around some time.
Mac shuddered.
Kelli nudged him with an elbow. Even that was a hot move. ‘You realise this is when we break the news of our engagement to everybody outside my immediate family? Mum will be expecting it, and Dad will have got the champagne ready.’
‘How did your mother take the news?’ Kelli had sent him a text to say her father had done as he’d said and spilled the beans. She hadn’t said anything else and he didn’t know how to read that.
‘She’s all over the place with it. Excited to have another wedding to plan for. Believe me, she gets her thrills from organising events and people. But then she rang me and demanded to know why you and not Jason, and gave me the low-down on all his good points. I can recite them off by heart. Then her next call was to ask when we want to get married. How many people we would be inviting.’
‘It’s going to break her heart when we pull out.’
‘No, it won’t. She’ll carry on, changing one groom for the other. Win, win. Or should that be lose, lose?’
‘You’re nibbling your bottom lip again.’ Cute and spoke volumes of her distress. ‘Is it okay to hold hands while we walk in to join everyone?’ He wanted to give her security, show he was on her side, at her side, had no regrets about volunteering to be here for her. ‘Or is that a bit like kissing? Too much contact?’
‘We’re going to drink to our engagement. We’re meant to hold hands.’ Nibble, nibble.
He wanted to kiss those lips, gently possess them so she’d stop gnawing. He couldn’t, not if he wanted to keep the fire roaring through him under control—at least a little bit.
CHAPTER SEVEN
‘BILLY, LEANNE—THIS is Mac Taylor. I’m sure you’ve heard about him by now.’ Kelli bit back on the excitement. If this moment had been for real she wouldn’t have been able to contain herself.
Mac and Billy were shaking hands, her brother giving her fiancé a thorough going-over.
‘Give him a break.’ Kelli elbowed Billy.
Leanne gave her infectious laugh. ‘Mac, you and I have to talk about the Barnett crowd and how they like to flex their muscles around outsiders. I have a few tips that’ll help you contain them.’
Mac gave Leanne a peck on her cheek. ‘What are you doing now?’
‘About to sip a drop of champagne to celebrate your engagement.’ Leanne didn’t sound the least put out that this was supposed to be exclusively her night.
But Kelli had to make doubly sure she knew she hadn’t deliberately tried to spoil her fun. ‘I’m really sorry this got out, Leanne.’ Sort of true, though no point going through the whole deal if no one knew. ‘We don’t want to take anything from your special weekend.’
‘Believe me, I’m glad some of the heat’s being transferred off us. I’m already feeling overwhelmed, and it’s only going to get worse. What if I botch the ceremony? Trip up, or get my words all wrong?’
Kelli slipped her arm through Leanne’s. ‘Who cares? This is all about you and Billy. He loves you and if you say something not in the script he isn’t going to mind. Perfect’s highly overrated and boring. Just relax and enjoy the weekend. It’s your wedding, not a movie set with a tyrant for a director.’
Leanne sniffed and squeezed her arm tight against Kelli’s. ‘Thanks, sister-in-law-to-be. You’re right, but it’s hard to be calm when everyone’s rushing around asking have you got this, done that, ready for it all.’
‘Go hug Billy,’ and get him away from interrogating Mac. She nudged Leanne gently. ‘He’s your rock, and understands what you’re going through.’
/> ‘You know the right thing to say when people are in a state, don’t you?’ Mac was back at her side, none the worse for having Billy check him out.
‘I try.’ Something she’d learned as a youngster dealing with the bullies, and had never stopped doing.
Loud voices and laughter came from the reception area that ran the length of the bar room. Mac stared across the heads. ‘I take it that’s your mother?’
Kelli didn’t need to look. ‘That’s Mum in full organisational mode. She’ll be counting heads, checking who’s still in their suite and not here for the first glass of champagne.’ Pride filled her. Mum was good at this sort of thing.
‘You’re a little like that, though a lot quieter,’ Mac commented. ‘There’s no doubting you’re related. She’s a very good-looking woman.’
The air hissed out of her lungs. How was she supposed to walk away from this man next week? ‘You could charm a rattlesnake if you tried,’ she gasped.
‘Never had the opportunity.’ That was all Mac had time for before his hand was grabbed by her mother.
‘You must be Mac. Welcome to our weekend.’ Mum was doing a fast but thorough perusal of Kelli’s fiancé.
‘Thank you, Mrs Barnett. I’m happy to meet you all.’
‘Then you’re a brave man,’ her mother said. ‘Warning, drop the Mrs Barnett fast. I’m Trish.’ Her eyes were still watching him too closely.
Feeling sorry for Mac, Kelli interceded. ‘Did you get the crayfish sorted?’
Of course she would have, but for once Kelli was all out of things to say. Having Mac here as her fiancé was making her belly wind tight, and tighter. This was not how she’d ever thought she’d be announcing to the world she’d be getting married. The fact it was a lie only made it worse, and she wanted to call a halt, to tell everyone she’d made a mistake and wipe the untruth away. But once it had been put out there it would never go away. Even when she announced the engagement was off there would be comments and commiserations.
‘Hey, Kelli, how are you? I hear you’ve got some news to share.’