by Scott, Lisa
He cursed under his breath. He ached for her, literally. It hurt to be near her. But he resisted even the urge to kiss her forehead. He needed to get out of this room. He had to get away from her. She didn’t want him, and he’d have to find a way to stop wanting her so badly.
He slipped out the door into the night, his breaths coming fast and heavy. What was wrong with him? It was probably just the stupid bet, right? He had something to prove. Was that it?
He trudged to the Tiki bar outside the hotel, next to the pool. He needed a drink to help settle his emotions and certain body parts. These feelings frightened him. This wasn’t part of his plan.
He sat down and ordered a beer, turning the bottle round and round, thinking about Kate. How could he be concentrating on her full lips and that little freckle right next to her left ear when he had to figure out what to do about the baby? She’d been a good distraction from that at least. He asked the bartender for another drink and tipped back his second beer.
“Don’t you look lonely?”
Teague looked up as Simone settled on the barstool next to him in a very tight, very short, green sundress. He knew that was her favorite color, the one she thought played up her eyes. She crossed her legs and bobbed her foot so that the tip of her shoe grazed his leg.
He rubbed his eyes. “Kate’s tired. Jet lag and the time difference knocked her out. It’s tough when you come out here from the east coast.”
“Right, some little hick town in Nowhere, North Carolina?” She squinted her eyes at him seductively, just like she did whenever a camera came her way. “This can’t be real, right? Is this some publicity stunt? Why do it now, right during the festival?” She flipped her long blond hair over one shoulder and lifted an eyebrow. “You can tell me. What’s the real deal?”
Polynesian music played in the background and the beer was leaving its buzz. Teague shrugged, trying to keep his voice even. “It is the real deal, Simone. I met a beautiful girl on the Internet and fell for her.”
She poked him in the chest with a pearly pink fingernail. “You don’t fall for anyone. You let me fall for you, then you walked out the door.” She popped open her sparkly silver clutch and fished out a cigarette.
Teague wrinkled his nose. “You started smoking again?”
Simone rolled her eyes. “I only stopped for you. I’ll stop again if you want.”
He grabbed a handful of macadamia nuts from the bar. “That’s why I like Kate. She doesn’t pretend to be who she’s not.” He tossed them in his mouth, enjoying the satisfying crunch.
Simone lit the cigarette, inhaled, and laughed out a plume of smoke. “Oh, please. She’s pretending to be whatever you want her to be. What do you think she wants from you? You think this could lead to love? How?” She shook her head and laughed. “You’re not fooling anyone. The photographers have a pool going to see when you two break up.” Those big, pouty lips of hers that had once begged to be bitten and nibbled like a plum looked like thick ridges of old rubber puckered around her cigarette.
Teague waved the smoke away, wishing he could do the same with her. “You know I don’t care what the press thinks.”
“You should. Stay with her too long and you’re going to ruin your street cred. Right now it’s amusing and different, shocking even. I’ll give you that. It’s gotten you a ton of press, but they’ll be over it soon enough.” She set her hand on his shoulder and leaned toward him until her nose was touching his cheek. Her breath smelled like menthol and olives.
He leaned back but she moved closer.
“Now, if you and I were to get back together, that would be something to talk about. We’re reunited at the festival, where our movie debuts. Cool, right? That’s what people expect.” She shrugged, a move that pushed her breasts together. Smiling, she paused, probably so he could take a good long look.
He turned from her and shook his head.
Her finger grazed his cheek, guiding him back to face her. “It would get tons of press for the film. Total career boost for us both.” She stubbed out her cigarette and set her hand on his knee. “And it would be fun. It was always fun with you.” A sapphire the size of the macadamia nuts he’d been eating glinted on her finger.
“Simone …” He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t even want to be talking to her.
Her eyes locked on his and stayed there, longer than any woman who wasn’t one-hundred-percent certain of her drop-dead-gorgeous assets would dare. “Teague, I can tell you have … needs that aren’t being met. And you know I can meet those needs.” Her voice was perfectly sultry and smooth, rolling off her tongue from the depths of her throat, like a siren luring a sailor to shipwreck. “You really look like you could use a good romp. Whaddaya say?” She lifted an eyebrow.
He swallowed hard and looked at her manicured hand lightly massaging his thigh, moving higher and higher. He tipped his head to get the bartender’s attention. “Check, please.”
Chapter 9
KATE FELT LIKE A kid at a carnival gazing at the bright lights of the rides, only she was staring at the pastel dawn sky. Pinks and purples like she’d never seen streaked the dusty-blue canvas. The fact that she was up at five a.m. checking out a Hawaiian sunrise had nothing to do with Teague not coming back to the bungalow, the dog. She burrowed her toes in the sand and leaned back, enjoying the view, pushing the niggling thoughts out of her head. Would’ve been easier to make the sun go back down.
It might be the crack of dawn in Hawaii, but it was eleven a.m. back home, so she decided to catch up on a few calls. She went back inside, grabbed her phone and found twenty missed messages—two from Dina. What a jerk! Does this mean UR coming home now? Kate’s belly did a flop as she advanced the next message. If it makes U feel better Simone looks trampy in the pics on the net.
The phone slipped from Kate’s hand. He must have been out with Simone last night and the press got a picture. She’d been so foolish, letting a tiny little hunk of her heart think maybe, just maybe, Teague felt something in those kisses. She’d caught him looking at her. He’d whispered her name last night when he carried her to bed while she pretended to sleep. She’d thought maybe …
She sank onto the bed. Could she just go home now? Teague probably wouldn’t give her any more money if she left, and then she’d lose Mama’s house. A summer at Scalia’s would’ve been a killer on her feet, but it would’ve been much easier on her heart. No amount of money was worth this torment.
She started repacking her suitcase with all the wildly expensive sundresses, gorgeous tops, and shorts. She tossed in the makeup, the lipsticks, and eye shadows that cost more than she made in a week at school. She put in her gold bikini and picked up her sandals. She snorted and shook her head. They really weren’t hers, were they? Neither was the suitcase. None of this was. It was definitely time to pack away this silly, silly dream.
The bungalow door opened. Teague stood in the doorway, wearing the same clothes from the day before.
Kate ground her teeth and threw a sandal at him.
He shielded his face and ducked. “Wow, wrong side of the bed, huh?” He picked up her sandal. “Lose a shoe, Cinderella?”
“And which side of the bed did you wake up on, Prince Not-So-Charming? Or did you two not even sleep?” She rubbed her temples and cursed the sunlight streaming through the door. Then she tossed the other shoe at him.
He caught it and set it down. “What are you talking about?”
Rolling her eyes, she growled the words. “I got a text from back home telling me that pictures of you and Simone last night are all over the Internet.” She spread her arms wide in case he didn’t understand exactly how all over the Internet she meant.
He moved over to her, standing much too close. “What if I did hook up with her? As I recall, you’re done with men, you’d never go out with someone like me, and you couldn’t get me out of here fast enough last night.” He crossed his arms, waiting for her response.
Kate’s stomach dropped. She took a step
back but he gently took her arm. She jerked it away. “You’re right. I don’t care,” she stammered. “It’s just humiliating to have the entire world know you two hooked up last night. I’m going to be labeled as the poor, pathetic farm girl Teague used to get back at Simone.” Her hands curled into fists. “It’s called discretion—ever heard of it?”
He let out the sigh of a man losing his patience. “Listen, I did see Simone last night at the bar, but we didn’t hook up. She suggested it. Put her hand on my thigh, talked about what great publicity it would be for our movie. But I left her at the bar.”
“Right. You left Simone Peters at a bar. Simone Peters and her grabby hands.” She pointed an accusing finger at him. “Someone got a picture of you guys together.” Kate’s throat was tight and she hated feeling so jealous. She had no right to be.
“Alright. Let’s see the evidence.” He walked over to his bags, grabbed his laptop and settled on the bed. Kate sat next to him. He flipped it open and launched an Internet search. He clicked on a link, and Kate’s stomach clenched. Simone and all that wild, kinky blond hair appeared to be nuzzling his cheek, with her hand on his leg. They looked quite cozy, like she was getting ready to eat him with a knife and fork and a dollop of cream.
Kate strapped her chest with both arms. “Looks like together to me. In fact, you could put that picture in Webster’s next to ‘together.’”
He rolled his eyes. “Damn photographers. They’re everywhere. Like I said, she proposed it. And I said no, approximately three seconds after this picture was taken.” He crossed his arms, too, and looked at her.
Kate popped up from the bed and planted her hands on her hips. “If you weren’t with Simone, then where have you been?”
The words hit her like the eight a.m. Greyhound bus that rolled through Willowdale every Thursday morning. How many times had her mother said that to George? And here she was, repeating history. With a guy she wasn’t even dating, wasn’t even kissing for real. Crossing the room, she sank onto the couch and studied her feet. The red nail polish was chipping off her toes.
Rubbing his jaw, Teague followed her to the couch and sat down. He dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. “I can’t tell you what I was doing. But I wasn’t with Simone, or anyone else for that matter. I couldn’t sleep … I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I didn’t want to wake you.” His leg was touching hers, thigh to thigh.
She looked at him. He appeared sincerely miserable. If he’d been doing the horizontal boogie, he hadn’t enjoyed it. But how could she trust him? He was an actor. It’d be awful tough to fake the stubble on his cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes, though. “Does this have to do with the reason you were in Willowdale?”
He chuckled in a way that didn’t sound funny at all. “Oh, it’s got everything to do with Willowdale.”
Kate steeled herself. “Does it involve a woman?” She smoothed her hands down her thighs. “Do you want to talk about it?
He shook his head. “It’s not about a woman, and I don’t want to talk about it. But I do want my pretend girlfriend to forgive me. I’ll be more careful. The last thing I want to do is embarrass or hurt you.” He leaned his head back on the couch and smiled at her. “Please don’t leave. I like you here with me. Stay.”
Stay. That one word packed one heck of a punch. It sent a warm tingle through Kate. Actually, it was more like a hot flood of screaming, writhing, desperate, panting need than a tingle. Which wasn’t surprising since she’d gone through several calendars since she’d last had sex. Did wanting to have sex with him mean she was falling for him? No. No, ma’am, it did not. Falling for him meant her heart was involved and it certainly was not.
So, sex yes, heart no. But still, she didn’t want to be used. She looked down at the ring he’d given her and ran the tip of her finger across the big pearl. It was like Teague was two different men. Sweet and kind, but then brash and closed off. “I’ll stay here … with Eugene.”
He closed his eyes. “He’s a geek.”
“I like Eugene.” She leaned against him and all those muscles and set her head on his shoulder. It was a nice shoulder. “I like him a lot.” Her eyelids drooped closed like drowsy shades and she tipped up her chin, longing for a kiss, waiting for his mouth to meet hers. The way he’d licked her lips the night before made her belly quiver just thinking of it. Nasty man. She hung there for a moment, waiting for him to do it again. Waiting … waiting …
“Eugene?” She opened her eyes. “Teague?”
His mouth was open, his breathing deep and rhythmic with a slight, rattling snore.
Kate slapped her hands on her thighs. Classic! I make my move, and he falls asleep. She closed her eyes and shook her head, cursing her luck, worse than Marge Graham on Bingo night. That poor woman never won, no matter how many rabbit’s feet she spread out in front of her.
Kate watched him doze. The hard edges of his face had softened. There was a vulnerability to him she hadn’t seen when he was awake. He looked younger and somehow breakable. This big, hard man seemed like someone she should pet, like an antsy dog that just needed someone to love him, but was frightened of being kicked. But how could that be? Teague could have anyone or anything he wanted. Why did he look so lonely when he didn’t have his T-Rex mask on?
She watched him for a while, commanding herself not to touch him. So she grabbed a book, crossed the room, and flopped on the bed to keep as much distance as possible between her and the man she’d bored to sleep.
DINA SLUMPED BACK on the couch and closed her laptop after reading all the gossip swirling around Teague and Simone. Kate wouldn’t be able to help her. Not now. George had left that morning, and who knew when he’d be back? Kate would be so mad when she found out what he was up to.
She picked up her cell, took a deep breath and dialed the number she’d been dodging for months. “Mitch? It’s Dina. We need to talk.”
He said nothing, and she was sure he was going to hang up. “Um, Shelley is over right now, do you think you can call back later?”
Ugh. He was still with his new girlfriend. “It’s really, really important.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Okay. I’ll be there soon.”
SHE FROZE WHEN the doorbell rang, but she had to get this over with. When she opened the door, Mitch looked straight at her belly and turned white. “Wow, you got really big.”
She pushed him. “Shut up!”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “No, I just mean before you just looked chubby, now you look pregnant.”
She knocked his arm away. “Shut up!”
He sighed. “Why don’t I come in and stop talking.”
She stepped aside and trudged back to the couch, plopping down with a sigh.
“So, what did you need to talk about that’s so important?” he asked.
She closed her eyes, took a breath and said, “Yes, you were right, the baby is yours, and I’m not sure what to do.” She opened one eye to see his reaction.
His mouth fell open and he shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth when I asked you? I could’ve been there for you. Now I’m with Shelley.”
She looked down at the thumbnail she’d already chewed to the quick. “I didn’t want us to be together just because of the baby. I didn’t want you to have to like me just for that.”
“So you pushed me away? You didn’t even give me a chance to get to know you.” Shaking his head, he leaned against the back of the chair next to the couch. That made his biceps bulge so Dina had to take a deep breath and refocus.
“I don’t want this baby growing up without a daddy, but that doesn’t mean we have to be together, like a couple. Obviously, since you’re with someone else already.” She chewed on her bottom lip, and the faint taste of her cherry lip gloss lingered on her tongue.
He scratched his head. “We’d only been dating a few weeks before you just stopped calling me back. Why call me now? Were you hoping to get back together or something?”
&nb
sp; She popped up from the couch and started pacing around the room. “No! A baby isn’t reason enough to get back together. I just thought …”
Mitch shrugged. “What? This is really confusing, Dina.”
She slapped her forehead. “We’re already fighting and we’re not even a couple.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Pressing his lips together in a thin line, he looked at her. “I just want to understand why you told me the baby wasn’t mine, and now, out of the blue, you’re telling me it is.”
“I don’t know. I just thought it was fair to tell you the truth.” Because I don’t have anybody else. “You don’t have to be part of this if you don’t want to. But do you?” She glanced up at him, not sure how she wanted him to answer that question.
He looked back without saying anything.
Dina’s stomach tumbled, and it had nothing to do with the baby.
Chapter 10
DESPERATE TO IGNORE the slumbering man on the couch, Kate tried to keep busy. She felt like a peeping tom creeping around the room while he slept—probably because she was thinking the same inappropriate thoughts a peeper would think; if peepers had a thing for hot, snoring, muscular men, that is.
It was well past noon and her tummy was rumbling, so she ordered room service. She decided to stay outside so the waiter wouldn’t wake Teague. And maybe that would give her some space from this man tormenting her even when he was unconscious.
She slipped out the door, but then realized she’d forgotten her hat and sunglasses. Ducking back inside, she fumbled in the dim room, sunblind. She bumped into a table by the door and swore under her breath. A pile of papers slid off the table onto the floor. Kate scooped them up and froze when she saw the notes scribbled on the top page.
$10,576 … George Riley … Willowdale Town Hall, 12 Main Street.