Orchids & Hurricane Kisses

by Stacy Eaton

  “But you’re okay?”

  “Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Because you found out your fiancée was pregnant with some other man’s baby and you walked out of a full church and disappeared. I had to call your travel agent to find out where the hell you went.”

  “I’m fine, Roan.”

  “Are you serious?”

  I laughed again. “Yes, I’m serious.”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “No, I haven’t had anything to drink yet today.”

  “Oh,” he grew silent, “but you’re alright?”

  “Roan, I appreciate you calling to check on me, but I’m fine. I actually met someone when I got here last night, and we’re getting ready to go have lunch.”

  “A woman?”

  “No, a porpoise. Yes, a woman.”

  “I was kind of joking when I told you to find a beach bunny.”

  “She’s not a beach bunny. She’s here on business.”

  He sounded concerned. “Do you want me to run her?”

  “No, Roan, take a freaking chill pill. I’m fine. How did things go after I left yesterday?”

  “Well, Autumn had a meltdown of epic proportions.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “Her parents were mortified but wanted everyone to enjoy the food. They took Autumn home, though, and didn’t stay, but a lot of other people did. We ate, danced, smashed cake in each other’s faces, and generally had a great time celebrating the fact that you didn’t get married.”

  “Glad you all got to enjoy all that hard work. I know Finley and Robin put a lot into that.”

  “They did. You’re really doing alright, bro?” Roan asked for the fourth time, and I heard something behind me. I turned to find Amy coming in the back door, and she winced and hesitated when she saw me on the phone. I waved her in and held my hand out to her. She came to me and stood between my legs, her hands on my shoulders, and I had the perfect view of her midriff as she’d tied my shirt into a halter and her abdomen was bare. I wanted to rub my face against her stomach as I had in the shower.

  “I’m doing better than alright, Roan. I appreciate you checking on me, but I’m going to turn my phone off for a few days, so don’t go freaking out if you can’t reach me. Leave me a message. Don’t call the front desk unless it’s a real emergency, all right?”

  “How long are you planning on staying?”

  “My reservation was for ten nights, so maybe nine more, or maybe I’ll be back early next week. Who knows.”

  “Isn’t there a storm coming your way? Maybe you should go someplace else—”

  “When did you become a nervous ninny? I’ll be fine.”

  “Rye, are you seriously alright? I’m really concerned about you right now. I can’t imagine what you must be going through after yesterday. You’re not going to do something stupid, are you?”

  I sighed, “I could tell you a hundred times that I am fine, but you wouldn’t believe me, so maybe you’ll believe her.” I handed the phone to Amy whose eyes exploded wide, but she took the phone.

  “Hello,” she said as I cupped her ass, pulled her closer to me, and kissed her stomach.

  I heard murmurs from my brother but couldn’t make out the words and didn’t particularly care what he was saying.

  “Your brother is just fine, Roan.” Her voice was lower than normal, and it turned me the hell on. She paused. “My name is Amy.” There was more talking on his end. “If you mean by stupid like he’s going to have incredible, mind-blowing sex with a stranger over and over again, then it’s too late, he’s already been stupid.” I laughed against her stomach, and she curled her hand around the back of my head and held me close. “No, I’m not going to tell you that information.”

  I leaned back and looked questioningly at her, she shook her head and winked at me. “I told you, I’m Amy.” She grinned at me. “My last name?” She raised a brow at me, and I nodded. “My last name is Waterman. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my husband needs to feed me.”

  She handed the phone back to me, and Roan was going ballistic. “What the hell are you talking about, lady?”

  “Hey, calm down. I’m hanging up now. My wife and I need food. I’ll be in touch in a couple days.” Roan was shouting at me not to hang up, and I clicked the end button and tossed the phone onto the nightstand. It took a whole fifteen seconds before it started ringing again, but by then I was leading Amy out the door.

  “Let’s go get food before I have you naked and under me again.”

  “You’d be having sex with a corpse because I’d die of starvation.”

  “I’ll make sure that we have more food delivered to the bungalow.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we walked down the path toward the main hotel building.

  “Is your brother going to totally freak out? Maybe we shouldn’t have done that to him.”

  I kissed the side of her head. “He is totally going to freak out, but that’s Roan, and he will live. I’m actually really glad that you did that.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he needs a good freak out.”

  Amy and I headed into the first restaurant we saw. Neither of us was feeling very picky; the sooner we could eat, the sooner we could enjoy our afternoon.

  After lunch, we decided to wander around the resort a little, and when we passed a television tuned to the weather, Amy stopped to watch. A few moments later, she joined me inside the resort store. “The storm looks like it’s really coming this way.”

  “It is?”

  “It’s a category one hurricane now, and yes, it’s still heading in this direction.”

  “How long until it hits land?”

  “They are saying four days, but it could be less if it speeds up, or it could fizzle out. It could also turn and go away, a lot of different scenarios to consider.”

  “Do you need to make arrangements to leave?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t leave right now. I don’t have a passport, and my magazine is trying to rush one down for me. Right now, I’d like to go find some clothing. I’m a little tired of wearing the same stuff. Let’s take a taxi into town and do some shopping.”

  “I’m surprised that your magazine would want you down here with a storm coming.”

  “Are you kidding? They don’t care about me. It’s all about the story. This chef never gives interviews, and he finally said he would. Now, depending on what happens with the weather, it might be longer before this guy gets back here for me to interview him.”

  Chapter 6

  Amy

  I wasn’t kidding when I said that the magazine I worked for didn’t care about me. They had known that this storm was brewing, but my boss told me that it would make a great addition to the story: A reporter battling a hurricane for an interview of a lifetime with the famous Caribbean chef.

  I’d only decided to do it after they told me they would give me two additional weeks off. Now I had three weeks banked, and I had every intention of using it all this summer when Cammie was off school. We’d get out of town for a little while and have fun, so when I’d taken this assignment, I’d made them give me a bonus. They had been willing to pay me Sasha’s regular rate for a whole month. That was over three thousand more than I normally made, and that money was how Cammie and I were going to enjoy our vacation. It also showed me just how much this interview meant to my magazine.

  The funny part about it was that they’d been willing to send me down here—all expenses paid plus the bonus—but I wasn’t anywhere as good of a writer as Sasha was. There were at least a half-dozen other people who were more qualified than I was, but for some reason, they’d asked me. As I considered the storm, I wondered if they thought I was the expendable one.

  Rye and I shared a taxi into the small town after he’d spoken with the concierge about the best place for me to get clothes. I was a little nervous about how much this might cost me. I didn’t want to waste a lot of my bonus on clothing, especially when I had
several suitcases full of perfect outfits for the resort—if they could only find them. For now, I’d be happy with a few pairs of undies, a dress or two, shorts, and a couple of t-shirts. The way the concierge had spoken to Rye, he was sending us to a pricey boutique. Would Rye look down on me when I told him I didn’t have the money to waste on expensive clothing? I didn’t think so, but money was always a touchy subject with some people.

  I enjoyed the silence and the company as we drove into town. Rye’s fingers were laced with mine, and occasionally, his thumb would stroke the back of my hand and give me a little thrill.

  I covertly watched him as he sat relaxed, viewing the sights out the window. He wore khaki slacks, and a peach, short-sleeved, silk shirt. His skin already looked kissed by the sun, and the breeze from the window ruffled his wavy locks. He was so handsome that, for a second, I could barely breathe.

  That promise I’d made him take earlier was more for me. I had a habit of getting attached too easily and always to the wrong men. Rye was the perfect man, but our lives were way too different. I didn’t even know anything about his life, but I could only imagine that we lived on different ends of the reality spectrum.

  One look at the clothes coming out of his suitcase, and I knew that he didn’t live paycheck to paycheck as I sometimes did. The gleaming watch around his left wrist spoke of success in business, as if he were at the top of the food chain, whereas I was a bottom feeder. I looked for scraps of good stories or took over ones that bored other writers.

  One day I envisioned myself having a column in a fancy magazine all to myself. If my luck was any indication of the future, around the time that I achieved that, paper would be obsolete, and magazines wouldn’t even exist anymore.

  The taxi let us out along the busy town streets. Vendors lined the cobblestones on one side with carts and baskets, and the doors to all the shops were wide open. On the other side of the road, soft waves rolled up on the white sand beach. Couples strolled along the sidewalks while people on bicycles zoomed in and around everything. It was bright and festive, and I stopped thinking about money and decided to enjoy the atmosphere.

  Rye wrapped his arm around me for a moment and kissed the side of my head. “I feel like I’m in another world.”

  “You are,” I chuckled as I gazed into his gorgeous green eyes.

  We just stared at one another and then finally he whispered, “I never want to leave.”

  “Me, neither.”

  He put a knuckle under my chin and lifted it. Our kiss was sweet and full of so many promises—promises that would probably never see fruition—but it was nice to have the promise—even if only for a moment.

  “Let’s go buy you some goodies.”

  He laced his fingers with mine, and we began to wander down the street. We paused and surveyed trinkets of all kinds along with handmade wares.

  “Are you looking for something for someone?” I asked him after I’d noticed him paying close attention to things.

  “I need to get Roan and Finley a nice gift, plus one for my nephew, Wade. I should get him something, too.”

  “How old is he?”

  “Almost seventeen. He’ll be going to college next fall, hard to believe.”

  “It is hard to believe. I remember when—” I bit my bottom lip.

  “Remember what?”

  “When I was seventeen. It seems like a lifetime ago.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, that was, like, what, ten years ago for you?”

  “Ah, wouldn’t that be nice! No, I’m thirty-six.”

  He turned to me, surprised. “Seriously? I really thought you were around thirty.”

  “Seriously, and thank you very much, kind sir.” I beamed his way.

  He winked. “You’re quite welcome.” For a little while, we wandered along and stopped to speak to vendors every now and again. Rye would let go of my hand only long enough to handle a product and then he would once again entwine our fingers or wrap an arm around my waist. At one point, he got into a conversation with a vendor about a tribal mask, and I sauntered over to the booth next door that sold handmade jewelry.

  In the center of the table were rings that looked like they were made of driftwood with intricate scroll work on them. They were beautiful, and I tried one on and held my hand out in front of me to admire it.

  “Wrong finger,” Rye said softly into my ear. “Shouldn’t that be on your ring finger?”

  “Ha ha,” I replied and set the ring back on the display as I smiled at the man watching us. “These are beautiful, aren’t they, Rye?”

  He picked one up and studied it carefully. “They are exquisite. Do you make these?” he asked the older man.

  “No, my son. My son, he makes these.”

  “They are beautiful.” Rye slipped one on his finger and held it out toward me, “What do you think?”

  The one he had chosen was slightly darker, and the reddish wood looked wonderful on his finger. “I think it’s perfect for you.”

  He scanned the choices on the table, tried a different one on, then switched back to the first before he took a small one off the display and took my hand.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Giving my wife a wedding ring.” He smirked as he pushed the ring over the knuckle of my finger. “Now, we have rings to match,” he declared firmly.

  I laughed. “You’ve lost your mind.”

  “No,” he said to me and turned to the vendor, “how much for these two?”

  “That would be thirty-five.”

  “Thirty-five a piece?” Rye asked as he pulled out his wallet. My thumb was already running over the smooth wood as if trying to memorize it.

  “No, fifteen for ladies’, twenty for men’s.”

  Rye turned to me, “You have a daughter, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Pick out something for her.” He motioned toward the other displays.

  “Oh, no, you don’t need to do that.”

  Rye took a hold of my face and leaned toward me. “I know I don’t. I want to. Pick something out for her, or I will.”

  “Okay.” I stepped away from him to look at the other jewelry. It didn’t take me long. “This.” I pointed to a silver necklace with a wooden dolphin on the end. “She loves dolphins.”

  The older man smiled as if he was happy with my choice and removed it from the display to put in a little bag, “That will be fifty-five.”

  Rye handed the man a hundred-dollar bill and when the man turned to get change, Rye called out to him, “Keep the change, sir. Your son deserves it for his beautiful craftsmanship.”

  He seemed a bit taken aback. “Thank you, sir.”

  “You’re welcome.” Rye took my hand, and we began to walk down the street again.

  “I can’t believe you just bought us rings,” I laughed as he pulled his hand free and looked at his.

  “I think they are really cool—if for nothing else than as a reminder of a wonderful vacation.”

  I blinked as I stared at my hand. I hadn’t expected to see a ring on that finger ever again. “Yes, they will be a good reminder.”

  Rye wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me off to the side between two buildings. Once we were out of the public eye, he pressed me against the cold stone and kissed me hard.

  The kiss was wild and hot, and I instantly wished we were back at the resort. He finally pulled back and rested his forehead on mine. “We need to find you clothes, not that I want you in any right this moment, but we need to get you some, and then we need to find a drugstore and stock up.”

  “Yes,” I said breathlessly. “Forget the clothes, let’s just get the condoms.”

  He kissed me again. “No, you need some things. We will have to control ourselves for a little while longer.” He inhaled sharply and stepped back.

  “If I have to,” I muttered.

  He led me back onto the street. We reached a small boutique on a back street after asking someone for directions, and when I stepped in, I
hesitated. I had a feeling this was going to cost me more than I wanted.

  “Something wrong, Amy?” he asked me quietly.

  “Nothing’s wrong, but I really don’t want to buy a lot of things in case they find my luggage. We could get back to the resort and see they found my suitcases.”

  “True, or they might not find them at all,” he replied. I pursed my lips and glanced around the store. “Hey,” he took hold of my chin. “This will be my treat, so don’t worry about the cost, okay?”

  “Rye, I can’t do that.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “Hello, can I help you find anything?”

  Rye immediately turned to the woman as I began to shake my head. “My wife’s clothing was lost on the trip here. We need to get her a few things.”

  “Rye,” I yanked on his arm.

  “Relax, Amy,” he put his arm around my shoulders, “I want to do this for you.”

  “Wonderful,” the woman clapped her hands. “Come with me, and we will find your size. I can find you lots of things you will like.”

  “I only need a couple things,” I told her, and Rye spoke over the top of me to get me whatever I wanted.

  What I wanted was to get out of the store, but obviously that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I followed the clerk to the side of the store where she started asking me questions about the items I would need.

  Rye had taken a seat and was flipping through a magazine as I tried clothes on, but each time I came out of the dressing room—by his request—he set his phone aside and gave me his undivided attention. He told me what he liked and what he didn’t, and I found that I quickly knew what he preferred because they were exactly what I preferred.

  I was coming down to the last two outfits, and both made me a little nervous, not only because the price tags had been removed already, but because they were sexier and more revealing than anything I would normally wear.

  I tried on the first one, and the bright colors made my eyes seem more alive. It was strapless, and hugged my chest and ribcage, flaring over my hips and hanging low in the back while ending above my knees in the front. The material was sort of flirty as it flowed and bounced around my body as I moved.