Dedication
For the Professor Moriarty and the Mad Madam M. Because you are who you are. Indispensible.
For my fellow writers in the Ooh! Shiny! group—Loribelle Hunt, Dayna Hart, Kate Pearce, Patti O’Shea, R.F. Long, and Lee Bross. Because you keep me sane by being as insane as I am.
For Karen Erickson and Shelli Stevens. Karen for having bats and boars and pizza at her house, and letting me have a sleepover. And Shelli for dragging Karen and me all over Disneyland and then making us hike all the way back to the hotel after the park closed. There’s never been a cuter drill sergeant in the happiest place on earth. Good times!
Last, but never least, for the Jewels on my street team. You ladies are the best! A special shout out to KittyKelly, who always keeps me on track with promo, and Ursula Avery, who donated her name to a character in this book. Thanks bunches!
Chapter One
Half Moon Bay, California
“Come on, Anne. The least you can do is ask her for me. She’ll listen to you.” Finn Walsh offered his most winning smile, but his colleague gave him a dubious glance.
“Why exactly would I help you get in my friend’s pants?” Anne Kirby snorted, bending her long limbs into a stretch as she and Finn warmed up to start the day. Teaching physical education at a middle school kept them running. “Besides, Meg turned you down the one time you asked her out.”
Yeah, she had. Finn winced. “I don’t want to get in her pants.”
Anne straightened and stared at him. “Right, I believe that one. You want to date Meg, but you don’t want to do her.”
He lowered himself to the wood gym floor and grabbed the toe of his sneaker to flex his calf. Meg’s heart-shaped face filled his mind. Brunette curls he wanted to tangle his fingers in, eyes that were an impossible shade of storm cloud gray. She wasn’t tall or short, just average, but she had curves in all the right places. Her ass, especially. Tight, round and perfect. He wanted to get his hands on it. Hell, he wanted to get his hands on all of her as often as humanly possible. But if it were just about getting laid, he could find a woman easily. No, he wanted Meg specifically. “Okay, I don’t only want to get in her pants.”
“That’s a little more believable.” Anne smiled when the school bell rang. Within a few minutes, gangly tweens began trudging past them into the changing room.
“I mean it.” Finn waved to a few of his students, then picked himself up off the floor. “I like her, Anne. She turned me down because she thinks it’s a bad idea to date coworkers. She never said she wasn’t interested in me.”
After crossing her arms, Anne shrugged. “She’s being smart about it. We had an ugly breakup between two teachers a few years back, before you came to HMB. The memory for those of us who were here is still pretty fresh and really harsh. I don’t know if I’d date another teacher, either. When it goes sour—”
“If, not when. It doesn’t have to go sour.” Usually, he wasn’t one to fish in the work dating pool either, but for Meg he’d make an exception. She taught history—was quiet, smart, and drew him like a magnet. Seeing her was his best reason to show up for staff meetings. He liked being around her, liked her considered approach to every controversy that came up at work. She wasn’t outspoken and ready to jump into the fray like Anne, but when she offered an opinion, everyone listened. Everything about Meg appealed to Finn. There was huge potential between them, potential for something that could actually last. He knew it without any doubts.
“Please. There are two options with relationships. They either go happily ever after or they go sour.” Anne arched an incredulous brow. “You’re saying you want happily ever after without going on a single date with her?”
Maybe. He clamped his lips shut on that answer, shock spiking through him. He’d known his interest was serious, but his reaction to the question floored him. Swallowing hard, he focused on Anne. “Even if things end, it doesn’t have to be ugly. I’m still friends with a couple of women I used to date. I’m not a love ’em and leave ’em douche bag. You’d have heard about it if I were—Half Moon Bay isn’t that big a city.”
Running a hand through her short red hair, she sighed. “True enough.”
“I just need her to see me outside of work. She’s on autopilot, shoving me into the ‘no way’ category without giving me a chance. Getting away from our everyday interactions here might just shake her out of that.” He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I’m not going to take advantage of her or force her into anything she doesn’t want. I just want her to really consider if she does want me. She’s not doing that now.”
The few times he’d caught Meg looking at him, he could tell she wasn’t unaffected. She’d just made the rational decision that dating him was a bad idea. He needed to change her mind. He needed her to see him as a man and not just a fellow teacher.
Anne narrowed her eyes. “You swear you won’t get her drunk in Vegas to sleep with her?”
School would let out for spring break on Friday, and a group of teachers was heading for Las Vegas for a week of rest and relaxation. Or partying, gambling, and booze—whatever they preferred. Finn had latched on to the idea that this was the perfect way to get Meg away from work without her having to agree to go out with him. A week to wear down her defenses was just what he needed. But without Anne to prod her, she’d never go on that kind of trip. Twisting Anne’s arm was his first order of business.
“Yeah, because sloppy drunk women are so hot.” He rolled his eyes. “Try to remember I’m not a douche bag. I wouldn’t do that to anyone, least of all a woman I like.” Maybe more than liked, but he kept that to himself. He’d never get the chance to figure out what might come of his jonesing for Meg if he didn’t get her to spend time with him.
The squeak of tennis shoes echoed in the wide gymnasium as students flooded from of the changing rooms. Anne blew out a breath. “All right, I’ll ask her. Just ask. If she says no, that’s it. We’re meeting up for dinner tonight, so…”
He grinned wryly. “Don’t mention me when you ask.”
“I won’t.” She laughed.
“Thanks.”
“You owe me one.” Lifting a whistle to her lips, she let out a shrill blast and her class obediently began to line up for roll call. “I think my class needs to run the mile today.”
“Have fun, sadist.” He motioned to his students and they lined up as well. Grabbing his clipboard from where it lay on the bleachers, he shook his head at her.
She jogged in place for a moment. “I can only be nice to so many people in one day. You just used up my quota.”
“Lucky me.”
A light rain fell as Meg hurried across Main Street toward the Moonside Café. The salty scent of the Pacific Ocean blew on the breeze, and she drank in the familiar smell. If she were a few blocks closer, she’d be able to hear the thundering crash of waves. Typical early spring day on the California coast, and she loved it. The mist would make her curly hair a frizzy mess, but who cared? She had no one to impress. She stepped inside the café, brushed a wayward tendril out of her eyes, and glanced around.
“Over here!” Anne waved from a table by the window. Their friend, Karen, sat beside her, already cradling a cup of coffee between her hands.
“Julie’s just locking up at Purl Moon and then she’ll be over,” Karen said, and her expression softened. “It’s been a rough day for her.”
Sympathy squeezed inside of Meg. Yeah, those kinds of days happened after you lost someone you loved. Julie’s great aunt Eloise had passed away a few months before, leaving Julie to run her yarn and fiber arts store. The foursome had been friends since elementary school, so they knew how much Julie and Auntie
Eloise had adored each other. Her death had hit Julie hard. Working at Purl Moon had to keep the memories fresh. Eventually that might be a good thing, but right now it meant their friend had a lot of rough days.
“Well, we’ll cheer her up.” Meg slid into a chair across from Karen, who was the only married one in their little group. “How’s the hubby?”
“Tate’s working, as usual.” She offered up a wry smile, her blonde brows arching. “Someday, I’m going to get that man to take me on a nice, long vacation. Where he has no access to his cell phone or internet. Heaven.”
Anne leaned forward, sudden interest lighting her face. “Yeah, it’s important to take some time off and enjoy yourself once in a while. Right, Meg?”
Something in her friend’s tone made her wary, and Meg narrowed her gaze. “Yeah, why?”
“Because a bunch of the HMB teachers are going to Vegas for spring break, and you’re coming with us.” The redhead’s smile was sunny and appeared far too innocent.
Yeah, right. As if Anne could ever pull off innocent. Not since the third grade, anyway. Meg snorted a laugh. “Ha!”
“Come on,” her friend cajoled. “When’s the last time you got out of town? Be honest.”
She opened her mouth, closed it again. Enough time had passed that she honestly didn’t remember. She brushed an invisible speck of lint off her sleeve. “I prefer staycations.”
“You can curl up with a book in Las Vegas as easily as you can here.” Anne gestured to the gloomy day outside. “You’d even get a little sun in the process.”
Karen tilted her head, the sweep of her blonde bob brushing her cheek. “You are looking a little pale.”
Sticking her tongue out, Meg folded her arms. “Thanks, that’s flattering.”
“The truth hurts,” Anne shot back.
“It’s only a week, Meg.” Karen picked up the refrain, and Meg had to wonder if the two had planned this before she’d arrived. She wouldn’t put it past them. Friends could be wily like that. Karen gestured to her partner in crime. “And Anne will be there—some of the other teachers too, so you won’t be alone. A little socializing would be good for you.”
“It’s not like I’m a hermit. I get out of the house for work every day.” It sounded pathetic, like that was the only time she ventured out, and Meg didn’t want to admit that maybe it was. Other than their group’s weekly dinner, she hadn’t made much effort to get out lately. Damn, they had a point, and she hated it. “Who else is going?”
Anne didn’t meet her gaze. “A bunch of us. Ed, Cindy, Carla, Finn, Doreen, Roger, Frank, me…and you.”
But Meg honed right in on the name that had been sandwiched in the middle. “Finn’s going?”
“You don’t like Finn?” Sudden concern shone in Anne’s golden eyes. “Has he been bothering you?”
Hot and bothered was a good description for what he did to her, but there was no way in hell Meg was telling her friends that. They’d try to push her into going out with him. She focused on the scarred tabletop. “No, no. He hasn’t bothered me at all. He only asked me out the one time, and that was ages ago. It’s fine. He’s fine.”
He was more than fine, and turning down his offer had sucked. The school might not have rules against teachers dating, but she had personal rules against it, and she had those rules for very good reasons. But she felt a twinge of regret every time she ran into him at work. She sighed. It really was too bad.
“Okay, then. It’s fine.” Anne waved a dismissive hand, but when Meg glanced at her, there was more than a little calculation in her expression. “Besides, they have museums and stuff you can check out, too. It’s not all booze and broads. There are shows, shopping, gourmet food. It’ll be fun.”
“It’ll be expensive,” Meg groused.
“Pfft.” The redhead huffed. “The flights to Vegas are cheap from SFO, and we can room together and split the hotel costs.”
Meg opened her mouth to continue arguing, but before she could, Julie jogged into the café, shaking rain out of her hair. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”
“We’re trying to talk Meg into going with Anne to Las Vegas for spring break.” Karen flagged down a waitress. “And now that you’re here, we can order dinner. I’m famished.”
They’d been to this café enough times they had the menu memorized, so ordering was quick and the waitress brought them a round of coffee without asking.
Meg looked up. “Oh, I forgot to ask for—”
The old guy at the next table leaned over and deposited a small container of cream at her elbow. “No need. I’m done with it.”
“Thanks, Paul.” Meg shook her head. The wonders of small-town life. Everyone knew everything about you, including how you took your coffee.
“You should definitely go to Vegas.” Julie tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Don’t sit around at home alone on your vacation.”
Meg gave the other woman a pointed look. “If anyone needs to get away from here, it’s you.”
Dark circles smudged Julie’s eyes. She looked pale and…sad. It was hard to watch, but grief was hard, and nothing but time made it any easier. A wan smile crossed Julie’s face. “I’m still wrapping my head around running the business. Purl Moon’s doing well, but I can’t leave it to go gallivanting.” Her shoulder twitched in a shrug. “Maybe later this year.”
“Three against one. Don’t be a spring break hermit hunched over your books at home.” Anne widened her eyes theatrically. “You’ll turn into Quasimodo.”
Meg snorted, though her mouth curved in a reluctant grin. “Fine, but one of you has to watch Hugo.”
Julie and Karen groaned pitifully, but Meg crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow at them. “With melodrama like that, you’ll get along perfectly with my depressive basset hound.”
“The last time he was in the shop, he chewed up some very expensive yarn and then made sad puppy eyes at me. Made me feel bad when he was the one who chewed stuff.” Julie held up her hands. “I can’t take the guilt. That mutt is a menace.”
“I’ll do it.” Karen sighed. “Maybe it’ll encourage Tate to take me out of town, if only to escape the doggie breath.”
“That’s the spirit.” Meg grinned, enjoying the chance to torment her friends. Hey, turnabout was fair play. But her smile faded when she realized she’d actually agreed to spend her break in Las Vegas.
Somehow, she had a feeling she was going to regret this.
Chapter Two
Meg got stuck in the middle seat on the plane.
She should have known it was a bad sign. The seventh grade science teacher, Carla, dumped her rum and Coke all over Meg’s white shirt and tan capris on the flight to Vegas. No amount of dabbing in the miniscule airplane bathroom had managed to get the sticky stain out or removed the stink of distillery that floated in a cloud around her.
Awesome start to the vacay.
She slumped in her seat, feeling disgusting, and cranked up the volume on her iPod to drown out the two English teachers’ giggling. How had she let Anne talk her into this? How could her three best friends have conspired against her this way? She could be home with a glass of wine—in her hand and not on her clothes—reading the new Cleopatra biography, sitting in the wicker chair on her balcony with her feet propped on the railing. She clenched her teeth as turbulence made the plane shudder and her stomach flip.
Thank God this was a short flight.
Thirty minutes later, she was waiting for her luggage to come around the carousel. The flash of bright lights and jarring sounds from the slot machines made her head ache. The cacophony seemed to permeate every inch of the airport. She really should have stayed home and played a hermit—it had to be more fun than this. The rum and Coke had formed a stiff crust in her shirt, bra, and capris. All she wanted right now was a hot shower in the hotel. Her stomach rumbled loudly—a reminder that she’d been trapped in the plane during lunchtime. Food would be good too, but cleaning up and a new set of clothes came first.
She refocused on the luggage carousel just in time to see her bag go trundling past her. Leaning forward, she made a grab for it. And missed. “Crap!”
“Got it.” Finn plucked the heavy suitcase from the conveyer belt as if it weighed nothing.
Of course, it had to be him who came to her rescue. The smile he gave her was enough to melt any woman’s resistance and leave her panting after him. With his auburn hair, laser blue eyes, and body to die for, he was too gorgeous for words, and he clearly knew it. She stiffened her spine when he beckoned her toward him. She knew she needed to retrieve her bag, but getting anywhere near the man was a hazard to her mental health.
She wanted him. It was as simple and as complicated as that. She wanted to use his very fine body as her personal jungle gym. All night long. This kind of visceral reaction to anyone was completely foreign territory for her, but her hormones did a tango every time he was nearby, reminding her it had been a very long while since she’d made time to go on a date, let alone get laid. Turning him down last year had been hard, but dating colleagues was beyond stupid. Hadn’t she seen with her own two eyes just how bad it could go?
But he was still standing there waiting for her, his eyebrows rising when she remained rooted in place and continued to stare at him.
Suck it up, Meg. While she jogged around the cluster of people jockeying for their belongings, she took a moment to be grateful the airline hadn’t lost her bag. At least that had gone right. She reached Finn’s side, forced herself to meet his gaze, and smiled. “Thanks for your help.”
“Anything for you, Ms. Phillips.” His grin was warm and far too wicked for her peace of mind. She could really get creative with that anything he was willing to do for her.
No, no, no. He worked at her school. He was off-limits. She knew better than to go down that road. She’d strayed down it once and that had been more than enough. Hell, it had been so bad she’d never even told her best friends about it. Did she want a repeat performance on public display? No way. She and Finn both leaned down to reach for the extendable handle on her suitcase, their fingers tangling. Just that simple contact made her breath catch. She’d never touched him before—never allowed herself the temptation.
Vegas Vacation (Destination Desire) Page 1