Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  She blinked, and her black lashes fanned her cheekbones. He couldn’t know for sure, but they were probably as artificial as several other things about her. He liked that in a woman…at least in this case.

  “Speaking of your family, Stoudt mentioned that your mom expects me to dress appropriately for dinner. What would you suggest?”

  When had he ever known her to ask his or anyone else’s opinion on how to dress? Ava Divine dressed however she damn well pleased. “What you’re wearing now will be just fine.” His gaze traveled from her low-cut blouse to the leather skirt, so snug it cupped her behind. His hands itched to do the same.

  “Really? I got the impression from your butler that this wasn’t okay.”

  His head buzzed with confusion. He moved close and gripped her arms. “What’s gotten into you?” A highlighted lock of hair fell across her brow. He peered into her eyes. He’d never noticed they were the exact color of the mountain stream that ran alongside his cabin. He shook the thought from his mind. “You’re acting really…different.”

  “Um, I guess I’m just a little nervous about this weekend.”

  “Since when do you get nervous?”

  “Like you said, your family is pretty intimidating. I don’t want to make a fool of myself.”

  Still clutching her arms, he felt unexpected muscle tone. Had she been working out, or had it really been that long since he’d held her? “Ava. Look at me.”

  She did, and her beautiful eyes sucked him in like the vortex of a tornado. He released her and shoved his hands into his pockets, then pulled them out again. He crossed his arms over his chest. What the hell was wrong with him? He stepped back. “Just be yourself, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Be myself? That’s easier said than done,” she murmured, turning away.

  While part of him panicked over this unwelcome change in her personality and his unexpected attraction to her, another part of him, the testosterone-driven part of him, admired her bare legs and feet. His hands yearned to glide up those toned thighs and under that short skirt.

  Turned on by Ava Divine. Another first.

  He forced his gaze from her figure, and glanced around the room. A photo album lay open on the rumpled bedspread. He crossed the floor and reached for it. “What’s this?”

  “Oh, no!” she shrieked. “Don’t look at that.” She yanked it out of his hands and pressed the book against her chest, shielding it from his eyes.

  But he’d already seen the pictures inside, and he heaved a huge sigh of relief. “You have an entire album filled with pictures of yourself?” This was just what he would expect from the Ava Divine he knew.

  Her cheeks turned red, then a familiar flash of fire sparked in her eyes. “This photo album is my business. Not yours.”

  He grinned and headed for the door. “You should relax before dinner. Trust me-you’ll need all your wits about you.” And then some. Pausing within the doorframe, he said, “Oh, by the way. That trip on the stairs was priceless. But next time, warn me ahead of time. I almost didn’t catch you.”

  She stared at him, unblinking. “Oh. Right.”

  “One more thing.” He glanced at her luscious mouth, and her pink tongue slipped out to moisten her lips. His groin flexed, and he shifted his stance. “We really need to work on our kissing.”

  *****

  Stoudt stood, guard-like, at the bottom of the stairs as Audrey descended for dinner. His disapproving gaze told her she’d failed on the “dress appropriately” requirement.

  “Oh, come on, Stoudt. Cut me some slack,” she said.

  He gave an undignified little snort under his breath, but she thought the corner of his mouth tugged upward.

  She’d chosen the most benign outfit of the bunch-black leather pants, and an off-the-shoulder gypsy blouse in flaming red. She had to admit, as much as she disliked Ava’s taste in clothing, she admired its quality. The way the fine material brushed against her skin as she moved, the way the butter-soft leather molded to her bottom and thighs. It was all quite…sensual. No wonder she was a good girl-most of her clothing was cotton.

  As Stoudt led her to the dining room, she felt like Daniel approaching the lion’s den. She took comfort in remembering that Daniel came out the victor in the end. She didn’t take comfort knowing he’d had to slay a lot of lions first.

  Her stomach churned as she eyed the Banister family gathered around a massive wooden table. A distinguished-looking older man sat at one end with a scowl on his tanned face. Zach’s dad, if the close resemblance was any indication. His mother sat at the other end looking as cool, elegant and refined as Audrey remembered. Theresa and an unfamiliar man, presumably her husband, sat on one side of the table. Zach sat alone across from them, an empty chair beside him. Her chair. Gulp. Her insides fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird.

  His eyes met hers, and for a moment, Audrey stood on a movie screen where everything receded out of focus except for one thing. That one thing smiled. She hoped she managed to return the gesture.

  The family stood as Stoudt announced her presence. Each of them looked like they’d stepped out of Town and Country magazine, and each seemed to have a disdain in their eyes just for her. Except for Zach, who pushed back his chair and circled the table.

  “Darling!” he said, sliding his arm around her waist. His hands found bare skin, and she sucked in her breath at the unexpected contact. She forced a neutral expression onto her face, even though her insides danced with nerves. He kissed her cheek. “Everyone, I want you to meet Ava Divine. Ava, meet the rest of my family.” He went around the room with introductions. She didn’t pay much attention, too focused on where he touched her.

  All in all, the group was about as warm and cuddly as a group autopsy. Thank God Ava didn’t want to marry into this family, because then they’d be her family. Yikes!

  Finally, Zach led her to the chair beside his. As Audrey sat, Stoudt materialized behind her and offered her a choice of wines.

  “You have anything that comes in a screw top?” she muttered.

  Laughter sparkled in the butler’s eyes a moment before he returned to his customary deadpan. “No, Miss. Our wine cellar obviously needs restocking. I hope these will be an adequate substitute?”

  None of the wine labels looked familiar. “They’re fine. How about the white, please?”

  At the far end of the table, Mrs. Banister cleared her throat. “Your last name is quite unusual, Ava. Tell me, is it your given name?”

  Audrey took a long drink. The wine warmed her throat and belly. It even tasted expensive, smooth and rich, unlike the bitter bottles she had at home. “No, actually. I was born Ava Thompson. Divine is my, ah, stage name.”

  Mrs. Banister’s perfectly arched eyebrows rose. “Are you an actress?” She practically spat the term.

  Audrey scraped her brain to come up with an appropriate Ava response. “I’ve, ah, done some acting, but I started using that name when I began my modeling career. Ava Divine sounded more glamorous and exciting than Ava Thompson.”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Banister drawled. “I’m sure it did.”

  Theresa sat across from Audrey. “We know absolutely nothing about you, Ava.” She pressed her fingers to her throat and gave a little laugh, glancing around the table. “You’d think Zach would have told us everything, but he hasn’t said a word. It’s almost like you didn’t exist before today.” She directed a pointed look at Zach, while the insult sank into Audrey’s head.

  Zach tensed beside her. How could he stand having such a horrible family? She waited for his response, but none came.

  Grace said, “Yes, do tell us about yourself, Ava.”

  Forcing a pleasant expression, Audrey asked, “What do you want to know?”

  “Your parents. What do they do?”

  “My parents died when I was in college.” And they were probably turning over in their graves right now at the mess their daughter was in.

  “You’re an orphan.” Zach’s mother gave her wh
at she probably thought was a sympathetic smile.

  Audrey struggled to control her temper and lost. “Yes, I’m an orphan. My only family now are Daddy Warbucks and my dog, Sandy.”

  Brows went up around the table. She refused to look Zach’s way until he squeezed her knee. She’d expected him to be angry, but he looked like he was biting back a grin.

  “Little Orphan Ava?” he asked. His grin escaped.

  Her lips curled into a return smile. “Something like that,” she said, catching and holding his gaze. Her naughty side wished he’d move his hand a bit further north. The area between her legs throbbed at the thought.

  And if he did? She’d either pass out in shock, or her gasp of pleasure would embarrass her in front of his family. Every centimeter of her skin burned beneath his touch.

  Polite laughter twittered around the table as if she’d meant the comment to be funny.

  Zach removed his hand from her leg, and she immediately felt its loss. She supposed she wanted to continue clinging to the one person here who didn’t seem to hate her guts.

  Dinner passed slower than slugs on ice. Early on, Audrey made the decision to keep her mouth shut unless spoken to, and then keep her answers short and to the point. After that first round of questions, no one made an effort to speak to her. Zach’s father grilled him on the aviation business. Zach didn’t seem to warm to the topic, and alternated between looks of boredom and anger. Maybe his family annoyed him, too.

  How sad, she thought, to have a family you didn’t enjoy. She wished she had more family to spend time with. It was just her and Ava, whom she didn’t see nearly as often as she would have liked.

  As dessert arrived, Zach dinged his fork against the side of his wine glass and stood. “Could I have everyone’s attention, please?”

  All talk ceased, and everyone stared at Zach. And Audrey.

  Flustered, with the warmth of embarrassment and fine wine buzzing her cheeks, Audrey peered at him.

  He grinned a crooked grin that would have left 99.9% of the female population a worthless puddle of mush on the floor-her included. He brandished a small velvet box from his pocket, and dropped to one knee beside her chair.

  Oh. My. God.

  He flipped open the box to reveal a breathtaking ring, a massive diamond surrounded by gazillions of smaller ones. They glittered beneath the lights of the chandelier. He took it out and reached for her hand. Slipping the heavy ring onto her finger, he said, “Ava, my love. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, and making me the happiest man in the world?”

  The room grew pin-drop silent. Audrey heard only the drumming of her heart and the blood pulsing through her veins.

  Her sister hadn’t warned her about this!

  Zach stared at her, his expression slightly pleading. Odd. Could he see in her eyes that she planned to reject him? How would he react when she said ‘no’? Would he be gracious, and able to hide his disappointment and shock? Or would his heart break right in front of her?

  Audrey’s heart squeezed, and compassionate tears stung the backs of her eyelids.

  She sensed everyone’s attention on her. Just one little word and she’d be out of here, away from this nasty family and the uncomfortable shoes. She could be back on the road to Boise within the hour.

  Her heart gave an unexpected leap in her chest.

  Just one little word.

  Unfortunately, she chose the wrong one. “Yes.”

  Chapter Three

  “You did what?” Ava shrieked into the phone.

  Audrey held the receiver away from her ear, but could still hear her sister’s rant. “I didn’t mean to say yes, Ava. It just…popped out.”

  “How can agreeing to marry someone just ‘pop’ out?”

  “I couldn’t help it. I mean, no one has ever asked me to marry him before, and I guess I just…got caught up in the moment.” The explanation sounded lame even to her ears.

  “Besides,” she continued, “he was down on bent knee. His whole family was watching. I didn’t want to embarrass him by saying no.” She held up her hand to admire the ring he’d slipped onto her finger at dinner. She turned it this way and that, watching the diamonds catch the light. It was beautiful, but she’d have preferred something less ostentatious. Less…Ava-like.

  “You could have said, ‘Let’s talk about this in private.’ You could have said anything but ‘Yes.’ Gawd, Audrey, this is my life we’re talking about here. I’m not marrying him!”

  “Calm down, will you? No one is saying you have to marry him…but if you wanted the breakup done right, well, you know the old saying.”

  “Aud-reeeey! I don’t want a fiancé.”

  Neither did Audrey. Breaking up with a fiancé was a little different than breaking up with a boyfriend. A wave of nausea roiled through her stomach. A lot different. “Okay, okay,” she said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  But for the life of her, she had no idea how.

  After hanging up, she sat on the edge of the king-size bed, curling and uncurling her fingers into the quilt. She’d come to Sun Valley with a purpose: to break up with Zachary Banister. A relatively simple, if uncomfortable, task. She performed more difficult duties every day in her job. Breaking up with a man she didn’t even know should have been far easier than spending six hours a day, five days a week with pre-teens in hormonal hell.

  “Should have” being the key words.

  “Crap,” she muttered, standing and pacing to the window. She moved aside the heavy curtains and peered outside. Darkness had settled over the valley. Lights from the resort town twinkled in the distance, and Audrey wished she was anywhere but here.

  She drummed her fake fingernails on the windowsill. All she’d had to do was say no to Ava about this weekend. All she’d had to do was say no to Zach about his proposal. Crap!

  Think. Think! How could she get out of this? She pressed her forehead against the cool pane, and her breath fogged the glass. There was no graceful way to tell your fiancé that you wanted out of the relationship. This should be easy; he wasn’t really her fiancé. Still, she didn’t want to hurt him unnecessarily.

  She made a dismissive sound under her breath. From everything Ava had told her about him, and from what she’d read in the tabloids, he wouldn’t have the slightest qualm about breaking up with her if the roles were reversed. He’d probably broken up with scores of women, and not given it a second thought.

  Yes! She straightened and grinned. She simply had to convince him to break up with her.

  But how? She dropped into the overstuffed chair beside the windows, and rested her chin in her hands. The Banister family clearly wasn’t crazy about Ava Divine. Every man, no matter his age, cared about his family’s opinion, didn’t they? Elegant, classy and reserved people like the Banisters wanted elegant, classy and reserved partners for their children. Pretty much the opposite of Ava.

  Audrey stretched out her arms, interlaced palms outward, readying for battle. This plan would take every ounce of her drama-teaching experience. She’d deserve an Oscar by the end of the weekend, if everything went as she hoped.

  “Look out, Banister family. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

  She waited until everyone had gone to bed. She checked her reflection in the mirror one last time, and grinned in spite of her nervousness. Perfect. If she played her cards right, she’d be heading back to Boise come morning.

  Asking her inner Oz for courage, she opened the door and stepped into the hall.

  “Let the show begin,” she muttered. “By the time I’m done with you, Zach, you’ll be begging me for your ring back.”

  *****

  Zach turned off the water and listened, his mouth full of mouthwash.

  “Zachary! Oh, Zaaachareee!” Ava yelled his name at the top of her lungs. At several decibels above considerate, she began pounding on doors.

  Zach spat the mouthwash into the sink, then rushed into the hall, still holding his towel, chest bare, and jeans unbuttone
d. His mouth dropped open.

  Ava stood at the opposite end of the hall, wearing nothing but high-heeled mules and a very short red robe, the silky kind with feathery trim. He wondered what, if anything, she wore beneath it. Her long, wavy hair cascaded loose over her shoulders in a sexy, appealing mess. She gripped a bottle of champagne.

  “Zachary, baby. Where are you? This house is just so big, I can’t find your room.” She lifted the bottle to her lips, and took a long swig.

  Just as Zach opened his mouth to call her, his father burst from his room across the hall. “For chrissake, Miss Divine. It’s after midnight. You can see Zachary in the morning.”

  She turned at the sound of his father’s raging voice, but her gaze went to Zach. “Darling, there you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

  She pushed past the senior Banister, and flung herself into Zach’s arms. Soft red lips pressed against his mouth, and her leg hooked around his hip as her momentum slammed them against the wall.

  Zach’s body hardened immediately at the feel of her long, lithe body wrapped around him. She tasted of champagne and mint, as if she’d just brushed her teeth. He wanted nothing more than to yank her into his room and finish what she’d started.

  Garrett cleared his throat, bringing Zach back to reality. His family had poked their heads out of their bedrooms to watch with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. He couldn’t meet Theresa’s gaze; he knew she’d be giving him her perfected “big sister glare.”

  He bit back a grin. Life couldn’t get much better than this.

  “Ava, darling,” he murmured against her mouth. “We’ve got an audience.”

  She pulled away, her green eyes wide, and slapped a hand over her luscious lips. “Oops. Silly me,” she said. “Sorry, folks. I was just looking for my man. You can go back to bed now.” To Zach, she said, “Come on, stud,” and tugged him into his room, kicking the door shut behind them with her heel.

  Alone with him in his room, Audrey froze, unsure what to do next. She turned, expecting to see outrage in his eyes. Instead, she found him grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.