Second Time Lucky

by Debbi Rawlins

  That’s all it took for him to start getting hard. “Don’t worry, you’re safe,” he said. “Room service is on their way so I won’t be jumping you. At least not in the next hour.”

  Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You have to go back, don’t you?”

  He’d started for the bathroom to grab the other robe, but he stopped, frowning. “Go back?”

  “To New York. The phone call, I thought—” She shrugged sheepishly. “I wasn’t listening. I just walked out here, but from the look on your face I was sure your vacation had been cut short.”

  “No, it was my father, but—” He took her hand and pulled her close to press a light kiss to her lips. “It was nothing. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good.” She looped her arms around his neck and moved her hips against him.

  “Ah, being brave because you know we’re about to be interrupted.”

  Her smile was real this time. “Uh-huh.”

  “You underestimate me.” He jerked the robe’s belt free.

  She let out a shriek of laughter, gathered the lapels together and backed away. “I need coffee. I need food. I seriously need to recover. Have mercy.”

  “I’d rather have Mia.”

  “Funny.”

  A gap in the robe exposed the tempting curve of her right breast, and he had to hold very still. So much for his grand plan to take it slowly. “I have time for a quick shower. Room service will come to the parlor door. Do me a favor and sign for it, please?”

  “I’ll listen for them,” she said, and gave him a pat on his ass as he turned for the bathroom.

  David chuckled and shot her a warning look before he closed the door behind him. Too late he realized he should’ve brought clean clothes in with him. The other robe hung on the back of the door, but he wanted to be dressed and ready to hit the road as soon as they were done eating breakfast. It would be too easy to crawl back into bed with her.

  He doubted she’d resist, and her being sore wasn’t the issue—he knew how to please her without burying himself inside of her. But that’s not how he wanted to spend the rest of their time together. Every minute counted. Once he presented the firm’s offer, their relationship had to be on stable ground.

  After turning on the shower, he fiddled with the spray control and waited for the temperature to be just right before he got in. He lifted his face to the jetting water. The force was harsh and stung his skin, but he left it alone. The punishment was mild, he decided, but with any luck, strong enough to wash away his lingering guilt.

  BY THE TIME THEY HAD EATEN, gotten dressed and Mia had touched base with Shelby and Lindsey, it was already early afternoon. Although David had planned an outing to the north shore of the island via a picnic and swim at Waimea Falls, Mia nixed the idea in favor of sticking closer to Waikiki. She was worn out, feeling lazy and really curious why David seemed determined to fill their every waking hour with a planned activity.

  When she suggested taking a long walk down the beach and then finding an outside bar to have a drink, he’d immediately countered with a proposal to first visit ‘Iolani Palace and the Bishop Museum, both relatively short drives from the hotel. She agreed, and actually enjoyed the outing, especially the tour of ‘Iolani Palace, the only true royal palace used as a residence by a reigning monarch and standing on American soil.

  Naturally David opted for the guided tour, which she admitted was informative and fascinating, but as soon as the tour ended and they left the palace, he was ready to hop in the car and head for the Bishop Museum. She put on the brakes, grabbing his hand and forcing him to sit beside her on a shaded stone bench.

  “You do realize that you’re the kind of person who gives us New Yorkers a bad name,” she told him, dismayed that he immediately slipped his sunglasses out of his pocket and slid them on. God, she didn’t want to believe that he regretted their lovemaking, and really, there was little evidence that he did—he’d even held her hand most of the afternoon—but still, a surprising jolt of insecurity hit her hard.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Rushing around like you have a million deadlines.”

  He smiled ruefully. “I wouldn’t call it rushing. Didn’t you enjoy the tour?”

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t mind kicking back, too. We have stressful jobs. Well, you do. I did.” She sighed, hating that she was getting flustered. But something didn’t feel right between them.

  She’d noticed the change in him after his shower. They’d talked some during breakfast, but he’d hurried through that, too, claiming he wanted to leave so that housekeeping could clean the suite. It was almost as if he didn’t want to be alone with her, or have too much free time to talk. Was he worried that she expected they’d spend every night together? Or that she’d monopolize his time? Maybe she should’ve begged off doing anything with him today and given him some space.

  It took a while, as if his mind was working on over-drive, but he finally responded. “Sounds to me like you have regrets.”

  “What?” Her heart thudded. “About last night?”

  “No.” He reared his head back, his furrowed brows reflecting his bewilderment. “No, I meant about quitting the firm.”

  “How did you get that idea?”

  His lips lifted in a weary smile. “Guess we’re both too exhausted to make much sense.”

  She frowned, trying to think back on what she’d said. Recalling her rambling, she returned the tired smile. “I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that I won’t be showing up at the office on Monday. Even worse, how much unchartered, scary territory lays ahead of me.” She wished she hadn’t admitted the scary part, but it was already out there.

  “You’re going to do great,” he said, closing his hand on hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ve seen you in action. You put your mind to something and it’s a done deal.”

  “Yeah, I’ve always been pretty goal-oriented.” She made a show of unnecessarily shading her eyes, and then took her dark glasses out of her purse and hid behind them. “I’ll have zero life, but I’ll make the business work.”

  He barely reacted, only moved his shoulder ambiguously. “Didn’t you just tell me you didn’t have one before?”

  She swallowed the disappointment that rose in her throat. “True,” she said lightly, mentally chiding herself. What had she expected? For him to declare that he’d be filling her evenings with romantic dinners and tangled sheets? Nothing would change once they returned. Not only did she already know that, but it’s what she wanted. What had to be. With their schedules, there could be no happy medium.

  Oh, she knew they could grab a quickie now and then, but after last night, the thought was a bit painful.

  “You’re quiet,” he said, using his thumb to trace an idle pattern against her palm.

  “Just enjoying the warm breeze and flowers. Can you believe it’s still March?” She abruptly stood. “Come on. Let’s go back to the hotel and walk on the beach.”

  There it was again. At the suggestion, he’d immediately tensed. But why?

  “What about the Bishop Museum?” he asked, slowly getting to his feet. “We have only four full days left and a lot more to see.”

  “Really?” Whether it was his unconvincing tone of voice or the way he defensively jerked one shoulder, she didn’t buy it. “You’re that interested in the history and culture of the state?”

  He heaved a heartfelt sigh. “No.”

  “Then what?”

  Mirroring her frustration, he said, “I don’t want you to think that all I want from you is sex.”

  He hadn’t seen the older couple wearing matching loud Hawaiian shirts approach from behind him. As if they’d overheard, they exchanged knowing smiles and, holding hands, veered toward the next bench.

  Mia pursed her lips, trying not to laugh, but it turned out it wasn’t hard to sober. Something about the couple’s shared smiles and the familiar way they touched stirred a wistfulness in Mia’s chest that took her
by surprise. She looked away from them, unsettled, because she hadn’t known she craved that closeness, the kind bred only by years of talking and touching and waking up together in the same bed. Not now, for God’s sake.

  Shaking his head, David groaned, and then gave a resigned chuckle.

  Mia pulled herself together, looped an arm through his and steered them in the direction of the car. “Uh, excuse me, Mr. Pearson, but were you there last night?” He only smiled, patiently waited for her to zing him. “I’m pretty sure my participation was rather enthusiastic.”

  “What I meant was that I don’t want you to think that is the only reason why I came to Hawaii.”

  “To get laid?” She spoke quietly so no one could hear her teasing. “Come on, if that were true, it would have been a lot cheaper to find a date in Manhattan.”

  David abruptly stopped, forced her to face him. He wore the most awful expression, part angry, part offended.

  “Hey, I was only teasing.”

  He slowly removed his sunglasses, making her wait as if she were a recalcitrant child and he, the long-suffering teacher struggling to compose himself before he meted out suitable punishment. “Look, Ms. Butterfield, let’s be clear.” He startled her by plucking off her sunglasses, too.

  She blinked at the unexpected glare, then swallowed at the spellbinding intensity in his brown eyes as they met hers and held on.

  He touched her cheek. “I came here because of you, and only you. I won’t lie, the sex was phenomenal. That’s part of the problem.” He smiled a little. “We need to stay the hell away from the hotel and private beaches or anywhere else where I can get away with stripping you naked and doing wicked things to you, or there is no question how the rest of this week is going to end up.”

  His seductive words and the dark lusty gleam in his eyes made her body feel all warm and tingly, and her mouth go dry. Not the same predicament down south. She unconsciously squeezed her thighs together as if that would make a difference. If he wanted to get down to business right now in the convertible parked off a busy Honolulu street, she had a nasty suspicion she’d let him.

  He studied her face. “You have nothing to say?”

  She moistened her parched lips. “I’m still trying to figure out why, exactly, that would be a problem?”

  “Jesus.” He briefly closed his eyes. “Come on,” he said, taking her by the arm. He was already getting hard. She could see the evidence building behind his fly.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, all innocence. “The Bishop Museum?”

  His smoldering gaze was all the response she needed.

  THE BALCONY OFF the suite’s bedroom was the perfect spot for watching the sunset. No matter how clear the day had been, a handful of clouds always seemed to gather over the horizon in time to turn the sky a vivid rainbow of pinks and oranges and salmons.

  Mia lazily stretched her bare legs out to the railing as she turned to watch David, who was sitting beside her, digging the macadamia nuts out of his vanilla ice cream.

  “Are you going to eat that or play with it?”

  “What are you, my mother?”

  She laughed. “I’m jealous. I finished mine five minutes ago.”

  He paused long enough to cock a wary brow at her. “I’m not sharing.”

  “You would if I asked nicely,” she said in a sweet voice.

  “Of course I would, so of course you wouldn’t.” He popped one of the nuts into his mouth for emphasis. “Why are you doing that?” She’d watched the same ritual yesterday and it drove her crazy. “It’s not as though you’re not going to end up eating everything anyway.”

  “I know.”

  “So?”

  “Cheap therapy. It calms me.”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “That’s what you said about having sex three times in two hours.”

  He grinned. “That works, too.”

  She shook her head in mock disapproval and settled back to enjoy the sunset and let him finish his ice cream. After their talk at ‘Iolani Palace two days ago, the frantic pace had ended, and every minute had been sheer bliss. It didn’t matter if they were simply walking along the beach or making love or picking out that ridiculous souvenir for Annabelle on the couch, or just sitting here as they were now, eating ice cream as the sun dipped. It was all good. Perfect even. Better. Mia couldn’t recall a time she’d felt more content.

  “Here.”

  She turned her head to look at him. He held a spoonful of ice cream to her lips. She grinned. “Sucker.”

  He ate the last bite himself, and then set the empty foam cup next to hers on the small side table. “When it comes to you…”

  That he was so serious, so matter-of-fact, made Mia’s pulse flutter. “I was teasing,” she said lamely.

  He smiled, stretched back on his lounge chair and locked his hands behind his head. “What time is dinner?”

  “Dinner?” She frowned, scrambling to figure out what she’d missed. “Oh, the birthday dinner. You were still in the shower when I talked to Lindsey and Shelby this morning. Sorry I forgot to tell you, but we canceled it altogether.”

  “Why? I thought it was tradition.”

  “Not canceled, really. We postponed again.”

  “Hope I didn’t have anything to do with it.” He seemed troubled by the prospect.

  Which she totally adored about him. A lot of guys would’ve selfishly tried to manipulate her into feeling guilty for deserting them for an evening. “Nope. We decided to wait until we go back to New York.” She shrugged. “Shelby’s birthday isn’t until next week.”

  “But yours was January twenty-ninth.”

  “And Lindsey’s was on February twenty-fifth.” Mia paused, narrowing her gaze on him. “How did you know when mine was?”

  “Must’ve heard people wishing you a happy birthday.”

  “No way. The admin staff celebrate with cakes or lunches out, but the attorneys—even us baby attorneys—never make a big deal out of our birthdays.”

  He shrugged, laid his head back and stared at the sunset. A slow smile curved his mouth. “I might have looked it up.”

  Mia laughed. “I didn’t get flowers. Oh, wait. You just wanted to know my sign.”

  “Your sign?” He swung his leg onto her lounge chair and used his bare toes to torture the sole of her foot.

  “Stop it,” she said giggling. Damn it, he knew how ticklish she was there. “Hey, I’m an Aquarian, which means payback’s a bitch.” She kicked his foot away. “Just so you know.”

  “Hmm, I didn’t know that about Aquarians,” he said, laughing.

  “You apparently don’t know anything about them. I lied. If anything, we’re loyal to a fault.”

  “Okay, what else do the cards say about you?” He jerked his chair closer, and she quickly protected her feet.

  “No cards. We’re talking about astrological signs.”

  “Sorry I got my occults mixed up.”

  “Fine.” She sniffed. “Mock me, but you’d be surprised at the accuracy of the descriptions.”

  “What surprises me is that you follow that stuff.”

  “It’s not as if I read my daily horoscope. I was a kid when I learned about what the different signs mean. Naturally I was curious about mine and if the description applied to me.”

  “Obviously it did, hence your interest. Tell me about it.”

  “So you can make fun of me some more?”

  Smiling, he reached over to rub her arm. “No, I won’t. Now I’m curious.”

  She eyed him for a moment. “I’m supposed to be outgoing, amiable, highly organized,” she said, and he nodded. “I’m always thinking, both a good and bad thing I’ve discovered. Aquarians are also humanitarians.” She tried not to smile as she waited for his reaction.

  He snorted. “I’ll vouch for that one. You racked up more pro bono hours than any three associates combined.”

  “So you’ve reminded me, more than once as I recall. But you never said no.”

 
; “You also clocked more billable hours than the rest, and you never once let our paying clients suffer. I couldn’t justify saying no.” His eyes went flat, and he turned to stare at the sunset. “Your leaving is a major loss for the firm.”

  She’d been unprepared for the sudden change in his mood. Nice that he acknowledged her professional value, but had he forgotten that the only reason they were here now was because she was no longer an employee?

  Mia cleared her throat. “I’m not sure what to say to that. Thanks, I guess.”

  He stretched his neck to one side, and then the other, staying silent for too long. Then he sighed and looked over at her. His smile wasn’t off, not by much, but she could see it. “Tell me more about your sign.”

  Back to neutral territory. She could live with that. “Of course there are some gray areas. I’m supposed to be objective and not swayed by emotion.”

  “You don’t think that’s true?”

  “Legally speaking, I can be very objective, but personally, not so much.” Instantly she wished she could recall the admission. She hadn’t meant to share that much. An hour ago, maybe it would’ve been all right, but she hated the way the old David was looking at her with those unreadable eyes. The mask was firmly in place, not a hint of emotion revealed.

  She turned away, shrugged, tried to shake off her resentment. “I’m also supposed to be happiest when I have a goal, which is completely accurate. I’m looking forward to the challenge of Anything Goes.”

  His leg was still on her chaise, and he moved his foot to stroke her calf. “I know it won’t be easy, getting the business off the ground,” he said, “but I admire the hell out of you for going after your dream like this. Still, it’s nice that you have the side job.”

  It took a second to realize he meant his assumption about her working for a smaller firm. Damn, she wished he hadn’t brought that up. How long could she get away with lying by omission? It shouldn’t make any difference. This wasn’t a romance, it was a week of fun. So why hadn’t she told him the truth?

  Puzzled and a little sad, she tried to pull together a smile, but she knew it would only ring false. It was time to stop playing games.