by R. Linda
I met Linc’s hard glare. His jaw was clenched, and I was slightly amused by his reaction. He wasn’t impressed that Jack was my boyfriend, and that thought sent a thrill through me.
“Oh, about a year now. Yeah, baby cakes?”
“Yep.” I beamed up at Jack and snuggled closer to his side, deciding to roll with it for the time being.
I heard Bailey sigh and Ryder mutter something that sounded like, “Here we go again,” and I had to stifle a laugh because it was like history repeating itself. Only this time it wasn’t Bailey and Ryder fake dating to make someone jealous; it was me and Jack pretending for…reasons unknown. I’d have to ask Jack what he was thinking. Why would he do this? I couldn’t very well come out and say we were only joking now. We’d look like fools. We were going to have to act like a couple for the entire week.
Nate and Linc exchanged a look, with Linc nodding the smallest fraction. This would have been completely unnoticed by anyone other than Nate because they had that sort of friendship—they didn’t need words, could have an entire conversation with only looks—and by me because I was aware of every move he made when he was around.
Obsessed? No. That was too harsh a word. Made me seem crazy. I preferred the term “enthusiastically invested,” because I was very invested in everything that man, with the sudden scowl on his face as he snatched my suitcase off the ground and began stomping over to his car, did.
Nate pointed a finger at Jack. “We’re going to have a chat later.” And then he turned and walked over to the rental car, some sort of SUV with extra seats to accommodate us all.
Jack looked at me with alarmed eyes for a moment before brushing the fear aside with a wave of the hand. “Meh, he’ll love me. Who doesn’t, really?”
“Me, right now. What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Making that handsome specimen over there realise what he’s going to lose if he doesn’t act soon.”
A spark of hope ignited in my stomach. If the fake relationship worked for Bailey and Ryder, making Chace, her ex-boyfriend, insanely jealous, then maybe it would work for me. Maybe pretending to date Jack would make Lincoln so blind with jealousy that he finally saw me for what I’d always been. His. Cheesy, I knew, but true nonetheless.
“And if he doesn’t want me that way?” My voice cracked.
“Then he’s an idiot and doesn’t deserve you. But from the looks he’s giving me right now, I’d say you’ve got nothing to worry about, baby cakes.”
Chapter Two
Lincoln
I didn’t like him.
He seemed like a dick.
Loud and obnoxious, making jokes that weren’t even remotely funny.
She couldn’t seriously be dating that guy. I wanted to wipe that smug look off his face when he bragged about them being together for a year. A whole damn year. How did I not know about this? How did Nate not know about it? I hated that we’d drifted so far apart once she left for uni, without even a goodbye, after her birthday.
We’d had a moment, the night of her eighteenth birthday. A moment that I may have planned for a little while. A moment that happened by planting a seed in a kid’s mind that Seven Minutes in Heaven would be a great game to play. A moment that came to fruition after spending endless hours mastering how to spin a damn bottle so it stopped where I wanted it to—on Indie. A moment that resulted in Nate nearly walking in on me kissing his sister.
The car ride back to the hotel was loud and full of chatter with Indie and her friends—her three friends, since I refused to think of him as her boyfriend—though I wasn’t really listening. I was too busy sending death glares into the rear-view mirror every time Jack uttered something in Indie’s ear. I told myself it wasn’t jealousy, because it wasn’t. I’d been looking out for Indie since we were kids growing up next door to one another. She was Nate’s sweet little sister, naïve, innocent, and too trusting. We looked out for her until she left and moved across the country, as far from home as possible. I’d fought every instinct in my body not to pack up and follow her. Doing that would have been suicide.
“When does Kenzie arrive?” Indie twisted in her seat to look at Ryder, who was crammed in the back with all their luggage.
“Tomorrow.” In the whole time I’d known him, I came to realise he didn’t say a lot unless it was absolutely necessary. I liked that about him. Unlike Jack, who seemed to love the sound of his own voice.
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and frowned. It’d only been twenty minutes since she strolled out of that airport in those cut-off denim shorts showing off her smooth legs and that oversized black t-shirt that looked like it might have come out of Jack’s closet. My grip tightened on the steering wheel. Was it his shirt? Be cool man. Be cool. I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself, but I seemed to have the attention of a certain pair of stormy blue eyes watching me in the mirror.
I winked, unable to hide my amusement. Damn, did I really wink at Indie? What was I, a teenage boy? Her cheeks reddened, and she ducked her head in embarrassment at being caught. Why was she watching me? I had a feeling she wasn’t all too pleased to see me, given that she was hesitant to even say hello for some reason. Maybe she was planning all the ways she could torment me over the next week, but little did she know, just having her here was tormenting enough, and now I had to watch her flaunt her relationship with Jack-ass back there.
Finally, after the longest thirty-minute drive in history, we pulled up at the front of the hotel. I was exhausted and just wanted to get us all checked in. We’d flown in about three hours ago, and rather than heading straight to The Falls Hotel, we stupidly hung around the airport with our luggage and hired a car big enough for all of us. It seemed pointless going to the hotel when we couldn’t check in until after 2:00 p.m. It was now 2:08, and I was more than ready to get out of that car and put some distance between Indie and me.
Parking the car to the side, Nate and I ran in to check us all in first, so the valet could park the car, while the others waited outside with their bags.
“Welcome to The Falls. How may I help you?” The pretty little blonde receptionist smiled at Nate, and of course, he went into full suave mode, leaning one elbow on the counter and giving her that grin that never failed. I’d seen it work countless times.
“Hi, we’re checking in. We’re here for the Kellerman wedding,” he said smoothly while I stood off to the side and tapped the keys on the counter.
“Right, sure.” The girl—Jasmine, her name tag read, making me cringe—said, looking flustered as she began typing on the keyboard. Jasmine. Why couldn’t I get away from that name? A chill ran up my spine every time I thought about my ex-fiancée with the same name and the same hair as the woman sitting in front of me. “What name?”
“Kellerman, Nate,” he said, pointing to himself, making Jasmine blush more. What was wrong with this girl? “And Indie,” he continued.
“Uh-huh. Indie is your…wife?” She hesitated, a sour look on her face. I barked out a laugh. You’ve got to be kidding me. Subtlety wasn’t this chick’s forte.
“No. She’s my sister,” Nate corrected immediately.
“Oh, okay. Great! That’s just perfect,” Jasmine chirped. “It’s just we have a double room booked, and I thought it would…Never mind. Anyone else?”
“The double room would be for Jones and Mitchell,” Nate assured her before gesturing to me. “Lincoln Andrews. And we also need another single room for Jackson Meyer.”
“Let me see.” Jasmine bit her lip, whether in concentration or seductively, I didn’t know, but Nate turned to me and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Batshit crazy, man. It’s in the name,” I said faintly.
He laughed. “She’s all right.”
His funeral.
“Okay. I have a single room for you, Mr. Kellerman.”
“Call me Nate.”
I groaned and turned away to look around, but my eyes landed on Indie standing outside, with Jack-ass’s arms aroun
d her waist, laughing at something he had said.
“Okay, Nate. I have the double for Miss Mitchell and Mr. Jones. Now, with the singles, there appear to have been two adjoining rooms booked. I have managed to secure a regular single room as well. You just need to let me know whether Miss Kellerman, Mr. Andrews, or Mr. Meyer would like the single room. And I’ll place the other two in the adjoining rooms.”
I stood to attention and turned to face the girl. “Adjoining rooms? They were meant to all be single.” Adjoining rooms. No way in hell was I letting Jack have a room attached to Indie’s.
“I know, and I’m sorry for that. The adjoining doors can be locked from both sides for privacy. They’re usually reserved for families, but as we’re very busy this week, it’s all I have left to offer. I’d be more than happy to provide free breakfast in the room for those in the adjoining rooms by way of apologising.”
“Miss Kellerman and I will take the adjoining rooms,” I said quickly before Nate could open his big mouth and put Jack and Indie together.
“You and Indie?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Look at them. Do you really want your sister to basically share a room with him for a week?” I pointed out the floor to ceiling windows where Jack was grabbing Indie’s ass. I hated the way he touched her. She wasn’t a piece of meat. There was no way in hell I was letting them share adjoining rooms. I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, and I knew Nate would agree.
Nate’s eyes narrowed, and his mouth set in a firm line. He turned back to Jasmine. “Lincoln Andrews and Indiana Kellerman would be great. Jackson Meyer can have the standard single.”
Atta boy, Nate. He’d lose it if he knew what I was really thinking and why I wanted Indie in the room next to mine.
“Perfect. I’ll get your keys.”
Jasmine grabbed some plastic cards that looked like credit cards and activated them before placing them in small envelopes with the room number and guest name on them. Looking at the numbers, I couldn’t have smiled wider. Things were working out better than I thought. Nate was in room 210. Bailey and Ryder had 212, Jack-ass was in 211. And Indie and I had room 845/6. Six floors above everyone else. We were on our own.
Things were definitely going to come to a head this week. And it would either be a disaster or end the way I hoped, with Jack-ass out of the picture and me finally getting the girl, because…
Hell, I’d been in love with Indiana Kellerman for fifteen damn years.
Chapter Three
Indie
Nate and Linc finally came out with our room keys and handed the valet our ticket. Thank God. All I wanted to do was get to my room and have a cold shower. It was too hot and sticky in this place. I wanted to relax for a while, have a sleep, or watch some television. I needed space. Jack was driving me crazy. He was only trying to help, but I feared it would backfire.
Linc had a fiancée, and as much as I wanted to believe this plan of Jack’s would work, I knew deep down it was futile. I wasn’t a homewrecker. I didn’t want to destroy Linc’s relationship. In all honesty, as much as it would hurt, if marrying her made him happy, I wished him the best. I would just cut myself off from him completely to save my heart any more pain.
The huge foyer of The Falls Resort took my breath away. My parents really had spared no expense. Sleek and modern with its black marble floors and accents, it didn’t fit the image I had of Fiji. We handed our luggage to the porter, who assured us he would take care of it and deliver it to our rooms momentarily, before heading to the elevator bank.
“This place is pretty swish,” Jack said as we stepped onto the elevator, with Linc pressing the buttons for floors two and eight. I was on eight and assumed everyone else was too. Was Linc on two alone?
“I can’t wait to see our rooms. Too bad they didn’t have any more doubles. It sucks we’re not together, baby cakes, but that’s okay. I don’t mind you sneaking into my room at night. Single beds mean we’ll be a lot closer.” Jack was loud enough for the entire elevator to hear.
My face heated up, and I was sure my ears were red, too. He just had to say something like that in front of my brother and Linc, both of whom looked ready to strangle the idiot. Bailey snickered into Ryder’s shoulder, finding it hilarious, while he groaned and tilted his head back against the elevator wall, squeezing his eyes shut as though in pain, when really, I knew it was frustration with Jack. Ryder wouldn’t interfere. He was waiting for everything to blow up in Jack’s face, and then maybe he’d step in and save his friend. Maybe.
“There are no single beds, idiot.” Ryder banged his head against the wall.
“There’s not? But the room’s a single?” Jack stroked his imaginary beard in contemplation.
Ryder ignored him, so Bailey answered his question with a sympathetic smile. She was the only one who had the patience to deal with Jack all the time. She never got annoyed or frustrated with him and was constantly scolding Ryder for being so impatient and rude to him. “Booked and paid for one person to stay in. The beds are full size.”
The elevator stopped on two, and I waited for Linc to get off. Instead, he moved to the side and let everyone else out. Jack turned back and looked at me with a pout. “What room are you in?”
“845.” I shrugged like it was no big deal that I appeared to be on the same floor as Lincoln. Alone.
“And you?” Jack stared at Linc. His eyes narrowed, nose scrunched, and his lip twitched. I thought he was trying to look intimidating, but he just looked like he smelled something bad. Jack was the least intimidating person I knew. Seriously, Bailey scared me more than Jack did, and that said a lot.
“8—” Linc didn’t get to answer because the doors slid closed, and we were off again.
Linc stood across from me, leaning against the wall exactly where Ryder had been moments ago. Lips pinched between his fingers, he stared at me.
I waited for him to speak, but he didn’t.
I picked at the invisible lint on my t-shirt.
I looked at the digital number above the door, counting the floors.
He still stared.
Was it hot in here? Maybe the air wasn’t working. I fanned myself then ran my fingers through my hair, twisting it and sweeping it off my neck to cool me down.
He still stared, completely quiet.
The elevator was silent except the jazz music playing softly over the speakers. Huh, jazz. It was a pleasant change from the standard classical piano tunes most elevators had. I wondered who thought it would be a clever idea to play classical music in these things. Really? It was as bad as the hold music you got when phoning a business. The jazz was a nice touch. It was soothing and…
Ding.
I thought we’d never get to our floor. My hands were sweating. That was too uncomfortable. I didn’t want to ask Linc what room he was in because I didn’t need to know. Again, he stepped back and let me out first. Always the gentleman.
I wandered down the hall, following the small chrome signs indicating the room numbers until I found my room.
“This is me,” I said.
“So it is. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Dinner?” I paused with my fingers grasping the door handle.
“At seven with your parents, downstairs. Want me to come get you?”
Right. My parents. I felt like a complete loser. I hadn’t given them even one thought since I stepped off that plane and into Linc’s arms. He commanded my attention all the time. He completely consumed my thoughts.
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure I’ll find it.” I pushed open my door, needing to put some distance between us before I combusted into a flaming ball of nerves.
I didn’t know what it was this time that made me so nervous, but things were different. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.
Feeling relieved, I closed my eyes, sagged against the wall, and tried to calm my erratic heartbeat. It always went crazy when Linc was around. I couldn’t help it, though. For thirteen years, ever since he gave
me that teddy bear he’d won by beating Nate at a carnival game, any time Linc was near me, my heart stuttered in my chest.
Opening my eyes, I took in my surroundings. My room was simple, elegant, and…huge. Soft beige carpet covered the floors, and a bamboo four-poster bed with sheer white curtains had the fluffiest white bedding I’d ever seen. It looked like clouds. There was a small sitting room with a white sofa, bamboo coffee table, and large flat-screen TV. But my favourite had to be the bathroom. It was bigger than my bedroom at home, complete with a double shower and hot tub.
I could get very used to staying here for the next week; I wouldn’t want to leave. Opening the sliding glass doors, I stepped out onto the balcony I shared with one room next door. The view from up this high was incredible. I could see the entire resort. The pool was directly below, and beyond that, white steps led straight to the beach. The gardens that surrounded the grounds were beautiful, so much greenery and bright-coloured flowers. This place was perfect.
Hearing a knock on the door, I reluctantly made my way back inside and greeted the porter as he delivered my bags. Thanking him, I checked the time and decided to have a shower and freshen up before exploring the resort.
I heaved my bag onto the bed. Weird. I didn’t remember it being so heavy when I packed yesterday. I travelled light most of the time; my wardrobe wasn’t very extensive because I liked to keep things simple. I didn’t do the over the top, girly, floaty, flowery look that Bailey managed to pull off effortlessly. No, I was rather attached to my chucks and t-shirts. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress anyone. The only person I wanted to impress had known me too long to even be impressed anymore.
I opened my suitcase and stopped. My fists clenched into balls, and my jaw dropped open. I was going to hunt him down and kill him. What was he thinking? When did he do it?