by Robyn Amos
Feeling embarrassed, Ronnie stared at her covered platter. She knew the incident Ace was talking about.
A couple of years ago, she’d surprised Andre with a weekend in New York City. She took him to dinner at one of Ace’s restaurants. When Ace had come to the table to greet them, instead of complimenting the food, Andre had joked about how a big girl like her could always be counted on to clear her plate.
She hadn’t appreciated it at the time, but Ace had stared Andre down as if he wanted to punch him.
Not wanting to spoil the night with bad memories, she pushed that thought aside. “What’s for dinner?”
Ace reached over and uncovered both dishes, revealing a grilled fish with a tropical salsa and steamed vegetables. It looked both healthy and delicious. “Taste it and you tell me.”
Ronnie took a forkful of the fish and the salsa together. “Mmm, this tastes like mahimahi with a light herb and—” She tasted it again. “Macadamia nut crust?” Ronnie looked at him suspiciously. “You didn’t make this, did you?”
“No, I didn’t. I had it delivered. I told the chef to surprise me and make sure it was a local dish.”
“Well, he outdid himself. This salsa is fantastic. I taste star fruit, mango and papaya.”
“And there’s a bit of citrus and lime. Maybe grapefruit?”
They went back and forth throughout the meal picking out the ingredients and trying to guess the cooking methods of the dish.
Finally, Ace reached into a picnic basket under the table and pulled out their desserts. A giant slab of chocolate cake garnished with fresh fruit, and one fork.
Since their first date, Ronnie hadn’t been as faithful to her diet as she’d wanted, but she promised herself that she’d make up for it later.
She couldn’t pass up being fed the delectable chocolate dessert by her even more delectable chocolate date.
As Ace fed her the last bite, Ronnie’s mind returned to her earlier amorous thoughts. “Did you say we’re all alone out here?”
“Not a soul for miles.”
Her back straightened. “Then how are we getting back to the hotel?”
“Don’t worry about that until it’s time. I’ve taken careof everything. In fact, I thought you might want to take a dip in the lagoon.”
“You should have told me. I would’ve brought my suit.”
He grinned. “You don’t need a suit. Besides, I’d do anything to keep you from putting on that frumpy black thing you call a bathing suit. I thought we could go skinny-dipping.”
Ronnie frowned, almost starting to protest. But as she glanced at the inviting pool of water, her mind began to change. The sun was just beginning to set, casting the water with a vibrant pink glow. They were surrounded by lush trees blooming with tropical flowers from hibiscus to plumeria. She may never get this chance again. And with the setting sun and the cover of trees, she really did feel as though they were all alone in the world.
“I’ve never gone skinny-dipping before. But you might be able to talk me into it.”
“You need some persuading?”
Before Ronnie could answer, Ace got out of his seat to pull her against him. Lowering his face to hers, he gave her a deep, stirring kiss.
“I’d love to make love to you surrounded by all of this beauty,” he whispered.
Then he reached for the knot between her breasts that held her sarong together and let it fall to the ground. Underneath she wore a cream slip-dress, which quickly followed her sarong.
Ronnie unbuttoned Ace’s Hawaiian shirt and shoved it off his shoulders. He helped push his slacks down over his large, muscular thighs.
By the time they were both nude, the last thing on Ronnie’s mind was swimming. So when he lifted her intohis arms, she stared into his eyes, anticipating the feel of his hands on her body.
Instead, his arms disappeared and she was falling. Cool water instantly surrounded her. With a flashback to the pool in Las Vegas, she surfaced, sputtering.
This time, Ace stayed close, pulling her against him with one hand, and wiping her face clear of water with the other.
Before she could say anything to kill the mood, his lips were on hers again. Moments ago the water had been a shocking cold. Now, with their bodies pressed together, they could have made it boil.
Ace’s dark, wet skin shone like polished onyx. Ronnie felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have such a handsome hunk all to herself.
Instead of Frank Sinatra on the stereo, they had the night sounds of birds and insects chittering their mood music. Instead of candlelight they had the amber glow of the setting sun. There were no bedsheets to drape their bodies—instead they were blanketed in teal-blue water and evening mist.
As they kissed, Ronnie could feel Ace’s arousal. She would finally have a romantic adventure to file away in her memories. She was fulfilling a fantasy she didn’t even know she’d had.
With strong arms, Ace began to lift her out of the water, and her legs instinctively encircled his waist. It was exciting to have a man burly enough to hold her without complaint. With Ace, she felt like the most delicate flower.
Though her eyes were closed, she sensed a flash of light. Her eyes snapped open. “Was that lightning?”
Ace’s eyes were hooded and distracted. “What do you mean?”
“I saw a flash of—there it is again.” This time she couldsee it was coming from the trees. And it was followed by several more.
Ace lowered her into the water. “It’s a camera.”
Immediately Ronnie sank into the water up to her neck. “Someone’s watching us?” She remembered the article in the Las Vegas Review. Maybe that photographer at the hotel had been with the paparazzi, too. “Oh, no!”
“Stay down,” Ace ordered in a no-nonsense tone. Then he charged out of the water, barely pausing to grab his pants.
Ronnie huddled in the water, hoping it was dark enough to hide her body. Ace, as bold as ever, ran for the trees while pulling on his pants.
She saw more flashes and heard some shouting before Ace reappeared. Grabbing a towel from under their table, he stood with open arms, motioning to her that it was safe to leave the water.
Starting to shiver with both chill and adrenaline, Ronnie skittered into Ace’s arms, where he wrapped the towel around her and helped her dress.
“What happened?” She bent over to slip on her shoes.
“It seems a reporter showed up to photograph us,” he answered tersely, his brows knit in anger.
Ronnie shook her head. “Are you kidding me? Are Brad and Angelina in the area? Because I can’t imagine why the paparazzi would care about a couple of chefs. Especially when they would have had to go to such lengths to find us out here.”
Ace looked tense. “You’re right. This shouldn’t have happened,” he said, vehemently.
Ronnie still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “I don’t mean to sound skeptical, because I know you’re popular with your fans. But are you really so famous that the paparazzi stalk you?”
With them both fully dressed now, Ace wrapped his arms around her shoulders and started guiding her out of the clearing. “No, I’m not. And I never wanted to be. I’m going to have to find a way to put a stop to this.”
Ronnie saw that they were approaching the main road where a limo was waiting. She had to admit that she was relieved not to be getting into a helicopter again. Looking at Ace’s profile, he seemed genuinely upset.
She squeezed his shoulder before climbing into the limo. “I’m sorry your romantic evening was interrupted, but all is not lost. We can finish what we started back at the hotel.”
He climbed in beside her. “This is all my fault. I don’t know what kind of pictures that photographer got, but I’ll do whatever I can to make sure they don’t make it into the paper.”
Ronnie laughed. “Could it be that they got a bogus tip? Maybe they thought we were Beyoncé and Jay-Z.”
Ace just shook his head, refusing to pick up her light mood.
She wasn’t thrilled about their romantic tryst getting interrupted by a photographer. And if she really took the time to think about it, she’d be mortified. But Ace was taking it harder.
She could only imagine the time and money he’d spent trying to make the evening special for her. Obviously he felt that everything was ruined now. Apparently, it would be up to her to salvage the night.
In the lobby, Ronnie tugged on Ace’s arm. “Come back to my room with me. I think I know how to cheer you up.”
He gave her hand a squeeze as he pulled away. “Not tonight. I have a headache.”
She laughed. “Are you a suburban housewife now? ‘Not tonight, I have a headache’?”
He shook his head. “Seriously, I think I’m just going to take some aspirin and go to sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Disappointed, Ronnie went back to her room. Too wired to go to sleep, she dialed LQ’s cell phone. “What are you up to?”
LQ yawned. “I was getting ready for bed. I thought you’d be doing the same. I stopped by your room earlier, but you didn’t answer.”
Ronnie sighed. LQ would think she was nuts after their conversation on the plane yesterday, but LQ was bound to find out eventually that Ronnie was still dating Ace. “I had a date. With Ace.”
There was a long pause. “Really? But, what about—”
“I know what you’re thinking, but the time we’re spending together has nothing to do with the competition. He’s a great guy, and I think I deserve to be with a great guy for a change.”
“How can you be sure he’s as great as you think he is?”
“He planned the most romantic date for us tonight.” Ronnie told LQ about the helicopter tour and gourmet meal beside the lagoon. “It would have been perfect if those crazy paparazzi photographers hadn’t interrupted us.”
LQ sighed heavily. “Ronnie, this just doesn’t sound right to me. How do you know that Ace didn’t set this whole thing up for publicity?”
Ronnie scoffed. “If you’d seen how angry Ace was, you wouldn’t even question it.”
“That could be an act. I tried to tell you before. One of my girlfriends who used to model in New York used to date Ace. She had a really bad experience.”
Ronnie stiffened. “What happened?”
“She said he used her to get free publicity for hisrestaurant. He took advantage of her rising fame. They were photographed together all over town, then after his big opening, he dumped her.”
“Come on, LQ. That doesn’t sound like Ace at all. I’m sure your friend misunderstood the reason for their breakup. He doesn’t need to use cheap tricks like that. His food speaks for itself.”
“Fine, it’s your life. You can believe what you want. But I’d be careful if I were you.”
Ronnie hung up the phone feeling sick to her stomach. Was it true? Could Ace be responsible for the press suddenly taking an interest in the two of them?
She remembered his miserable expression on the limo ride home. There was no way he was faking that. Getting to her feet, Ronnie pushed LQ’s words aside. Ace was so distraught over how the evening had ended he’d given himself a headache. She shouldn’t have let him go back to his room alone.
Smiling to herself, she went to her closet. It wasn’t too late for her to nurse him back to health.
Chapter 13
Walking back to his room, Ace knew he hadn’t been good company. But he just couldn’t let his anger go. Garett had gone too far. Hadn’t he made it clear that he didn’t want to turn his relationship with Ronnie into a media spectacle?
Even though he’d rather be with Ronnie, he wouldn’t be able to focus on romance until he found Garett and tore him a new one. He’d gone to great lengths to win Ronnie’s trust and make the evening one she’d never forget. Now, once again, Garett’s schemes could ruin everything.
If nude photos of them frolicking in the lagoon showed up in the morning paper, how could he ever look Ronnie in the eye again? Garett was responsible for this and he worked for Ace. She’d never believe that Ace hadn’t put him up to it.
What made things worse was that he hadn’t told anyone his plans. Especially not Garett.
Sure, Garett had been known to ignore his wishes in thepast, but only on trivial matters. They’d been friends for many years, but if Ace couldn’t get through to him, he’d have to fire him.
Ace paced his room, dialing Garett’s number on his cell phone every two minutes. The coward wouldn’t answer. He probably had his ringer turned off.
He decided to call the front desk to connect him to Garett’s room. Even if he wasn’t there now, he’d have to show up at some point. And Ace would ring the line every two minutes. If Garett wanted to sleep that night, he’d have to talk to Ace first.
Before he could hit the keypad, there was a knock at his door. Ace dropped the phone and stalked to the door. Maybe Garett had realized Ace was trying to reach him and had decided to face the music in person.
When Ace jerked open the door, he got a surprise.
Ronnie was smiling at him from the hallway, holding a large banana split.
Mouth agape, Ace just stood there with the door open. She squeezed past him into his room.
“Shut the door, Ace. I want to show you something.” She was wearing a short lavender raincoat and her high-heeled sandals. It wasn’t raining.
Unable to form words, he did as he was told.
She put the sundae on the table. Untying her belt, Ronnie pulled open the raincoat to reveal a simple black bra and panties. “I thought you needed something sweet to make you feel better.”
Her honey-colored skin looked tasty enough to eat. He took a step toward her, and she dropped the raincoat on the floor and picked up the sundae.
“I know what I said about food in the bedroom, but I thought you might be able to change my mind.” Ronnietook a cherry and placed it between her glossy lips. Then she crooked her finger for him to come and get it.
Still unable to speak, Ace just nodded. Leaning over, he sucked the cherry from her lips into his mouth. He ate the cherry, tasting the sweet juice and her soft lips all at once.
Ronnie led him over to the bed, pushed him down and began taking off his clothes. “Do you still need an aspirin?”
Ace dipped his finger first into the hot fudge and then into her cleavage. “No, I think I found my cure,” he said, leaning forward to lick the fudge away.
Still on East Coast time, Ace woke up at 6:00 a.m. to find Ronnie staring at him. “You’re already awake,” he whispered, realizing his voice was a bit hoarse.
“Yes, I’ve been awake since five thirty. Jet lag, I guess.”
“Good. Since we’re both awake, why don’t we have breakfast in the hotel restaurant overlooking the ocean?”
Ronnie levered herself up on one arm. “I don’t know. Do you think it’s safe to be seen together? Now I feel like there are photographers hiding in every bush. We’ve already had one article in the paper and there might be another one today.” She cringed.
Ace’s stomach turned over. For a short while, he’d been able to forget about the paparazzi. Ronnie’s surprise seduction had cleared his mind of everything but her.
But, he hadn’t caught up with Garett yet, which meant anything could happen today. He had to get through to him before things got further out of control.
Trying to downplay how much it still bothered him, Ace said, “I’m offended that you’re ashamed to be seen with me.
But, if it will put your mind at ease, we could always order room service. My balcony overlooks the ocean, too.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’m starving.”
After breakfast in Ace’s room, Ronnie allowed him to talk her into going down to the beach for a surfing lesson. So she went back to her room to change and promised to meet him on the beach.
Even though staying in had felt a bit like hiding out, Ronnie preferred to think of it in a more romantic light. They weren’t sneaking around. They were having a clandestine ren
dezvous.
Donning her standard black tank suit, Ronnie threw a T-shirt and shorts on top of it. Then she heard a knock at her door.
“LQ, what are you—”
Her friend bounded into the room with her laptop under her arm. “Where have you been all morning? I got something important to show you.”
Ronnie felt heat creeping up her neck. “I was—Last night I—”
LQ held up a hand to halt Ronnie’s stammering. “Don’t say any more. I can guess.”
She set up her laptop on the bed and flipped open the screen. “These pictures showed up online this morning.”
Ronnie leaned forward, then clasped her hands to her face. A well-known gossip website had two pictures of Ronnie and Ace. One had been taken in front of the hotel yesterday when she was kissing him on the cheek in her hula outfit. The other was dark and blurry, but it was two people standing in a lagoon kissing.
Thankfully, it was impossible to make out who the two people were, but the gossip columnist speculated that it was Ronnie and Ace.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Ronnie said, sinking to her knees in front of the computer.
LQ had her hand on her hip and was shaking her head. “I warned you this could happen. I still think Ace has the most to gain in this situation.”
Ronnie shook her head. “No, he’s as unhappy about this as I am. It’s not his fault the press have glommed on to this story. He—”
She was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was a member of the hotel staff holding a bag from the gift shop.
“What’s this?” she asked him.
The man smiled at her. “It’s a gift courtesy of Ace Brown.”
After closing the door, Ronnie dug into the bag. Her fingers connected with some fabric and string. Pulling her hand out of the bag, she found herself holding a tiny bikini.
LQ rolled her eyes. “You see? He’s dressing you again.”
Ronnie narrowed her eyes at her friend. “What are you talking about?”