He turned in his seat to face her. “Okay, I think this is a story I need to hear.”
* * *
HAYLEY HANNA WAS by far the most entertaining, sexily compelling woman he’d ever met, Chase decided by the time she’d finished her account of her current dilemma.
“So, there you have it. I’m screwed unless I can convince my boss that I’m in line with the company’s core values.” Hayley kicked her feet free of her strappy sandals and tucked them under her on her seat.
Her perfectly manicured toes and deeply tanned legs didn’t escape his notice. In fact, nothing about her had. From the wavy blond hair, held off her face by her gem-encrusted sunglasses, to the light, crystal-blue eyes framed with long, dark lashes, to her full, bare lips that were just a shade darker than her skin. She was as close to perfect as he’d ever seen. And the way his body was reacting to the smell of her soft, intoxicating perfume surprised the hell out of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought the urge to kiss a complete stranger and felt the pull of temptation to run his tongue along her neck to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Her slight standoffish air helped put a damper on the spark sizzling between them as their flirty banter continued, yet somehow it made her that much more appealing.
“I find it weird that the firm puts so much emphasis on those things,” he said. “It’s your personal life. What should it matter if you’re married with kids?”
“In the board’s eyes, a single woman who seems to take on only female clients with major hate-ons for their husbands is not really presenting the firm the way they would like.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re winning cases. That’s all that should matter.”
“Do you want to tell my boss that?”
He paused as the most absurd idea hit him. Maybe he couldn’t defend her to her boss, but he could offer to help her with this charade. Be a stand-in for the man she’d just broken up with to help her get through this corporate retreat.
“What?” She frowned when he was silent.
“Give me a second—I’m working through something,” he said, rubbing his forehead. She seemed like a nice woman, crazy sexy, and definitely someone he’d rather hang out with that week than the marriage-obsessed bridesmaids. Of course, he had to attend the obligatory rehearsal dinner and the wedding, but the rest of his time was his own... Or at least it would be if his sister thought he was falling in love. And while love was never going to happen, the possibility of a vacation fling was far too tempting. “How about we help each other?” His mind was made up. Now to convince her—though she had admitted to briefly considering an escort service, so this shouldn’t be difficult.
“How?”
Removing his cell phone from his pocket, he opened his mail app.
“Don’t let the flight attendant see you,” Hayley said, scanning the aisle.
“It’s on airplane mode.” He searched for the most recent email from Kate and opened the attachments. He moved closer to Hayley and held out the phone as the first image appeared on the screen.
“Wow, she’s gorgeous...those can’t be her real eyelashes,” she said, leaning closer to inspect the picture of Kate’s former college friend, Trish. “Who is she?”
“Just one of the three single women attending the wedding that my sister would like to set me up with.” He clicked on the remaining two images. Three beautiful, successful, smart women. His sister had good taste—he’d give her that. But the other thing these women had in common was their desire to be Kate’s next wedding-planning client, and marriage was not in his future. He’d made that choice the moment he’d joined the police force. He’d seen what his chosen career could do to families...far too many times. He refused to put a wife and kids through the torment and possible danger. Relationships were not something he could do—he’d tried once and failed. He was done with anything more than casual sex. Unfortunately, his hopelessly romantic sister refused to believe that.
“I still like the first one best,” Hayley said. “What’s with the numbers on the bottom of the photos?”
“It’s Kate’s crazy rating scale.” He had to hand it to his sister, she was thorough.
Hayley laughed. “It’s actually a good idea. How do I help you with all of this?”
He tucked the phone away. “You need a fake fiancé. I need a date for the wedding so my sister doesn’t pimp me out all week to her lonely friends...especially now that you’ve terrified me with the knowledge that they’re ticking biological time bombs.” Not to mention, a part of him didn’t want to show up alone when the one woman he’d truly cared for would be there with his youngest brother—her new husband—sporting a five-month baby bump. He decided to keep the last part to himself. He still hadn’t quite worked through his feelings on that one. He’d only found out two months ago when Adam had been in town and they’d had dinner together. He’d dropped the bomb somewhere between the third and fourth tequila shot that he’d eloped with Chase’s ex-girlfriend and they were expecting a baby. “So, what do you think?”
“I don’t know...it seems kind of crazy,” she said, but he could see the wheels turning in her mind. “What night is the wedding?” she asked finally.
“Friday. Ceremony starts at sunset—around six thirty.”
She reached for her carry-on and pulled it free. Then unzipping it, she retrieved her daytimer. “Friday... Friday...” she muttered, flipping the pages that were full of different-colored highlighted sections and sticky notes and business cards, making the thing burst at the seams.
Organized, insanely busy woman.
Someone who just might be as busy and career-driven as he was and who wouldn’t demand all his time and attention... He shook the thought away. A date for the wedding was all he needed. And if they got tangled up in his sheets at some point during the week, he’d consider it a win.
“We have dinner and a guest speaker that night to wrap up the retreat but as long as I’m there for the opening speech at six and then back later... It could work.” She tucked the book into the seat pocket and bit her lip as she turned to stare at him. “You’d really do this for me?”
“We’d be helping each other.” Chase and his brother hadn’t spoken since Adam had delivered the news and he had no idea how hard it was going to be seeing his brother and ex-girlfriend together. Kendall had been the only woman he’d even considered trying to have a future with. Having a date would help him save face, and this setup was perfect.
No complications of a real relationship.
“During the day I’ll be in conference meetings, so your time would be your own... It would just be the evenings.”
“Where are you staying?” he asked, praying it wasn’t the same resort where the wedding was being held.
“The Westin Resort and Spa.”
“Down the beach from the Sheraton. Perfect.” He’d been to Maui with his family over a dozen times, so he knew the place well. Their hotels were in short walking distance, but far enough that their events wouldn’t collide.
She didn’t look convinced. She was silent for a long moment before finally shaking her head. “I’m sorry—I can’t. I mean, I’d love to. It would make my life so much easier.” She paused. “No, I can’t,” she said more firmly this time. “But thank you, Chase.”
He sighed. “Okay... Well, if you change your mind.” He held back—barely—before suggesting an alternate arrangement for that week.
“I won’t.”
Damn it. She probably wouldn’t. But for a second, this trip hadn’t seemed quite so bad.
* * *
CHASE SCANNED THE terminal at the Maui airport for the shuttle bus to take him to the car rentals. He insisted on driving whenever he was on vacation, liking the freedom to venture farther from the resort. And this trip he might need a car to escape the wedding party.
&nbs
p; The open-air terminal looked exactly the same as it had when he’d visited years before. The fresh ocean breeze filled him with nostalgia. Those family vacations were some of his best memories. Days on the beach playing volleyball and learning to scuba dive, the incredible sunsets over the water and the hours spent checking out girls at the pool. Being with his parents—that had been the best part of all.
“Excuse me, I think you left this in the back of the seat in front of you,” a young woman said, coming up behind him just as the white budget car rental shuttle pulled up to the curb outside the airport.
Hayley’s daytimer.
“Oh... Actually, it’s not mine, but I can get it to the owner,” he said, taking it with a smile. “Thank you.” He adjusted his garment bag over his arm before rushing off to catch the shuttle.
He scanned the area one last time for any sight of her but didn’t see her. After deboarding the plane, she’d said a quick goodbye and rushed off before he’d had an opportunity to ask if she’d like a ride to her hotel instead of taking the shuttle that would stop at eight different resorts along the way. The truth was he had been disappointed to end their time together. For a woman he barely knew, he kind of liked her. She was funny, smart and sexy—an irresistible combination...and she’d had enough integrity to refuse his crazy scheme.
Nope. He wouldn’t miss another opportunity to see her. Boarding the shuttle, he took a seat up front, securing his duffel bag at his feet. The warm island breeze coming through the open windows rustled the multicolored sticky notes extending past the pages of the daytimer. He stared at it. This is private property—do not open it. Though, she had left it on the plane... She was lucky that he knew where she was staying so he could return it. One peek wouldn’t hurt, he decided, opening the book to that day’s date. Flight to Maui was written on the top of the page and highlighted in green. Wailele Polynesian Luau was listed toward the bottom and highlighted in pink. The rest of the page was blank. No harm done. Not much here he didn’t already know. He closed the book.
How busy was her week? Maybe he could show up somewhere some evening and buy her a drink? No, that was stupid. If she had wanted to see him again on this trip she wouldn’t have taken off the moment she was free from the confines of the plane. Besides, what good would come of a drink with a beautiful woman like Hayley?
His knees bounced and he looked everywhere but the source of temptation on his lap. He wouldn’t want anyone flipping through his personal belongings. Respect her privacy...
What the hell. Once he gave back the book, he’d never see her again anyway. He flicked it open and started to scan its pages... Ten minutes later, he knew she was a Harvard graduate—based on her alumni event later that summer—that she had regularly scheduled eye and dental appointments and once she’d attended them she gave herself little star stickers, and that her next vehicle maintenance was booked for the following month at Los Angeles BMW. The woman had great taste in vehicles.
Other than that, court cases and appointments with clients filled the remaining pages, all the way to Christmas. No vacations planned, no family dinners, no dates... She was obviously as career focused as she’d claimed and not at all interested in a relationship—exactly the kind of woman whose help he could really use that week.
If only she’d taken him up on his offer.
3
AN HOUR LATER, Hayley struggled to breathe. And not from an asthma attack induced by the island’s humidity. Nope, this was a full-fledged panic attack. She dug through her purse, her carry-on and her suitcase, frantically tossing items aside on the floor of the hotel lobby while she waited in line to check in.
Where was her daytimer? She couldn’t have lost it. Her life was inside that book. Her court cases and client appointments...things were color coded and organized...and she didn’t even have a backup, refusing to use the firm’s public appointment calendar. She was accountable to herself and no one else...but now, damn it, she wished she’d put her court dates at least into the micromanagement system.
“Checking in, ma’am?” A hotel desk clerk appeared next to her with flower leis over his right arm. He draped one over her head as she glanced toward him.
Freaking out actually.
“Would you like assistance with your bags today?” he asked.
“No, thank you,” she said, shoving everything back into her suitcase. She stood and tossed her carry-on over her shoulder as she approached the desk, racking her mind for where she could have tucked that book.
Come on, think. When was the last time...? Oh, no. Her eyes widened. The plane.
She shook her head, remembering the momentary lapse in judgment when she’d actually thought about taking Chase up on his offer to act as her fiancé for the week. It was crazy... It would never have worked...right? She’d had her moments over the last forty-eight hours when desperation had caused her to contemplate actions that severe, but luckily she hadn’t gone through with any of them.
“Hayley!”
Great, now she was hearing his voice. She really was frazzled. At the desk, she handed her reservation confirmation to the smiling woman behind the computer. No doubt she backed up her important information. “Checking in—last name, Hanna.”
“Um... I think your husband is calling you,” he said, nodding behind her.
“I’m not married.”
“Well, there’s a man looking for you.”
Hayley sighed as she turned to see Chase coming toward her. Better yet—holding her daytimer. Oh, thank God. She’d never in her life had the urge to kiss someone as much as she was tempted to kiss him at that moment. Rushing toward him, she grabbed her book and hugged it to her chest. “I missed you,” she said, oblivious to the man staring at her with open amusement. “Not you—the book,” she said in case there was need for clarification.
“I got that,” he said with an unoffended laugh. “I was actually going to wait until your bikini wax next Wednesday to return it, but I thought you might need it sooner.”
Her eyes widened. Her bikini wax? He’d read her daytimer? “Hey! This was a piece of personal property—you had no right to snoop through it.” She wasn’t sure which embarrassed her more—the fact that he’d seen her bikini wax appointment or the fact that it was probably the most interesting thing in there. She tucked her planner into her carry-on and folded her arms across her chest, noticing that his gaze followed. “Hey, up here.” Sure, she hadn’t minded him checking her out on the plane, but that was before he’d discovered her color-coded analness...and oh, she prayed he hadn’t seen the “Good for you” and “Way to go” star stickers throughout. Or worse, her daily affirmations written in the back of the book.
“Sorry,” he said, looking anything but. “Look, I didn’t read through it...just a few pages to find out how I could return it to you. You’re welcome.”
He had returned it and really that was all that mattered. “Thank you,” she said. “Oh, no.” She groaned, noticing Cornelius Thompson and several board members entering the hotel lobby.
Chase turned. “Your coworkers?”
“Board members and one partner at the firm,” she whispered, moving to stand behind Chase. Maybe by some stroke of unexpected and unusual luck, they wouldn’t notice her. Man, why couldn’t she be as tiny as Terri-Lynn? Her friend could have hidden behind the thin, tall, potted palm trees next to the check-in counter.
“Hayley, hi,” Cornelius said a moment later, leaning around Chase to see her. “I thought that was you. Just checking in?”
Numbly, she nodded. If she pretended Chase was a bellboy, would he go along with it? He had offered to be her fiancé, and at least this way, he’d get a tip.
“Great. You know Kelly Miller and Ian Kelsey.” He did the introductions, but she wasn’t paying attention. “And this is your...” He paused, looking at Chase.
Don’t j
ust stand there, she thought. Tell them who he is. Her lips refused to move.
“Her...um...fiancé, Chase Hartley.”
She blinked. Huh? That wasn’t the right answer. She swung to face him and started to shake her head, but Cornelius was already nodding his approval as he extended a hand, which Chase accepted. What was going on here? They’d agreed that his idea was a bad one. She shot daggers at him, but he ignored them.
“Nice to meet you,” Cornelius said.
Say you were kidding... Tell my boss the truth, she silently pleaded. She would, if she could find her voice.
“You, too, sir,” Chase said instead.
Hayley could do nothing but hold her breath, force a smile and watch in horror as the two shook hands.
Shit, shit, shit.
* * *
“OKAY—LET’S HEAR IT,” Hayley said as she unpacked her suitcase in her room. Chase’s family and the rest of the wedding party weren’t expecting him in Maui until much later that evening. Therefore, they’d decided to do the introductions with her other boss and coworkers first at the luau that evening.
Chase paced in front of the open patio doors leading out onto the beach. In his khaki shorts and unbuttoned white dress shirt blowing in the warm ocean breeze, he was by far the best thing she’d seen on this island, even though he’d just screwed her an hour ago—figuratively, of course.
“Let’s see how much I remember—you grew up in San Francisco...an only child, parents divorced at twelve...”
How casually he said that. As if it hadn’t been the worst experience of her young life. Having a front-row seat to her parents’ divorce was no doubt the primary reason she suffered from trust and commitment issues. Three sessions with a therapist hadn’t exactly been necessary to figure that out. After her parents had divorced, her mother had never remarried, her resentment toward all men only growing over the years. Her father on the other hand had one relationship after the other... His current girlfriend was a woman two years younger than Hayley. But that was way too much information, so she simply nodded.
Her Holiday Fling Page 3