Zach wrapped his arm around her waist and closed the small distance between their bodies. “Better start now.”
His clean scent and the warmth of his palm on her side sent a quiver through her muscles. “Hannah,” she said when her friend reached them. “I’m so glad you’re home.” But oh how she wished she didn’t have to lie to her friend.
“So am I,” Hannah said, hugging them both, then releasing them quickly. “What the heck’s going on with y’all? Michael’s pretty pissed off at you, Zach.”
“He shouldn’t be,” Zach said.
Hannah nodded, her hazel eyes—so like her brother’s—somber. “Oh? From what I heard, you’re trying to destroy Kennedy’s company. But…” She paused and looked at their linked bodies. “It doesn’t look like you’re enemies anymore.”
“We’re not.” Kennedy raised her left hand, took in the sudden startled light in Hannah’s gaze. “We’re engaged again.”
“Holy crap. Michael’s going to be over the moon.” Hannah grabbed Kennedy’s hand and checked the ring. “And it’s the same engagement ring. How romantic.”
Not really. Still, she’d heard a skeptical tone in her friend’s voice, so she snuggled a little closer to Zach. “He’s kept it all these years in the hope of winning my heart again,” she said.
“As long as you’re happy.”
“We are,” Zach said. “Where’s Michael?”
“He’s at the Overlook restaurant,” Hannah said. “Come on. I’ll take you there and we’ll celebrate. God knows we could use something happy to think about.”
And Kennedy hoped like hell that she could keep up the charade. Still, as they walked beside Hannah, she couldn’t stop checking out the way Zach’s dress slacks showcased his powerfully muscular legs. Nor could she avoid admiring the exquisite fit of his charcoal suit jacket, which hugged his broad shoulders to perfection.
Her heart hip-hopped and skipped a beat. A heaviness filled her breasts, and they swelled. Heat scorched her flesh, pooled in all her feminine zones. Zach was devastatingly handsome. She easily recalled his physical prowess in the bedroom. Pretending that she was physically attracted to Zach would be as easy as threading an oversized needle with a fine skein of silk.
But pretending that she trusted him after he’d manipulated her into accepting this ridiculous situation? Not so much. That would be as impossible as building a house with a staple gun.
“How is he?” Zach asked as they crossed the lobby floor and moved toward the hotel’s premiere restaurant.
“He’s good, all things considered,” Hannah said. “His spirits are high and he’s handling all the changes well so far. It’s just that we never know what’s going to happen next.”
“Bad enough it’s affected his speech center,” Zach said.
“He’s still the same guy, but a little raspier when he talks.” Hannah paused before they reached the restaurant. “Listen. He’s losing his ability to walk.”
Beside him, Kennedy gasped and Zach tightened his hold on her waist, anchoring her to him instinctively. “This is happening too fast,” he said. “What can I do to help?” When they’d Skyped a week ago, Michael had only talked about his fantasy football league beating Zach’s.
“Don’t be all freaked out when you see him in the wheelchair.” Hannah tucked her long blond hair behind her ear. “Just follow his lead, and don’t let him see how much this is scaring you.”
“Why the hell not?” Zach asked.
“Because it’s scaring him a whole lot more. And the last thing Michael needs is to worry about making everyone else feel better. That’s our job.” She looked at Kennedy’s left hand, then back at their faces. “So go in there and give Michael your good news.”
”Will do.” Kennedy nodded. Then they stepped inside the restaurant and spotted Michael sitting at a cloth-covered table for four that had an expansive view of the hotel’s grounds.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that gave a perfect view of the resort’s golf greens. He waved and Michael lifted his hand in return, but the welcome in his wave didn’t reach Michael’s narrowed gaze until he realized Kennedy was glued to Zach’s side.
Then Michael’s mouth dropped and his brows lifted.
“You’ve definitely got his attention now,” Hannah said.
“Let’s do this,” Zach said.
His palm itched to caress the length of Kennedy’s curves from the tiny indent of her waist all the way down to cup the fullness of her excellent backside. Her feminine scent, a seductive floral mix reminding him of a clear spring day, made his mouth water far more than the restaurant’s succulent aromas of roasting meat and baked breads. Fooling Michael would not be an issue.
“I want to tell him first,” Kennedy said, moving inside the restaurant, forcing Zach to lose his hold on her waist.
She rushed to Michael’s side and pulled out a chair to sit close to him. Zach reached them just as Kennedy held out her hand and placed it into Michael’s. “Isn’t this awesome?” she asked. “We’re engaged again.”
Michael covered her hand with his, hiding the ring, then looked at Kennedy with narrowed eyes before glancing at Zach. “This true?” he asked. “’Cause the last time I checked you were about to steal Kennedy’s company from under her ass.”
“It was all a misunderstanding,” Zach said smoothly. “It was supposed to be a surprise wedding present. Guess I’ll have to come up with something better now.”
“And you all have talked?” Michael asked.
Kennedy shook her head ever so slightly, almost in warning. “Everything’s cool,” she said.
Suspicion crept into Zach’s mind, but before he could ask what Michael meant, Hannah piped up. “Let’s order champagne. Celebrate the happy couple.” Then she whipped out her cell phone. “I’m texting my parents right now. They’ll want to know.”
Kennedy stopped her. “If you tell your mom, then she’ll beat me to the punch and try to contact my folks. I really want to tell them myself after their cruise docks in Fort Lauderdale.”
“And if you text them, Mom will want to come to the hotel now,” Michael added. “I need a break from all her mother hen hovering.”
“All right,” Hannah said reluctantly, then put her phone on the table.
Zach and Kennedy gave each other relieved looks. They’d dodged a major bullet on that one. He still had memories about the day he’d faced Kennedy’s father and mother with the news that she was pregnant. After their initial shock had worn off, they’d been thrilled with the news about Kennedy and Zach’s wedding plans, but still the wrath of a father protecting his little girl didn’t evaporate, no matter how old his daughter.
He’d rather face a boardroom full of angry investors than Kennedy’s father on a mad tear.
Zach ordered a top dollar bottle of champagne and they settled into an easy conversation. “Nice wheels, Michael.” He had to acknowledge the change without making it heavy.
Michael grinned, backed up, and swiveled the chair to the left and right. “It’s got a nineteen point five turning radius and a max speed of four point five miles per hour. Makes me the coolest uncle in town.”
No. The wheelchair wasn’t a V-rod, but Michael being Michael had already personalized the chair with candy red pearl accents and customized upholstery. “Smooth ride,” Zach said.
Kennedy pointed to the course’s eighteenth hole. “Remember when y’all played here for your twenty-third birthday?”
“Sam and Fred’s makeshift martini bar almost got us kicked out.” Zach avoided looking at the wheelchair again and stared through the window. He wondered how many more birthdays they’d celebrate together. At that time, their fraternity brothers had joined them. “Stellar idea using the cart’s golf bag section to hold their contraband liquor.”
“Tied their clubs to the cart’s roof.” Michael laughed, the sound not as strong as Zach wanted to hear. “Genius.”
“How in the heck did you get away with
it?” Kennedy asked.
“Zach tips extremely well. Plus he floated the Tanner Enterprises’ company name to keep the course’s golf warden off our backs,” Michael said. “Now that he owns this hotel, I bet they’ll let him get away with it again.”
“Say the word, and I’ll make it happen,” Zach said.
Their server returned with a magnum bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne and four flutes. After popping the cork with only a whisper of sound, she deftly poured a taste for Zach. At his agreement, the flutes were filled.
“To Zach and Kennedy.” Michael raised his glass, his hand trembling slightly. “And to their future.”
“To the future,” everyone echoed, and clinked glasses.
After they sipped their champagne, Zach watched Hannah gently take the glass from her brother and place it on the table. “One sip. That’s it,” she said.
“Spoil sport,” he teased. “You just want more for yourself.”
“True. But don’t let it get out that I’m a champagne snob,” Hannah said.
“If I can’t drink all this expensive bubbly, I do expect to see my two favorite people kiss—you know, just in case I can’t make the wedding due to a previous appointment.”
Zach couldn’t deny the underlying truth in Michael’s words. But he sure as hell wanted to pretend that there was no way his friend would miss his wedding, albeit a fake one at this point.
“You got it.” He curled his hand behind Kennedy’s neck and drew her closer, her mouth a scant distance from his. He could see a faint drop of moisture on her lower lip and the thought of drawing it into his mouth shot hot blood to his groin. Her breath, a sweet mix of champagne and pure Kennedy, teased his senses.
Her eyes held his, glittering and sharp as the gems in her diamond. Oh, he knew she hated this. Hated faking the arrangement. Hated him. And damned if he didn’t hate himself for doing this to them. Still, he had to put on a show.
Zach brushed her mouth ever so slightly, then drew away.
“You call that a kiss?” Michael demanded.
Kennedy’s face flushed. “We’re in public,” she said primly.
“Like that ever stopped you before,” Hannah teased. “Scandalous public displays of affection were your middle names five years ago.”
“Yeah, that was a weenie kiss.” Michael clinked his glass with his spoon. “Show us some tongue action.”
Michael had no idea what kind of action was going on downstairs in his pants, but Zach had no choice. Despite Kennedy’s current mental state about this situation, he had to show Michael how much he wanted her. How much he cared. And Zach knew she’d respond without a fight. Because no matter how much she denied it, Kennedy still wanted him.
…
Kennedy watched the play of emotions on Zach’s handsome face. Desire. Sadness. Hope. Regret. All of them matched her internal war. How could she deny Michael’s request when she still yearned to feel Zach’s arms around her, but that yearning warred with confusion and disappointment.
She quickly glanced at Hannah and Michael, both expectant and grinning. Co-conspirators at work again, their spoons tinkling against their flutes. Around her other diners leaned a little closer, waiting for the moment, stealthily participating in the privacy of what should be a joyful occasion.
Kennedy had little choice but to comply. “Come here, big boy,” she said, twining her hands around Zach’s neck and drawing him near. “Let’s show them how it’s done.”
His mouth locked with hers, slanting across her lips, tentative, then more bold. She opened hers to welcome the slide of his tongue. His possession was deep and penetrating and beyond exhilarating. Time slipped…
And another kiss, another engagement, another joyful celebration melded with this moment. She clung to the memory. And now she held onto the man who’d once been the very reason she had believed in love.
This was a coming home. A strange revisit to a place beyond the desire she’d denied. The same denial that had driven Zach to convince her to accept this fake engagement.
And she couldn’t let him go.
Over and over they kissed until a faint applause and more clinking brought her out of the haze, and she drew back, swallowing the love that still bubbled within. She couldn’t trust Zach. Not when he constantly tried to manipulate the world around him and attempted to force events that were out of his control to conform to his will.
“Well, that was a hell of a kiss,” Hannah said softly.
“Reminded me of old times,” Michael agreed.
Old times that had been better kept in the attic of her mind, but now that they’d begun this crazy game, Kennedy could only nod and smile. “Oh, yeah, Zach’s still the best kisser in town.”
At least that fact hadn’t changed over the years. If only he’d learned to accept the harsher truths of life. Then maybe, just maybe, they might have had a chance for a real reunion.
Now she’d settle for giving Michael a dose of feel-good-about-the-future as a temporary balm to soothe the darkness of his grim prognosis.
Chapter Seven
“Do you think Michael bought our story?” Kennedy asked, toeing off her sexy shoes after they stepped into their suite.
Her pink toenail polish caught his eye. His groin tightened. Damn, he’d forgotten how dainty Kennedy was underneath all that brass and sass.
Zach shrugged off his coat and draped it on the chair next to the computer desk. “Hell, we put on such a good show, even I halfway believe this engagement is real.”
“That’s the only thing that matters. I’m just glad he’s willing to keep it a secret until I can tell my parents in person. ”
“You’re lucky his mom wasn’t there.”
“No kidding.” She stretched her arms overhead. “Shannon Sullivan has fey blood. She’d figure out the truth in a heartbeat. And I don’t want my mom and dad to deal with this lie.”
Her dress molded across her full breasts. His blood thundered in his ears. He wanted to close the distance between them, caress her. “No shit.” He undid his collar’s top button. “Last man I want to piss off is your dad.”
“True.”
Her glance lowered to where he’d exposed his skin. She flushed and the pulse in the hollow of her throat fluttered wildly. “Stroke of genius to talk about Michael’s next fundraiser and have it tie in with the resort’s soft opening in December.” She opened the fully stocked bar’s fridge. “Promoting the ALS Association’s commitment to finding a cure will give Michael something positive to focus on versus worrying about his friends getting along.”
Zach swiped a hand through his hair. “Thanks. He’s already tweeting about it. His former Olympic swim team is getting involved, too.”
“I’m glad. He needs to have something good come out of this diagnosis. And it can’t just revolve around us getting back together. Now he’ll be too busy organizing fundraisers to question our reunion, but I recommend you keep your distance from Hannah. I swear she’s got to be psychic.” She withdrew two glasses from the bar’s cabinet. “I don’t think she believes our story, but she’ll buy into it for Michael’s sake.”
Zach’s fingers itched to touch Kennedy. The wanting had only increased as the day had progressed. “Five more nights, and we’re in the clear,” he said.
He crossed the room to join Kennedy at the bar, then lifted a bottle of iced chardonnay from the bucket that he’d ordered earlier from room service. “Gotta admit that other than faking our engagement, I had a great time.” He popped the cork out, then poured two glasses.
“It was good hearing Michael laugh.” She took the glass from him, careful to avoid his fingers, and sipped. “But I’ll be glad when this is over. I hate the lies.”
Kennedy’s full lips glistened. His blood flowed south. One kiss, another taste of her succulent mouth, would drive him over the edge. “Really?” he asked. “I could have sworn you enjoyed that kiss Michael egged us into doing.”
Her breath hitched. “What can I say?” she a
sked. “It’s been a long time since I’ve locked lips with a guy. And for what it’s worth, your kisses aren’t what I hate.”
“I don’t think you know what you love or hate, Kennedy.” But he sure as hell wanted to know before he left Sweetbriar Springs for good. “I’ve already assured Michael that I’m not stealing your company. So tell me. What do you want to come out of all this bullshit we’re going through for Michael’s sake?”
“Closure. A way to move on without anyone getting hurt.” She held his gaze. “But right now all I want is a long, hot soak in the Jacuzzi.”
A vision of her slipping out of her feminine dress and into the swirling water slammed into his brain. Memories of other steamy sex-capades in the resort’s hot springs pinged. His arousal strained against his pants. Oh, yeah, he could get into a trip down memory lane if it included him in the picture.
He raised a brow. “Mind if I join you?”
Her hand trembled and a drop of wine slipped over the brim. “I prefer to bathe in private.” She kept her voice strong and firm.
He moved his finger up the length of her bare arm. “You used to love it when I scrubbed your back.”
An electric current sparked between them. The fine hairs on her arm stood at attention as if on high alert. He circled the tiny goose bumps where her sensitive skin had fired. He knew exactly how she’d respond to him once he tossed away the loofah to replace it with his hands and mouth.
“It’s bad enough there’s only one bedroom.” She jerked her arm away. “I’m sure as heck not giving you a peep show on top of it.”
“You know you want to,” Zach said.
She blushed a deep shade of copper. “I’m not twenty-one and reckless anymore.” She swatted his powerful hand. “Even if I did want to have sex with you again, I’m not the kind of girl who’ll just hop into bed without a little prelude, Tanner.”
“What kind of prelude do you suggest?” he asked. ’Cause he had plenty of sexy ideas about where to start seducing Kennedy.
She held his gaze. “Not the kind you’re thinking about.”
The Maverick's Red Hot Reunion (Entangled Indulgence) Page 7