And she couldn’t accept his offer for a place to stay, either. She grimaced at the thought of his having female overnight guests and her playing the domestic, even though he’d been joking. Watching the flirting, watching him kiss someone else. Hearing them…whatever. Her stomach lurched.
Why should it matter? They knew what this was when it started—just sex. And she was the one who insisted on that. So why did it bother her now that they would see other people once this time at Paradise Island was over?
It didn’t, she decided. Couldn’t. She’d just ended a long-term serious relationship. There was no way she had caught feelings for another man in a matter of days. She was just a little lost, a little lonely, and a lot confused. And the excellent sex had just clouded the situation.
Zach Ruiz was her friend. A friend with benefits on a limited timeframe. Anything else was just Jenna being the old Jenna—looking hard for a family to the exclusion of things like facts and reality. And the reality was that Zach had no feelings outside of bed for her, just as she felt the same about him. End of story.
“Thank you, seriously, Zach. I know I’ve said it often this week, but I do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.” She leaned in and kissed him just as the sky opened up and rain pounded the tin roof of the shelter they were under. All around them, jewel-colored water turned murky as the rain pounded down. This was no gentle afternoon shower but a full-on deluge.
Zach set his phone aside and put his arms around her. She lay her head on his shoulder. If she was to look in the future, Zach might be close to the kind of guy she’d want. But not now. Now she had to be alone for a while, think about what she wanted out of life. She was no longer going to look for a man to make her happy—happy meaning that a man equaled family. If she met someone and fell in love, great. But if not, she’d be just fine on her own. She had some really good friends, and that was a great start.
Jenna could feel Zach’s breath going in and out of his chest under her cheek. His arm around her was comforting and warm, and she knew that she’d miss this.
“Hey,” Jenna said as the rain let up a little. “How about we plan something special for tomorrow? It is our last full day here.”
“Absolutely,” Zach said. “I think we have to celebrate.”
“What do you want to do? We haven’t marked an anti-romantic dinner off the list yet.”
“How about you leave the planning to me?” he said.
“You are good at it,” she replied. With all the decisions ahead of her, Jenna was happy to let Zach handle this one. It was nice to be cared for, and she didn’t know when she would feel so…loved? No, not loved. Considered, maybe.
Her phone beeped, and she groaned.
“Elliot?”
“I don’t know. I hope not.” She pulled out her phone and found a message from Chuck.
Recon complete. Contact me ASAP.
She would call Chuck. But not right now.
“And?”
“Not Elliot. Chuck.” Jenna grinned. “He’s done with his background check.”
“He find anything interesting?”
Jenna looked at him. “Is there anything to find?”
“My three wives, prison record, and forty-seven illegitimate children are all well hidden. No one can crack my past.”
Jenna laughed. She knew everything about Zach she needed to know. The past didn’t matter, and neither did the future, really. All they had was right now, and she planned to make the most of it.
Seeing that the rain had made the beach and the boardwalk completely deserted, Jenna straddled Zach’s lap and kissed him deeply. “I feel I should do some in-depth digging of my own,” she said, wiggling a little.
His hands went to her waist. “Really?”
He threaded his fingers throughout the hair at the back of her head and held her still for his kiss, just the way she liked it.
“I’m totally on board with that,” Zach said. “But maybe we ought to take this ‘research’ back to the pump house.”
“Pump house?”
“Shag shanty? Coitus Cabana?”
“I think I prefer Hump Hut. It’s growing on me.” She giggled. “They ought to put that in the brochure.”
“I’ll email their marketing firm.”
They made it back to the hut, and Zach showed her exactly how good he was at research, but he wouldn’t let her linger in bed.
“Up,” he said, throwing back the covers. “We have dinner plans.”
“We do?” Looking at Zach naked, she could happily stay in bed and skip a meal or two. Or twelve.
“Yes. As you pointed out, our dinner anti got kind of interrupted. We’re going to need a do-over to check it off the list properly.”
“What in the world are you talking about?” she asked, reluctantly swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
“The dinner. We left that dive bar before we could eat and, well, I’m not sure what happened to the pizza. I think we might have left it in the Uber.”
“Fair point,” Jenna said, standing and stretching. “What did you have in mind, then?”
“It’s a surprise.”
He was already pulling on shorts and a T-shirt. Jenna sighed. If he was going to put on clothes, she supposed she could go along with whatever he’d planned.
“I’ll meet you on the beach in fifteen minutes,” he said then pressed a quick kiss to her lips and scampered out the door. Yes, scampered.
Jenna dressed and fixed her hair then went out to the deck per his instructions. She saw Zach on the beach and crossed the cool sand toward him.
“Wow,” was all she could say when she saw the spread. He’d laid out a beach picnic for them. A large blanket was covered with several covered dishes, a bottle of wine, and even some fruit.
“This is nice,” Jenna said. “Almost too nice to count as an anti.”
“That’s why we’re sitting on the sand,” Zach said. “If it was a table, then yeah. It wouldn’t count.”
“I don’t know,” Jenna said, popping a grape into her mouth. “This is a gray area. Better pour me some wine and let me think it over. I’m not sure this is check-worthy.”
He poured, and they drank. And Jenna decided that it didn’t matter if this was an anti or the real thing, because it was pretty great either way. Only one thing could make it even better.
“I know what we can do to anti this up a little bit,” Jenna said, standing up.
“What?”
“Ever been skinny dipping?”
“Have you?”
“I’ll never tell,” Jenna said, kicking off her sandals.
“Interesting. Go on.”
Even in just the moonlight, Jenna could see the way his eyes sparkled. The beach was empty, the water warm. And she was pretty sure they wouldn’t be the first couple to go for a night swim sans clothing.
She unzipped her shorts.
“Yes,” he said, leaning back on his elbows to watch. “I can see how this might work out.”
Jenna turned her back and peeled her shorts down slowly, making sure he got a good view of her backside as she bent over to push them off her feet.
She glanced over her shoulder to see that Zach’s eyes followed every move. The heat she saw there made her more bold.
Turning, she lifted her top and slowly pulled it over her head, arching her back in an exaggerated stripper pose. She tossed her shirt on the blanket next to Zach.
Left in just her bra and panties, the night air kissed her bare skin, making the moment even more sensual. She ran her hands up over her hips then further, skimming the sides of her breasts before raising her arms and tangling her hands in her hair.
With any other man, she’d feel self-conscious about her less than model perfect body, but not Zach. Zach made her feel womanly and sexy and desirable.
“Fuck. Me,” Zach said breathily. “Every time I look at you, you are more beautiful.”
Jenna threw him a come-hither grin and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. She held the cups to her breasts for a moment, gently squeezing before pulling the garment away. She flung the lacy bra at him, hitting him in the chest. He didn’t move, his gaze fixed solely on her exposed skin.
He got to his feet in one movement, and she was in his arms. His fingers teased at the edge of her panties, dipping just beneath the waistband. She could feel how much he wanted her, and that made her blood pump a little harder, too.
“I am absolutely up for anything with you that requires nakedness,” he said. “There’s just one thing, though.”
“Yes?” She loved the way he looked at her. Like she really was the most beautiful woman in the world. She dragged her fingertips down his chest, itching to get him out of his clothes, too.
“The tattoo guy said no swimming until everything is healed up.”
Crap. He was right. “And you let me get undressed in public anyway?”
“It was strategic,” he said, sliding his hands around to cup her behind and pull her hard against him. “That was the hottest striptease I’ve ever seen.”
“Well, in the spirit of equality, I think you need to return the favor.”
Without a second of hesitation, Zach stepped away from her and peeled his shirt off over his head, his heat from his sexy grin going straight to her heart. And other places.
He unzipped his shorts and let them fall to the sand, tangled around his ankles and sandals. He shuffled awkwardly back to her.
“I’m not as good at this as you,” he said, pulling her back into his arms. “I might need a lesson or two.”
He dipped his head and kissed her.
“Or,” she said when she came up for air, “we could play a little bingo. It’s in the hut.” How was it possible to be so hot for this man? All it took was a few words and him removing a piece or two of clothing and she melted.
“We should probably go get it,” he said.
“In a minute,” she said and kissed him. Heat washed through her, but it wasn’t the hard-driving, needy type of lust that usually happened when Zach touched her. This was a slower burn, deeper somehow. More intimate.
Zach broke the kiss and scooped her up in his arms, eliciting a surprised squeak from Jenna.
“Minute is up,” he declared. Zach kicked off his shorts and hurried up the beach toward the hut, the food, wine, and clothing all forgotten.
Chapter Seventeen
Although it was hard to leave Jenna so soft and warm and cuddled against him, possibly for one of the last times ever, unless he could figure out a way to convince her they would be great together, Zach slipped out of bed.
Last night had been, well, life changing, as cheesy as it sounded. And had only convinced him further that he could not—would not—let this be the end of things between them instead of the beginning. Zach had learned the hard way that he had to work for what he wanted, be willing to give the blood, sweat, and tears for it. And he’d never failed. From getting into an Ivy League school to starting a company with Elliot to rebuilding when that had fallen apart. He had set his mind to something, did all the research necessary, gathered the tools and people necessary to make his dream a reality, and gone for it. He had never failed. And, he decided as he pulled on his shorts, this project was no different. He would make Jenna see that they would be great together, no matter how long he had to wait or what he had to do to convince her. He would not fail at this, the most important project of his life.
It was an uphill battle, there was no doubt about that. Despite what she said, she was still grieving. He’d hoped he had made a small difference, but there would be more recovering to be done, according to the internet, which was maddeningly short on information on exactly how much time this last step would take. He wasn’t good with “it happens when it happens” and “everyone’s timeframe is different.” He wanted a date so that he could put it in his calendar and make plans.
But if there was one thing he’d learned from Jenna so far, it was that not planning things could be pretty great sometimes, too, even if it still made him uneasy to just wing it.
He took one last look at her, her lashes dark against her cheek, her hair a riot of curls on the white linens. Her bare shoulder peeked out from the covers, creamy and soft. She had a small scar there, hardly noticeable, probably from a long ago childhood mishap. He didn’t know. But he wanted to. And once he was successful, he would have a lifetime to learn all about Jenna and all her mysteries. His insides felt warm and weird when he thought about that. Learning all her secrets, sharing some of his.
Unable to help himself, he leaned over and kissed the mark. She stirred slightly.
“Go back to sleep, beautiful. I’ll be right back with some breakfast.”
Zach forced himself to leave the room before he threw everything to the wind and crawled right back under the covers with her. No, there would be plenty of time for that. Now was time to plan. To convince Jenna to give him a chance. Give them a chance. A real one.
Breakfast in bed would be a great start. But he wanted to bring it himself rather than order room service. Add some special touches. And talk to the concierge about some other things he had ideas for to make this last day with her special. To make his case to Jenna. Show her he wasn’t always an over-logical workaholic. That he could be…romantic? Unthinkable only a week ago, now it seemed like he had become that guy.
After the non-dinner on the beach and the striptease, Zach had gotten an email from Marcy saying that she had finished up the presentation and sent it to the printer. They were supposed to deliver a final copy for Zach to approve that morning. And then it would be Project Jenna until they left the resort and flew home. That gave him approximately twenty-four hours to convince Jenna that this didn’t have to end with check-out time. Twenty-four hours to convince her to give him a chance. Twenty-four hours to come up with a plan to make it all work. Which was good because right now he had nothing. Nothing except that he wanted to make this day perfect for her.
He slipped out of the hut and took the path to the main building. The sun was up, barely, and the fresh breeze from the ocean made him inhale deeply. He was actually going to miss this place, he realized. Hell, maybe he’d book the whole place so that they could have some real privacy next time.
…
The knock on the hut’s door woke Jenna from a very nice dream. A dream that involved Zach and her and…pink dolphins? That was weird. But the part where she felt warm and cared for and that she had a companion was wonderful.
The knock came again, and she blinked herself awake. She sat up in bed and looked around the cabin. As the cobwebs of sleep fell away, she vaguely remembered Zach saying he would be right back. Breakfast. Yeah, he was going to get them some food. Maybe he’d forgotten his key.
Jenna jumped out of bed and pulled on the fluffy hotel robe that was on the end of the bed. She went to the door, almost giddy to open it and see Zach standing here, that soft look in his eyes and his offering of sizzling bacon and hot coffee…
“Coming,” she called as he knocked again.
Jenna threw open the door, prepared to give him a good amount of teasing over the forgotten key.
Shock ricocheted through her body, freezing pretty much all language functions.
“Elliot,” she said breathily.
He was dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, his hair and the rest of him perfect, as usual. He looked at Jenna with narrowed eyes, taking in her disheveled state. Self-consciously, she clutched the top of the robe together with one fist.
“A little late for modesty, isn’t it?” he asked as he walked past her into the hut. “Well, isn’t this…quaint?” he said, his voice edged with disgust.
“Hello, Jenna.”
<
br /> She looked back to the door, shocked for the second time.
“Niki. What are you—”
“She’s the one who told me where you were,” Elliot said in clipped tones. “And who you’re with.”
She turned back to Niki, sure there was some kind of mistake. She would never—
“You don’t deserve him,” she said, looking at Jenna with a kind of disdain she’d never seen from Niki before. “You always got everything you wanted. Clothes, a nice house to live in, the spoiled little rich girl.”
“I—that’s not true,” she said. Had she been jealous of her all these years?
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve always been little miss perfect. But abandoning Elliot like that and then running off with another man—you were probably screwing him the whole time, weren’t you?”
The cold, sharp tendrils of betrayal wrapped around Jenna’s voice, making it difficult to speak. All she could do was shake her head and utter a low, “No. That’s not how it was.”
“Right,” Niki said with a huff. “Elliot deserves so much better than you.”
She’d had enough. “Niki, I think Elliot and I need to talk. Alone.”
It was time to lay down the law and let Elliot know that although she was sorry for the way things had ended, it was over between them. There would be no do-over. No wedding.
“Where’s Zach?” Elliot asked.
“Zach…isn’t part of this,” Jenna said. “This is about you and me. And I think we should talk about this privately.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Niki said and flounced over to the sofa, where she sat down as if she owned the place.
“Fine.” She ignored Niki—she’d deal with that whole bag of betrayal later—and approached Elliot.
“Look, Elliot. I know I owe you a better explanation than it just wasn’t right. And I’m sorry for the way things have ended up. I’m sorry about the wedding and all the expense.” She paused, looking up into the face of the man she’d once thought would be her family. The one she’d spend her life with. Now he was almost a stranger, and she wondered if in her desperation to keep something of the life she’d lost, she’d done them both wrong. “I’m sorry, Elliot, that I let things get so far before I realized that we are two people who never should have gotten engaged.”
The Anti-Honeymoon Page 15