Pawliday Love

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

I look up from where I’m arranging bookmarks on the table for my signing, and my heart skips a beat. Kevin is leaning against a bookshelf at the entrance, his feet crossed at the ankles and his arms casually folded across his chest. His blue T-shirt is pulled taut across what I know is a chiselled chest.

“My eyes are up here, thank you very much.” His low, gravelly voice sends a jolt through my belly.

When my eyes travel to his face, I find him smirking at me.

“Please, if you didn’t want me ogling you, you wouldn’t tease me with that T-shirt. You know it’s my favourite.”

“Yeah, but you stained it.” He lifts the bottom of the shirt to show me the miniscule stain, but in doing so gives me and at least five other people in Exclusive Books a peek at his hard abs. I swear I can hear the panties drop one by one.

“How many times are we going to have this discussion?” I smile at him. “It’s not my fault you left it here.”

“I’m still convinced you hid it while I was packing.”

I smile at the memory, then blush when I think about what happened after that conversation. At the time, Kevin and I were solely friends with benefits. He’d just returned to the US after a vacation with me here in South Africa and was preparing for his next big movie role. He’d also been nominated for an Oscar. I was thrilled that he’d received an opportunity to live out his dream as an actor, but I missed him every day. When he’d called, he woke me up from a very sexy dream, in which he had the leading role. What ensued thereafter was quite possibly one of the most erotic experiences of my life at that point. Kevin’s dirty talk had brought me the release I’d so desperately needed.

Kevin shoots me a crooked smile and kicks off the wall, eating up the space separating us.

My mouth completely dries up with every step he takes, and I love the fact that after four years of marriage he still makes my heart race the same way it did when I realised I was in love with him.

When he reaches me, he brushes his thumb over my lip before bending in so close that I can smell his enticing cologne. “I know what you’re thinking, Mrs. Peyton.”

My breath catches. “Again, not my fault you’re wearing that tee.”

“Hmmm.”

I can feel the eyes on us. It’s like this everywhere we go. That’s what happens when you’re married to a celebrity. But this time, it probably has more to do with the fact that we’re about to dry hump each other in the store than with Kevin’s popularity.

Kevin’s fame used to be a big issue for me—I have major social anxiety. So, when he invited me over to the States to be his plus-one to the Oscars, I was worried people would think we were in a relationship and would hound us over it. Kevin, amazing man that he is, wanted to keep me out of the spotlight as much possible, up a fake relationship with Haley Stephens, a famous rock star, who was more than willing to play along for her own reasons. It all seemed like a great idea until one of her fans attacked me and the paparazzi accused Kevin of cheating. Things snowballed from there. When Kevin and Hayley upped the ante in order to “prove” I wasn’t the relationship-wrecker everyone accused me of being, I realized I couldn’t handle the fact that Kevin was even pretending to be in a relationship because I was in love with him.

Before I go off on a tangent with all the mushy details, let’s just say we fell in love, got married, and now we’re here. Someone snaps a pic of us, and Kevin’s arms tighten around me seconds before he releases me. I’ve gotten better at being photographed in public, and now that I’m a published author, I’ve learned to be in the limelight more. Thankfully, people in South Africa are less intrusive than in the States.

“I’m so glad you came.”

I wasn’t sure if Kevin would be here. He’d been torn about coming because he didn’t want to take the attention off me.

He winks at me. “You were pretty convincing in the shower this morning.”

“You’re pretty easy to convince.”

“That’s because my wife is pretty fucking sexy.”

“Sexy enough to cash in a forgiveness card?”

He takes a step back and raises an eyebrow at me. “You didn’t?”

“I had no choice, Kev. He was on his way to, you know…” I cross my eyes, stick out my tongue and make a slitting throat gesture.

“And you wonder why we lose at charades.”

“This is serious,” I say, slapping his shoulder playfully.

“I know it is, which is why we were going to talk about it some more.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, all my worries about drawing too much attention forgotten. It’s time to pull out the money shot. “You know statistically black dogs are less likely to get adopted than any other dogs.”

“And what about when we travel for work? My movies, your signings?”

“He can come with us. The US doesn’t have quarantine laws for dogs. And I also checked in with his foster family. They said he’s amazing with kids. You know the boys are going to love him.”

I see his resolve waver, and I try not to let the victory show on my own. I knew the minute I mentioned the boys, Kevin would melt. He is the chairman of the Walter Forest Home for Boys. We spend every spare moment we have trying to get the kids adopted by loving people. Some of the things the boys had been through would make your skin crawl. Kevin’s brother Brandon runs the home for us, and together we make sure the boys are as fulfilled as possible while living in the home. The thing is, I may have used the boys as a draw card to push Kevin over the edge in terms of getting the dog, but I truly did believe a dog would be good for them.

“What am I going to do with you?”

I grin. “You could do that thing I read about yesterday?”

Kevin’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re not trying to sex me up to get out of trouble, are you?”

“I mean…”

Kevin snakes an arm around my waist and pulls me flush against his chest. “You’re still in trouble.”

My stomach clenches in that delicious way it always does when Kevin’s voice dips like that—full of sinful promise.

“I’m counting on it.” I slide a hand down his back and grab his ass. “Besides, I’m sure you owe me one for springing a surprise wedding on me.”

He laughs, and the sound goes straight to my fun parts. “Can’t be that mad.” His eyes flick to my wedding band.

“Whatever.” I give him a gentle shove because it was the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone ever did for me. Kevin proposed, and when I said yes, he confessed that he’d already planned the wedding for the following day, and that all my family and friends were at staying at the same lodge we were. He even had my gran’s wedding dress sorted for me. If he hadn’t already stolen my heart a million times over by that point, it would’ve been all over for me. Who am I kidding? It was all over for me and more.

Athene, the manager of Exclusive books, comes over and beams at us. “You ready, Claire?”

I return her smile. “I’m ready.”

I’m ready for so much more than just the signing.