Chapter Twelve
“Looks nice there. Wish you’d invited me,” Tara said through a mouthful of corn chips.
Kayla shot a nervous look over her shoulder, but no one was close enough to eavesdrop.
She had dashed off to a secluded corner of the pool deck where an exterior staircase gave enough shade that she could see the video call.
Neither Skye nor Amy could overhear that her coworker didn’t even remember that she was supposedly getting married on this trip, but she didn’t want to risk it.
“Don’t you think it would be weird for your boss to invite you on her honeymoon?”
Tara stopped mid-crunch and stared at the screen. She looked as blank as Mr. Pebbles for a heartbeat, but Kayla could actually see the moment when the mental lightbulb clicked on. “Oh shit, yeah. I forgot. Happy wedding.”
“Well, it hasn’t happened yet.”
“Who are you marrying again?”
Kayla gritted her teeth. Thank God no one else was around. “Mack. My best friend.”
Tara threw another handful of corn chips in the direction of her mouth, but several ended up on the arm of the couch. Lucy waddled over and sucked them up like a spherical canine vacuum cleaner. “Oh yeah. The hot one.”
Kayla had to physically bite her cheek to keep from laughing it off and saying something along the lines of “gross, that’s my best friend,” but that would give the game away for sure. “How are our babies? I see Lucy is thriving at your place.”
Tara glanced over her shoulder in time to intercept Lucy’s tongue on its way to snag a corn chip. Instead, it ended up on Tara’s cheek. “Gah. I told you. No making out in public.” Tara turned back to her phone. “They’re angels as always. Wanna see everyone else?”
“Yes, please.”
Kayla’s heart rattled around almost as much for her dogs as it did for Skye.
Already this was the longest she’d been apart from them since starting her business.
Usually, her vacations were to dog-friendly Airbnb’s at the beach or cabins in the mountains where they could frolic with her.
After all, they were the hardest working employees at the company and deserved a nice vacation far more than she did.
She missed their whining, kisses, and bed hogging.
Although waking up cuddled with Mack was almost as nice as cuddling with Finn.
“There’s my special man.” Kayla cooed, and the sound of her voice was enough to pry Finn’s greying muzzle from his massive dog bed. He gave her one of those Golden Retriever grins and she couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over. “Mommy misses you, Finnster.”
She knew she shouldn’t be as attached to her dogs as she was.
They were service dogs after all. She should maintain professional detachment, but all her emotions were too big and those fluffy angels brought them all out.
Kayla spent another five minutes making baby voices and kissy noises at the screen before Tara had had enough.
“I gotta go walk these guys before they go number two on my floors.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Shouldn’t you be eager to hop back into bed with your wife or whatever?”
“We aren’t getting married until Friday.” They weren’t getting married at all, of course, but Tara didn’t need to know that.
Tara made a face. “What are you doing until then?”
Other than breaking up a happy couple and winning back the love of my life? Not much. She swallowed down the throatful of guilt that had started to form every time she thought of hurting Amy by winning Skye back. “Hanging out by the pool.”
“Is it a good one?”
“Oh yeah. There’s a swim-up bar.”
“No shit? I’ll have to get out there myself.”
“I’ll bring you a brochure. Tell the boys I love them and I’ll be home soon.”
Tara waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about us. We’re having an amazing time.”
Lucy gave a sharp bark in the background. It sounded a lot like agreement. “Okay. I’ll try to call again in a couple days.”
Tara waved the assurance away and cut the call.
Kayla tried not to be too deflated as she walked back to her lounger.
As much as she missed her dogs, it was hard to be depressed in a place like this.
They’d been able to snag a pair of loungers that had a perfect view of both the beach and the main hotel pool.
Even though they’d arrived first thing in the morning, they hadn’t seen Skye or Amy anywhere, but with this lookout, they were bound to spot them.
Besides, it was only day three. She had time.
When Kayla arrived at the chairs, she found Mack’s lounger empty. Her straw fedora and beach bag were still there, so she hadn’t abandoned Kayla just yet. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom?
Kayla settled down on her chair and arranged her body in as sexy a pose as she could manage. It wasn’t easy with the forest of scars around her right knee, but she’d learned how to angle her left leg to block the worst of it when in a bathing suit. And oh boy, was she in a bathing suit.
Phase one of the Plan of Seduction had been to buy the tiniest bathing suits she could find in all of Skye’s favorite colors.
The one she’d chosen for today was a string bikini, the same emerald green as Skye’s hair.
The “top”—if it could even be considered an article of clothing with so little cloth—consisted of two minuscule triangles that barely covered her nipples.
The bottom would have been indecent if she didn’t adhere religiously to her Brazilian waxing routine.
Audrey Hepburn-esque sunglasses and a wide, floppy hat completed the outfit.
When she’d dressed this morning, she’d even turned herself on. Skye didn’t stand a chance.
After five minutes of peering over the top of her trashy romance novel in search of Skye’s distinctive form, she was starting to get irritated.
Had she really gone to all this trouble for nothing?
She’d already lost most of the previous day when Skye and Amy announced that they’d scheduled a snorkeling excursion.
Now, they didn’t have the decency to turn up at the pool when Kayla had pulled out her most alluring bikini?
Kayla was distracted from her search by what could only be described as an indecent and unfair display of sexiness.
Right in front of Kayla’s chair, a masc pushed herself out of the water to leap up onto the pool deck.
Her shoulders were wide and positively rippling with muscle, and her abs were chiseled from marble.
She flipped her head back, spraying water behind her and exposing a deliciously kissable neck.
Then she put one foot on the pool deck and stood to an impressive height while water streamed down a tight, sports-bra style swim top and mid-thigh board shorts.
Very familiar board shorts. With hibiscus flowers on a blue background.
Kayla sucked in a shocked breath and told herself to stop drooling.
Was that Mack? Of course it was. Kayla had watched her walk out of their shared bathroom in that very swim set this morning.
At the time, she’d worn a matching floral button up to cover that drool-worthy torso.
No wonder other women fell all over themselves staring at Mack, but Kayla never had. She was just…Mack.
“How are the pups?” Mack asked as she snatched her towel off the lounger.
“Good.” Kayla dove behind her book to avoid ogling Mack as she toweled off. Just what the hell was going on with her libido these days?
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on.” Mack dropped onto her lounger, still breathing heavy. Had she been swimming laps? “Talk to me.”
She leaned closer as she spoke, and a little water dribbled onto Kayla’s elbow. She squirmed away, trying to keep her body in the seductive pose she’d been holding. “Hey, watch that.”
“What’s the matter? Don’t want me to get you wet?”
Mack’s eyebrows danced at the innuendo, and she looked so goofy—so much like the silly teenager she’d always been with Kayla—that the tension dissipated.
What had she freaked out about anyway? Kayla was allowed to notice that Mack was hot.
Objectively, anyone could see that. That didn’t change the fact that she was just Mack.
That didn’t change the fact that Kayla wanted Skye.
Kayla laughed and dropped her romance novel onto the table between them. “I’m not the one you’re getting wet. Half the women here are drooling over you after that Aquaman stunt. I better not find you at the bar, flirting with some random stranger. I might get jealous.”
Mack leaned back, turning her face to the sun and closing her eyes. “Yeah, it would be awkward if both of us were flirting with other women on this honeymoon.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I promise not to be too obvious with my flirting. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
Mack rolled on the lounger to face her, propping her head on the heel of her hand. “Maybe that would help, though. You could catch me flirting, and we could stage a big fight. Then you could run off crying into Skye’s arms. Might help the Seduction Mission.”
“The Plan of Seduction,” Kayla said.
“Oh, right. Plan of Seduction.”
“Good instinct, but it wouldn’t work.”
“Why not?”
“Skye was never the type to hold me while I cried.”
Mack’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It’s just not her style.”
“Comforting her girlfriend when she’s upset isn’t Skye’s style?”
Kayla sighed and rolled toward Mack. Mack had it all wrong. Maybe she hadn’t been clear enough? “Skye isn’t the cuddly feelings type. She’s more the make you laugh or sweat to get over it sort.”
Mack’s eyebrow shot up, clearly catching the innuendo. She rolled onto her back and grumbled, “Not exactly a healthy way to deal with feelings, but whatever. Who am I to judge?”