Chapter 11
Kat stayed very quiet as she looked at her sleeping groom.
Who knew that devastatingly handsome was a real thing?
But that’s exactly what he was—so attractive that an odd sort of ache pulsed in her chest as she admired the perfect planes of his masculine cheeks.
The chiseled angles of his strong jaw. And the shape of his full, angular lips.
A thrill shot through her as she recalled kissing those lips. Once at the altar, and then again in the limo.
She pulled in a deep breath and forced herself to step away from the couch and toward the bungalow’s patio door. It had taken over thirty hours to get from LA to the Maldives, but Kat would do it all again to be in a place like this.
She slipped onto the wood-slatted boardwalk and took in the endless view of glistening turquoise surrounding a long line of over-the-water bungalows like theirs.
One path along the boardwalk led to the island’s resort, while the other encased the entire bungalow.
At this end, a crystal clear pool shimmered beside a very inviting hot tub.
The mere sight had her envisioning late nights beneath the stars with Duke.
A fresh wave of warmth zipped through her at the image alone.
As far as Kat was concerned, she and her groom had a bit of catching up to do.
Sure, they hadn’t said I do under ordinary circumstances, but she hadn’t pictured the first night and day following their wedding vows to be spent en route to the honeymoon destination either.
Even once they arrived, they’d been too exhausted to shower, unpack, and get settled.
So they’d opted to catch up on sleep instead.
Zander on the couch, Kat on the bed. Three hours had passed since then, and Kat felt rested and ready to get to know the man she’d just married.
She spun in place once more, unable to believe that her surroundings were real.
With her back to the railing, Kat propped her elbows on the bar and took in the inside of the bungalow, visible through the glass walls surrounding the place.
Privacy would be sparse in a place like this.
Only the kitchen, with its wall of cabinetry, and bathroom were blocked from her view.
But the rest was there for all eyes to see.
A pristine bedroom with plush bedding and a gorgeous white rug.
The front room, complete with vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and white furniture with accents ranging from rustic beige to a soft, sage-based green.
Behind her lay the incredible ocean view, surrounded by coral islands as far as the eye could see. Before her lay a stunning display of artistic design and the promise of comfort and luxury at every turn.
Yet still, Kat’s eyes were drawn to the one sight she was interested in above all else—the handsome man sleeping on the couch, his impressive form making the furniture look rather small in comparison.
She ran her gaze over the nicely fitted polo shirt he’d picked up at a gift shop during their layover.
In the same shop, he scored the golf shorts he wore.
Kat had inwardly questioned the choice until he stepped out of the busy restroom, looking as if he were striding onto the set of his very own fashion shoot.
A sigh seeped past her lips, a combination of relief that the hard part was over and an odd longing for things to finally begin.
At this point, only a few details were certain. One—she was definitely attracted to her new groom. Two—there was decent chemistry between them. And three—after the chaos of the live wedding and the travel time that followed, she was dying to get to know who this man really was.
Zander flung off the couch once sounds of the shower kicked on. He’d spent the last twenty-four hours avoiding Duke’s new bride, and not because he’d wanted to, either; it was for the sheer reason that she was Duke’s bride, not his.
And for every impulse Zander had during the long flight and layover, all of the urges to start conversations, get closer, hold her hypnotizing gaze longer—he strengthened his resolve to call Duke the first chance he got.
He’d done that very thing once he caught wind of their destination. Nearly twenty hours had passed since then and, if all went according to plan, Duke should be well on his way and awaiting the name and location of the resort.
There had to be a landline somewhere. He hurried around the circular wall, past the kitchen and dining area and into the bedroom. There, on a nightstand beside the bed, rested a phone.
Perfect.
Upgrading their accommodations—something he’d privately talked the producer into during their final flight—had served Zander in more ways than one.
Not only were they at a five-star resort instead of the 3-star the network was planning to put them up in, now he’d gotten one step ahead of the producers by getting a room with a working phone.
At least, he hoped it was working.
Zander picked up the phone, brought it to his ear, and tossed a look of gratitude toward the heavens when he heard a dial tone. Quickly he ducked behind the bed and tapped out Duke’s number. He’d memorized it since it was the same as Zander’s save the last digit.
Adrenaline pushed painfully through his blood as it rang once. Twice. And then a third time.
He was probably mid-flight, or getting very near by now. Hopefully the voicemail would pick up so he could give him the details.
“This is Duke.” His voice was scratchy with sleep.
“Hey,” Zander hissed. “Don’t answer the phone that way. You’re not Duke right now because Duke is on his honeymoon, remember?”
Silence.
“Where are you?”
“Home,” Duke mumbled.
“What?” It took effort to keep his volume down. “I thought you were already on your way.”
“Negative. None of us think it’s a good idea to swap during the honeymoon.”
Zander’s blood went volcano hot. “None of who?”
“The family. Who do you think?”
“Why?” Zander envisioned taking his tightly clenched fist and thrusting it through the floor beneath him.
“It’s too risky,” Duke said. “Someone could spot the two of us in the same place, you know?”
“I doubt that would happen.”
“And we’d have to switch off so quick you wouldn’t even have time to fill me in. I’d be walking in blind.”
He had a point there, but Zander wasn’t willing to admit it. “We’d work it out.”
“Listen, Grandma Lo had your hair dresser, Zuko, meet me on the jet so I wouldn’t be spotted anywhere with my long hair. I’ll stay under cover here. You’ve gone this far, just…you’re going to have to hold out through the honeymoon.”
An odd dose of excitement flittered through him at the sound of those words.
And it wasn’t hard to guess why. Zander had done his part—asked, twice now, for Duke to come and take his rightful place, and he’d refused.
His brother, his family for that matter, couldn’t blame Zander for what might come of it.
Sure, Zander could argue. In fact, he was quite confident that he’d get his way if he insisted Duke come, but why do that when he could enjoy an entire week with a very fascinating, not to mention beautiful, woman at his side?
“Fine.”
“Fine?” The single word came through the line in a squeak. And there it was—an admission on Duke’s part that he’d expected Zander to argue.
“Yep. If you’re not worried about it, why should I be?”
All sorts of warmth stirred low in his belly as Zander considered spending the entire honeymoon with Kat.
Duke didn’t reply.
“I’ll keep it going,” Zander said, “but we can’t have anymore contact. I’ll head straight to your place once we get back, since I’m supposed to be you anyway. We’ll figure things out from there.”
“Hey,” Duke blurted. “You haven’t…done anything with her, have you?”
“What do you mean?” Of course, Zander knew exactly what he meant.
“I know that you had to kiss her at the altar—I watched that live from the jet. But that’s it, right?” Duke’s voice was tight.
“No, that’s not it.” Zander paused, letting that simmer for a beat. “The guests were chanting out of front the chapel, urging us to kiss before we drove off in the limo. So we did.”
“What about wedding night?” Duke asked.
Zander rolled his eyes. “We didn’t have a wedding night. It took thirty hours to get here. We were either on flights or in the airport the whole time. What do you think?”
“I think that if it were me, I would have found a way,” Duke said.
“Tsk.” Zander shook his head. “Geez, I could have found a way too, moron. How about I make up for it tonight?”
“No, no, no!” Duke shouted. “Don’t touch her. I’ll…you don’t even know each other. It would make sense to wait.”
“Yeah, but we’re married,” Zander countered. “It would make sense if we didn’t wait too.”
“Dude, don’t mess with me. This is already hard enough.”
“Is it? Because if I were you, I’d have been on that jet plane fast enough to make heads spin.” When Duke didn’t reply, Zander pressed on. “You actually do want to be married. Is that what you’re saying?”
More silence.
“That’s what this is. A marriage. One she’s been waiting her whole life for.”
“I guess I’ll see if that’s what I want,” Duke finally answered. “That’s what this experiment is for. It’s an experiment, remember?”
The distant sound of running water stopped.
“I’ve gotta go. Don’t answer your phone anymore. You’re supposed to be on your honeymoon.”
“One last thing,” Duke blurted. “Try being more like me, please. I don’t want her to be turned off by Mr. Uptight and Ornery.”
Zander shook his head and moved to set the phone back in place. Yet one last request spilled through the line, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Don’t kiss her too much…”
He hung up the phone and gritted his teeth. “Idiot,” he mumbled. It was hard to tell which part of that conversation bothered him most. If he were honest, it was the tail end of it. Where Duke told Zander to be more like him.
But why? They always razzed one another. And the truth was, they were opposite in a lot of ways. Zander flew off the handle ten times to one compared to Mr. Cool and Collected. Zander was intense. Passionate. Invested. It was in his make, and he was fine with that.
So why suddenly did Duke’s comment feel so personal?
The answer was a fresh jab to the center of his chest. Duke was Kat’s type. At least, that’s what the experts behind the experiment had determined. They’d matched her up with Duke’s answers, traits, and personality. Not Zander’s.
He came to a stand, tucked his hands into his pockets, and spun around just in time for the bathroom door to fling open.
Kat came barreling out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her head and a thick, white robe wrapped around her frame.
Water glistened off her flushed skin as she hurried over to the armoire, a wad of clothes in hand.
“There’s a hamper in here,” she said to him before dropping the clothes and heading over to the dresser.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she continued, tugging something small, silky, and black from the top drawer. She bumped that one closed with her hip and opened the next one down, snatching a pair of cut off shorts and a tee shirt. “But I took the top two drawers and left the bottom two for you.”
“I don’t mind at all,” Zander said.
She hurried back to the bathroom, moved to shut the door, but stopped short. “Oh, and the shower head is incredible. I swear, it feels like an entire body massage. I’m going to have to figure out how to get my hands on one.”
With that, she closed the door, leaving Zander to untangle the thoughts in his mind. There was a simple ease between them, something that felt natural and right.
His gaze fell to the bed. He pictured Kat sinking beneath the covers after an evening shower. Cheeks flushed, hair pulled up into a bun. All too easily, Zander imagined himself beside her, and then hovering over her for another sample of those lips. Goodnight, babe.
Fire roared, hot and pleasant in his belly at the thought.
He gulped. How was he supposed to play the part of a man getting to know his bride—with the hopes of falling in love with her—without doing that very thing? And would Duke really see it as a betrayal if he did, or would he just shrug it off as an experiment gone wrong?
Perhaps he should’ve warned his brother that he had feelings for this woman. At least given him a heads up. So why hadn’t he?
The blast of a hairdryer picked up on the other side of the door, causing more images to flood his mind. Him, in the shower as she stood at the vanity getting ready for the day. Would the other couples in the experiment get that comfortable with each other? Possibly.
Suddenly, the door cracked open once more. “Hey,” Kat hollered, glancing at him from where she stood at the counter. “Want to head over to the gift shop after this? We can get you some more clothes.”
“Sure,” he said. “That’d be great.”
She smiled and shot him a playful wink. “You’re cute,” she said with a laugh.
There went the simmer again. That low and steady belly heat she kindled in him. “Well, you’re beautiful.” His breath hitched. Heat gathered in his palms.
She shook her head, grinned, and closed the door once more.
Great, they were flirting now?
This was dangerous. Just how deep should he allow his feelings to go?
That question seemed more like a joke. Who was he fooling? Zander couldn’t control his feelings any more than he could the depths of the ocean. So maybe he should try harder to change the one thing he could control.
Quickly, he darted back to the bedside and ducked low. He snatched the phone off the side table, hit redial, and drummed his fingers while it rang.
Once.
Twice.
And then a third time.
“Are you kidding?” Zander hissed as it rang once again. The machine picked up at last, reminding Zander that he’d told Duke not to answer; the guy probably thought he was testing him.
“I know I said it was okay if you didn’t come out here, but it’s not.
I am starting to feel something for this woman.
Seriously. So get out here. Do what you need to do, unless you want me to be the one consummating this marriage.
” He left the name of the resort and the number to their bungalow and hung up the line.
There. He’d done the right thing.
Already the tension in his shoulders was slipping.
Now he could relax. Let himself go a little.
By this time tomorrow, or shortly thereafter, Duke would step in and take his place.
Now there’d be no harm in getting a little closer.
Flirting a little more. Heaven knew that’s what Duke would be doing once he got there.
Already, Zander was looking forward to being himself around her. A very large part of him didn’t want to give up his time there with Kat, but that’s what made his decision all the more right. Duke was the one who’d signed up for this. It was Zander’s job to step aside.