CHAPTER 16 #3
“Staggered throughout the day.”
“Hope they have better luck with rooms.”
They found their flip-flops in the wooden cubbies at the beach entrance and rinsed off their sandy feet in the nearby shower.
“You said there is a welcome party this evening?” Ian asked.
Claire nodded. “It’s a sunset catamaran cruise.”
The corner of his mouth curved up. “Sounds like a good time.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t be so sure. I need to warn you that the scrutiny from my friends will be intense.”
One brow lifted. “Oh? Exactly what have you told them?”
“About you?”
Ian slowly removed his sunglasses to pin her with his dark blue eyes. “About us, Penny.” In the bright sun, his irises were huge, and the heated way he regarded her made her swallow back a nervous little knot.
She licked her lips. “I told them the truth.”
“And that is … ?”
“That we’re friends.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“Why are you asking?”
“You said I’m about to be checked out. I like to be prepared. Mind telling me what I’m walking into?”
“My friends are rather protective. Not that I blame them.”
A serious expression spread across his face. “There’s usually a good reason for that.”
She shrugged.
“What made them so protective?”
“Let’s just say I don’t have good luck with men.”
He looked at her for a long moment, then opened his mouth but seemed to change his mind.
The pool came into view, next to a vibrant bar covered in colorful tiles, with every known liquor bottle displayed behind it and a swirling double slushie machine on one end.
Claire settled on a round blue barstool and smiled at the bartender.
She checked his name tag. “Hello, Jerry.”
“What can I get you, lovely lady?”
She glanced at Ian. “What was that drink called?”
“Switcha.”
“Ah, good choice, good choice! You’ve been to the Bahamas before, man.” Jerry grinned, showing gleaming white teeth. “One Switcha for the lady. And for you?”
Ian thought a moment. “I’ll have a gin martini.”
“What gin do you like?”
“Sapphire.”
What followed was a veritable show of behind-the-back bottles, enthusiastic shaking, and dramatic pouring. When Jerry presented them with their cocktails, Claire wanted to applaud.
“To you.” Ian raised his plastic martini glass.
The breeze ruffled his blond hair, his eyes sparkled, and looking into his handsome face, Claire felt her heart squeeze.
She touched her drink to his. “To you.”
Ian held her gaze for a long moment before he took a sip. She did the same, and her mouth puckered at the tartness.
Ian noticed. “Do you like it?”
She nodded. “I love this. I love anything sour.”
She got distracted by his hand, his long fingers curled around the stem of the glass.
Flashback to those hands caressing her body … She shifted in her seat. Tonight, she’d be alone with him in that room, with nowhere else to be. And for the rest of the weekend too.
When she looked back at his face, she saw a knowing smile.
“So.” He plucked the plastic pick and slid a green olive between his teeth. “What do I need to know about your friends?”
God. He made chewing an olive sexy.
She licked her lips. “All of them are Hogettes.”
“Oh. I like them already.”
“Kira is the youngest and the sweetest. She’s a paralegal at our firm and an eternal optimist. Mention cats, and you’ll be her best friend.”
“Cats,” Ian repeated.
Claire nodded. “She has three and even teaches them tricks. It’s amazing what she gets them to do. Do you like cats?”
He smiled. “I had one when I was a kid. Rambo. I took him to college with me. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I thought you were a dog person.”
“I’m that too.” He picked up his phone and thumbed through photos. “Here.”
He held it out. There he was, a tow-headed boy, missing both front teeth, holding a very beefy black-and-white cat.
“Wow, that’s a real man-cat. How old were you here?”
“Seven.” Ian studied the photo. “Adam and I heard noises from the bushes and found him there. He was so small, all of us took turns bottle-feeding him.” He pocketed his phone. “He lived to seventeen.”
“That’s a long life for a cat.”
“Yeah.” He sipped his drink. “Who else do I need to charm?”
“Samantha is the bride, so you might not want to try to charm her. She’s the senior partner’s assistant at our firm.
She’s the most understanding and supportive person you could ever hope to meet.
The kind of friend you’d call at 3:00 a.m., and she’d come running without even asking why you need her.
She and Daniel met three years ago at Hedonism. ”
His lips twitched, and his brows raised. “Hedonism?”
“Yes, the resort in Jamaica.”
“The group sex and partner-swapping resort.” It was a statement, not a question, and the way he smirked made something unpleasant roll in her stomach.
“Yes. How do you know of it?” She remembered what he’d said about participating in a foursome. What else had he done? The thought of him in an orgy made her a little sick.
He laughed, a dark, throaty laugh. “Not from personal experience, that’s for sure.”
She raised a brow. “I thought you were trisexual.”
“And I thought I told you I prefer focusing my entire attention on one woman.” He shook his head, an incredulous expression on his face. “Damn, Penny. What have I ever said or done to make you think I’d be into that?”
She shrugged. “You never know what people are into.”
He studied her intently for a long moment. “It was one time, in college, during a frat party. And there was way too much vodka involved.”
She nodded, annoyed with herself for caring what he did or had done in the past.
“I’m into you,” he added softly. “I guess I didn’t make it clear enough.”
She stared down at the ice cubes in her glass, not knowing what to say to that. This conversation was getting way too personal, and she needed to return it to her comfort zone.
“I haven’t even told you about Alexis,” she said.
His brows rose. “What about Alexis?”
“She’s a motorcycle cop.”
“Impressive.”
“Yeah. Her dad, uncle, and two brothers are all police officers. She had something to prove. And did she ever. Fair warning: she doesn’t take BS from anyone. She’ll be direct.”
He ate the second olive, his expression guarded. “Why do I have the feeling I’m about to be interrogated?”
Claire couldn’t suppress a grin. “Because you are.”
·
Ian
Ian sipped his Hennessy and gazed toward the shore as the catamaran glided through the rolling waves, the water glinting silver in the moonlight. The resort was barely visible now, its three buildings blazing with light, windows bright in the surrounding darkness.
The evening had gotten off to an interesting start, and despite the warning, several of Claire’s friends’ attitudes had him wondering what Claire had told them about him.
The last time he remembered being under this level of scrutiny was his first date in middle school, when the girl’s dad had taken him to the basement to intimately familiarize Ian with his extensive gun collection.
He brought up Jannie’s contact and tapped send.
It rang several times before she finally picked up.
“What?”
“Well, good, happy evening to you too.”
“Make it quick.” She sounded harried.
His brow furrowed. “You’re at work?”
“A patient’s been in labor for fifteen hours, now she needs a C-section, and she wouldn’t hear of having the on-call OB do it. I just got to the hospital. What’s up?”
“The rising moon.” He took a swig of cognac, feeling a bit guilty that he was in paradise with nothing to do but drink while Jannie was so stressed. “Just checking up on you.”
“I thought I told you to go do your lady friend and forget about me this weekend.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you bugging me at work?”
“I didn’t know you were at work,” he muttered, feeling exactly as he had as a ten-year-old pest of a little brother.
“You are still a pain in the ass, you know that? I’m going to hang up now. Don’t call me again unless someone’s dying.”
He heard the tone, then dead air. Ian snickered. He guessed he could stop worrying about her. He was beginning to suspect she hadn’t needed him to stay with her at all; the woman wouldn’t surprise him if one day he came home to find she had delivered her twins herself.
“Taking a break?”
Ian pivoted to see a tall, dark-haired woman approaching, a margarita in her hand, her black-and-white striped dress accenting a fit body that bordered on muscular.
A royal-blue belt cinched her waist, and black hair cascaded freely over her shoulders.
In contrast to her wanton locks, she wore that inscrutable expression he had often seen on his partner Ryan and the faces of military members.
And cops.
“Nice Thin Blue Line dress.” He gestured with his snifter. “You must be Alexis.”
That earned him something that wasn’t quite a smile, and he thought he saw a glimmer of respect flash in her dark eyes.
“I am. Thank you. You are the only person who caught on.” She came to stand beside Ian and sipped her margarita before giving him a sidelong glance. “Taking a breather from under the microscope, I see. Was it too much for you?”
Claire’s warning had proved correct. He’d answered questions from her friends Samantha and Kira, ranging from where he called home to whether he had any children. They hadn’t even cracked a smile when he’d quipped that he didn’t know of any.
Ian shook his head and chuckled. “It’s all good. I needed to make a call.”
Alexis turned to face him, her sharp gaze sweeping him head to toe. “Well.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now I see.”
He raised his glass to his lips with a polite smile. “What is it you see?” he asked, though he could very well guess.
“Why Claire agreed to be your fuck buddy.”
Whoa.
His mouth twisted. “Dance around the subject, do you?”
She shrugged. “I call them as I see them. Anyone with eyes can figure out you have no shortage of women who throw themselves at you.” She smirked. “And certain men, too, I’m willing to bet.”
Ian tipped his head, partly in amusement at her brashness and partly in acknowledgment because he couldn’t deny any of it. “She likes my winning personality.”