Chapter 9 #2
“I upgraded to a suite when I booked it. Want to take a look?” She opened the door a little wider.
“Yeah. I’d like to see how the other half lives.” Chuckling, he stepped inside, his gaze scanning the tidy living area and the bedroom off to one side. Her bed was neatly made. Good thing he hadn’t invited her back to his place.
She opened the slider that led to the lanai, and he went outside, taking in the dazzling blue panorama as he propped his hands on the railing. “This is beautiful. You really went all out.”
“Well, it was a special occasion.”
“Yeah? Like so many years of friendship with your girlfriend or something like that?”
Her smile faltered, and shadows clouded her green eyes. “Something like that.” She motioned for them to go back inside, and he followed.
The change in her demeanor was stunning. Setting his curiosity aside, he reached out and touched her shoulder. “Hey, did I say something wrong?” Again?
She shook her head. “It’s not you. It’s just that …” She looked away, but not before he saw that her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.
The tears sent ripples of shock through him. What had he said to make her cry? He lightly squeezed her upper arms. “Hey, hey. What’s all this?”
She began wringing her hands. “I, um … This was supposed to be my honeymoon, but my fiancé dumped me the night of the wedding rehearsal.”
Oh fuck! Josh let go of her, admonishing himself.
What the hell was the matter with him? This girl was vulnerable.
The thoughts he’d been having about her hadn’t seemed inappropriate a few minutes ago, but now that he knew she’d just been dumped?
No, not cool. At. All. He wasn’t going to be that guy—the one who used a woman’s fragile emotions to his advantage so he could satisfy his overzealous libido. Instead, he let his outrage mushroom.
“He what?”
Her eyes met his, the tears breaking loose and rimming, spilling.
“H-he said he wasn’t in love with me, that he’d been having doubts for a long time.
He couldn’t go through with it. And here I’d been twisting myself into a pretzel for years to fit what I thought he wanted, and it wasn’t good enough. ”
Josh recoiled inside, and he blurted out the first thing that streamed through his consciousness. “And he waited until your fucking rehearsal dinner to tell you this? Who does that?” She dropped her gaze, and her shoulders shook.
“People suck,” they said at the same time.
She made angry swipes at her jaw, where a tear was about to go into a free fall. “What really makes me mad is that it happened seven months ago, and I still cry even though I’m so over it. Ugh!”
Josh hadn’t realized how taut his muscles had been until they softened with relief. Seven months? Maybe his growing desire for Lexi hadn’t been out of line after all. “He’s not worth the tears, Lexi.”
“I know that, and truthfully, they’re not for him or about him. I think it’s the humiliation that still stings.” She tapped a fist against her chest.
Gently, he pulled her hand away and wrapped his arms around her. “Guy’s a total dickhead.”
She tucked her head against his shoulder and laugh-cried. “That’s one of the many names I called him.”
“And he deserved every damn one. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He laid his cheek on top of her head and held her.
Her arms went around his waist, resting lightly there.
“Honestly, I’m not. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and I realized how much I lost myself trying to become someone I thought he wanted.
I’m just frustrated because it happened on New Year’s Eve, and even though it’s July, I let it catch me by surprise, and then I go and ugly-cry on a perfect stranger. How embarrassing.”
He stroked her back. “You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about. Not with me. I don’t have to know the guy to know he’s a complete waste of space.” Josh meant every word.
She raised her head but didn’t pull away. Her cheeks still glistened from crying. “Why do you say that?”
He pushed stray strands from the side of her face. “Because women like you only come along once in a lifetime. You’re kind and smart and beautiful—not to mention, you’re one hell of a dancer.” He smiled down at her.
Her own smile returned, though dimmer than before. “I signed us up for dance lessons because we agreed it would be a good idea for the reception, but he walked out after one class. I kept going because, well, I had already paid for the course.”
She’d paid for it? And the honeymoon too? This guy was a total tweeze. He made Neil look decent. Maybe that was a stretch.
“He walked out on your dance lessons? He is a dumbass. And an asshole.” Josh Wylder, folks, eloquent speaker of the truth. “Sorry. I don’t mean to keep swearing.”
Now her smile broadened. “Please. Swear away. I’ve done enough of it these past seven months, and hearing it from you makes me feel … validated. Like I’m not alone on Crazy Island.”
Had she really just said “Crazy Island”? That was his secret place.
He cradled her head and pressed it back to his shoulder. “I’m guessing your best friend had some choice words too.”
Lexi laughed. “Yes, she certainly did.”
“I haven’t met her, but I like her. Is it too cliché to say it’s good you found out before you tied the knot?”
She lifted her head once more, parking her palms on his chest. “I don’t know. If it’s true, can it be a cliché?”
“I don’t think so.” He feathered a thumb across her cheek, wiping away the moisture clinging there. “Are you crying because you’re still in love with him?” He held a silent breath.
She didn’t hesitate. “No. I’m crying because he stole something from me, and I want it back.”
A burst of anger detonated inside Josh. “What did he steal?”
“Besides my dignity? How about my confidence? My belief that I’m worthy?
That I’m attractive? I know, I know. Don’t get sucked into his narrative, blah, blah, blah.
But it’s hard to fill yourself up when someone you loved and trusted has so completely torn you down.
” She gave him a weak smile. “But I’m trying. ”
Cradling her face in both hands, he mined her emerald eyes. “Believe me when I tell you, you are definitely worthy. As for attractive, you’ve turned every head in this hotel, mine included. I can’t stop looking at you.”
The space between them shrank and crackled. “Neil can.”
“Neil’s an idiot who has no idea what he wants.” Not that Josh knew what he wanted either, but hey, at least he wasn’t an idiot … most of the time. “Trust me, you don’t want him, Lexi. Besides, I might have lied to him last night after you went to your room.”
She blinked in confusion.
He rushed to explain. “I was sitting at the bar, and he came in and took the seat next to me. I told him you and I were together, and that he was a dumbshit for … that he was a dumbshit.”
Her eyes popped wide. “You did? Why?”
“I’m not sure. Might have had something to do with that kiss on the dance floor.
” He tilted his head. She angled hers in the opposite direction and stared at his mouth through half-lidded eyes.
He brought her face to his and brushed the tip of her nose with his.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day. I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“Me either,” she whispered.
Those two little words let loose something that had been coiled tight inside him, and he crashed his mouth down on hers.
There was nothing gentle about this kiss.
It kickstarted something ravenous, hot, and wild deep inside him.
He had to satisfy that hunger, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop.