Chapter 11
By the time Cam changed into the trunks Emma laid out on the bed, alongside her note saying she would be drunk, he chuckled to find the women and Asher at one of the hotel’s pools.
It took him longer to get down there because he needed to return Derek’s call. Unfortunately, that took longer than expected because Derek and Slone were hosting a barbecue, which meant he was put on speaker for his friends to grill him about this mystery woman whom he had just met and hopped on a plane to St. Croix for.
When he tried explaining the situation, Jim made a joke about the sex had better be worth it, to which Cam laughed when he heard Jim’s girlfriend scold him. Then he had Katie hammering him with questions about who she was so that they could look her up. He avoided those details because the last thing he needed was any of those women trying to take over his love life. That was a scary enough thought in itself. Instead, he explained she was best friends with his coworker, hoping to take some of the heat off of Emma having been a total stranger.
By the time he hung up, his earlier exhaustion from a day on the course was replaced with a newfound energy. There was something about trying to capture what Emma was like to his friends that had him wanting to seek her out, spend more time together.
He was probably ridiculous for enjoying his time with her so much, but he couldn’t help himself. A pretend relationship or not, the woman drew him in. Something most women failed to do.
As he rounded the gate to enter the pool area, he knew the moment Emma saw him, swearing her eyes lit up. Or maybe that was because he was wearing the swim trunks she bought him.
“They fit,” she exclaimed. “They look good on you.”
Cam smiled, walking over to the end she was swimming in. “Thanks. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”
“Not at all.” She returned his smile. “Go get a drink, then get in.”
“Join us,” Lulu cheered, standing very close in the water to a man Cam hadn’t met yet.
Emma gave him a telling look that made him chuckle. “I see you’re not drunk like your note suggested,” he teased.
“Not for lack of Lauren trying.” Emma gave Lauren a pointed look, who laughed in return as she raised her umbrella drink which spilled onto Asher’s legs as he sat on the edge, her saddled up in front of him in the water. He’d guess Emma was the only one not overly tipsy or drunk at this point, despite what her note had suggested.
“I’ll be back. Can I get you anything?”
“Aww, Emma, he’s so sweet. You already have him whipped,” Lulu crooned.
Cam only laughed and shook his head as Emma ignored the comment and told him she was all good. As he made his way to the bar, he knew this group would fit in just fine with his friends back home. It seemed Cam was drawn to people who liked to have fun and give their friends shit.
Although the latter began to bite him in the ass when he returned with a beer, sat it on the edge, took off his shirt, and jumped in. When his head broke free of the water and he swam back to where Emma and his drink were, he watched as her face turned beet red with mortification over Lulu’s next comment.
“No wonder you were quick to do long distance with a body like that. Damn, Cam, do you do your laundry on that washboard?”
He tried stifling his laugh, especially since he could practically feel the heat coming from Emma’s cheeks, but he knew Lulu was riling them up on purpose. If they were going to have her keep their secrets, she might as well make some fun out of it for herself. He couldn’t find it in him to blame her for it.
“Louise Penny!” Lauren’s chide had little impact since it was expressed with a side of giggling.
“Don’t bring my middle name into this,” she shot back to her sister. “Asher’s been through it. Dan, here,” she patted the man on the shoulder, “will get his fair share, and now it’s Cam’s turn.”
“Oh my gosh,” Emma groaned, shaking her head. “Dan, please, save yourself now. She’s crazy. She may be beautiful, but it’s not worth it.”
“Don’t you cockblock me.” Lulu splashed the water toward them and Emma and Cam both laughed.
Thankfully the conversation now veered toward Dan and what brought him there for vacation, where he was from, and what he did for a living. Cam tried following along, but the flow of the water from the jets seemed to keep moving him closer and closer to Emma. It was hard to pay attention when that distorted view of her green bikini under the water kept catching his eye.
And if he thought Emma’s hair was already dark, he didn’t think it compared to the shade of black it shined from being wet in the pool. He found himself wanting to wrap his arms around her and run the long silky strands through his fingers.
Sure, he’d known the woman was sexy, but there was something different between her all dressed up and put together versus standing in a pool, no makeup, and the definition in her arms visible every time she raised the glass to her lips. Or the muscles that whispered along her shoulders above the water’s surface.
This relationship may be fake, but the urge to run his lips over her skin wasn’t.
“Don’t let us stop you from PDA,” Lulu purred mischievously.
Cam’s eyes snapped to Emma’s, not realizing he’d been staring at her this entire time. Lulu gave him a grin he knew meant trouble as her brows did a double bounce. She gestured toward Lauren and Asher, who admittedly looked like a couple infatuated with one another, him still seated on the edge and her in the water, both her arms over his legs for support.
“You look like you want to devour her,” Lulu commented and laughed.
“Stop giving us a hard time,” Emma started, but Cam was already wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. She could feel his heartbeat against her back and was sure it matched her own quickened pace.
“Well, we’d hate to disappoint,” he joked back, though he could see something like a victory flag cross Lulu’s expression. As they went back to their conversation, Asher now telling them Henry said he was going to take a nap and spend the rest of the evening at the casino, Cam leaned his head closer to Emma’s.
He whispered so only she could hear. “If you want me to let you go, just say the word.”
A million thoughts skittered through her mind, none of them including a desire for his hands to leave her body. She could feel the rough calluses of them against her skin. “It’s more believable this way,” she whispered back, her head turning toward his, suddenly aware of how close his lips were to hers.
Cam looked at those lips, soft and pink, tempted to make this all the more believable, but knowing that wasn’t a line he would cross unless she wanted him to. When he raised his eyes to hers, he could’ve sworn he saw the same thought passing through her. Instead, she smiled and turned back to their group, Dan now asking how they all knew each other.
“Lauren and I are sisters,” Lulu explained. “And Emma is our sister whether she regrets ever meeting us or not.”
“I could never,” Emma responded.
“And how’d you guys meet?” Dan asked toward Lauren and Asher.
Cam felt Emma stiffen in his arms. This was the exact kind of scenario she was hoping to avoid. Anything that would shed light on her role.
He noticed Lauren hesitate, but it was Asher who spoke. “We all go way back. Emma and I met through mutual friends and she introduced me to Lauren and Lulu.”
Asher looked toward Emma, whether in question, a dare to say otherwise, or an apology, Cam couldn’t tell, because he hid any emotion well.
Before Cam could process what he was going to say, his mouth was opening and words coming out. “And we met through a passion for adventure.” He squeezed her tight, his head sidling down onto her shoulder next to hers as they swayed in the pool. “I think the world knew we were meant to meet and pushed the circumstances to make it happen.”
Emma relaxed into him, whether because of his words or the protective hold he had on her, even if it looked like nothing more than a boyfriend holding his girlfriend, she knew better. She could sense he wanted to shield her from wherever this conversation might go.
An unfamiliar sense of comfort and safety swam through her. She tried to ignore it.
“You’re such a romantic,” Lauren said but he barely heard her as he was looking at Emma, her eyes a mixture of gratitude and something else. It was that something else that was tugging on his heart.
“So I’ve been told,” he murmured.
Emma gave him the sweetest smile he’d ever seen in his life, her arms wrapping around his, her thumb gently caressing back and forth.
It felt like the world stopped existing outside of that little moment and the breath of air in between them.
Until a gush of water sprayed their faces and Lulu was laughing as she said, “Okay, okay. I take back my PDA comment earlier. That’s too lovey. Take it somewhere else.”
He let go of Emma as they both wiped the water from their eyes and faces.
She couldn’t help but feel the water was too cool now, replacing the spots where Cam’s body had just been. She was going to have to have a serious conversation with Lulu about intervening. Or maybe her friend was saving her from making a huge mistake, even if she was the one who pointed out Cam could be the perfect guy for her, a thought that made her nervous and too self-aware.
She didn’t dare look in her friend”s direction, in fear of what she’d see written across her face. Lulu knew what she’d been doing by sending that splash of cold water to bring them back to reality.
◆◆◆
“What do you want to do for dinner?” Cam asked as they made their way through the lobby toward the elevator.
Emma tugged her bottom lip through her teeth as she thought it over. “Room service?”
Cam stuck his hand in front of the elevator doors for Emma to enter first.
“I’m not in the mood to get around for a restaurant.” Emma pressed the button for their room.
He gave her a funny look. “You know we could just slip on clothes and go, right? You don’t have to get all dolled up.”
She frowned. “I’m allowed to like to look nice when I go somewhere,” she said, a bite to her tone. “It’s not as if I can’t leave my house without makeup on or something.”
He chuckled, hands lifted in surrender. “That’s not what I was implying.”
“Then what were you implying?”
He gave her that puppy dog grin. “That you already look beautiful, whether you wore that or one of those pretty outfits.”
She looked down, the unexpected compliment warming her more than the sunburn she earned today. “Pretty outfits, huh?”
Cam chuckled, never taking his eyes off of her. “Yeah, but I have to admit,” he reached out, gently taking the edge of her swimsuit cover between his finger and thumb, “I think this green bikini might be my favorite.”
Emma’s head popped up, seeing the intensity in his eyes and the way he watched her. That boyish smile took a wicked turn as he took a step closer. She had no clue what he was thinking, only that he skimmed over the hem of her sheer cover-up until his hand was at her neck.
Before she could process what to think or say, the doors were opening and he dropped his hand, stepping out while she stood there still clueless.
She quickly followed him out and down the hall.
“So room service? That works for me.”
Emma only nodded, not that he could see her as she was walking behind him. She was still trying to figure out what just happened, or didn’t happen, and it’s not that she could blame the lack of clarity on the drinks at the pool because they’d quit drinking long ago before they all finally decided to go their separate ways for the evening. Oh no, she had a clear head, but it was the thundering of her heart and other sensations that had her dazed and unsure.
Cam unlocked the door, smiling to himself at the look he’d witnessed on Emma’s face. He held it open for her, noticing she avoided any further eye contact.
Too bad for her. He’d felt it in the pool, knew there was a spark of something between them and he’d be damned if he was going to be dragged on this trip for a woman who might be interested in him, especially when that woman was Emma, and not even make an attempt.
It wasn’t about getting laid or a week of hooking up. No, it was the way he wanted to protect her. And not from life, because she had that in the bag. This was a fierce woman who knew how to live, thrive, and go out into the world and experience it. He wanted to protect her from feeling alone, invisible, unseen, or like there wasn’t a soul who understood her.
Because he did understand her. And he knew she felt whatever that was in the pool, too. Now he just needed to get her to acknowledge it. Take a chance on it. On him.
“Do you want me to order while you get changed or shower?” he offered.
Emma was flipping through the contents of her suitcase, debating on sweats or her pajamas. There was something about cozying up in sweatpants in the cold of the A/C on vacation that sounded good.
Not thinking too much, she piped her remark at him. “And here I thought you liked me in this swimsuit?”
Once the words were out, she tensed. She’d never thought too much about flirting or second-guessing what she said before, but then again she’d been in a long-term relationship for a while and hadn’t had much luck in the dating department since.
But flirting with Cam? Especially after whatever that was back in the elevator, the tingling in her toes still lingering, maybe that wasn’t her smartest decision if she was trying to make it through this week without wrecking it all.
She heard his voice rumble through the room as though he didn’t have a care or shame in the world. “I wouldn’t mind you out of it, either.”
Emma chewed her bottom lip, a million things to say popping in her mind, though nothing as vivid as the images his rough voice sent through her.
She took a deep breath and then turned, leaning back on the desk and crossing her arms. She eyed him, taking in every bit of that still-exposed torso and muscular arms that could easily toss her over his shoulder and carry her to bed.
Her eyes narrowed. She knew better than to entertain the thought. Her last plan of a one-night stand ended in kicking the man out within five minutes. She couldn’t take that risk here. It would be too messy, she told herself.
But Cam didn’t say a word as he watched her measuring him up. He could see those brown eyes calculating, wondering. And he’d let her do just that, because even though he knew she’d think better of taking this fake dating to the next level, he had no intention of making the decision easy on her this week. Not anymore. Not after the way she looked at him in that pool.
“Are you flirting with me, Cameron Wright?”
God, she wasn’t going to make it easy on him either, was she? The way she asked it while looking calm, leaned back against that table. The things he could see himself doing to her right there on that very desk. No one made him want to hear his name, his full name, as much as Emma Cooper. He wanted to make her scream it.
“Would it bother you if I was?”
She tapped her fingers on her bicep, a movement she noticed drug his eyes to her arm before they slowly crawled up to her shoulder then neck, lingering on her lips before meeting hers again. She tried to control her breathing. No look should be able to leave a trail of tingles like his did.
“I don’t think it would be smart,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because next weekend we fly back home and I’ll be boarding a plane to North Carolina while you head to Missouri.”
“So?” He could see her breath turning shallow. She may look relaxed, but he could feel the tension rolling off of her. Those brown eyes were moments away showing the flames of desire he knew were tempting her.
The thing that made Cam laugh the most was how everyone always deemed him the good guy, the romantic, the commitment type. He had nothing against those things, and indeed he was all of that. However, what people failed to realize was that just because he was all of those, it didn’t mean he didn’t know how to go after what or who he wanted and how to make sure she never forgot his name. And Emma, his name sounded too good coming from those tempting lips to let her forget it.
Instead of waiting for her to think of a better excuse, Cam positioned her with a different question.
“What if this little arrangement causes me to fall for you?” he asked.
She swallowed at that. “No, I’m just new to you. Trust me, anything you could potentially start to feel will wear off by the end of the week. After you’ve put up with me long enough,” she added. “That’s why this,” she waved between them, “Whatever this is, and the flirting, is a bad idea.”
Little did she know how wrong she was, he thought, giving her a small smile. “Okay, Emma.”
She didn’t like how casually he said that. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” he asked innocently.
“Act like you heard me but plan to ignore my warning.”
His brow quirked in that way he already knew drove her nuts. “I did hear you.”
She gave him a look that suggested she wasn’t buying it.
“Now tell me what you want so I can order it and you can get changed.” When she sighed in exasperation he added, “Unless you need help getting out of that.”
He couldn’t hold back the devilish grin he tried hiding and she found herself laughing, even as she tossed a t-shirt from her suitcase at him. “You’re an animal,” she replied, scooping up her clothes to change into before heading for the bathroom.
You have no idea, Cam thought smugly.
“Surprise me,” she decided regarding dinner and shut the bathroom door to secure her some space and breathing room from that man and his overbearing testosterone.
If she thought keeping their lies unexposed this week was going to be her biggest challenge, then boy did she think wrong. Because if there was something that tempted Emma more than a good sale, sleek outfit, or once-in-a-lifetime photography trip, it was a cocky man who knew what he was doing in the bedroom.
And something told her that Cam wouldn’t disappoint.