TWENTY-ONE
“DON’T PANIC,” Baer said as he strode toward her in the airport lounge.
Panic? Why would that be the first thing he said?
Uncrossing her legs, she stood up next to her carry-on bag and opened her arms when he slid his hands onto her waist. “What’s wrong?”
Having not seen him since he left her apartment at midnight after their day in bed together, his comment could pertain to a whole host of things.
“Where’s Holly?” he asked. “Is she here?”
Nodding, she glanced to the side. “She’s in the restroom. I was waiting for you. You’re late. The flight leaves in half an hour… Where’s Lyon?”
“You look beautiful,” he said and dipped in an attempt to kiss her. Uh, no, answers first, she bowed backwards. “You won’t let me say hello to you? Lil’, I’ve thought about nothing but you since—”
“Lyon?”
It was difficult not to be flattered by such a man admitting he was enamored. Except he’d had other dates since leaving her place. She wasn’t wild on the idea of him thinking about her when with other women.
“He was in a car accident,” Baer said.
Grabbing for him, she gasped. “Oh my God! Is he okay?”
“He’s in the hospital. Don’t panic, Conrad took care of it.”
“Took care of it.” She didn’t follow. “What does that mean?”
“Hey, Royal!”
“Donoghue?”
She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Best Conrad could come up with at short notice,” Baer muttered, easing her in to rest his mouth in her hair. “I’m just glad the bastard’s not your date.”
“Way things are going I’m beginning to regret having a date at all,” she said, pushing him aside to set a smile on Donoghue. “Hello!”
“Nice setup,” he said, scanning the first-class lounge as he sauntered over. “Not too shabby.”
She accepted his kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for stepping in.”
“Not a problem,” he said, putting an arm around her. “I got the skinny. I’m ready for this.”
“Ready?” Freya asked, unconvinced by the man’s confidence.
Just then movement drew her attention. Simultaneously, she spied her cousin coming out of the restroom, and the latter noticed the people with her. Neither of the men were her expected date. Okay, don’t panic.
“I got this,” Donoghue said, kissing her cheek again before striding away, arms open to Holly.
Watching, waiting for her cousin’s reaction, she didn’t blink until Baer rubbed her cheek with the cuff of his jacket.
She swatted at him. “What are you doing?”
“You shouldn’t let him kiss you.”
“Hound…” With an arm around her, he guided her away from the couple outside the restroom. “This won’t work, it can’t work.”
“It will work,” Baer said. “Don’t worry so much.”
“How can you be calm about this?”
“I’ve been doing this a while,” he said. “It’s not always so bad when a match isn’t perfect. ‘Specially when that match isn’t heading to the altar.”
That jarred her doubts to a halt in a swift redirect.
With the other couple a distant memory, he got all of her. “What is that supposed to mean?”
His ease became a frown. “Holly’s not going to marry Donoghue any more than she was going to marry Lyon.”
“How do you know?” she asked, stepping away to fold her arms.
“Because women who use escorts…”
He trailed off as offended incredulity tilted her head.
“What? Women who use escorts what? Please finish that sentence, Mr. Clayton.”
He didn’t miss her deliberate use of his alias.
“Okay…” he said, trying to lay a hand on her shoulder. She avoided it with another backward step. “I want you to remember that I have not been in a real relationship for a long time. A very long time. So if I open my big stupid mouth and upset you—”
“Frey!”
Spinning around, she found her cousin storming across the private lounge. Leaving Baer, she hurried to meet Holly halfway.
“It’s okay,” Freya said. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”
“Donoghue’s hot.” Holly grabbed both her hands. “Am I being swayed because I think he’d be fire in the sack?”
Huh, that was unexpected.
Processing, she sought direction. “You want to go on vacation with a boyfriend, there’s a guy here willing to play the role. You don’t want it to be Donoghue? We’ll send them both away.”
Going without Baer would be payback for her judging his unfinished sentence so quickly.
Holly breathed out and looked past her. “Why do you and Baer have to be so perfect together?”
“I just jumped down his throat; I don’t know how perfect we are right now.”
“Wanna trade?”
Even though Holly’s smile was sheepish, no way her cousin didn’t already know that answer. Baer would be brilliant in the role of besotted boyfriend, no matter who he was with. But Freya couldn’t imagine much worse than lying in a bed next to Donoghue thinking about Baer in bed with Holly. And under the same roof too.
Though, after how Baer reacted to Donoghue kissing her cheek, she wasn’t so sure Baer would be the consummate professional if there was another man in her bed.
Donoghue was at least smart enough to give the women a wide berth as he passed to join Baer. At least she guessed that’s where he was going, she didn’t check.
“What do you want to do?”
“We have no choice,” Holly said. “Not really… Dad thinks we’re bringing our boyfriends.”
“Does Donoghue know he’s supposed to be Paul?”
Drawing in air through her nose, Holly tensed. “Oh God, there’s so much we have to cover.”
The guys were supposed to take the notes from the meeting and spend some time memorizing the details. Donoghue hadn’t had the time to do that, as far as they knew.
“You have to trust your gut,” Freya said.
“Miss Dere?” Her attention was drawn to an approaching attendant. “We’re boarding first class; would you like us to take your carry on aboard?”
“Yes, please,” she said, keeping one of Holly’s hands. “So…” All expectation landed on her cousin. “What do you want to do?”