Chapter 5
Five
Aspen was achingly aware she was wrapped in a towel and nothing else.
She had been aware of that fact from the moment she’d stepped out of the bathroom to find her cabin not empty.
But that state of affairs had shifted from an acute sense of vulnerability to one of arousal at the recognition that the intruder was her incredible one-night stand.
Or, she supposed, she was the intruder in his cabin if what he said was true.
She wasn’t entirely certain what was going on with that.
But during the whole of their conversation, she’d been imagining dropping the towel and dragging him back to bed.
Any notion that she’d imagined or inflated last night in her head had disappeared at the sight of him in the broad light of day.
Her skin tingled with awareness and remembered caresses.
The man was an enthusiastic and generous lover, and she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since she’d left him in her bed.
Which meant she really needed to put some clothes on. Like… now.
But at his words, she stopped and took a firmer grip on the towel. “What kind of proposal?”
Brooks shoved both hands into his back pockets and rocked back on his heels.
“As you saw, the ‘news’, such as it is, has already broken. Neither of us is going to get any peace at all if we go ahead and correct everybody’s assumption about our engagement.
Everyone’s going to want to know the ‘real’ story or will make up their own version and ask us about that.
” He winced in a way that made it evident he’d had plenty of experience with that precise shade of intrusion.
“The whole point of this vacation for me is rest and relaxation. I presume that there is at least some component of that for you, where you do not want to be fielding questions left and right from complete strangers.”
Even the idea of that made her shudder. “The point of my trip isn’t precisely rest and relaxation, but being in the public eye is definitely not on my agenda, either.”
“So, we can just be cabinmates. Get new bedding and push the beds apart, and I’ll otherwise leave you be if that’s what you prefer—”
Disappointment lanced through her, sharper than she’d have expected considering she hadn’t thought to see him again after this morning.
“But—”
Hope fountained up at that single syllable. Aspen desperately wanted to know what the ‘but’ was.
“The alternative is that we continue where we left off last night, which, frankly, is my preference. Because you are the first thing that has been good in my life since my mother died.”
His words left her speechless. This wasn’t the “Hey, the sex was really great. Let’s keep going,” surface kind of thing that she might have expected.
But then, nothing between them had really been surface.
That had been a huge part of the appeal of him.
The rawness of the statement spoke to her.
Because she remembered what it was to be where he was now—in the throes of recent grief he didn’t know how to process or wade through.
When she didn’t speak, he lifted his hands.
“I realize that’s a lot of pressure. That’s not my intention at all.
But you have this thing you’re trying to do.
Living more bravely. Experiencing more of life.
I don’t know… working on your bucket list, whatever.
We can talk more about that later. Whatever it is, I can help you with it.
” He took a half step forward before stopping himself.
“I think we can basically help each other and enjoy each other in the process.”
Those big, clever hands fell to his side. “Of course, if you’d rather call the whole thing off, we can go talk to the front desk and get the cabin situation sorted and do our best to avoid each other for the week that we’re here.”
Because she could see that he needed the reassurance, she offered him a tentative smile. “I don’t want to avoid you, Brooks.” Scooping a hand through her hair, she took a firmer grip on the towel and began to pace. “I need to think.”
Of course, she wanted to say yes. Every cell of her body was proclaiming it loud and clear. But she needed to make sure that it wasn’t for the wrong reasons.
He had an excellent point that she’d get asked about him at every turn if they did end up correcting people’s assumptions.
Probably that was going to happen anyway, when all this was over.
But it definitely would put a damper on her time here at the resort.
She didn’t want to have to explain herself to people, and she didn’t want his vacation ruined either.
He needed this time. She understood that.
The goal of this trip for her was to get out of her comfort zone and live, in case this was the only chance she got. Doing all that with him by her side would be infinitely more enjoyable. As would the multitude of orgasms she’d be racking up, which were incredibly hard to argue with.
Even standing here now, she wanted him again. Still. Or maybe she hadn’t stopped wanting him from the moment her lips had touched his. She simply hadn’t expected to have the opportunity to pursue that kind of pleasure again.
And here he was, offering to help her with whatever was on her Life List. Not that he knew or understood her motives behind all that.
Nor would she tell him. He was still wounded from the loss of his mother.
No way would Aspen put a damper on things by bringing up the fact that she was doing all this because she might be dying.
They hadn’t known each other long, but she understood that it would hurt him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Aspen thought of her mom. She’d have been absolutely delighted by how all of this had happened. She’d have considered the whole thing a grand joke of the best sort. A kick in the ass from the Universe for her fearful daughter who otherwise couldn’t get out of her own way.
If she said no and went back to Georgia in a week or two and found out that she wouldn’t get a lot more tomorrows or any sort of a future, would she regret not taking him up on his offer?
If this was the only living she got the chance to do, then a flaming hot affair with a gorgeous, sexy, charming pro hockey player would be a pretty great way to go out.
How many people could say they got to do that?
And maybe, if they spent more time together, she could do something to help ease his transition through the grief, as someone who’d been there.
Aspen closed the distance between them, still clutching the towel, and extended her free hand. “You have a deal.”
His eyes lit as his big hand closed around hers, warm and sure. There was no question this was what he’d wanted. That he was excited and relieved.
Aspen felt that tangle of emotion herself, as she angled her head to look up into the intensity of her gaze. “Fairchild.”
“What?”
“My name. It’s Aspen Fairchild. If we’re going to be engaged this week, it seems a thing you should know.”
He shocked her by lifting the hand he held to his lips, brushing the barest of kisses across her knuckles. “It’s nice to meet you properly, Aspen Fairchild.”
She didn’t fight the frisson of desire this time. Aspen had a feeling that this week, she wouldn’t be fighting much of anything at all.
“Let me get this straight. You want to continue this fake engagement, and she’s agreed to this?”
“Yes, that is the plan.” Brooks could tell by the lengthy hesitation before Rebekah responded that she thought this was a terrible, terrible idea.
But what she said next wasn’t the caution he expected from her. “You do know that the longer this goes on, the more real it’s going to feel, right?”
He blinked. What did that matter? Both he and Aspen were well aware of what the terms were going into it. He just wanted to make sure his publicist was on board. “I know exactly what this is. In the meantime, the party line is ‘no comment’ or, at best, ‘thank you’ for any congratulations.”
Rebekah blew out a long breath. “Understood. But Brooks—”
He didn’t want a lecture. He just wanted to enjoy the miracle of getting this extra time with Aspen. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be in touch after my vacation.” Before she could say anything else, he ended the call.
The afternoon had been exactly what he’d needed. They’d cuddled up and had a lengthy nap—only a nap—which had been surprisingly wonderful. Now they were about to go have dinner at the five-star restaurant that was part of the resort.
The bathroom door opened behind him, and Aspen stepped out again, looking like a million bucks in a little sundress that flirted with her knees and showed an expanse of tan leg.
A pair of low-heeled sandals showed off toes painted a vibrant pink.
Had she done that somehow while he was waiting?
He hadn’t noticed her toes last night. Her pale blonde hair was loose around her shoulders, and tiny silver hoops winked in her ears.
Two pair. Why was that unaccountably sexy?
“Ready?”
She flashed the engagement ring she’d moved back to her left hand to hold up their cover. “All set.”
Brooks extended his hand for hers. “My lady.”
With a shy little smile, her fingers slipped into his.
This felt different from the flirtation they’d had in New York. Like they were actually taking their time to sort of… date. Which wasn’t a thing he’d have said he wanted, had anyone asked him before this moment. But right now, it felt pretty great.