Jesse We made a brief stop on O’ahu to refuel and we were supposed to take off again right away, but Jacqueline absolutely refused to stay on the plane. Already halfway down the aisle before I could even unbuckle properly, she looked back at me from the open door with a wide smile on her lips. “I’m not flying all the way to Hawaii only to stay on a plane,” she said firmly. “That’s criminal.” “The plane is just refueling,” I called after her, dragging a hand through my hair as I followed. “We’re here for ten minutes.” “All the more reason to make the most of those ten minutes,” she countered as she st epped onto the staircase and disappeared. By the time I made it to the door, she was already on the tarmac. Just standing there, breathing de eply like the very air itself was something new. I slowed a few st eps behind her, watching as she tipped her face up. Her eyes closed as the warm, humid breeze moved through her hair. Jacqueline looked ethereal in the moonlight. “Okay,” she said after a second. “This was worth it.” I laughed. “It’s air.” “It’s tropical air,” she corrected, turning to give me a look like I was the ridiculous one. “Get your butt down here and drink it in with me.” “Right,” I muttered. “Tropical air. My mistake.” She flashed me a bright grin, obviously having heard me, and my chest suddenly started feeling strangely warm as I watched her, so happy just to be here. When I’d brought up this arrangement the other day, I’d been serious about my offer to pay for her time. I really would. If she was willing to actually go through with the whole engagement sham, I would have doubled my original offer. But we’d been smack bang in the middle of that conversation when we’d landed, and right now she seemed totally happy with just... air. My head shook, but I stopped rushing her, waiting it out. She took a few more minutes before we got back on the plane for the quick jump to Kaua’i. By the time we landed again, it was the middle of the night. Despite the hour, Jacqueline was wide awake. “Where are we going now?” she asked, climbing into the backseat of a waiting car with me. Those golden-brown eyes were bright, practically brimming with excitement as she buckled up, then immediately turned to face the window. “I can’t wait to see more of this place. I’m already in love. It’s like the opposite of English weather.”
“Is that a good thing?” I asked. “That’s a great thing,” she said. I chuckled. “I hate to break it to you, but the only place we’re going to see tonight is the house I rented.” She looked back at me for the express purpose of letting me see her roll her eyes. “Yeah, I figured, but what’s it like? A house, you said. Not a hotel?” “No, ma’am. We’re in a house. It’s got direct beach access and a pool, so it’s as good as any hotel, but it’s also a lot more private. That gives us the best of both worlds. And the views are incredible.” Jacqueline let out a soft, contented moan that punched me right in the crotch. I nearly groaned out loud, leaning back in my seat and letting my head drop as my eyes slid shut. This was going to be a long few days trying not to think inappropriate thoughts about my fake girlfriend. Meanwhile, her nose remained glued to the window. I doubted she’d even registered the sound coming out of her. So I’ll just sit here, suffering in silence for a while, pretending I’m not obsessed with her. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long ride to the house. Tucked behind a private gate, the long, winding drive was lined with greenery until it opened up at the top. The lights were low but welcoming when the car pulled up to the house. We got out and she stared up at it. “It’s heaven,” she said quietly. I nodded, taking my bag from the driver. He carried her luggage to the door and came back, but she and I just stood there, her looking at the house and me looking at her. “Yeah,” I said finally. I’d been here a few times. I rented it pretty often actually, and I’d developed a good rapport with the family who ran the place. It was easy, quiet, and a different kind of beach living compared to Miami. Even I needed a break from the noise and crowds every so often, so when I felt that pull without the need to be busy every second of every day, I came here. I liked it, but watching her take it in made the house even more special. Once we got inside, she moved slowly through the space, taking in the open layout, the glass doors that led out to the pool, and the shimmer of moonlight reflecting off the water. “This is insane,” she murmured. “Even the furniture looks like it was handmade by the gods specifically to fit in here.” My gaze sw ept across the minimalist white, navy blue, and raw wood furnishings, and I realized that I didn’t think I had ever even noticed them before. “You’ll get used to it.”
She glanced back at me, one eyebrow lifting as her gaze met mine. “I sincerely hope not.” I smirked. “Trust me, you will. It’s late, though. Do you want me to show you to your room?” After staring out at the moonlight glittering on the rippling surface of the pool for just another beat, she sighed but nodded. “Yes, I suppose you should. We don’t want to be too tired to get a proper look around in the morning.” I chuckled, leading her down the hall and opening the door to the main bedroom. It was the largest one, overlooking the water. Usually, it was mine, but not today. “This is you.” She st epped inside and turned in another small circle as she took it in. The bed had been set up against the middle of the wall that faced the beach. Glass stacking doors led out to a private balcony, and large windows were wherever it’d been possible to accommodate them, given the need for an adjoining bathroom. “This is a guest room?” she asked. “One of them.” It wasn’t a lie. Jacqueline gave me a look but didn’t argue, setting her bag down near the bed, then moving to the doors leading to the balcony. “That’s going to be an incredible view to wake up to.” “One of many,” I said before I could stop myself. I quickly cleared my throat and started backing toward the door. “It’s definitely worth the flight, but in order to wake up to a gorgeous view, you need to get some sle ep. We’ll figure everything else out in the morning. Good night, Jacque.” “What about you?” she asked. “Where are you sle eping?” “Another room,” I said, jerking my thumb down the hall. “Second door to the left from you.” “Alright.” She nodded, already turning back toward the view. “Good night, then.” “Sle ep tight.” I spun around and left her to it, heading to my own room and shutting the door behind me, but knowing that she was so close k ept me up much longer than I’d anticipated. After grabbing a quick shower and getting into bed, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling with the faint sound of the ocean drifting in through the open window and my brain refusing to shut off. Frankly, I was excited, but not for the boring show of bopping around with investors. Instead, I was thinking about her and all the things we could do together. There were a lot of ridiculous, unnecessary activities people like me paid too much money for, and I wanted
to pay for it all to get to share it with her. I must’ve dozed off eventually, because the next thing I knew, a screech tore through the house, yanking me out of a weird, overtly sexual dream. I was out of bed before I was even fully awake, adrenaline hitting fast and hard. I yanked open the door and ran down the hall in nothing but my boxers. My heart was pounding as I skidded around the corner, every sense on high alert. After that dream, I was on edge, a little heated, and a lot confused. “What?” I shouted, scanning the space as the kitchen came into view. “What’s wrong?” Jacqueline stood on the kitchen island, barefoot and clutching a frying pan like she was about to go to war. Her hair was a sle ep-tangled mess, her eyes wide and locked on something on the floor. I blinked a few times, starting to think that there was no intruder. “What are you doing?” I asked, still half ready for a fight. “What’s with the frying pan?” “There,” she snapped, pointing downward. “It’s right there, Jesse.” I followed her line of sight until I finally spotted the problem. Not a burglar but local wildlife. A rather large millipede was making its way across the floor, but the many-legged monstrosity, while hideous, could not have been the reason for that sound. “That’s it?” I asked, scrubbing both hands over my face in an attempt to calm my heartbeat after that rude awakening. “It’s not even dangerous.” “It crawled over my foot,” she retorted, clearly horrified. “I was making coffee!” I bit back a laugh but put my hands up in surrender. “Yeah, okay. Just stay there, City Girl.” She finally lifted her eyes away from it to scowl at me. “That thing attacked, and you’re from Chicago.” I grinned at her before grabbing a glass from the counter and a piece of paper from a drawer. “I’m on it. Don’t worry.” “Don’t let it get away,” she yelled when I walked around the other side of the counter. “God only knows where it’s going next.” “It’s not outrunning me, Jaque. We’ll be fine.” “You don’t know that!” she snapped. “Throw it into the sun. Or the ocean. Or both.” Once I reached it, I crouched and trapped it quickly in the glass, sliding the paper underneath before carrying it to the door. I tossed it into the yard instead of the sun, then called to her over my shoulder. “Congratulations. You survived your first Hawaiian wildlife
encounter.” Adrenaline was still buzzing under my skin when I got back inside, my heart not quite ready to slow down after the way she’d screamed. I cocked a hip against the counter, exhaling as I looked over at her. “Are you okay?” She was still on the island, holding the frying pan and glaring at the spot where the millipede had been like it might come back with reinforcements. “No. I hate it here.” I laughed, eyeing her for a second. My body was definitely still lingering on that dream, but right then, I was more curious about something else that had just occurred to me. “How did you even get up there?” “I jumped,” she said, incredulity twinkling in her eyes. “It scared me to death!” “You jumped? That’s a pretty impressive vertical leap. Have you ever played basketball?” “Don’t make fun of me,” she warned, pointing the frying pan at my face. “Or you’ll be sle eping outside with the millipedes.” I st epped closer, glancing at the empty floor before I held out my hands. “The bugs are a definite downside of the tropics, but you can get down now.” She didn’t move. In fact, she tightened her grip on the pan. “I’ll squish you. You’ll drop me.” “What?” “If I panic, I might kick you. Or hit you. Or both.” “I can take it.” “I’m serious.” “So am I,” I said, taking another st ep closer. “Just get down. Unless you’re going to stay up there for the rest of the trip.” She hesitated, but reluctantly shuffled closer to the edge. “Fine, but if I die, it’s on you.” “I’ll take that risk.” I reached up with my hands settling under her arms to lift her down, but as soon as I touched her, I regretted every choice I’d made that had led to this moment. Jacqueline was only wearing a shirt, long and worn out, but it did absolutely nothing to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra. A fact that became painfully obvious the second my hands made contact. Naturally, my body reacted accordingly, once again not giving a shit that we were faking it. I set her down as fast as I could, letting go as abruptly as if she’d burned me. The last thing I needed to do was have sex with my girlfriend. “See?” I said, st epping back as she smoothed her shirt like nothing had happened. “No injuries or deaths required. You’re welcome.”
Without waiting for her to respond, I turned away and made a quick, strategic exit back to my room, shutting the door behind me and bracing my hands against it like that might somehow fix the situation. “Fuck,” I breathed. “I should have picked someone less hot to fake it with.” I stared at the wall for a long second, trying to get a handle on myself, but when I glanced down the length of my bare abdomen, my boxers were still tented. Motherfucker. You cannot not do this, body. Behave. Forcing myself to move, I pushed off the door, making myself think about literally anything else as I got dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. I considered another shower, but that would make it too tempting to release the pressure I was feeling. No. Nope. Just no. Not going there. It took longer than usual before I had myself together again, but by the time I got back to the kitchen, I was okay. Jacqueline was leaning against the counter now, no longer armed even if she still looked mildly offended by the existence of tropical wildlife. She glanced up as I walked in, her gaze flicking over me before a slow, teasing smile pulled at her lips. “Well, that was informative.” My eyes narrowed, but my heart started pounding. She noticed. Fuck, of course, she noticed. I was only wearing underwear. “What are you talking about?” “I didn’t realize you were so committed to the whole beach lifestyle thing, but the boxers really sold it.” I pursed my lips, grabbing a glass of water just to give myself something to do, and I tossed her a hopefully not flirtatious grin over my shoulder. “You’re obsessed with me.” “Hardly.” She smirked as she turned back to the espresso machine. “At least I finally know now how you manage to bag so many models.” Everything in me slammed to a stop. Oh, come on. I’m trying here, universe. I’m really, actually trying, but just give me a break already. “I’m sorry?” She didn’t look at me, too busy fiddling with buttons and settings. “I’m just saying. It’s no mystery.” I stared at the back of her head, trying and failing to see straight into it. Wait. Just wait a fucking second. Is she attracted to me too? That’s going to be a problem. For real. Suddenly, I became very aware of her, right there, and me, right here, in this kitchen together, alone in an excruciatingly empty house. Far, far away from everyone and everything. I knew I was toeing a line I probably shouldn’t even be looking at, but... How
bad is it, really? I felt my forehead crease when I realized I didn’t actually know. If anything, giving in to temptation might make things easier. Usually, I lost interest in women after a night or two of fun. Maybe the pattern would r epeat itself with Jacqueline. All I had to do was put my arms around her and kiss her. It might not solve all my problems but it might take care of one burning need. Jacqueline finally turned away from the machine and handed over a tiny cup like nothing in the world was out of place, her eyes still sparkling with amusement. If she was attracted to me at all, she didn’t even look vaguely disturbed by it. That means I got it all wrong, right? We both agreed to ke ep things professional, but she’s the only one sticking to her promise. I took the caffeine, grateful for the distraction. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” She leaned back against the counter and smiled. “So, what are we doing today?” I took a sip to buy myself a second to get my brain back online, but once I’d swallowed, I was no closer to figuring out what the fuck was going on here than I had been before. “I’ve got a meeting and a lunch after that, but then the day’s ours.” “Ours,” she r epeated. I tilted my head, watching her. “What do you want to do?” She smiled, lighting up like the sky on New Year’s fucking Eve, and I swore it made me see stars. Oh, God. I really am screwed, aren’t I? So, so incredibly freakin’ screwed.