He’d get no argument from her. Caden made the long drive sexy. His jeans hugged his thick thighs, and a striped red-and-white shirt stretched across his broad chest. Aviator glasses covered his face, yet he still looked tasty. Maggie’s lady parts quivered. Maggie lifted the scarf off her face and smoothed the wisps of hair at the nape of her neck. With her permission, Caden had let the top down once they hit the bridges.
Maggie lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and let down her hair from the tight bun she wore and turned to face him. Her heart lurched in her chest at the sight of Caden’s dimples. Earlier, she’d assured Caden that she didn’t mind driving with the top down. She’d enjoyed the breeze, and each time Caden glanced over at her, she couldn’t help but feel like she was reliving a movie scene. Which one, she didn’t know. Being with Caden made her feel more glamorous than ever. And this was even after being a personal guest at Fashion Week in Paris, New York and Milan. Now the heat returned her thoughts to tonight. She and Caden were going to spend the night in the same room in order to make room for the twenty other family members staying at the mansion. Technically, since he left her before the morning years ago, this would be their first night together in the same room. One bed.
They’d spent every night under the same roof since Savannah. Instead of staying in his suite at the Brutti Hotel, Caden had spent his time at Maggie’s apartment. The place hadn’t seemed cramped until she realized she needed to share it. Knowing Caden slept less than twenty feet away from her on the couch had been sexually frustrating, due to the temptation he posed and the future she imagined. Since she planned on relieving him of his pageant duties once she was named director, an awkward breakup was the last thing she wanted.
They were becoming fast friends, though, cooking together each night. She let him guest on her vlog for at least three days. Caden offered tips for her viewers on how to work out without having to spend a fortune on a trainer. The best part of the video was filming Caden shirtless while he demonstrated different types of push-ups. When they weren’t working together, Caden headed to Erin’s and met and worked out with his clients. Erin gushed about Caden’s ability to map out viable careers for her patients after their sports lives ended. And then, of course, a day could not go by without her cousin mentioning how the entire staff was smitten with the sports agent.
“Stop fretting,” he ordered gently as he raised the car top. “You look beautiful.”
Maggie still ran her fingers through her hair. “Thanks. But you don’t know my mother. She’s going to fuss about driving with the top down. She hates me riding around in that Jeep.”
“Maggie, before we—”
Whatever he was going to say had to wait. Bailey, Kenzie and Richard were headed toward the car, along with a young man wearing a gold vest and black pants—the valet, Maggie thought.
“Hold that thought,” Maggie said with an apologetic smile.
“You guys made it,” exclaimed Bailey, taking Maggie by the hand.
Richard walked over to Caden and shook his hand. “Welcome to the Hairston chaos.”
“Hey, I’m glad to be here,” Caden said sincerely. “I’ve been warning Maggie about the chaos she’s going to endure next week at my friend’s wedding.”
Finishing up her hug with her sister, Maggie shook her head. “Uh, we still have not agreed to that.”
“You’re forcing him to come to Auntie Bren’s wedding,” said Kenzie, swatting Maggie on the arm. “The least you can do is keep him company at his function.”
“And here I thought you were on my side,” Maggie laughed. “Where are the adults?”
The rehearsal dinner wasn’t for a few more hours, but she expected to see her parents or aunts and uncles around here.
Kenzie shook her head from side to side. “They went to Bourbon Street last night. They won’t be up for hours.”
Maggie wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or snarl at the idea of her parents taking hurricane shots in the Quarter. “I must be in another world.”
“What you must be,” said Bailey excitedly, “is ready to change. Want to see y’all’s room?” Colorful beads in rays of red, gold and green jingled around her neck. Maggie didn’t want to think about how she’d earned those.
“Sure,” she answered her niece with a wide smile. The eighteen-year-old led them through the back entrance of the mansion.
Dark wood greeted their footsteps along with the refreshing cool air. The walls were stark white and bare but hardly worth noticing due to the beautiful arched cathedral window adorned with black decorations. A valet met them on the second floor to lead them to their suite, where floor-length drapes billowed from the open French doors to the balcony. A king-size bed stood in the center of the room. The small couch in the corner was too small for Caden’s frame. Even if he offered to sleep there, she couldn’t allow it. They were adults. This was going to be okay. The rehearsal dinner was in a few hours, giving Maggie and Caden time to rest and change.
The only ones who knew about Maggie’s trust deal were her close family. She could tell by the way they lingered that they wanted to get info on how Caden’s proposal fit in to everything. Kenzie and Bailey hinted a few times about the sudden proposal. Knowing they couldn’t get into the details with Caden in the room, they inquired about the pageant and then left to let them get ready for dinner.
Maggie lingered in the walk-in marble shower. A part of her wondered if Caden would make the move and join her, but he didn’t. So when she stepped out of the bathroom wearing her towel, she was a bit taken aback by Caden. He’d stripped down to a towel wrapped around his waist; he stood up from the edge of the bed and turned off the sports station on the television. The man was sculpted from granite. Broad shoulders with muscles rippling all over. Maggie tried to breathe. Just one night. She and Caden had refrained from enjoying each other as they worked together. So far, it had been a sweet torment for both of them. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep it up. Maggie just needed to get through one night and she could prove to him men and women could work together without being involved.
“That is the best outfit I’ve seen on you,” Caden commented with a devilish grin.
A droplet of water rolled down Maggie’s shoulder. Thick tension filled the space between them as Caden moved closer. He noticed the water drop and caught it with his thumb. Goose bumps perked up over her skin. The steam that followed her out of the shower slivered between them.
Maggie gulped. “You were about to say something in the car earlier?”
As if her question snapped him out of a trance, Caden nodded. “That’s right.”
He stepped forward. Heat from his body practically boiled the moisture off her skin. Maggie took a step backward, and when she did, Caden lowered his lashes to stare at her lips. She inhaled deeply in anticipation of a kiss. Disappointedly it never came.
“Before we run into everyone, you’re going to need a ring.” Caden reached into the breast pocket of his black tuxedo and extracted a square-cut solid diamond ring. His touch slipped down to the fingers of her left hand.
“This is going overboard,” Maggie gasped and curled her fingers into her palm.