From Ex to Eternity (Newlywed Games 1)

Keith grinned and it swirled up a hot jumble in her midsection.

“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard uttered in a large crowd,” he drawled and crossed his arms. “Do it again.”

Coolly, she smiled back so he didn’t guess that his appreciation affected her far more greatly than it should have. “You. Go find Mary and ask her for the preselected flowers she’s so fond of. Be nice or she’ll pinch the heads off just to spite me. She can get them to the beach herself or assign someone, I don’t care. I just need them pronto.”

“Here’s where you get to be impressed with how efficient I am.” With a wink, Keith sent a quick text message and pocketed his phone. “Next?”

Cara’s smile grew into something a little more genuine, even though she’d devised the task with the strict intent of making Keith disappear for a minute or two while she got herself under control. “Are you actually letting me tell you what to do?”

“Until it stops being sexy.” He shrugged good-naturedly. “I expect that’ll take a while. Plus, I asked you to help. I have no problem if that translates into you being in charge. Feel free to order me around at will.”

Keith raked her with a once-over that easily conveyed his willingness to continue that philosophy in whatever venue she chose. Heat flushed her skin and sparked at her core, where nothing should be sparking.

“Music,” she murmured, calling on all her debutante blood to get the word out. If she’d learned anything from Mama, it was how to put on a crowd face when you were anything but settled inside. “Recorded or live?”

“Recorded for now.” His gaze was riveted to her lips and she felt a rush as if he’d actually bent his head, aiming his mouth toward hers.

That was the cause of her sleepless night. She’d dreamed of Keith closing that gap and kissing her as he used to, with masterful skill and mind-altering power.

Neither of them had moved but the sand beneath her feet seemed to shift, falling away at an alarming rate. It was useless to pretend she wasn’t interested when both of them knew it was a lie.

“Mr. Mitchell.”

They jolted and turned in unison to the speaker. One of the many groundskeepers launched into a question. Keith rattled off the answer and then turned to survey the beach, where a mock wedding was now spontaneously forming around them. But not before she caught a flash of guilt on his face.

God above, what was she doing letting such a moment draw out here in front of everyone? They both had a job to do. As if the job was the biggest issue to why that charged, simmering moment was a not-good-very-bad idea.

“You,” she muttered under her breath to herself. “Get your mind out of Keith’s boxer briefs and focus.”

Keith must have given himself the same stern lecture because he didn’t meet her eyes for the next two hours as they worked seamlessly side by side to put wedding props in place around the stationary gazebo anchored to the sand by four concrete pylons. Slowly the area took shape, but the wind kept carrying away the rose petals Mary had strewn down the aisle between the white chairs.

“Why in the world did you plan this expo in September?” Cara groused to Keith after one of the torchères lining the aisle blew over. Fortunately, it wasn’t lit yet. Otherwise they’d be facing an out-of-control fire.

“September is the slowest time of year. Because of the weather,” Keith said without batting an eye. “And I need the resort opened by October. So we’ll deal with our friend Tropical Storm Mark and pray it veers away.”

As he’d claimed very clearly last night, even Mitchell the Missile couldn’t control nature.

The concern in his voice was so evident, it gave her a strange desire to make things easier for him in whatever capacity she could. “There’s enough set up to run through a ceremony. Who volunteered to be the bride and groom?”

A wolfish gleam in his eyes set her spine tingling. He held out his hand. “We did. Will you do me the honor of being my stand-in bride?”

Cara fought the urge to laugh hysterically. “Might as well keep up the trend.”

Always the bride, but never married. Story of her life.

* * *

When Cara took Keith’s hand as if she actually intended to play Holy Matrimony with him, he barely caught the shock before it spilled into his expression.

He’d expected her to stick her nose in the air and tell him to find another bride. Because he’d been kidding.

“Are you giving the deal a thumbs-up?” he asked.