Their Festive Island Escape

“I’m on vacation. I really wasn’t expecting to do any kind of work.”

He smiled and tapped a finger against his temple. Had she found that smile so dazzling three years ago when he’d been a member of her wedding party? No wonder she’d done her best to avoid the man. That smile was dangerous. Perhaps she should be avoiding him now, too. “That’s the best part,” Reid continued. “What I’m proposing will only enhance your vacation experience.”

Now her curiosity was definitely piqued.

“Hear me out,” Reid prodded further.

Despite herself, she tilted her head in agreement. What did she have to lose to just listen for a few minutes? Celeste took a sip of the hot, soothing tea then settled in her chair and waited for Reid to begin.

* * *

He was perilously close to the verge of babbling nonsensically. Reid knew he wasn’t explaining his proposal as well as he could. But it was hard to focus. He still felt Celeste’s warmth down the length of his body. The smell of her shampoo lingered in his nose. Her hair was slightly damp, hanging in loose freshly washed waves down her sun-kissed shoulders. She must have come down to see him right after a shower. The sudden, unbidden image of her naked under a stream of steamy water led immediately to yet another much more vivid one. In this next vision, he was under the water with her, running his hands down her skin. Rubbing soapy bubbles over her shoulders and moving his hands lower... That image had him tripping over his words again.

Get a grip.

She was here at his request so that he could run a business proposition by her. He had no business fantasizing about joining her in a steamy shower.

For heaven’s sake, he was an accomplished businessman. He had given talks and presentations to world leaders and titans of industry. There was no reason to act so flustered now.

But then again, he had never before imagined anyone in his audiences naked in the shower.

Luckily, Celeste seemed to be getting the gist of what he was trying to say.

She cleared her throat. “Let me get this straight,” she began. “You want me to go on the resort’s offered excursions, with you. So that I can offer you some suggestions on how to market them to potential guests?”

“Exactly. What do you say? I’d planned to go by myself. But I could use another set of eyes.”

“With you?” she repeated, seemingly hung up on that variable. Would she prefer to go by herself? He felt his fists clench at his sides.

“Yes,” he answered simply.

“I thought you said you had a business partner?”

“Alex needs to stay here and run things while I’m gone all day. And besides, as someone who lives and grew up on the island, his isn’t exactly the vantage point I’m after.”

“What kind of excursions are we talking about, exactly?” she asked cautiously. He wasn’t surprised that she was trying to ascertain all the details.

“The best Jamaica has to offer. We’d be climbing up a rushing waterfall, visiting a beautiful botanical garden, driving ATV’s over some rugged terrain.”

Celeste bit her lip. “I’d really intended to just lie on the beach and read for the next several days.”

“You’re here for what? Over a week? You’ll have plenty of opportunity to do so in the coming days.”

“How many days exactly are you asking me for?”

“Three, max. We should be able to cover all the excursions in that amount of time. I’ve already booked for myself, I’ll just add your name.”

She held her hands up. “Hold on. I haven’t said yes yet.”

“But you haven’t said no.” He paused for effect. “Come on, there are worse ways to spend three days on an island like Jamaica.”

It occurred to him that he was trying too hard. With anyone else, he would have laid his offer on the table then walked away. He’d always been known as a tough negotiator, not willing to budge or cajole. For some reason, with Celeste, he was intent on making his case. Not like him at all.

He would have to think about why that was so. After all, this was nothing more than another smart business decision.

* * *

Everything he said made perfect sense, Celeste had to admit as she took in exactly what Reid was suggesting. In fact, his proposal was so logical that a small part of her felt a slight tickle of disappointment. Reid was strictly all business at the moment. He was dressed in black slacks this morning, a white button-down shirt accenting the contours of his hardened chest and torso. The shiny gold watch on his wrist caught the sunlight as he gestured with his hands occasionally while speaking.