Fake Marriage Box Set

I snorted. “I don't think I ever really told her that I had a girlfriend, just that I had someone who I was seeing,” I said. “There's a big difference there.”

There was laughter around the table. “Man, I wish I could be you,” Michael said.

A little while later, after we'd eaten, I found myself alone in the booth with Ella while everyone else danced or chatted at the bar.

“So, why Hawaii, anyway?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Because of the beautiful women, of course.” I winked at her and enjoyed seeing the way she blushed a little.

“Have you ever been with a Hawaiian woman before?” she asked. “We're the best lays in the world.”

I chuckled a little at how bold she was. I appreciated that in a woman. “Is that so?” I asked. “Maybe I'm going to need a little demonstration, then, before I go back to frigid New York City.”

“That could happen,” Ella told me. “Come on, let's go dance.” She got up and led the way toward the dance floor, her eyes never leaving mine as she swayed her hips to the beat.

I laughed a little, enjoying the show, and slipped out of the booth to follow her. Jesus, a pretty girl in a red dress: what more did a guy need in life? But as I watched her spin around me, her hips gyrating and her hands moving with the rhythm, it wasn't her that I was thinking of.

I wondered what Gretchen would look like, out dancing like this, with her hair falling loose. That tattoo on her thigh would peek out from beneath her dress, and she would look enticingly at me with those beautiful, baby blue eyes of hers. At the end of the night, we would tumble out into the warm air and-

I broke off that train of thought, wondering where exactly it had come from. That was the second time today that I'd found myself fantasizing about the woman. The first time, I could forgive myself, especially since I'd been thinking about her in an entirely sexual context. But not the second time.

I frowned. It was almost as though I was starting to imagine a relationship with her.

Then again, maybe I was. That wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it? And it wasn't like I was going to be in Hawaii forever. If things went south, I would never have to see her again.

I nodded a little to myself. Tomorrow, after my massage, I'd ask her to go to dinner with me. And hey, maybe she'd surprise me and let me take her home with me after just the first date.

I tapped Mark on the shoulder and jerked my head toward the door. He followed me over. “You're leaving already?” he asked when we could hear one another again.

“Yeah, I think so,” I said, shrugging a little. “This has been a ton of fun, but I'm just not feeling it tonight. Maybe I'm still a bit jetlagged or something. I don't know. Anyway, I'm going to walk home. I'll see you tomorrow, though.”

“Hey man, it's okay that you're not taking anyone home with you,” Mark said, slugging me lightly in the arm.

I frowned at him. “I know that,” I said. It was none of his business anyway.

“Well, have a good night,” Mark said, shrugging a little. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Chapter Ten

Gretchen

I smiled to myself as Mina came into the shop again the following morning. “Are you planning on making this a daily occurrence?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

“Are you complaining?” Mina asked, holding out a cup of coffee to me. “I brought muffins. Not pineapple ones, either.”

I laughed and gratefully accepted the coffee. “No, definitely not complaining,” I told her. “It's good to see you, anyway. What's up?”

Just then, the phone rang, and I grimaced, gestured for her to wait a moment, and answered it.

“Hi, this is Cindy from the Golden Palm Resort again,” she said. “Christian was apparently very impressed with your session yesterday.”

“Oh,” I said, blinking. Then I frowned, wondering if she was calling just to tell me that. Christian had already basically told me as much himself, not that I wouldn't have been able to figure it out, either. “Well, I'm glad to hear that.”

“In fact, he was so impressed by it that he'd like to make another appointment with you. For today.”

I couldn't help laughing. “Okay,” I said. “I'm actually booked up for the afternoon, but if he can get here for 10 o'clock, I can fit him in then. Otherwise, it's going to have to be tomorrow.”

“Let me put you on hold for a moment and ring his room to see,” Cindy said.