Dirtiest Little Secret

“You wanted to know how.” He turned the screen toward her. “This is how.”

Ava glanced at the photo with dread. But the image that met her eyes wasn’t what she’d expected to see at all. She grabbed the phone from him to get a better look. Her pale skin was offset by rumpled white sheets, her blonde hair tousled free of her braid and as rumpled as the bedsheets. Cheeks pink, eyes bright, her whole face smiling.

“What?” he asked.

“I feel like I’m looking at someone else. I’ve never…seen myself like this.”

She’d been in plenty of photo shoots—professional journals, newspapers, headshots, promotional campaigns, even People magazine once as a top female executive in a man’s industry. But not even professional photographers and Photoshop gurus had ever made her look like Isaac’s snapshot…so alive, so joyful, so utterly comfortable in her own skin.

“We don’t always see ourselves the way others do.” Isaac pointed at the phone. “That’s how I see you. Sexy. Fun. Full of life.”

She took his phone and her gaze drifted to the tiny row of thumbnail photos below the image, one with the coloring similar to the one he’d just taken. “What’s this?”

He lunged for the phone, but she rolled away, laughing as she stretched her arm so he couldn’t steal it.

“I think someone was being a naughty boy while I was asleep.”

“Ava…” His hand closed on her forearm and pulled. “I need to delete those.”

She shook off his hand and touched the screen, enlarging the thumbnail. She’d expected to see more erotic photos of her body, but saw something entirely different—an image of herself sleeping.

He’d taken several shots of her from the shoulders up, her face turned on the pillow, her hair a tangled halo of wheat. The cheek toward the camera was pink, her lashes long, her lips swollen from his mouth and parted in sleep.

Isaac exhaled and dropped his head to the pillow beside her with a groan. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

The photo touched her. It touched her in ways she couldn’t describe. She glanced over her shoulder and found his eyes closed. His body was heavy at her back, his erection tucked against her ass. “Isaac?”

“I know, I know,” he answered with dread in his voice. “Probably seems creepy. I’m sorry. I’ll erase them.” His dark lashes fluttered open. He sighed, propped himself up on one elbow. “Look, I know you’re only here for fun. I know you’re not staying. I just wanted a memory.”

Pressure built in her chest until it pushed the air from her lungs. Tears glazed her eyes. She didn’t know how to process the feelings swelling inside her, shocked her affection for him came so easily after the shit she’d been through with Matthew and her family. Or maybe that was exactly why it came so quickly, because he was nothing like Matthew or her family.

But nothing would come of this. Nothing could come of this. Matthew had killed any romantic bent she’d ever possessed. And she and Isaac… This was an amazing fantasy. A time she’d remember for the rest of her

life. But she didn’t trust love anymore. Didn’t believe long-term relationships could work.

Ava rolled toward him until she was half on top of him. She laid one hand on his chest and her chin on her hand. With the other, she stroked his rough cheek. “I’m sorry. I’m just not in a position to promise anything. I’m living hour by hour right now, and my feelings are all over the map.”

“I get it.” He stroked the skin of her back. “I do. After Jeremy…” He shook his head. “You’re the first woman who’s been able to stir any interest.” He rolled away and sat up. “Don’t worry about it. You can go. I’ve got a lot of work to keep me busy here.” In the distance, the garage phone rang. Isaac growled. “Especially with that damn phone.”

“What do you think about this?” Ava might not be ready to commit to anyone or anything, but she was equally unready to leave Isaac. “You hire Becky Rae and have her come in a few hours today. I’ll train her for you. You know, phone etiquette, filing, email.”

He didn’t answer right away. After a couple of long minutes, he tilted his head and looked at her. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I need a weekend off, and if I go home, I’ll just work. You could use a little support, and I can help.” She rested her cheek against his shoulder, combed her hand into his hair, and kissed his jaw. “Of course, there are fringe benefits to spending all that time together too.”

He cupped her face, and the look in his eyes made her feel like she’d offered him the answers to the universe. She didn’t understand how this man she hardly knew could make her feel so special.

“I’ll take you up on that.” He kissed her. “But only if we can start with the fringe benefits.”

Ava grinned, slid fully on top of him, and straddled his lap. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

11

Monday, Ava was back at her desk trying to stay awake for the weekly conference call between project managers in Asia, Australia, and North America. After her weekend with Isaac, the conversations over quarterly earnings that usually intrigued her now bored her brain numb.

Her cell pinged, and Ava’s heart jumped. She and Isaac had agreed to let things between them ride—no commitment, no stress—which led to texting conversations for the twelve hours they’d been apart.

The sight of Isaac’s name on her phone made a smile curve her lips.