Their Festive Island Escape

She would have to examine at some point what that meant for her going forward. But right now, she was due a bit of a celebration.

When he sat her back on her feet, an unknown heaviness hung in the air between them. She could have sworn he was going to touch her again. Instead, he clenched his hands into tight fists and squeezed his eyes shut.

Heavens. Maybe she should have asked for that kiss last night when she’d had an excuse.

“Reid?” she wasn’t even sure what she was asking of him. Just then, another couple cleared the top of the waterfall and ran past them laughing. Several feet away, they stopped to embrace and indulge in a long and ardent kiss. A stab of longing hit Celeste deep in her core and she couldn’t look away. She wanted what that couple had. That intimacy, that closeness. The clear passion between the two of them.

Heaven help her, Celeste had thought she’d given up on that longing three years ago. She realized she’d been fooling herself. She’d simply fallen for the wrong man.

She turned to see Reid watching the other couple also. His fist seemed to clench even tighter at his side.

“We should get cleaned up and dried off,” he told her, gesturing to the building behind them that housed the shower and spa facilities.

But her feet wouldn’t move. She didn’t want this moment to end. The world around them seemed to fall away. Her vision zeroed in on one thing only—the man standing before her. The hunger in his eyes was as clear as the sunny sky above. Could he see that same hunger in her own?

“Lunch will be waiting for us soon,” he reminded her. “We can use the time to go over your thoughts on ways to advertise this as part of the resort package.”

It took a moment for her to register exactly what he was saying. How could she have forgotten even for a moment? She was only here because Reid was after her professional feedback.

While she stood here like a fool entertaining all sorts of romantic fantasies, Reid was simply utilizing her for her marketing expertise. His only concern was for his business.

The realization was like more cold water splashing over her skin. How could she have not learned her lesson? Technically, she was nothing more than Reid’s employee.

* * *

Celeste certainly cleaned up well.

Reid watched as she found him at the wooden table where they’d be eating an authentic Jamaican lunch. She wore leather sandals, lace-covered shorts that showed off her long shapely legs and a thin-strapped tank top. She hadn’t bothered to dry her hair and wore it in a loose pile atop her head.

She was a breathtakingly stunning woman.

It wasn’t easy, but Reid was trying hard to ignore the sudden awkwardness that had developed between them. He could pinpoint exactly when it had happened. That darned couple with the passionate kiss atop the waterfall. Usually, the PDA of other people didn’t bother him or so much as give him pause. He worked at a tropical resort that hosted numbers of couples, after all. But watching that kiss made him realize how badly he wanted to kiss Celeste.

That was unacceptable.

She was essentially working for him. After she left the resort, their paths may never cross again.

Oh, and there was also that whole other part where she’d been engaged to one of his closest friends. All that, on top of where he was in his life right now, Reid knew better than to acknowledge his growing attraction to a woman so clearly off-limits.

He cursed under his breath as she reached the table and sat down across from him. The smile she flashed him seemed forced and uncertain. She was aware of the awkwardness between them also.

Damn.

They still had a whole afternoon together. Not to mention all the activities scheduled for tomorrow. And the day after.

Maybe this whole thing hadn’t been such a good idea. There was something developing between them that he hadn’t expected or been prepared for.

Maybe he was deluding himself, but he was certain whatever was happening between them was mutual. That fact only made it all the worse.

He had a company to run, a devastated mother to look after, and he had to protect the family business from his reckless and disloyal father.

Nowhere in the scenario was there room to pursue any kind of relationship, let alone with a woman who’d once been engaged to one of his best friends.