Whatever wild imaginings she may have had about Brice being on the other side of her door sputtered away like a pin-pricked balloon. She opened the door. Her eyes widened.
“Where would you like these, ma’am?”
The young man carried in a vase filled with blooming, brilliant tropical flowers.
“Uh, you can put them on the table by the balcony.”
She stood at the open doorway thrilled down to her toes, and she couldn’t wait for the young man to leave so that she could squeal in delight.
Moments later he was walking toward the door. He bobbed his head and waited. Naomi’s brow arched in question. “Oh.” Realization struck. She hurried across the room and dug through her wallet for a tip. He left with a big, bright smile. Probably gave him too much, she thought as she shut the door and darted to the other side of the room.
She gently parted the aromatic folds of the leaves and found a card pinned to a slender green stem.
“Just in case I messed up in any way tonight, accept this as my apology. If not then just enjoy them! See you at seven.”
Naomi drew the embossed card to her chest and smiled. Then leaning forward, she inhaled the heady scent of the arrangement.
She could easily see herself with someone like Brice. If she had to write up a list of what she wanted in a man, everything about Brice would be on it. But none of that mattered. Their time together was limited and she had lied. Not to mention that they lived thousands of miles apart.
She took off her robe, tossed it on the side chair and slid naked under the cool white sheets. She turned on her side and gazed out upon the dark horizon that stretched into forever, and decided that it was too late to turn back now. She was determined to make their time together as bright and memorable as possible. It had been a while since she’d allowed herself to succumb to the charms of a man, let a man fill all those empty spaces inside of her. She hugged herself beneath the covers. What she was planning to do was deliciously dangerous.
It went against every iota of her being, and that’s what made it so tempting. For the next two weeks Dr. Naomi Clarke was going to be tucked away between the pages of a book. And Naomi Clarke, woman on vacation, was going to take her place.
Naomi read the words on the card until she committed them to memory. With reluctance she turned off the bedside lamp and wished away the hours.
Brice arrived at the hotel’s beachfront restaurant by 6:30 a.m. to make sure that the breakfast order that he’d placed before he went to sleep the prior evening was prepared and their table secure.
When he’d been on the phone with the hotel, ordering the flowers and arranging for breakfast, in the back of his mind he kept asking himself what are you doing? Better yet, why? He barely knew this woman, and yet he did. All the wooing and wining and dining wasn’t his usual M.O., especially with someone he’d probably never see again. Although the Internet, Skype and cell phones kept the world well connected, he wasn’t one for long-distance relationships. Maybe that was it, he concluded, while he was being shown to his table. The fact that it was temporary released him, and apparently Naomi, from any inhibitions.
But deep inside he knew that was only part of it. It was Naomi. Plain and simple. He couldn’t explain it, but she’d totally thrown him off balance. Never before had he allowed himself to be seduced by no more than a beautiful smile. He’d seen plenty. Great body…but he’d had his share. It was something intangible. That spark that Carl always talked about feeling when he met his wife, Theresa. Wife! He chuckled to himself. He was definitely trotting down the wrong path.
He drew in long breath of salt-drenched air, leaned back in his seat and gazed out into the horizon. The rising sun splashed orange and gold across the crystal blue waters. He would make the most of every minute that remained.
“Good morning.”
Her voice, low and rippling like the morning tide, raised the fine hairs on his arms. Get it together, brother, he cautioned himself before he dared to look at her fully. He raised his eyes and, like a dream come true, she stood in front of him. The honey color of her sundress matched the smooth tones of her skin, almost giving the illusion that she was naked. But of course that was simply his heated imagination.
He stood, and her smile competed with the sun. Without thought, he leaned toward her and kissed her softly on the lips. The sensation of her moist mouth and soft lips, combined with the slightest whiff of her scent, was like a jolt of java. It shot to his head and spread through his veins. He eased back until her image came into focus. ”‘Morning.”
Naomi’s stomach was in the middle of a backflip. “Hi,” she said on a breath that floated to him like a caress. “You weren’t waiting long, were you?”
“No, not at all.” He came closer and pulled out her chair. The weight of her breast grazed his arm as she sat down.
Naomi’s breath rushed out in a soft gasp of pleasure at the contact. Her nipples hardened with anticipation.
“Sleep well?” he asked, settling down in his seat.
“Yes, I did. Once I got the thermostat adjusted, I slept straight through.” She wouldn’t tell him that her dreams were filled with him—dreams so potent that when she awoke she fully expected him to be right there next to her in the queen-size bed. She ran her tongue across her lips. “What about you?”
Brice watched her lips move, but even for a winning lottery ticket he couldn’t tell anyone what she’d just said.
“Are you okay?”
He reached for his glass of water. “Yeah.” He chuckled lightly. “Sorry, I was…thinking about what we could do today.”
“Oh.” She smiled brightly, then reached across the table and touched his hand. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers. They are absolutely gorgeous.”
His eyes crinkled in the corners. “So, did you accept them for pure enjoyment, or restitution?”
She looked directly into his eyes. “Enjoyment.”
“That’s what I was hoping you would say.”
She propped her chin on her palm. “Why did you think you may owe me an apology?”
His eyes moved slowly over her face. “For maybe coming on a little too strong.”
“Do you honestly think that you did?” she gently probed.
“I’m going to be real honest with you. When I’m with you, for whatever reason, my good sense seems to escape me.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh and slowly shook his head. “And that’s all the confession I intend to make,” he added, shifting the serious tone to a lighter one.
Naomi lowered her gaze, unable to withstand the intensity of his eyes. She fumbled with her fork, just as the waitress approached their table with two bowls of fresh fruit, much to her relief.
“Coffee or tea?” the waitress asked.
“Tea,” they said in unison, then looked at each other and laughed.
“Coming right up.”
“If nothing else, we have tea in common,” Naomi said.
“Do you really think that’s all we have in common?” he asked, his words taking on a probing, teasing tone.
“Time will tell.”
He lifted his glass and tipped it partially in her direction. “Touché’
“You were saying that you’d been thinking of what we could do today.”
“I thought you might like to go into town and look around at some of the shops. We could have lunch there, and then I thought we could take the tour up into the mountains and see some of