“So, there you have it. I’m screwed unless I can convince my boss that I’m in line with the company’s core values.” Hayley kicked her feet free of her strappy sandals and tucked them under her on her seat.
Her perfectly manicured toes and deeply tanned legs didn’t escape his notice. In fact, nothing about her had. From the wavy blond hair, held off her face by her gem-encrusted sunglasses, to the light, crystal-blue eyes framed with long, dark lashes, to her full, bare lips that were just a shade darker than her skin. She was as close to perfect as he’d ever seen. And the way his body was reacting to the smell of her soft, intoxicating perfume surprised the hell out of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought the urge to kiss a complete stranger and felt the pull of temptation to run his tongue along her neck to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. Her slight standoffish air helped put a damper on the spark sizzling between them as their flirty banter continued, yet somehow it made her that much more appealing.
“I find it weird that the firm puts so much emphasis on those things,” he said. “It’s your personal life. What should it matter if you’re married with kids?”
“In the board’s eyes, a single woman who seems to take on only female clients with major hate-ons for their husbands is not really presenting the firm the way they would like.”
“That’s ridiculous. You’re winning cases. That’s all that should matter.”
“Do you want to tell my boss that?”
He paused as the most absurd idea hit him. Maybe he couldn’t defend her to her boss, but he could offer to help her with this charade. Be a stand-in for the man she’d just broken up with to help her get through this corporate retreat.
“What?” She frowned when he was silent.
“Give me a second—I’m working through something,” he said, rubbing his forehead. She seemed like a nice woman, crazy sexy, and definitely someone he’d rather hang out with that week than the marriage-obsessed bridesmaids. Of course, he had to attend the obligatory rehearsal dinner and the wedding, but the rest of his time was his own... Or at least it would be if his sister thought he was falling in love. And while love was never going to happen, the possibility of a vacation fling was far too tempting. “How about we help each other?” His mind was made up. Now to convince her—though she had admitted to briefly considering an escort service, so this shouldn’t be difficult.
“How?”
Removing his cell phone from his pocket, he opened his mail app.
“Don’t let the flight attendant see you,” Hayley said, scanning the aisle.
“It’s on airplane mode.” He searched for the most recent email from Kate and opened the attachments. He moved closer to Hayley and held out the phone as the first image appeared on the screen.
“Wow, she’s gorgeous...those can’t be her real eyelashes,” she said, leaning closer to inspect the picture of Kate’s former college friend, Trish. “Who is she?”
“Just one of the three single women attending the wedding that my sister would like to set me up with.” He clicked on the remaining two images. Three beautiful, successful, smart women. His sister had good taste—he’d give her that. But the other thing these women had in common was their desire to be Kate’s next wedding-planning client, and marriage was not in his future. He’d made that choice the moment he’d joined the police force. He’d seen what his chosen career could do to families...far too many times. He refused to put a wife and kids through the torment and possible danger. Relationships were not something he could do—he’d tried once and failed. He was done with anything more than casual sex. Unfortunately, his hopelessly romantic sister refused to believe that.
“I still like the first one best,” Hayley said. “What’s with the numbers on the bottom of the photos?”
“It’s Kate’s crazy rating scale.” He had to hand it to his sister, she was thorough.
Hayley laughed. “It’s actually a good idea. How do I help you with all of this?”
He tucked the phone away. “You need a fake fiancé. I need a date for the wedding so my sister doesn’t pimp me out all week to her lonely friends...especially now that you’ve terrified me with the knowledge that they’re ticking biological time bombs.” Not to mention, a part of him didn’t want to show up alone when the one woman he’d truly cared for would be there with his youngest brother—her new husband—sporting a five-month baby bump. He decided to keep the last part to himself. He still hadn’t quite worked through his feelings on that one. He’d only found out two months ago when Adam had been in town and they’d had dinner together. He’d dropped the bomb somewhere between the third and fourth tequila shot that he’d eloped with Chase’s ex-girlfriend and they were expecting a baby. “So, what do you think?”
“I don’t know...it seems kind of crazy,” she said, but he could see the wheels turning in her mind. “What night is the wedding?” she asked finally.
“Friday. Ceremony starts at sunset—around six thirty.”
She reached for her carry-on and pulled it free. Then unzipping it, she retrieved her daytimer. “Friday... Friday...” she muttered, flipping the pages that were full of different-colored highlighted sections and sticky notes and business cards, making the thing burst at the seams.
Organized, insanely busy woman.
Someone who just might be as busy and career-driven as he was and who wouldn’t demand all his time and attention... He shook the thought away. A date for the wedding was all he needed. And if they got tangled up in his sheets at some point during the week, he’d consider it a win.
“We have dinner and a guest speaker that night to wrap up the retreat but as long as I’m there for the opening speech at six and then back later... It could work.” She tucked the book into the seat pocket and bit her lip as she turned to stare at him. “You’d really do this for me?”
“We’d be helping each other.” Chase and his brother hadn’t spoken since Adam had delivered the news and he had no idea how hard it was going to be seeing his brother and ex-girlfriend together. Kendall had been the only woman he’d even considered trying to have a future with. Having a date would help him save face, and this setup was perfect.
No complications of a real relationship.
“During the day I’ll be in conference meetings, so your time would be your own... It would just be the evenings.”
“Where are you staying?” he asked, praying it wasn’t the same resort where the wedding was being held.
“The Westin Resort and Spa.”
“Down the beach from the Sheraton. Perfect.” He’d been to Maui with his family over a dozen times, so he knew the place well. Their hotels were in short walking distance, but far enough that their events wouldn’t collide.
She didn’t look convinced. She was silent for a long moment before finally shaking her head. “I’m sorry—I can’t. I mean, I’d love to. It would make my life so much easier.” She paused. “No, I can’t,” she said more firmly this time. “But thank you, Chase.”
He sighed. “Okay... Well, if you change your mind.” He held back—barely—before suggesting an alternate arrangement for that week.
“I won’t.”
Damn it. She probably wouldn’t. But for a second, this trip hadn’t seemed quite so bad.
* * *
CHASE SCANNED THE terminal at the Maui airport for the shuttle bus to take him to the car rentals. He insisted on driving whenever he was on vacation, liking the freedom to venture farther from the resort. And this trip he might need a car to escape