Ireland
“Enough staring at him behind your dark sunglasses. You’re not fooling anyone…and probably not even him. Time to cool you off.” Montana was up and moving our appetizing platter of heavenly goodness inside the cabana to a mini fridge. I swear I could practically live in the space complete with a microwave, flat screen TV, and sectional sofa. The only thing missing was a bathroom and a kitchen sink. I laughed to myself at the mention of the sink. Who hadn’t used the expression “everything but the kitchen sink” at least once in their life?
Returning to my side, Montana handed me my frilly tropical drink that she had insisted on us drinking. It was a bit sweeter than my usual drink—skinny margarita on the rocks, no salt—but it was fun with its pineapple wedge, strawberry, and umbrella that she had plucked off the fruit tray. Knowing that she was not going to let me remain reclined, I huffed, set the drink down on a low table next to the chaise lounge, and adjusted my suit as I stood up.
With my drink in hand again, I spoke up. “No embarrassing me, please. We are just taking a dip to cool off.” Why I bothered to say anything to her was beyond me. There was no telling that girl to do or comply with anything. My mentioning that she should behave probably fueled the fire within her even more.
Following slightly behind her, we walked to a set of steps to descend into the crystal blue water rather than jump and risk losing our tops—something that would be easy to do with these suits. I had surprised myself a bit when I purchased it. I hated to admit it, but Montana was right, it was not something that I would usually wear. Since being told that I was getting married, I felt a streak of rebellion running through my veins. Another thing I was not about to divulge to my best friend as she would have me doing things one hundred percent out of my comfort zone.
Montana didn’t need any encouragement and she probably wasn’t going to listen to my small plea I realized as she moved through the water straight for the man I couldn’t keep from staring at and his friend. I kept moving with her as it would have looked strange if I hung back. I had a flashback of Montana approaching a popular guy I had a crush on in high school and asking him if he liked me. I surely didn’t want to be mortified like I had been back then.
“Mind if we share your wall?” Seriously, why didn’t she just say hello and set her glass on the side of the pool. It wasn’t like they owned the pool and there wasn’t room next to them. We did not have to be so close to them. “Montana and Ireland.” There was no denying that she had a motive and was coming onto them, practically delivering a pick up line like, “do you come here often?” I cringed and then nearly sucked my entire drink to the bottom with a slurp that was sure to give me a rush or brain freeze. “And you are?” She didn’t let them off the hook.
“I’m Jensen and that is my friend Novak…and you, Ireland, look like you need something.”
Yes, you! I loved how he said my name… I loved his deep, husky voice that enhanced the overall package…and he was even better looking close up and personal. Was it possible to fall in love so quickly? Because he was checking all of my fantasy dream man boxes and I found myself at a loss for words.
“She definitely needs more, but she will probably be happier with your basic, boring, run of the mill margarita, rocks, no salt.” Montana made my delicious libation of choice sound terrible and it felt like a reflection of me. It also made me remember that I needed to go all out on this trip.
“What are you drinking?” I managed to squeak out a few words.
“Exactly what your friend said you desired.” That last word sent chills right down my body and tickled my girly bits. “I guess I’m boring,” he said with a sexy grin. I couldn’t imagine him to be a bore at anything. “But I have to say it tastes amazing.” He offered his nearly full glass to me and I took it between my two hands.
Placing my lips on the rim, I closed my eyes and sipped where his mouth had possibly been. Sighing, I opened my eyes and watched him swallow hard before I breathlessly voiced my delight, “It’s delicious.”
As I attempted to hand it back to him, he told me to keep it, “I’m yours… It’s yours, I’ll order another one.” I liked his slip up, “I’m” sounded a whole lot better than “it’s” coming from his full, nibbleable lips.
I could visualize my teeth lightly biting his bottom lip, tugging it a little, and then sliding my tongue along it to make it all better. Wow! That fancy tropical drink with five different alcohols must have really zapped my brain. Good thing it wasn’t causing me to blurt out my thoughts and, fortunately, only a simple “thank you” escaped my lips. With his drink delivered along with more for Montana and Novak, I tried to keep my wits about me and steer our conversation toward business since he had mentioned that they were in town for a conference. So far he had not asked me why I was in town and I wasn’t quick to divulge my miserable situation. I never imagined that the simple subject of work would have me feeling down and excited all at once. It probably didn’t hurt that I was speaking with a handsome businessman.
“My company has been talking about branching out to unknown territory and we will need to restructure those avenues a bit and bring in a new marketing strategy.” He was speaking my language and I was hanging on every word all the way from the pool back to our cabana. No longer too big for two vacationing girls, it was filling up thanks to Montana and Novak making friends while Jensen and I were lost in a corporate world chat. “We have been shopping marketing companies and narrowed it down to two in New York and one in Chicago, but we are leaning strongly toward—”
“—Tate & Cane,” I finished his sentence and he grinned at me with a raised eyebrow. “They’re one of the best. Why would you use anyone else?”
“Don’t tell me that you work for them?” He looked a little concerned.
“No. Relax. I have my own PR service of sorts,” I announced, proudly.
“Are they your competition?” he asked and leaned closer. “Are you going to try and sway me away from them?” I would love to sway him right into my arms but I wasn’t equipped to do marketing for his type of Fortune 500 Company. Not that he had told me who he worked for, but just the details about the conference let me know that they were probably a biggie that I would recognize on the Stock Exchange.
“I am what you would probably call a middleman…middle woman or business concierge—that is the term I prefer. So many businesses either scrimp or splurge when it comes to marketing and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all company that is the same or right for everyone.” I loved that he gave me his full attention. He made my heart pound as I looked into his shaded eyes. I could only imagine the intensity that I would see in his eyes… his deep brown eyes. That was my guess…or my wish.
In case anyone wanted to know what the ideal man for me would be…what I hoped my parents took into consideration when selecting my husband-to-be… Ugh! Push that thought away and continue! I envisioned brown hair, dark brown eyes, at least six feet tall so I could wear heels without towering over him, a nice build, straight pearly whites, sexy facial stubble and intellectual… And a sense of humor was a must too. So far, the man chatting with me had ticked off everything.
“What are you doing?” I heard him ask, turning his head from side to side. What was I doing that had him moving oddly? “You seem to be studying me, am I wrong?”
Oh shit! Please tell me that I didn’t mumble anything along with my unconscious movements.
“Sorry. I was just wondering what color your eyes were.”
I loved the smirk he gave me as he spoke up and made me laugh. “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours.”
“Deal,” I agreed and then quickly lowered my sunglasses which actually gave me an even better view of him. Clear vision to his bronzed skin, whiter than white teeth, and to top it off, he had dark chocolate brown eyes which twinkled thanks to the sun. However, the gleam in his eyes made me think about special effects seen in cornball movies and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling until he leaned in and captured my mouth perfectly with his. The ultimate kiss that was only in fairytales was happening to me right there in front of everyone and I did not care one bit because, to be quite honest, everything but us faded away from my mind.