Pepper hugged herself tighter to the stranger and whispered in his ear, “Please play along with me. If you do, there’s no charge for your stay here.”
There was a fifty-fifty chance he’d do it, and she held her breath, waiting for his response. What she didn’t expect was for him to cup her head with one of his large hands and pull her in for another kiss. His lips were warm and firm and tasted slightly of coffee. She was so shocked when he traced the seam of her mouth with his tongue that she opened for him without even thinking.
Lordy! He tasted like seven kinds of sin. As his tongue probed her mouth and danced over the surface, her nipples tightened in response and moisture flooded her panties. Her blood heated, and her pulse thundered so hard she was sure everyone could hear it.
Pepper’s entire body vibrated as the kiss went on and on and on. Whatever soap he’d showered with still clung to him, tantalizing her senses, something with a clean, outdoorsy scent to it that reminded her of the bay. The day-old scruff on his cheeks and jaw was so sexy she wanted to rub herself all over it like a lazy kitten. She could barely think, her senses bouncing all over the place.
At the point where she was sure she’d pass out from lack of oxygen, he lifted his mouth from hers. She stared for what seemed like an unending moment into eyes so brown they reminded her of melted chocolate before she unwound herself from him and slid to her feet.
“Well!” Maggie’s voice broke in from behind her. “That was some greeting.”
Pepper smiled nervously at the man whose hands still rested at her waist.
“Thank you,” she mouthed. Then she turned to look at everyone. They were all staring at Kyle as if he had three heads or had just landed from a distant planet.
Maggie recovered first.
“Well,” she drawled. “I’m Pepper’s mother, Maggie Thornton. I’m sure you can understand this is quite a surprise to us. For whatever reason, Pepper chose to keep you a secret even from me. Her mama.”
Pepper squeezed Kyle’s hand, silently begging him to play along.
“We, uh, both decided it would be better to surprise you, rather than try to explain how we met and why I’d never been here before.”
She wanted to kiss him. Again. “Yes. That’s right.” She bobbed her head like a windup doll.
“So, why don’t you tell them all about it?” he suggested. “Honey.”
“Pepper told us you met on the Internet.” Smarminess dripped from Judd’s voice. “Is that the only way you can get a date?”
“Judd Wallace!” Pepper gave him her death-ray stare. “Are you thinking the same thing about me?”
He shifted his gaze to her, startled. Apparently, it hadn’t occurred to him he was insulting her, too.
Think up a reason fast. Real fast.
“It turned out one night, for laughs, we both happened to hop on this site.” She squeezed Kyle’s hand harder. “Right, sugar? Just for kicks, since we’d heard other people talking about it?”
“That’s right,” he agreed. “We accidentally connected, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“Pepper.” Maggie turned to her again. “I think your daddy and I should take you and your young man out for dinner tonight. At that new restaurant I mentioned.”
“But—” Judd tried to interrupt.
Pepper smothered a laugh as Maggie flicked a hand at him.
“Oh, hush, Judd. Things have changed. Well, Pepper? What time is good?”
How in the seven levels of hell was she going to get out of this? And Kyle! He’d played along, but he sure wouldn’t want to get caught up in this family melodrama.
“How about I get Kyle checked in and settled, and I’ll give you a call. That work?”
Maggie chuffed a sigh. “I guess it will have to.” She looked at her watch. “I think I’ll run home and catch your daddy up on this. You call in a little bit, you hear?”
“Okay.”
Cilla sidled over to them, laughter in her eyes. “I’m happy to watch the place if you and your fiancé want to spend some time together.” She held out her hand. “Cilla Denbury. We’re all looking forward to getting to know you real well.”
She winked at Pepper who wanted to kill her right on the spot.
“We’re good,” she told the woman. “I won’t need you until five. Y’all can run along now.”
She managed to shoo them out the door as Mary Tierney, the older woman who cleaned the place for them, hurried in the back door. Mary had been with them for five years, ever since her husband passed away. She told Pepper the job kept her busy. Like Cilla, she had become a fixture. And as with Cilla, Pepper was grateful for her.
“Everyone gone?” she called out. “I’m ready to get started.
“This will only take a sec,” she told Kyle, who was standing there with amusement dancing in his eyes.
She got Mary started on the rooms then came back into the lobby.
“I am so very, very, very sorry,” she told him, wringing her hands.
“I have to say that’s not exactly the way I expected to be greeted here.” He chuckled.
“Umm.” Heat crept up her cheeks. “That was some kiss. I wasn’t exactly expecting it.”
He grinned, and a dimple winked at the right corner of his mouth. Oh lordy!
“Just trying to get into the spirit of things.”
“Well, ummm, thank you. Again.”
Curiosity flashed in his eyes. “I assume you don’t do that with all your guests?”
“Of course not.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you, but I was caught in a very bad situation.”
“Let me guess. Your parents are trying to meddle in your life and get you married off.”
Her eyes widened. “How did you guess?”
“My folks keep trying to do the same with me. I guess neither set has figured out yet we’re old enough to handle that ourselves.”
She blew out a puff of air. “Of course, now I have to figure out how to explain this was all a big hoax.” Then she brightened. “Or we could tell them that, after the first few minutes, we decided we really didn’t like each other.”
“But that wouldn’t take care of the problem. Especially if that jerk that was here is the boyfriend-in-waiting.”
“Not in my life,” she snapped. “But you’re right.”
“So, how about this? I’m really here so I can hang out for a few days and get away from the rat race. Maybe we could pretend this is real. Then, when I leave, you could tell your parents we’re trying the long-distance thing for a while, at least until you get them off your back.”
She stared at him. “You’d do that for me?”
He shrugged. “Why not? You’re definitely an eyeful.” He grinned. “And a damn good kisser.”
Pepper’s face heated again. Could she do this? The thought of telling her parents her engagement was a fake and having to fend off Judd Wallace again made her ill. But playing “let’s pretend” with a stranger?
“Well?” he prodded. “I’m game if you are.”
She studied him with curiosity. “What’s in it for you?”
“Hell, I’m the winner. I get to be the fiancé of a beautiful woman who’s a champion kisser.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And maybe I can talk you into a few more of those kisses.”
I’m making a big mistake, and I’m probably going to Hell for it.
“Only if you let me comp your stay here.”
“No way. This is a business. Like I said, I’ll take it out in kisses.”
Pepper had no idea if he was kidding or not. She was so grateful to him for getting her out of a tight spot that at the moment she would have agreed to anything.
“I think we can negotiate. Meanwhile, let’s get you checked in. And I have two chocolate muffins hidden away that I can serve you with my peach iced tea or a freshly pulled espresso.”
He nodded. “Let’s do it.”
She blinked when he dropped his credit card on the desk. American Express Centurion. The Black Card. They didn’t get too many of these at Hibiscus House. What on earth kind of business was he in that he had the very limited edition credit card? Then she gave a mental shrug. Not her business. He was here to do…whatever he was here to do. Hang out, avoid the rat race…. He’d saved her from a desperate situation. She didn’t need to ask him any questions.
She busied herself with his paperwork, running his credit card, getting his room assignment. He might not let her comp him, but she was damned well going to give him the Hibiscus Suite on the second floor. She snuck little glances at him as she processed his reservation. He was tall, she figured well over six feet, and lean but muscular. His thick brown hair had a slight curl to it and framed a face so masculine it took her breath away. The day-old scruff on his face that she wanted to rub her fingers against only enhanced his appeal. Bad boy, she thought. The kind who made you think of sex in capital letters. If she had to pick a phantom fiancé, she was glad it had turned out to be him.
But I’d better behave because this is not for real.
“Okay.” She slid everything into a little folder for him, including a key card. “Two years ago we switched out from the old-fashioned key locks to something with more security. Your room is on the second floor, two doors down from the stairway.”
“Great. Let me get my stuff upstairs. Then, if the offer is still open, I’ll take you up on those secret muffins and iced tea.”
As soon as he hit the stairs, Pepper headed to the kitchen. She dug out the two muffins from where she’d hidden them in the huge industrial-size refrigerator and popped them into the microwave. She hated nuking the things—sometimes it affected their tender texture—but there’d been no place else to hide them. Then she fixed Kyle the glass of iced tea she’d promised him. She had barely set everything on the counter for him when he walked into the kitchen, a bemused expression on his face.
“A suite, Pepper? Really?”
She shrugged. “You’re my fiancé. People would expect nothing less. Here. Sit. Don’t let anything get cold.”
His fingers brushed hers when he reached for a muffin, and she wondered if he felt the same unexpected charge of electricity she did. She looked over at him, and when their eyes locked, she saw the awareness in them. For a long moment, neither of them moved, then, abruptly, she yanked her fingers away. So she hadn’t just imagined the chemistry of that kiss.
She watched anxiously as he pulled off a piece of muffin and popped it into his mouth, wondering exactly why she should care so much. He closed his eyes and moaned.
“Oh god. If you can cook like this, I’ll marry you no matter what.”
She felt herself blush and bit her lip. She was good at what she did, and she knew it. Praise from others rolled off her shoulders. So, why did the same words from this man turn her into a quivering mass of jelly?
What on earth have I gotten myself into? What do I say?
“I’ll be sure to tell that to my mama,” was what she finally said.
“So tell me…” Kyle licked a few chocolate crumbs from his fingers, swiping with his tongue. The act was so insanely erotic that the walls of her sex quivered and her breasts ached with unfamiliar heaviness. “What’s the story behind our so-called engagement?”
Pepper was so hypnotized watching him lick his fingers and swallow his muffin his words barely registered.
“Uh, what?”
His laugh was husky and rolled over her like warm molasses. “Our engagement? I mean, I should at least have some background, right?”
“Oh. Yes.” She sighed. “It’s all because I don’t want my folks to sell Hibiscus House.”
His eyes widened. “This is all about a B&B?”
Pepper forced her eyes away from the hypnotic sight of him continuing to devour his muffins.
“It’s not just a B& B,” she said with exaggerated patience. She had to make him understand. “I love this place. It’s what I want to do with my life.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I have plans for it as soon as my folks get the hell off my back.”
“I don’t understand. If this is your passion, why do they want to get rid of it?”
“Because they have this misguided notion that if I devote myself to Hibiscus House,” she told him, “I’ll never get out and have any other life. Never get married. Never have children.” She grimaced. “I think they’re obsessed with having grandchildren.”
Kyle frowned. “But people spend their lives in hospitality all the time. They still get married. Have families. Have successful careers.”
“I know, I know.” She brushed a stray hair back from her forehead. “They seem to have a firm belief I need to get out of Hibiscus House to do all that. But I love this B&B. I love this town. And any time I want to go someplace, I do. Then I come back. Come home.”
She saw him study the expression on her face as if analyzing her. “When was the last time you took a trip anywhere?”
She waved a hand in the air. “That’s beside the point. I can go if I want to. I just haven’t wanted to.” She shook her head. “Never mind. You couldn’t understand.”
“I might, but let’s get to that later. I’m guessing the reason for this charade is because they have a candidate all lined up for you? That Judd whatever?”
“Uh-huh. He’s president of the local bank, which makes him prime meat in their eyes.”
“I guess everyone’s taste is different.” He chuckled. “He doesn’t look like any bank president I ever saw. I think you’d have to be desperate to hook up with him.”
She made a rude noise. “No kidding.”
“So, how do you want to play this out? I guess you know I can’t stay here indefinitely, much as I might want to.”
“I know, I know.” She heaved another sigh. “I guess I hadn’t thought much beyond getting out of dinner tonight with Judd. And getting them off my back.”
“Well, I’m happy to do my part while I’m here.” He grinned, and the dimple flashed again. “But maybe we should spend a little time getting to know about each other this afternoon. We’ll probably get the third degree at dinner tonight.”
“You think?” She snorted. “Why are you doing this, anyway? What’s in it for you?”
He shrugged. “I’m on sort of a vacation now. What better way to spend it than in the company of a beautiful woman?”
“Obligatory flattery isn’t part of the bargain, you know.”
Kyle leaned forward on his elbows. “What makes you think it’s obligatory? You’re a beautiful woman, Pepper. Smart. Focused.”
“B-but don’t you have plans?” She couldn’t believe a guy this sexy and good-looking didn’t have women falling all over him.
“I, uh, just had to take a step back from what I was doing and take some downtime.”
She tilted her head. “And exactly what is it you do that you needed a break from?”
“You could say I’m in commercial real estate. I evaluate property for the corporation.”
“Well, then this will be a real vacation for you because there’s not much to evaluate around here except for residential now and then. Bayview is small. People love it and hardly ever leave.”
“Then I have no worries, right?” He winked.
“Right.” She carried his plate and their cups to the sink. Mary could take care of it when she got to the kitchen.
“So, what’s on your schedule today?”
“I’m actually pretty free until five o’clock. We’re full up at the moment, so I don’t have reservations to take care of. All the guests are out seeing Bayview and doing tourist stuff.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to be back in time to set out the wine and cheese, though.”
“Don’t forget to call your folks about dinner.”
“Oh, damn.” She chewed on her lip. “I hate subjecting you to that.”
He laughed. “It might actually be kind of fun.”
“You have a weird idea of fun.” Pepper was sure that by the time dinner was over, Kyle would be checking out of Hibiscus House and out of her life.
“At least I won’t be bored. Right?”
“Right.”
He had moved over to stand next to her, and she got another whiff of that aftershave that made her hormones jump up and do somersaults.
“Do you have to lock everything up?” he asked. “What if your guests want to get in before you get back?”
“I leave the door from the side porch unlocked. And whichever cop is on patrol drives by regularly, just in case. Besides, Cilla will be back in a while. She likes to hang out here even when she isn’t working.”
“Wow. This place must have charm I haven’t seen yet.” He twisted his lips into a grimace. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”
“No problem.” Her laugh had a sensual musical quality to it. “I don’t always think before I speak, either.”
“See there?” He grinned at her. “Already we have something in common.”
“So.” She smoothed invisible wrinkles from her slacks. “Let me get my purse and we can be on our way. I’ll give you the nickel tour of Bayview.”