Trey smiled at the woman sitting on the bench next to him, realizing that, for the first time in days, his brain and his body weren’t tied up in knots and he hadn’t given a thought to Laura, her boy toy, his situation, or the shock of the divorce. It was the first time in his life he could remember having coffee dumped on him turn into a pleasurable experience.
Robin Hanna was a complete opposite of Laura. His wife—ex-wife, idiot—was slender, and tall, with black hair that she wore cut short. Robin, on the other hand, was maybe five-foot-five, with a nicely rounded body that her shorts and T-shirt accented very well. Her shimmering blonde hair hung just to her shoulders, and bangs highlighted clear hazel eyes, thick eyelashes, and a sculpted face. She had a laugh that was musical in its sound.
He wasn’t looking for a hookup. He wasn’t even sure he’d know how to handle one anymore. And he definitely wasn’t interested in the Barefoot Bay motto: “Kick off your shoes and fall in love.” But for however long she was here at Barefoot Bay, she could be someone to have fun with, like today. To help him put the mess of his life in a pocket and forget about it. Someone to enjoy his stay with. Period.
The simplest things seemed to give her pleasure, like the spur-of-the-moment visit to Calusa House and Museum, where she enjoyed artifacts relating to the history of the area. Or wandering in and out of the quaint colorful stucco shops in downtown Mimosa Key, most of them with a touristy atmosphere. Or when, on impulse, he stopped in at Mr. Icey’s on the edge of town, a place reminiscent of old-fashioned ice cream shops with frosted windows and a red-and-white awning. The owner had told them they were smart coming in this early in the day because when school was out, it was a great hangout for the teenagers.
They each got a double scoop cone and now sat on a bench outside, licking the ice cream like kids and just taking in the landscape.
“I wonder what it was like growing up here?” Robin mused. “I’ll bet the big deal was Friday night football games.”
“If the pictures and banners we saw displayed everywhere of the football team indicate anything,” Trey told her, “I’d say you’re right.”
“I lived in San Antonio for a while. On Friday nights in small towns, you could roll a tank down Main Street and never hit anyone.”
“Did you grow up in a small town?” He realized he knew nothing about her, except she had dumped coffee and water on his pants and was fun to be with. Somehow, they had just shied away from personal topics. Maybe it was him. His personal life was still painful to think about.
Robin caught a drop of ice cream as it rolled down the scoop. The sight of that quick flick of her tongue made his cock get instantly hard, shocking him. He hadn’t thought about sex for quite a while. Unexpected divorce was a healthy dose of ice water.
When she swirled her tongue around it again and licked it into her mouth, he felt like a horny teenager. And totally missed what she was saying.
“I’m sorry. What?”
She gave him a strange look. “I said, I grew up in Boston but I’ve lived in a lot of places. I like change. And I’ve been able to move up in each of my new jobs. How about you?”
He stifled the irritation the subject always generated. “Long ago, my plan was to retire from the Navy and go back to Montana, where I grew up. My folks moved to Arizona, but I have friends there. I’d even had feelers from a couple of law firms in Bozeman.”
“Then, why did you settle in Newport?”
Because I’m an idiot.
“I wanted to keep my wife happy. You can see how well that turned out.”
“Trey is an unusual name. Is it short for something? Usually it’s the third generation in a family with the same name. Carrying it on, sort of.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but no. My mother just liked the name. Someone in a book she was reading at the time had it.”
She giggled. “I’ll bet it’s given you fits off and on.”
“Yeah, for most of my life. People insisted I give them my real name, explaining that Trey was just a nickname. I had to start carrying my birth certificate with me.”
“Well, I like it. It suits you.”
“Thanks.” He grinned. “I think. Now, it’s my turn to ask a question. How did you get into investment counseling? And why did you move around so much?”
She gathered another lick with that tongue that was starting to drive him crazy before she answered.
“I started out in Boston in a large investment firm but hated the environment. Too impersonal. One of the partners was moving back to San Antonio, where he had a lot of contacts and where some of his clients were actually based. He asked me if I’d consider relocating.”
“That’s quite a switch,” he commented. “From Boston to San Antonio.”
There went that tongue again. If she did it too many more times, he’d really embarrass himself. He clamped down hard on the image that perked up in his brain of himself thrusting his tongue inside Robin’s mouth to share the taste of the ice cream. And a few other things.
Stop it! You can’t do that.
But damn if he didn’t want to.
“I was ready for a change. Then I changed twice more. Always with an upgrade.”
“So where are you now? You didn’t say.”
“Back in Boston, with a fairly small but highly selective firm.” She wrapped her lips around the top of the ice cream scoop and sucked it into her mouth.
Trey wondered if he’d be able to get up without embarrassing himself.
“I’m guessing you like it,” he remarked. Yes, talk about investments. That’s a hard-on killer all the way.
“Yes. I find it challenging.”
“And your boss? You must like him a lot?”
“Oh, yes. That is, until—” She paused, a weird look on her face. Then she concentrated fiercely on finishing her cone.
He waited, but when she said nothing else, he asked, “Until what? Did something happen? Did your boss get weird or something?”
“Yeah. Or something. I’m thinking of taking another look at my options when I get back. I’ve had some offers.”
There was something off about this, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. And he was sure she didn’t. She was concentrating so hard on the rest of the cone now that Trey figured a change of subject was warranted. He didn’t think they should get into anything too intricate in each other’s lives. Anyway, a few days and they’d both be on their way back to their normal lives.
Or what passes for normal. I need to think about how to make that happen for me.
One thing he’d already decided. He was leaving the firm and heading to Montana. He’d grown up there, and although his parents had moved to Arizona, he still had friends there. And he liked the lifestyle. It suited him. He’d stopped wearing his Stetson and jeans when he was off duty in the Navy because it irritated Laura so much. He should have asked her if his service in the Navy and his desire to return to his home state were so irksome, why the hell had she married him?
Phyllis, who he seemed to share things with more than anyone, had told him more than once that she was sure Laura had married him because she was lured by the glamour of being married to a Navy officer. And while she liked to travel to other countries, living there had not been quite the same. He’d been the blind-and-dumb asshole who had missed it all. What did that say about him?
Robin finished the cone, finally, and got up to throw her napkin in a trash barrel. When she came back to the bench, the weird look on her face had been replaced by a smile.
“So, what’s next on our schedule? We missed lunch, but—”
He gave her a look of mock horror. “Are you telling me you don’t consider a double-scoop ice-cream cone a satisfying lunch?”
Robin laughed. “Not since I was a kid. But it did take the edge off my appetite.”
“I was thinking about going for a swim this afternoon and racking up a little beach time. Think I could talk you into joining me?”
For a moment, he thought she was going to say no, but then she nodded. “That sounds great. I can swim off the calories from the ice cream.”
“I don’t think that’s anything you have to worry about.”
He couldn’t help letting his eyes roam over her figure, so appetizing in her shorts and T-shirt. She was the first woman who had really lit up his hormones in more than twenty years. Laura had been the one for him, and he’d never even thought intimately about another woman. Did he admire appealing bodies? Sure, he wasn’t dead. But always in an abstract way.
So, what was it about Robin Hanna with the nice breasts and delectable ass that was turning him on so much?
Nice breasts? Delectable ass?
He’d better put his libido in deep freeze or he’d be in big trouble.
She chuckled. “Wait until you see me in a bathing suit before you hand out the compliments.”
“I look forward to it.”
Trey wanted to smack himself in the head. He was just looking for a companion to do things with, so he wasn’t alone. He shouldn’t hint at things that weren’t going to happen.
On the return drive to the resort, Robin leaned back in her seat, scarf wound around her head and sunglasses in place, the sun bathing her face and the wind teasing the few errant curls that escaped confinement. If his life was completely different, she’d be someone he could spend a lot of time with.
Wait. Spend time with? Wasn’t that what he was doing? He’d unexpectedly found a delightful woman who could make his two weeks here pleasant and maybe give him a new outlook on life. He wasn’t asking her to marry him. He wasn’t even sure he’d ever get married again.
So relax, idiot. Quit overthinking this. This is what you need. Something with no expectations on either side. You got lucky, so just enjoy.
He was definitely going to try and do that.
Back at the resort, he changed into bathing trunks and a shirt and slipped his feet into sandals. He realized he had not looked at his cell phone since he boarded Zack Elliott’s plane, nor did he intend to. Phyllis had the number of the resort, which she would use only in case of extreme emergencies. And he couldn’t think of even one that would arise. He was just going to go with the flow, with his unexpected companion, and enjoy himself.
They had agreed to meet in the lobby again, and she was waiting for him when he got off the elevator. But it irritated him that she was on the phone again. Who was so important that she had to talk to them this minute? Had to be a client, right? In her profession, clients always needed a lifeline. But he was determined to have her enjoy herself so much she’d forget about the damn phone, just like he had.
He waited patiently, off to the side, until she was finished with her call. When she looked up and saw him, for a brief moment something like fear crossed her face. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. He put a smile on his own face as he moved toward her, hoping these calls didn’t mean she was married or something. If that was the case, he had to seriously question his judgment because he had not gotten the vibes of a cheating wife where she was concerned.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Just…a friend dealing with some challenges.”
Trey put his hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the beach.
“Can’t be much of a friend if she won’t let you enjoy your vacation,” he observed.
“She feels terrible about it,” Robin assured him, “but she really has no one else, and it’s kind of a crisis.”
Trey wisely refrained from saying anything else, but he hoped to hell the emergency calls were over for the day. He found two lounge chairs for them and had them moved closer to the water’s edge. They were just settling themselves in the loungers when a waiter in board shorts and a Casa Blanca T-shirt asked if they wanted drinks.
“What the hell.” Robin grinned at him. “Let’s live a little. Maybe indulge in one of those wickedly sinful tropical drinks.”
She dropped her beach bag beside a chair and tugged off her T-shirt and shorts. Trey’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head at the sight of her toned, mouthwatering body, and warm delicious flesh. He was glad he had his sunglasses on so he could enjoy the sight without looking like some beachside letch. Mouthwatering was certainly the right description. He hoped he didn’t drool and embarrass himself. When she stretched out on the lounge and began applying sunscreen, he had to keep himself from offering to apply it all over her body for her.
The drinks turned out to be delicious, and Trey was enjoying the peace of just relaxing with a gorgeous woman next to him and nothing to do but have a good time. There didn’t even seem to be a need for conversation, a rarity for him. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Laura had just sat quietly, enjoying each other’s company. In fact, if he was honest about it, from a distance he could look back and see so many warning signs he’d just ignored.
No more of that. This is fun time. Something I haven’t had for a long time.
So, instead, he focused on Robin. Not too much, he reminded himself, because his body still hadn’t gotten the message it needed to behave. But his mind was taking a side trip all on its own, probably ecstatic at being released from its long confinement.
In Mimosa Key, sitting side by side on the bench, he’d been so tempted to just pull her against him and kiss the life out of her. It occurred to him he hadn’t had that urge in longer than he cared to admit. Had that sexual tension been missing form his marriage and he just hadn’t noticed it? What did that say about him? That he had been so wrapped up in his career he’d missed years of critical signals in his personal life?
But now Fate seemed to have given him a second chance. This time he’d be a lot sharper about it. Pay a lot more attention. This time? Wasn’t he rushing things?
Life’s short.
Without thinking, he reached across the tiny space between them and took Robin’s hand, enfolding it in his. He gave it a tiny squeeze and smiled to himself when she squeezed back. Yes, this was a great idea. Two weeks to really get into it with her at Barefoot Bay before he had to go back and face his real life. Two weeks to enjoy Robin and whatever happened between them. It felt good to have no pressure except to enjoy himself.
*****
I can’t let my guard down.
Robin had been telling herself that from the moment she spilled coffee and water on Trey DeMarcus. She should never have agreed to have breakfast with him. And driving into Mimosa Key in that convertible and wandering around town like lovers on a date was a bigger mistake. There was some kind of electricity between them, invisible but still crackling in the air.
Seth had told her to make an effort to enjoy herself while she was here and forget about the mess back in Boston. That was Jonas’s problem, and he and the FBI were keeping it well away from her. She didn’t think he meant jump the bones of the first good-looking, single man she met and take the edge off all that frustration building in her since she’d dumped her last relationship.
How was it she was so bad at picking men? She must have warped radar that it only vibrated toward men who were already in a relationship—with themselves. Trey was so different, it amazed her how taken with him she was. Although he was confident and seemed comfortable in his own skin, he wasn’t focused on himself. Part of that could be the divorce, although, in her experience, men going through that kind of divorce were usually full of themselves, wanted everyone’s sympathy, and tended to monopolize conversations by criticizing everything about their ex-wives. Oh, and making sure you knew none of it was their fault.
Maybe it was because Trey was older than her usual dating material. There was at least a ten-year difference between them. Was that too big an age difference? For what, she asked herself. What did it matter? They were just having fun, right?
Still, he was almost too sexy for his own good. The lines in his face made a good companion for the dimples that turned her on every time he smiled. The gray at the temples made her want to run the tips of her fingers through his hair. And holy cow! She didn’t know too many men in that age group who kept themselves in such incredible shape.
Wait! What are the chances I’ll even see him again when I leave here? Zip and nil.
“I can smell your brain burning from over here.”
His deep voice made her girl parts send her urgent messages, and she had to resist the temptation to squeeze her thighs together.
“No, I’m actually giving it a rest,” she joked. Big, fat lie.
“How about a dip in the water to cool off a little? I’ve been a sucker for that since before I joined the Navy.”
He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the lounger, still holding her hand, so she was forced to sit up, too. She placed her sunglasses in her beach bag then stretched before heading for the water. She could feel Trey’s eyes on her as she took every step. Then he was beside her, holding her hand again as they walked into the surf.
“This is great,” he told her. “Come on.”
He tugged on the hand he was still holding and dragged her farther out into the water. The Gulf was warm, not cold like the ocean, and buoyant. The waves lapped at her legs as they walked through them, like the kiss of a mermaid. When they reached a point where they came to her waist, he picked her up with both hands, gave her a shit-eating grin, and dunked both of them. Robin came up spluttering.
“No fair. You have the advantage because you’re taller.”
“Is that so?” He had a wicked look in his eyes. “How about this?”
He drew her close to him, so close their bodies were plastered together, then plunged them both underwater again. This time when she surfaced, she was spitting water and coughing, trying to decide whether or not to kill hm. She brushed her wet hair off her face and blinked the water out of her eyes, prepared to do battle. Then he stopped her in an unexpected way.
Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he kissed her.
And what a kiss it was!
His lips were firm, pleasantly cool from the water. At first, the touch of them was light, but when she didn’t pull away, he pressed harder. He held her head, gently but firmly, as he traced the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue, back and forth, until with a gentle thrust, he slipped inside.
As unexpected as the kiss was, it was unbelievably welcome. There was something so electric about the touch of his mouth to hers, the feel of his tongue flirting with hers. She stood there, water lapping at her hips, her fingers curled around his wrists, hypnotized by the touch and taste of him. When at last he lifted his head they stared at each other, she wondered if her own expression reflected the shock she saw on his face.
Trey opened his mouth to say something, and she shook her head.
“If you’re going to apologize, I might have to smack you.”
But the look he gave her was far from apologetic. Instead, heat and hunger burned in his eyes.
“What I want to say,” he told her, slowly, “is so far from an apology it’s not even in the same room. What I had in mind was telling you I want to do it again.”
Still cradling her head, he looked around, and so did she. No one seemed to be paying a lot of attention to them. In fact, most of the people seemed to be trying their best to live up to the resort’s motto. But she could tell he was as uncomfortable with this as she was.
“Let’s swim a little,” he said at last. “Later, I’d like to take you to dinner at Junonia and maybe for a walk in the moonlight. Then…” He shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Who knows, indeed?” she whispered, her lips still tingling from the kiss.
“I think I’m a little rusty at this, so I have to ask. Robin, if I’m presuming something here, will you just tell me? I’m a big boy. I’ve got some baggage I’m dealing with, and I get the feeling you do, too. I don’t think either of us is looking for anything beyond the here and now. Am I right?”
She nodded. Speech seemed to have deserted her.
“But, for the time we’re here, it would be nice to enjoy each other, right?”
“Yes.” She finally managed to get the word out. “Yes, it would.”
And of course, that was all it could be. They both had other lives to get back to, although, at the moment, she wasn’t sure what hers was.
He brushed a kiss over her mouth again before releasing her and taking a step back. Then he turned, dove under a tiny wave, and began doing a very smooth crawl. Robin wondered if he did everything well. Surely, the man had some flaws.
With a mental shrug, she dropped back into the water and followed him, although his endurance was way beyond hers. He was still swimming with ease and grace when she finally called it quits and stood up, heading back toward the beach. When she reached it, she stood there for a moment, just admiring him in the water and wondering, to her own embarrassment, what he looked like without his clothes on.