“Yes, I—”
She crossed her arms in front of her and cut him off. “Your exact words were, ‘To be honest, I was surfing and sort of lost track of time.’”
“Wow, nothing gets by you, huh? I’ll have to remember that,” he mumbled. Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he actually had the gall to grin at her from under his impossibly long lashes like a lying teenager who knew how to charm his way out of trouble. Un. Effing. Real. “Then I’m definitely sorry I didn’t say ‘sorry.’”
Vanessa bet there weren’t many women who told Jackson Maris “no.” Even with the irritation from his high-handedness still riding her, the idea of giving in to him sprouted in the back of her brain. Thankfully, she still had enough sense to squash it before it grew into a Garden of Dreamy Sighs and Head Over Heels. Squash.
“Let’s just forget it. I’m going to take a cab to the resort, and you can do…” She waved her hands around. “Whatever it is you do, and I’ll see you at the rehearsal dinner on Friday.”
There. That wasn’t so hard. Despite being tired, hungry, and disappointed in her Welcome Wagon, she refused to cave in to the desire to be snippy and rude. Just because she lived by a certain code didn’t mean the rest of the world did.
Forcing herself to remain civil for the sake of her friendship with Lucie—and to prove she had complete control over her emotions—she said, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Jackson,” and grabbed the strap to her carry-on, still perched on his shoulder.
His hand covered hers as he leaned in, eclipsing the sun and most of the world around her. When he spoke, his voice dropped an octave and the low vibrations snaked their way through her body, hitting every erogenous zone she didn’t even know she had. “You don’t sound all that pleased, V.” He paused, his gaze flicking to her mouth a moment before offering a sinful smile. “Come with me.”
Unbidden images of hot Hawaiian sex with Jackson flashed in her mind at warp speed, messing with the signals from her brain to the rest of her body. Certain parts of her clenched tight with need, while others, like her knees and jaw, slackened with lust.
Either her desperation for some adult one-on-one time was worse than she thought or this guy affected her way more than she could safely handle. Thankfully, both problems had only one solution. Squash, squash, squash!
“Good-bye, Jackson.”
Grabbing her bags, she took off in the opposite direction. Luckily, a cab waited only a few yards away. She’d already put her things in the trunk and was reaching for the door handle when he called out after her.
“I’ll just meet you in the lobby of the resort, then.”
Civility dissolved in the acid now churning in her gut. Did he take some sort of sick pleasure in aggravating the hell out of people, or was he really just that clueless? Unfortunately for him, she assumed the former.
Turning around slowly, she addressed the man now leaning against a large concrete column, hands in his pockets, an easygoing smile gracing his face. “That won’t be necessary. I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”
He pushed himself off and sauntered over into her personal space. He smelled like the island itself, of salt water and sun.
“I have no doubt of that, princess,” he said. “But there’s one little detail you’re not aware of.”
“And what’s that?”
“The celebrity wedding planner Reid hired insists that for any destination wedding, the couple needs to be on location a week beforehand to meet with him and go over all the arrangements.”
“I know that. Why do you think I came down this early? I know Lucie’s tastes well enough to do this with my eyes closed.”
He didn’t even acknowledge her statement. “And due to the celebrity clientele at the Mau Loa, absolutely no one other than the guests registered to the room may claim the reservation.”
She cocked a hip out to the side and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then why am I down here if I can’t check in?”
“You can’t check in,” he said, “but Lucie can.”
She was about to ask him if he was smoking something, for all the sense he made, when the way he cocked his eyebrow in her direction suddenly made everything clear.
And so completely messed up.
“Oh no,” she said, hands rose to ward off his message already sinking its fangs into her brain. “Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely yes.”
“You’ve got the wrong girl, Maris. That’s lying, and I don’t lie. I’ll simply speak with the manager and explain the situation.” She turned and yanked the cab door open.