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“We need to think of a way to get Lance and Priya to believe this has been going on for months, in secret. Maybe we could tell them we had instant chemistry and couldn’t forget each other after the holiday party. That we’ve been seeing each other since.”
Never mind that for her, at least, it was partially true. She’d never really forgotten about Zac and the way he’d made her feel that night—sexy, desired, beautiful, precious—even if it had been fueled by too much rum-spiked eggnog and fuzzy thinking.
“We need to convince them that things got serious fast and now we’re ready for the next step.”
Zac sat back and shook his head. “It’s not going to be as easy as you think.”
Carmen hid her wince—barely. “Because you’re an expert in deception?”
“I’ve had some past experience with it, yes.”
She didn’t miss the flash of hurt in his dark eyes before he dropped his gaze to the floor.
“I mean, yeah, maybe your story could work. Lance has been bugging me about being off my game lately.”
Her curiosity was piqued again before she could tamp it down. It was silly to think their night together had anything to do with it, but a little flare of hope still fizzed inside her anyway.
“Off your game? Since when?”
“I don’t know. A couple months. I’ve been busy, okay? That’s all.” He sat forward and rubbed the spot between his brows with his fingers. “Listen, if we do this, what about all the little things couples know about each other? Birthdays, favorite colors, favorite foods, pets, personal peeves? Trust me, Lance will see right through the whole thing in two seconds flat if you don’t know all that stuff about me. Hell, he knows all that stuff about me.”
The tension inside her ratcheted higher. She’d already gotten herself neck-deep in this situation and the tide was threatening to pull her under. All she could do now was keep her head above water and roll with it.
“We’ll each write it down. Create a dossier of our lives then give them to one another to memorize.”
“A dossier?” Zac snorted. “What are we? Super-spies?”
“I’m serious. It’s only three days. We don’t need to know every detail—just the big stuff, like you said.” She sighed and gave him an exasperated look. “How much of that will come up anyway? We’ll be sure to avoid Lance and Priya as much as possible at the conference, just to be on the safe side. Shouldn’t be hard with such a busy schedule. Okay?”
“I still think this is a mistake.” After an aggrieved sigh and a flat stare, Zac said, “Okay.”
Her posture sagged with relief. He wasn’t making it easy, but she was glad to have it out of the way. Carmen checked her watch, then pushed to her feet and tossed her empty cup in the trash.
“Thank you. I’ll text you with the flight details. And maybe you’ll fill me in later about why you’re so reluctant to go with me.”
“Don’t count on it,” he said as she walked away.
Carmen glanced at him over her shoulder as she exited the cafeteria. “I never do.”
* * *
Maybe you’ll fill me in later about why you’re so reluctant to go with me...
After Carmen had left, Zac sat alone in the cafeteria to finish his break, knowing he could never tell her the truth. His past was a secret he didn’t share with anyone. For good reason.
God, he was such an idiot. He never should’ve accepted her offer, no matter how much he wanted to revisit the chemistry between them. There were things about him that made a return to The Arctic Star Resort reckless or insane.
Neither option made him feel better.
Never mind the fact he’d spent the last twelve years putting as much distance as possible between himself and that place. Now he was going to blow it all to smithereens in one fell swoop. All because of the chance to reconnect with the one woman he couldn’t seem to forget.
Damn. The Arctic Star Resort. The conference just had to be there, in the one place he’d vowed never to set foot in again, owned by the one man he never wanted to lay eyes on again.
His father.
The man who’d cheated on his mother and betrayed his family’s trust.
The man Zac would refuse to forgive for as long as he lived.
It was because of his father that Zac trusted no one—because of his father that he kept everyone at a distance, never letting anyone too close, never trusting anyone enough to get hurt.
It was because of him that Zac feared he was cut from the same lying, cheating cloth.
And maybe he was, considering the state of his personal life. He was a serial dater—a player, according to the local gossip mill—and he’d cultivated that reputation carefully, never letting anyone close enough to see what he feared most—that perhaps beneath the charade it was entirely too true. That perhaps he was just like his father.
He rubbed his eyes, sighing at fate, or luck, or whatever the hell had brought this mess into his life. He’d thought he’d left it all behind him for good. Started fresh, created a new future of his own making. Yet, here it was, right back on his doorstep again, and he had no one to blame but himself.
It wasn’t like he could say no to Carmen. She was his friend. Never mind that he’d been secretly crushing on her since their incredible night together after that holiday party, or that what his best friend—Lance—teased him about was true. He was off his game. Because of her.
It didn’t matter. Nothing could ever come of it.
He didn’t do relationships and she was way too good for him. Had been back then—still was today.
Knowing that didn’t make him want her any less, though.
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Lance walk up to his table with a half-eaten sub sandwich in one hand and a water bottle in the other until it was too late.
“Dude, shouldn’t you be out cruising for trouble? You’re on call today, right?”
The well-muscled firefighter plopped down uninvited in the seat across from Zac, his white T-shirt with the Anchorage Fire Department insignia embroidered on the chest pocket stretching tight over his chest, dark circles shadowing his blue eyes. All the Anchorage first responders had been pulling extra shifts lately, gearing up for tourist season in the spring.
“Your rig’s still parked out in the ambulance bay.”
“Susan’s manning the radio. She’ll text me when she needs me.”
Zac stared out the window beside him, as much to get his head together as to avoid looking at his best friend, who would too easily read that something was wrong in Zac’s face. He’d never had a poker face, despite the genes he shared with his father.
He sighed and squinted at the cars coming and going outside. “Let me ask you something, Lance. Did you ever do something so dumb, so out of your comfort zone, so crazy, that you ought to have your head examined for even considering it?”
Lance snorted. “You’ve met Priya, right? Still can’t believe she said yes when I asked her to marry me. She’s way out of my league, dude.”
Zac chuckled. “True. Still, things have worked out okay for you guys, right?”
“Right.” Lance halted, mid-bite of his sandwich. “Wait. Are we talking about women? Because I’ve been wondering when you’re gonna get back out there again.”
Sighing, Zac scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d walked right into that, dammit. He was probably overthinking all this. Maybe Carmen was right. Maybe he should just enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman had asked him to spend the weekend with her, all expenses paid and no strings attached. Chances were his father wouldn’t be at the resort anyway. He was probably off somewhere else, supervising his worldwide hotel empire. Zac hadn’t kept up with the family business much since he’d left, preferring peace of mind to profit reports.
