“Absolutely.”
Mack said, “But she hates me almost as much as I hate her.”
“That’s why it’s so perfect. Not only does she get the woman she loves back, but she also gets to stick it to her hated rival. Double win.”
“And a double loss for me,” Mack grumbled.
“Is that what you’re worried about? Looking like a fool? I promise it won’t be like that.”
“No? So, I’ll look like the cool one whose fiancée goes off to bang her ex in the bushes?”
“Maybe you can soothe your ego by seducing her fiancée,” Kayla said.
“No thanks.”
The short answer was more troubling than any angry speech would’ve been. “Hey, seriously. What’s going on?”
Mack sighed and dropped her head back onto the headrest just as they burst out of the cloud cover, offering them their first view of the Caribbean. Mack focused on the surface of the ocean racing up toward them. “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t make me tickle it out of you.”
Mack jerked away from her fingertips and held up her hands in surrender. “Fine. Fine. I’m worried about losing you, okay?”
“But that’s the whole point of this fake marriage thing.”
“That’s just it. Skye doesn’t know it’s fake, and I’m guessing that you won’t tell her if you manage to pull this off, right?”
Kayla said, “Well, it probably wouldn’t go over well to tell her it was all a lie to manipulate her into remembering she loved me.”
“Exactly. So, she’ll always think you and I were engaged. That we dated. Probably had lots of sex. She won’t want us to go back to being friends, you know?”
A strange tingle shivered through Kayla at the words. So much of this plan she had thought through, but she hadn’t thought of what a relationship with Mack would truly be like. Somehow it had seemed abstract, but now she examined it the way Skye would. Would they have gone on a first date? They’d known each other over twenty years, so a first date would be weird. They were best friends and spent time together. Wouldn’t it be more likely that they would have been hanging out one night, watching a movie and drinking a glass of wine and then suddenly they’d been kissing. Would they have gone to bed together that night? The rules of relationships wouldn’t really apply after all.
An image as vivid as any Kayla had ever conjured erupted in her mind. She and Mack, each holding a glass of red wine, dancing barefoot in Mack’s living room to one of the embarrassingly bad songs they’d sung as kids. Imaginary Kayla held up her glass and spun as she belted the words, then she laughed so hard she fell backward into Mack’s arms. Instead of teasing her and pushing her back onto the carpeted dance floor, Imaginary Mack held her. Looked deep into her eyes. Ran her thumb along Kayla’s jaw. Then she cupped the back of Kayla’s head and pulled her into an earthshattering kiss. The glass dropped from Kayla’s hand and red wine sprayed across the carpet, but neither of them cared. All they cared about was the way their lips fit together like lock and key. The warm musk that was unique to Mack took on a new dimension. Her body, firm in some places and deliciously soft in others, felt brand new as Kayla explored with fingertips and tongue and bare skin.
The plane jerked as the tires touched down, jolting Kayla out of her fantasy. Her eyes shot to Mack. Sweet, caring Mack. Mack, who would do anything for her. Mack, who had been there through it all. Not sexy Mack from her fantasy, but Her Mack. Real Mack. The Mack she couldn’t live without.
She grabbed Mack’s hand and squeezed it hard. “I’m not letting you go. Even if Skye is pissed. I’d rather tell her the truth than lose you. I can’t lose you.”
Panic gripped Kayla’s chest at the thought. Air seemed too thin as the pilot slammed on the brakes to slow them after the landing. There was a roaring that might have been the engines or might have been fear rushing in to fill the empty spaces around her deflated lungs and clenched heart.
Mack squeezed her hand back and smiled, and just like that, the roaring stopped, and air filled the cabin again. Kayla looked away, hoping Mack hadn’t seen her fear. Hell, she hoped Mack hadn’t seen the glimmer from the fantasy either, but the panic attack was the more pressing matter. Mack had nursed her through far too many of those to be fooled, though.
“It’s okay, LaLa. I don’t want to lose you either.”
“Okay. Good. Let’s not do that then.”
Mack’s smile widened and filled the whole space. “Works for me. First things first, though. Let’s go win back that jerk’s heart, shall we?”
Chapter Five
Kayla’s sandals slapped hardagainst the cheap, vinyl floor as she stomped toward the luggage carousel. The trip was far too short for her to get any satisfaction out of stomping around. She stopped beside Mack and crossed her arms over her chest, letting her annoyance out in a huff of breath.
“What’s with this tiny airport? Only one luggage carousel?” Kayla said.
Mack kept her eyes on the belt, endlessly circling without bringing any bags out. “Lots of places only have one carousel. You must’ve been to tiny airports during your playing days, right?”
Kayla huffed again. “Maybe.”
