As her mind cleared, she remembered where they were and who they were. She turned back to look down at the pool deck. Skye was still looking up at the balcony, but she wasn’t bored or lecherous. She was nothing short of furious. A glimmer of hope lit in Kayla’s chest, pushing aside the fluttering Mack’s kiss had left. Skye was jealous, and jealousy meant she still had feelings for Kayla, even if she was hiding them well.
Mack’s arms still circled Kayla’s waist, and she gleefully spun in the cradle of them. She wrapped her arms around Mack’s neck and bit back a giggle at the shock still painted on her features. Knowing that Skye was still watching, Kayla struck a seductive pose, running her fingertips through the short hairs of Mack’s undercut.
“W-what was that?” Mack stammered.
Kayla kept her voice low in a seductive purr. No way the acoustics were good enough to make her voice travel all the way down to Skye, but better not to risk it. “Skye is down there at the pool watching. She looks jealous as hell. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Kayla was smiling so wide her cheeks hurt, but far different emotions were playing out across Mack’s face. She looked confused for a moment, then glared over Kayla’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of Skye. Without a word, she marched back into the room. She still looked confused, and honestly, Kayla couldn’tblame her. Her body was tingling all over from the kiss and she’d known it was coming. Was it possible Mack was tingling, too?
She feigned a sexy strut back into the room, hoping that Skye was still watching and assumed they were going for some wild afternoon sex. After all, it was hard for her to convince her body that it wasn’t what she was doing. How had she not known Mack was such an amazing kisser? This fake dating thing was turning out to be awfully eye-opening.
Chapter Fifteen
“How about the Frenchrestaurant tomorrow night?” Kayla asked.
Mack shrugged, her shoulders jumping more like she’d been scared at a haunted house than been offered Coq au Vin. “Sure.”
“Sushi?”
“Okay.”
Kayla bit back a sigh. It would have been her third one of the afternoon, and she was pretty sure the woman helping them make reservations for restaurants and excursions thought she had some strange variety of asthma. Kayla made sure to hold tight to her arm, but it would have been nice for Mack to play along and act like they were a happy couple enjoying their pre-wedding honeymoon. She was going to have to say something, but they needed to get away from their effusive experience host first.
“We’ll think about it and come back,” Kayla said.
When she stood up, she nearly lost her grip on Mack’s arm. Belatedly, Mack stood and followed her out of the open-air office. She still looked like she was having trouble focusing. Kayla decided to drag her up to the balcony overlooking the main pool. The stairs down were too dangerous with Mack so distracted. She’d probably miss a step and tumble down the whole staircase, breaking both legs and her neck in the process.
Mack had been withdrawn and quiet all afternoon. When Kayla had strolled in from the deck, it was to catch the tail of Mack’s robe disappearing into the bathroom. She’d spent an awful lot of time in there, considering she’d already showered. When she finally emerged, fully dressed for a relaxed island evening, she hadn’t said anything about the kiss or her mood. In fact, getting her to say more than one word at a time had been a struggle.
While Kayla had wanted to ask what the hell was going on, she had to hurry to get herself showered and dressed. Not long before Mack had emerged from the bathroom, Kayla had seen Skye and Amy pack up and head to their room. Since she had updated the Plan of Seduction to include making sure the two couples had dinner together every night, she needed to hustle to make it happen. Considering how she’d rushed her shower and pampering, she was pretty pleased with how she looked. In fact, the vast majority of the words she’d gotten out of Mack were when she told Kayla she looked gorgeous as they left the room.
Kayla pulled them to a secluded spot at the railing and spun to an obviously shocked Mack. “Talk to me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to need more than one word at a time, Mack.”
She gave a sheepish smile that absolutely melted Kayla’s heart and looked at her toes. She looked a lot like she had when they were kids and she first told Kayla that she was gay. The tenderness and vulnerability filled Kayla’s heart and made hereyes sting. Mack was so sweet and good. Whatever it took to make her happy again, Kayla would do it.
“Hey,” Kayla said, taking her hand. “You can talk to me. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. I know. It’s just…”
Before Mack could finish her thought, one of the massive French doors behind them swung open with a crack of angry hinges. Amy and Skye spilled onto the balcony, laughing and stumbling a little on the change from carpet to balcony stone. Amy held a glass of wine that nearly sloshed over the rim as she moved. She was wearing a scandalously skimpy dress that showed off most of her back and an awful lot of the side of her breast. Skye reached out to steady her as she wobbled but caught sight of Mack and Kayla over her shoulder. There was a moment when she looked like she might bolt back into the lobby but then thought better of it.
Mack sighed but gave Kayla a wink that almost made her look like her usual self. “Come on. Let’s go invite them to dinner.”
“Hey, strangers.” Kayla put on her widest smile as she stopped as close to Skye as she could manage while draped on Mack’s arm. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Hey, K. McKensie,” Skye said through gritted teeth.
Mack didn’t exactly lighten the mood. She nodded in return but looked like she’d much rather use the motion to headbutt Skye in the nose.
Joy blossomed inside Kayla. She hadn’t been wrong. That was jealousy written all over Skye’s face. It looked good on her. Sharpening all her angles and sparkling in her eyes. Kayla cleared her throat. “Have you two checked out the restaurant and excursion options? They’re amazing.”
“There’s so much to choose from. This place is magical,” Amy gushed.
Surprisingly, Amy’s enthusiasm for the amenities turned out to be an unexpected boost for the Plan of Seduction. Kayla had been trying to determine the plan of attack in finding out their dinner plans for the night, but Amy spontaneously suggested they eat dinner together, not just that night, but every night they would all be there.
