Page 75 of The Work Wife

Their charade felt awkward as they finished breakfast with the group and made plans to leave for the resort. Every touch, every smile she and Weston had shared for the purpose of pretense, now felt very, very real. And weird.

She could barely make eye contact with him.

What had happened?

“I think we should talk about the kiss,” he suggested the second they got back to their room.

“I don’t know. I was thinking the opposite.” She focused on packing her things.

He went on anyway. “I think, for both of us, in the past when we’ve walked into a hotel room with a member of the opposite sex it was prelude to a sexual encounter. Last night, with the help of alcohol, we found ourselves in a situation that stimulated this memory and course of action.”

He was so cute when he was being theoretical. She couldn’t help but smile as he went on.

“So you kissed me. So what? You were just doing what came next.” He shrugged it off and zipped up his bag.

She blinked before her eyes narrowed on him. “Wait a minute. I kissed you?”

“Yes. Surely you remember. You’d only had three glasses of wine.”

“I remember the kiss. But what I also remember was you staring at me all gooey-eyed, and then you came over and kissed me.” She pointed to the area in front of her suitcase where the infraction had occurred.

His eyes widened in shock. “I kissed you?” He squinted in confusion. “If I did, and I don’t think it was me, it could only have been because you came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. What warm-blooded male wouldn’t react to a female in a towel? None! It’s impossible!”

“I forgot my clothes!”

“Forgot.” A snorting sound left his lips while he made air quotes, obviously doubting the truth of her statement.

“Oh. So you think I’m some kind of evil seductress who planned the whole thing in an attempt to lure you to my bed?” She swallowed down the pleasure the idea evoked. She’d never been a seductress before. She’d always been more of a let the guy do what he wanted and she would have a little fun too kind of girl.

Weston—always the voice of reason—put his hands up in defeat. “Let’s just stop this. It’s not going anywhere good.”

She wanted to argue his theory. She was feeling all sorts of passion and arousal.

“It doesn’t really matter who kissed whom.” Her lip twitched at his formal grammar. “The truth of it is, we kissed. It happened. Now we either put it behind us and move on, or give up on this whole plan.”

She wanted to offer a third option. That they could do it again and see where it went. But instead she nodded. He was right. This would mess up their plans. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s go.”

“Hug it out?” He held out his arms wide and she stepped into them. “Friends?” he rumbled in her ear.

“Friends,” she agreed, hoping her body would cooperate with the plan.

* * * *

Beth and Curt’s wife, Wendy, gave tight smiles as Jamie and Wes walked out of the hotel hand in hand. He didn’t understand the look, but gave Jamie a kiss on the head for their benefit before pushing the luggage cart to the back of the van. Rob and Curt hovered by the back door as Weston loaded their bags. Lance and Holly McCafferty were late, but since they were the guests no one complained.

“You guys okay?” Curt asked.

“Sure, why?” Weston looked at the man’s hand that rested on his shoulder, offering comfort.

“This trip is all about finding ways to communicate with your partner without yelling.” Damn. They’d heard the fight. They obviously hadn’t heard what was said or they wouldn’t be worried about their communication skills.

Weston nodded. There was no way to downplay it. They had been yelling at one another. Although instead of being angry, he found himself fighting the urge to throw her on the bed and take her in a fog of primal lust. It had to be the hotel. He’d never felt this before. Not for anyone, and especially not for Jamie.

“We calmed down and worked it out,” Weston offered. The hand on his shoulder gave him a firm pat and Curt smiled approvingly.

“You’re halfway there then. Being able to step back and know negative words won’t get you anywhere is half the battle.”

“Yes,” Weston agreed. “We should get going.”