A Little Harmless Fantasy(43)
He glanced at Zee and he nodded.
“Your problem is that you don’t see women as a threat,” Ross said. “You make too many misconceptions.”
“And you figured that out after fifteen minutes in my presence?”
Instead of getting mad, Ross smiled. “Hey, just trying to help out. And I’m good at reading people. Part of my former life as a bounty hunter. Just remember that women aren’t as helpless as you think.”
Rory was irritated but he did his best to hide it. “Yeah, and how did you come to that observation?”
“Who’s standing in line waiting to get yogurt and who’s sitting at a table talking?”
Rory laughed. “You have a point there.”
* * * *
Maura held her hand on Dee’s stomach and giggled when she felt another kick against her palm.
“Wow, you have a future soccer player in there, woman,” she said.
“You don’t have to tell me. All night long, every night. I’m blaming Micah because he’s so damned tall.”
She sat back and smiled at Dee. It was hard to remember her as the young woman her brother had hunted for years. When her father put a hit out on her, Dee didn’t just give up. She survived and now, she was getting rewarded. A woman who was married to Micah Ross and had the man knee deep in love with her was one lucky woman.
“You look so happy.”
Her smile widened. “I am happy. I never thought I would be, but I am. Before Hawaii, I’d move within a year.”
“Yeah, I know,” Maura said, wryly. “I am pretty familiar with your disappearing act.”
Dee threw back her head and laughed.
“Sure, you think it’s funny. I had to deal with Conner. You know how many times we almost got to you? There was a time in Chicago…I thought Conner was going to come unglued.”
“Well, I guess I can’t complain too much. I found my brother thanks to that little excursion. And I think because you came in here with big, bad Zeke, you got to hook up with him. So, I think you kind of owe me.”
Maura laughed. “You would say that.”
“Well, I have to say, you have more energy than I do,” Dee said as she glanced toward the men standing in line.
“What are you talking about?”
Dee looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “Oh, please, woman. They look like they were ready to eat you alive. Plus, that Rory, he wasn’t too happy with Micah manhandling you that way.”
Maura snorted trying to ignore the way her heart did flip-flop when she thought about it. Sure, they were playing, but there was nothing permanent. “That pregnancy of yours is starting to mess with your head.”
Dee leaned forward, her smile fading. “You better know what you’re doing, Maura.”
She opened her mouth to argue but Dee stopped her. “I do not judge you. Seriously, I wouldn’t mind living out a fantasy. But that’s how things started with Micah. I thought, I’d just have fun for a while. Then I fell in love.”
Air backed up in her lungs and she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
“Maura, are you okay?”
Maura shook her head. “I’m not in love.”
Understanding moved over Dee’s features. She said nothing as she took a sip from her water bottle.
“Okay, I love Zeke, I probably always will. But that isn’t that important.”
“Really? Maura Dillon, who are you kidding? You are head over heels in love with Zeke, and I’m guessing you’re falling for that other big Irishman.”
She wanted to deny it, but she was really afraid it was true. Dee looked behind her, and Maura turned to find out what had caught her eye. All three men were walking toward them. Micah usually garnered the most attention, but all Maura could see were Zeke and Rory. They were both tall, strong, and undeniably sexy. And she was in love with one and desperately falling in love with the second.
Shit, she was in a lot of trouble.
* * * *
Maura sniffed at the air and smiled. “God I love the smell of plumeria. It's fantastic.”
Zeke couldn’t help but smile as they walked along the path next to the Hilton. “Yeah, there is something here you can't get anywhere else, especially on the mainland. It’s like being in another country in a way, they’re so unique.”
She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Don’t let the locals hear you say that.”
“Hey, I thought they liked to be known as one of the most original states.”
“They do, but I don’t blame them for having a little chip on their shoulder about being considered the US. You hear people say when I get back to the states…it is kind of annoying.”
“That’s the truth.”