Leverage (Part II)(15)

At that she laughed outright. “Well, seeing as my bikini days might be numbered, I will take you up on that offer even knowing that you’re just interested in my body.”

He sobered and helped her up with a gentle hand. “I wish I were just interested in your body. It would make things simpler on my end. The truth is…I’m interested in a whole lot more than I should be and I’ll leave it at that.”

“I’m pregnant with another man’s child,” she said.

“I know. And it doesn’t matter. Like I said, there’s something about you that’s special and if your guy was too dumb to hold on, then that’s his loss and my gain.”

Oh damn. That was a good line. Why was he so damn handsome? And Boston’s polar opposite?

She smiled through her private heartache and asked, “You’re sure you want me tagging along?”

“I can’t imagine anyone I’d rather have by my side.”

And then, just like that, it was settled. She supposed the best way to forget about someone was to insert someone else in their place.





-5-


Boston’s plan had been to stride into Larimar, collect his wayward baby mama and deposit her on a plane before the day was out and he’d deal with the aftermath once he was back on his home turf but the minute he saw her again, glowing in the Caribbean sun, laughing and talking to a blonde surfer-type guy, dressed in a tiny bikini that celebrated every feminine curve, his plan was shot to shit.

You’re losing her.

He stared hungrily at the woman who’d dominated his every waking thought and haunted his dreams and pure jealousy saturated his brain until he saw red.

Who was this jackoff? How dare he trespass on his property. Boston’s mind hummed with vengeful promise, savagely delighting in all the ways he’d make the guy pay for daring to touch Julianna’s silken skin and God damn, if the guy didn’t stop openly admiring her feminine curves, Boston would gladly plant his foot up his fucking ass. But even as his fists clenched and murder sang in his veins, something else stopped him from possibly making a bad situation worse. Julianna wasn’t looking at the surfer guy in the same way that she looked at him. Maybe he was being arrogant — wouldn’t be the first time and certainly wouldn’t be the last — but he knew in his bones that Julianna felt something for him, even if she didn’t want to.

He’d have to remind her of all the reasons her heart sped up and her pupils dilated when he entered the room.

And that would take some finesse.

So his vengeance would have to wait. He rolled his head on his shoulders and blew out the tension cording his neck. There was too much to lose to allow emotion to fuck things up. His dad used to tell him, “Don’t make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion, son,” and that advice was ringing in his head so he tried to simmer down long enough to think clearly again. She was safe and that was the important part. He did an about face and headed for the reception desk where a pretty, willowy blonde sat behind the counter. As he approached, she asked with a sweet smile, “Welcome to Larimar. My name is Lilah. Do you have a reservation?”

“Hello, Lilah. Great place you have here. I don’t have a reservation but I’m hoping you can help me with that,” he answered with his most charming grin.

“I’m sure we can try,” Lilah said. “What kind of accommodations are you looking for?”

“Well, here’s the situation and it’s a little embarrassing…my fiancée booked the room and then we had a spat because I was being an ass and now I’m just trying to get back into her good graces. Do you think you can help me with that?”

“I’m a sucker for a good love story,” Lilah admitted with a tiny, conspiratorial smile but then said with a chagrined expression, “But if you’re not on the room list then I can’t give you a key because what if you’re an incredibly good-looking stalker and not her fiancée at all?”

“Fair point,” he agreed. So the blond was smart and cute. Just his luck. “How about this…a room close to hers perhaps? I’d take any help you could give me. I really screwed up and it’s hard to grovel from afar.”

“Sounds like you really landed in the doghouse,” she said, biting her lip, wavering. “Who is your fiancée?”

“Julianna Holly,” he answered and her eyes widened with recognition. “You know her?” he surmised.

“You’re Julianna’s guy? Oh man, Miles is going to be so bummed. He really has his eye set on her.”