By Invitation Only (6 page)

You are so screwed, Greer. She’s too smart, too savvy, just too damn much woman for you.

“What?” she repeated impatiently. “What is it?”

“This,” he said, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Her lips were even sweeter the second time. He’d known they would be. He shouldn’t be kissing her. On the smartness scale, kissing Olivia Carmichael was right up there with juggling hot coals barehanded. But he thrilled to the lure of danger and right now, she was the most dangerous thing around.

That’s all this is,
he tried to convince himself,
the thrill of the chase.
Nothing more. He had nothing to be worried about. Right?

He tightened his grip on her and she twined her arms around his neck and the next thing he knew they were lying on the sand. Olivia’s soft breasts were pressed against his hard chest. Nick’s blood throbbed through his whole body. He wanted her so badly he couldn’t think straight, and he was alarmed to discover his hands were shaking. He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her as if the world was going to end that night and this was their last chance to mate.

This is a really, really bad idea. Don’t do it.

She’d been drinking and she was thinking with her body and not her head. If he made love to her tonight, he knew she was going to regret it in the morning and he didn’t want to be responsible for making her feel lousy. Nick wanted her to feel every good thing in the world.

But while he was mentally putting on the brakes, Olivia kissed him hard.

It was all he could do to disentangle her arms from around his neck and pull his mouth from hers. The buttons of her blouse gaped open. Somewhere along the way he’d unbuttoned it and he didn’t even remember doing it. “Listen, Olivia—”

“No talking,” she murmured and captured his chin between her sassy teeth. “Just sex.”

He ran a hand through his hair. This was insane. He couldn’t be feeling the things he was feeling. It didn’t make any sense. Not now. Not here. Not with Olivia Carmichael.

But one look in her eyes and he wanted to give her everything she asked for. “We can’t do this.”

Another time, another place and he’d have her naked within a New York minute, but not like this. He wanted his first time with Olivia to be special.

Special?

Where in the hell had that thought come from? What was happening to him? What was it about her that made him feel so…so…
noble?

“Why not?” She reached for his belt.

“Olivia, no,” he said gently and laid a hand on her wrist. Her charm bracelet jangled.

“Oh,” she said. Her bottom lip quivered slightly, but she quickly clamped her bottom teeth on it. Her soft vulnerability bludgeoned him. “Oh, I’m such an idiot. You…you’re not attracted to me. You don’t find me sexy, or at least not sexy enough to sleep with me.”

How could she possibly be thinking that? His cock was four hundred kinds of hard and it was all he could do to keep from stripping off her clothes and taking her right there on the beach.

“Woman,” he growled and yanked her up tight against the length of him, making sure she felt his erection. “Does that feel like I don’t think you’re sexy enough?”

She tilted her head, her eyes widening. “Well…well…”

“Yeah, well. You’ve got me tied in knots and aching so badly that I can’t breathe.”

“So let’s get naked.”

“We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You’re tipsy.”

“I’m not
that
tipsy.” Her fingers played through his hair.

“Tipsy enough.” He stepped away from her.

“C’mon, take advantage of the situation.” She closed the distance between them. “Take advantage of me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated. You’re complicated.”

“It doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be sweet and easy. Like pie for dessert. Isn’t that what you do? Isn’t that you? Taker of the sweet and easy path.”

God, how he wanted to ignore his noble impulses and just take her. “It’s what I do. It’s not what you do.”

“Not usually,” she admitted. “But this time, I want to. Just this once. Just one bite of sweet dessert. It doesn’t have to mean anything. That’s why you’re perfect. I don’t
want
it to mean anything.”

Her words were a smart slap. His ears stung. She was interested in him simply because he had a reputation for casual relationships and she wanted a hot island fling. He stared at her, caught off guard by his hurt feelings. “Well, maybe I do.”

W
ELL, MAYBE
I
DO
.

Nick’s words still echoed in Olivia’s head two hours later after they’d returned to the resort in the limo with the others. What did that mean? Could Nick honestly want something more from her than a short, hot affair? Really? Nick Greer? But how was that possible? She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Couldn’t trust it. In spite of her doubts, her heart strummed with excitement. Nick wanted her.

He’s never been in a committed relationship. He doesn’t know how to have one. Even if he’s not deluding you, he’s deluding himself.

Olivia lay on the bed at the resort, feeling hot and achy and disappointed and sad and hopeful and worried and a million other different things. Nick had insisted she take the bed, even though the cool night breeze was probably what she really needed to soothe her heated skin.

What was happening to her? It had all started when she hadn’t opened her mouth to tell Holly Addison the truth about who she was. She’d compromised her moral integrity, and now she was no longer sure who she was or what she wanted, and it was all so confusing. Especially since she’d had more fun in the past twelve hours than she’d ever had in her life. Unbelievable as that sounded, it was true. Whenever she was around Nick, she felt lighter, happier.

For years she’d been pushing herself to excel. And then just when she’d been about to achieve her goals, her mother had gotten sick and she’d walked away from the
Washington Post
and come home to take care of her. She didn’t resent or regret it, but of late, her mind had been on dark things and Nick offered her a breath of fresh air.

An escape.

Ultimately, was that what attracted her to him? Could it be that he was a release valve for her moody, broody thoughts? Or was it that he was just downright sexy as sin?

Yes. The answer was yes. That was why she’d wanted a fling with him. But Nick had suggested that he wanted much more than that with her.

Question was, what did she want?

She didn’t want to get hurt and she didn’t want to hurt Nick.

Funny, she’d never thought she would agree with Nick, but he was right. It was a good thing they hadn’t had sex on the beach—a very good thing indeed.

So why then did she feel so cheated?

Get your mind off Greer. Tomorrow throw all your focus on Holly, get her story, get out of this romantic place and soon enough Nick will be nothing but a fond memory.

T
HE FOLLOWING MORNING
, Olivia went with Holly and her brides maids to have their dresses fitted. It was easy enough milking Holly for information on how she and J.D. fell in love. Holly was nervous and when she got nervous, she chattered endlessly, plus she felt safe telling her “cousin” all the intimate details of their relationship.

The whole thing made Olivia uneasy, but she couldn’t deny she’d managed to get an amazing story. She battled with her conscience, her journalistic mind warring with the part of her that truly liked and admired Holly. Whatever friendship they’d formed under these false circumstances was bound to be destroyed by the article, even if it was a favorable one. As she and Holly and the bridesmaids ate lunch at a quaint French bistro on the cobblestone streets of Rapture Island, she had a strong impulse not to use the story, to call Ross and tell him she’d come up empty-handed.

What would her grandfather do under the circumstances?

It was a rhetorical question because she knew what he would do. With Grandfather—and her father for that matter—the story always came first. Friendships and even family a distant second.

For the briefest of moments, she pondered the values that had been instilled in her since birth, that following the truth of a story was the noblest thing to which she could ever aspire.

But now she had to wonder if people’s feelings might be just as important. It was a conflict she’d never dreamed she would have.

With these thoughts on her mind, she arrived back at the bungalow late in the afternoon to find Nick wasn’t there. Relieved not to have the distraction, she sat down and started writing the first draft of her article. She’d just finished it with barely enough time to spare before she had to dress for the wedding rehearsal, when her cell phone rang.

The caller ID identified Ross.

“Hello?”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“I haven’t heard from you in over twenty-four hours. The rumblings are getting louder around here. The new round of budget cuts are official. Heads are going to roll. Did you get a chance to talk with Holly while she was in Austin? I hope the answer is yes because otherwise…” He trailed off, leaving the rest to her imagination.

Olivia hesitated, fingered the Pulitzer medal on the charm bracelet at her wrist and told the truth. “I’m on Rapture Island and the place is crawling with paparazzi, but I managed to get invited onto the Maynard compound. I’m beating out the competition.
Well, except for Nick.
”

“What?” His excitement was electric. “How’d you do that? Never mind, I don’t want to know. I simply bow to your genius. You are a wunderkind.”

Uneasiness rippled over her. She’d lied and connived and Ross was proud of her? It didn’t seem something to be worthy of praise.

“What have you got?”

“The story of how she and J.D. met. Her fears, her hopes, her dreams, details about the wedding—”

“Written up?”

“Just finished a rough draft.”

“I want to see it.”

Olivia thought about her deal with Nick, their promise not to scoop each other. “The wedding isn’t until tomorrow. I’ll have more for you after that,” she stalled.

“I just want to see if you’re on the right track. With the brass breathing down our necks we don’t want to give them any excuses to can us.”

“You can’t run it yet.”

“I won’t,” he assured her. “I’m so damned proud of you. I knew hiring you was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.”

“All right,” she agreed reluctantly.

“Good girl,” Ross said.

“I have to go now, I’m in the wedding party and we’re about to leave for the rehearsal dinner.”

“You’re in the wedding party? Damn, but this is going to be good. Send me the article before you leave for rehearsal.”

“I’m doing it now.” With Ross’s praise ringing in her ears, she logged onto the internet, attached the article to her email and pressed Send.

“S
O REALLY
,” N
ICK SAID TO
J.D. as they were getting their tuxes tailored for the wedding. “Why Holly, why now?”

J.D. looked at Nick as if he was a lost soul. “Are you having doubts about your relationship with Honey? Because if you are, don’t go through with the wedding. If she’s not the one—”

“It’s not Honey,” Nick surprised himself by saying. “She’s a wonderful woman.”

“But?” J.D. asked, giving a tug at his sleeves as he examined the tailored tux in the mirror.

“It’s me.”

“Ah,” J.D. said. “You are madly in love with her.”

Nick startled. He couldn’t deny that he was in love with Olivia because J.D. thought she was Honey. He needed this interview. He needed job security. He needed that hefty contract his publisher promised if he could deliver on an interview with J. D. Maynard Jr. on the eve of his wedding. “Yeah,” he said, surprised that instead of feeling like a lying fraud, a warm, gentle sensation wrapped around him.

“You’re where I was about six months ago.”

“So you did have doubts!”

“Not about my feelings for Holly,” J.D. said, stepping down off the wooden stool and shrugging out of the jacket. He handed it to his tailor, while Nick’s tailor was still busily pinning the hem of his high-dollar tuxedo pants. “But about my abilities to make her a good husband. She’s a wonderful woman and she deserves the best.”

“You were afraid you couldn’t be loyal to her,” Nick guessed.

“Not at all.” J.D. smiled.

“But you went out every night. Had women hanging from both arms,” Nick said.

“Gold diggers, celebrity chasers…no one real.”

“And Holly’s the real deal?”

“You better know it. Just like Honey is the real deal for you. Let me ask you something, Nick.”

“Yeah?”

“What do you want most in life?”

This interview.
Nick shrugged. “To be happy.”

J.D. laughed. “But what does that look like?”

“A Ferrari in the garage?”

“That’s not real happiness and you know it.”

“Dude, you’re dangerously close to sounding like a Hallmark commercial.”

“It is the day before my wedding. I’m allowed.”

“True.”

J.D. cocked his head. “Do you want to hear my read on you?”

Might as well. Get some besotted love advice from J. D. Maynard Jr. “Sure.”

“You’re like me, an intensely loyal person.”

He was? Nick squirmed.

“Don’t move!” the tailor admonished fiercely.

Nick thought about his loyalties. He was loyal to his family. He went to dinner at his parents’ house every Sunday evening without fail, unless he was out of town. He’d never missed his nieces’ and nephews’ birthdays. If any of his sisters ever called him, night or day, he was there. He loved them with an intensity that scared him. He thought of the friendships he’d had in his life. He tended to keep those light. In grade school, he’d had a best friend who was like a brother, and then Peter’s family had moved away and Nick remembered feeling true grief at the loss.

And then there was Max. He remembered the old coonhound who’d dogged his every step from when he’d gotten him on Christmas the year he turned six until the day Max had died on Nick’s high school graduation. Now that had been pain. It had hurt so much losing his best buddy in the whole world. Even now, just thinking about that dog made him tear up and he had the strongest urge to run out of the tuxedo shop and go do something to distract himself. Parasailing, hang gliding, making love to Olivia.

“Yes,” J.D. went on, “you’re so loyal that when you make a commitment to someone, it’s for the duration. You’d lay down your life for the other person without blinking. But that kind of loyalty doesn’t come cheap. When you commit yourself to something you stay committed.”

Nick felt J.D.’s words all the way to his bones. It was as if the other man had looked at him and seen his every secret. It was startling and unsettling.

“What was your life like before you met her?” J.D. asked.

“Um…I have a wide circle of friends.”

“You partied a lot. Just like me.”

“And now?”

“Now I understand what I was doing.”

“Which was?”

“Hiding from the pain that I knew commitment would bring.”

“You’re not afraid now?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because the thought of being without her hurts a hundred times more.”

It was crazy, but Nick understood what J.D. was saying. He’d avoided falling in love because he knew that once he did, he would be the most dedicated person on earth. That level of commitment made you vulnerable. Every time the one you loved got hurt, it was worse than a hit to your own body.

“Time to man up,” J.D. said. “Time to feel the pain and know that it’s a good thing. Without accepting that pain is a part of being deeply in love, you’ll never grow up.”

“That’s twisted, man.”

“And the truest thing I’ve ever told anyone.”

T
HE WEDDING REHEARSAL
was fun and romantic. The dinner afterward was lavish. Nick got to meet J. D. Maynard Sr., one of the richest men in Texas and the rest of J.D.’s large family. He learned that, other than her cousin Honey, Holly had no immediate family. Her parents had both passed away and she’d been an only child.

But all through the rehearsal and dinner, Nick hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off Olivia and he kept thinking about what J.D. had said to him. When they got back to the bungalow, he immediately went to the hammock on the beach because he knew that if he stayed in the room with her, he’d make love to her.

Around midnight, the moon vanished behind a heavy cloud that had rolled in. The air lay thick, sultry. Nick lay in the hammock rocking back and forth, trying to will away his boner.

It was a losing battle.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her. Her full pink lips, those sweet round cheeks and that tumble of blond hair twining down her shoulders. He recalled their kiss from the night before and he tasted her on his tongue—the nectar that was Olivia—a little tart on top, but soft and sweet underneath. He smelled her scent—like sunshine and flowers and cotton. He heard the sound of her voice, challenging him in the way no one had ever challenged him. She mixed him up and turned him around. Why did he love feeling so lost?

The wind kicked up, swaying the hammock with a sultry breeze. Maybe sleeping with her would cure the need. Maybe she was right and it was just all hot chemistry.
We aren’t cut out for a relationship. She’s a cat, you’re a dog. Natural enemies. Besides, you’re not long-term relationship material.

Why not?

Why couldn’t he have a long-term relationship? Where was it written in stone that he had to stay single just because he made a living blogging about the single life? He could change the direction of his blog to reflect the changes in his life. Change was a good thing, right?

Nick sucked in a deep breath. Did he want to change? Was he really ready to pursue something more meaningful? Was Olivia really the one?

Overhead, the clouds rumbled and fat drops of rain fell from the sky.

O
LIVIA WAS WIDE-AWAKE
when she heard the back door slide open and the sound of rain rustling the vegetation, but she pretended to be asleep. Her heart started pounding like a bank robber on the run, beating so hard that she feared Nick could hear it in the silence of the room. She had her eyes closed, barely able to resist the urge to peek at him from behind her eyelashes.