Page 25 of Nothing to Do

“Babe,” he said, bowing to set both hands on the table. “I stopped because I didn’t trust myself.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Having you in my arms, kissing you… Thea, I had to be a gentleman. I took you to a bed and plied you with alcohol. If we’d woken up there, together, after… You’d never have looked at me again. You’d have been angry and for a damn good reason. You’d have been right to report me.”

“Whether you stopped out of respect or just because you weren’t as attracted to me as we thought, it’s okay.” She smiled again. “I had a nice time and you’re a good guy.”

“Yet it sounds like you’re saying goodbye.”

Time for humility. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to look you in the eye ever again. I knew I had to try. To come here and apologize for making a fool of myself.”

“You didn’t—”

“I started the night telling you over and over again that it wouldn’t happen. Then I took off my dress and assaulted you.” The embarrassment heated her through and not in a good way. “Thank you for not following through and I promise I’ll never put you in that position again.”

“Tonight we’ll have dinner. Meet earlier and then I have a treat for you.”

“No.” Shaking her head, she opened her laptop to turn it on. “Thank you. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Somehow, you’ve got it in your head we stopped because I don’t want you. Last night only cemented we made the right choice.”

“To stop?”

“To give us a shot. If stopping messes with your head or made you doubt us, come around here…” He boosted his hands off the desk to stand up straight. “Come here while we’re both sober and kiss me like you did last night… I promise you it’ll end different.” What a conundrum. “I want you, Thea. Bad. But I want you more than once. If I’d followed through with you last night, we’d be over already.”

“Aren’t we?”

“You tell me,” he said. “What did last night do for you? Put you off? Are you attracted to me today?”

More than she wanted to admit out loud. “Zane—”

“We’re going to be together, Thea. That means sometimes we’ll have to step in for each other. Being together for the first time last night, the way we ended up, wasn’t right. So I stepped up to keep us right. You did it yesterday when I had you on your back on that desk… We’re a team. Equals. We each step up for the other.”

His certainty was so seductive. “You’ve got this all figured out.”

Zane shrugged. “I had a lot of time to think about it. I didn’t sleep much.”

That was troubling. “Why not?”

“Take your pick,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Obsessing about how amazing your body felt on mine or stressing about how quiet you were on the drive back to the hotel.” He took a breath. “Tell me I haven’t messed this up already, Wanderer. Please, babe. Give us another chance.”

She was the screw-up, yet somehow, he was the one contrite.

She sighed, giving in. “Dinner?”

“Yes. Dinner. Yes.”

The offer of a do-over. Already they were running out of chances. Too many false starts and they’d be over before they began.

TWELVE

HIS GENIUS PLAN was sort of genius. On their return to their first date cabana, she was dubious. But the bed was gone, completely. In its place was a table and two chairs. They ate the food waiting under silver and then he led her to the beach… to two hammocks set up side by side. They each had a little table attached to the wooden frames, space for their drinks. Virgin. Always.

Zane said the next time she offered herself to him, he wouldn’t be a gentleman, so he wanted to be sure she was sure.

For the next seven nights, they did the same thing, and Thea managed to contain herself enough to stick to kissing… and maybe a little stray petting in their cart.

Days were spent in the office. Evenings on the beach. Life was almost perfect.

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