Page 28 of Six Nights in Paradise

Leaving this place was bittersweet.

Wait, no. It was just bitter. I wasn’t ready to go. I sure as hell wasn’t ready to face everyone back at home. I couldn’t stand their pitiful glances and words of encouragement. One would think the expression “there are plenty of fish in the sea” was played out by now, but no. People still used it. Besides, I wasn’t looking for another fish. But Taylor had fallen right into my lap.

When I got on that plane last weekend, I had no intention of finding anything serious with someone new. My plan was to hit the beach and the bars, and if I found someone I vibed with, I’d consider hooking up with no expectations or emotions involved. Just pure, physical attraction and release.

I didn’t expect Taylor’s presence to affect me so explosively. I thought we’d do our own thing, aside from the activities I’d already booked, and simply come back to the same place to sleep. Most nights, at least. But that hadn’t been the case. She had my undivided attention from the moment we set foot on this island, maybe even before then. Hell, I gave up my chance at a little mile-high action because of her. Taylor snuck up on me and I hadn’t been ready to ward off her attack. She came at me with her adorable, endearing personality and subtle sensuality, leaving me positively defenseless. I wasn’t sure where we’d go from there, but I was willing to find out.

I held her hand as we approached the gate, afraid that if I let go, I’d wake up and realize this was all a dream, that we hadn’t spent the last six days having the time of our lives. She settled in next to me in our first-class seats and I placed my hand on her knee, giving it a squeeze. I wanted to touch her at all times, if for no other reason than to absorb the comfort her body provided.

“Ready to go home?” I was sure I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her own lips.

“No,” she pouted and laid her head on my shoulder. She’d all but expressed that much when we were on the beach that morning, enjoying our last hoorah before departing our own little private paradise.

“I’ll miss this,” she said as I pulled her to me, her bikini-clad body tempting me to lift her out of the water and return her to the bed that would no longer be ours in a couple hours.

“Me, too,” I confessed against her lips. Our kiss was deep and desperate. We were two lovers who felt as though we were running out of time. It wasn’t like we wouldn’t continue seeing each other once we got home, but we knew it wouldn’t be like this. We’d have to go back to our regular lives, tedious obligations, and normal schedules. There would be days we couldn’t see each other and would probably barely talk. We wouldn’t have the luxury of having dinner together every evening or taking a stroll through the streets holding hands. Things would change. I just hopedwewouldn’t.

***

Aiden was waiting for us when we landed. Taylor ran to him, rolling her luggage behind her. She was moving so fast it tipped over and threw her off balance. She just laughed and picked it up, righting it as Aiden closed the distance between them. He pulled her into a bear hug and her feet came off the ground. He released her and eased her back onto her feet as I stepped up beside him, careful not to get too close to Taylor lest I seem overly familiar with her.

“Man, you guys have nice tans,” he complimented. “Did you do anything other than lay on the beach the whole time?”

I nearly choked, swallowing hard past the guilt clogging my throat. I didn’t think it would be this hard to face him after giving in to the temptation that was his little sister, but the remorse was starting to creep in. Taylor glanced at me, but I wouldn’t meet her gaze. I wasn’t ready to confess, and I wouldn’t allow him to glean any information on my betrayal from my expression.

“There was a lot to do at the resort,” I offered with an easy smile, hoping he couldn’t tell I wasn’t being completely forthcoming. “We went scuba diving and paddle boarding, went to a dolphin encounter, and rode in a boat with a glass bottom.” I let my voice trail off and my eyes drifted to Taylor, silently encouraging her to add to the conversation. I planned to tell Aiden about us eventually, but not here in the middle of the airport in front of all these people.

“The water trike was my favorite,” she gushed, picking up on the direction I was steering the conversation. “And oh, my goodness, the food!” she exalted. “It was delicious.”

Aiden watched her, taking in her excitement before letting his gaze flit back to me. He studied me for a long second before returning his focus to her.

“What else?” he asked.

He’s probing. Why? Does he suspect something? Did he think there was a chance something would blossom between us when he suggested I take her?

“Oh, there was a sunset cruise,” Taylor added. “It was amazing.” I couldn’t agree with her more. It had been fun to tease her, to slip my hand up her thigh and beneath her dress just to hear her breath hitch. But I couldn’t tell him that. “And we got massages on the beach.”

Shit. Those last two items sounded like something a couple would do. We hadn’t even hooked up yet when we had the massage, but mentioning that along with the cruise sounded like we were lovers returning from our honeymoon. The irony was not lost on me that I was supposed to be doing just that, but not with the woman standing beside me.

“Sounds like you guys had a great time,” Aiden offered, taking Taylor’s suitcase from her. “I figured you two would be tired and hungry, so I thought we’d have dinner and then I’ll take you home.” The last part was aimed at Taylor.

I had wondered why he was here. I didn’t expect him to be waiting on us, but he’d known when our flight was supposed to land.

“That sounds great! I’m starving,” Taylor moaned.

After agreeing to meet at our favorite Italian restaurant, Taylor left with Aiden and I headed to my car. Once we arrived and were seated at a small round table, we ordered three different pasta dishes, each of us sampling all of them like we used to do when we were kids. I tried not to look at Taylor too much, but I didn’t want to seem like I was avoiding her and raise suspicion. Aiden was watching us closely, looking for any sign that our relationship had changed while we were gone. Or maybe that was my guilty conscience talking.

I didn’t think it would be this hard to face him again, but my mind kept returning to that day by the pool when we were younger. He was so adamant that I stay away from Taylor. If he’d changed his mind about that, he would have said something, right? Or maybe since I’d been with Gianna the last three years, he just let it go, figuring nothing would ever happen between us because I was committed to someone else.

I found myself sweating and tugging at the collar of my shirt nervously. Would I be able to stand up to my best friend and tell him I hooked up with his baby sister and wanted to see where our relationship would go? Would I lose his friendship for disrespecting him and not honoring his wishes? I was dangerously close to hyperventilating and was afraid I would pass out if I didn’t get some air.

“Excuse me,” I said as calmly as I could and stood from the table. I hurried to the restroom, bursting through the door and bracing my hands against the sink. Turning on the faucet, I splashed cold water on my face. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror for fear I wouldn’t like what I saw. Had I irrevocably destroyed my friendship with Aiden? Would he forgive me for what I’d done?

Once I collected myself, I returned to the table and found the Wesley siblings joking and laughing. The tension eased from my shoulders and jaw as I took my seat between them.

“You should have seen him!” Taylor guffawed, her gaze settling on me. “His arms went flailing in the air and he hit that waterhard.” She drew out the last word, exaggerating it for emphasis. She proceeded to regale Aiden with a dramatic retelling of our paddle boarding adventure, making my lack of balanced gracefulness the butt of her joke.

“I wasn’t the only one,” I reminded her with a grin, and she giggled at the memory. She’d had her fair share of dunks in the pale blue water.

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