Page 5 of Six Nights in Paradise

Taylor froze when she saw me, and a little stab of pain pierced my chest. She didn’t care much for me, hadn’t for many years. And that was all my fault.

“Hey, Taylor,” I greeted, my eyes tracking her movements.

“Hey,” she offered in a small voice. She seemed a little down, even more sullen than usual. But she was still so beautiful, with her black rimmed glasses perched on her small, slightly upturned nose and her hair pulled into a messy bun sitting atop her head with a few wispy tendrils snaking along her bare neck. I cleared my throat and averted my gaze, ashamed I could think about my best friend’s baby sister that way. He would cut my balls off if he knew all the sordid things I’d fantasized about doing with her.

Ever since the summer after she turned fourteen and wore a bikini for the first time, I was a goner. I’d never paid her much mind before that, always placing her in the category of annoying little sister just like Aiden did. But that day, when she stepped out onto the back patio in her pink bikini, I looked at her as a woman for the first time. She’d developed over the winter, her long, baggy sweatshirts and leggings hiding what her swimsuit put on full display. Aiden caught me staring and punched me in the arm.

“You lay a finger on her and I’ll cut off your dick,” he warned and I winced, rubbing the spot he’d hit.

“What?” I feigned innocence, pretending like I hadn’t just been ogling her.

“Dude, I’m not stupid. You’re getting a boner checking out my little sister,” he accused, glancing toward my crotch. Sure enough, he was right. I covered myself with my hands and turned my back to her so she wouldn’t see I was already flying at half-mast. “Sicko,” Aiden sneered quietly enough that only I could hear.

After that, I tried my damnedest to ignore my attraction to her, afraid of what her brother would do to me. But it never faded away. Over the years it only grew stronger, and several times I had to remind myself I was taken. Gianna was gorgeous, an absolute stunner. But I still found myself searching Taylor out at social gatherings and birthday parties, even though I had no intention of ever stepping out on my relationship with Gianna. Too bad she hadn’t extended me the same courtesy.

I shook myself from the memory as Aiden grabbed us both another beer from the fridge, sneaking a look at Taylor as she opened the pantry door. Her shirt rose as she raised up on her tiptoes to reach for the jar of Nutella on the top shelf. My eyes glided down her torso and over the exposed skin of her lower back before settling on her ass. I swallowed hard and looked away just in time. Aiden turned back to me and walked over to where I remained standing at the island. He tilted his head to the side and looked over at Taylor as she grabbed a spoon and twisted the lid off the jar in her hands. He looked back at me before returning his gaze to his sister. When his focus landed on me again with a mischievous glint in his eyes, I started to panic.

No. He’s not going to suggest…

“Why don’t you take Taylor?”

Taylor’s gaze snapped to his, the spoon full of Nutella halted halfway to her mouth.

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“You need someone to use the other ticket, and Taylor,” he began motioning to her, “isn’t doing anything else right now.” My brow furrowed and I looked at her.

“I thought you were in school?”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “She’s taking a break right now.” His tone suggested judgement and disapproval and I bristled a little. Taylor’s face fell and she dropped the spoon back into the jar, her appetite lost.

“It makes perfect sense,” he continued, oblivious to the pain his little barb caused. She’d quit working when her studies became too intense to keep her grades up and hold a job, and Aiden never passed up a chance to remind her that he had managed both. What he failed to mention was that he could study at work, while she never had that luxury. “She has no other obligations holding her back, and you need somebody to take Gianna’s place on your trip.”

Taylor stiffened, her eyes going wide with recognition.“I don’t think so,” Taylor announced as I whispered a soft “no.”

“I can’t go, and neither can any of the other guys. Who else are you going to find on such short notice?”

My eyes drifted back and forth between the two of them. Taylor looked slightly panicked, while Aiden’s smug face just oozed satisfaction. He thought he was so fucking smart coming up with this solution.If he only knew.

“I,” Taylor stuttered, “I’m supposed to look for a job,” she countered.

“It’s only a week. You can look for a job when you get back,” Aiden said. “It’s an all-expenses paid vacation to a luxury, five-star resort,” Aiden explained. “In the Caribbean,” he added for effect. He knew how much she loved the beach and was baiting her. “I think the time away will do you some good.”

Her gaze settled on me and I hated how timid she looked. That wasn’t her. She was usually bold and outgoing. She was looking at me, searching for some sign of how I felt about the situation, but suddenly I couldn’t speak. The thought of being in a tropical paradise with Taylor, with her taking my fiancé’s place, would either be an absolute disaster or the sweetest form of torture. I’d get to see her body scantily clad in itsy bitsy bikinis every day but wouldn’t be able to touch her. We’d be forced to remain in the same space with each other longer than we had been in years. The scent of her body wash would linger in the air after her shower, and I’d be forced to sit there while she was only a few feet away, naked and wet.

“Did you even ask Dalton ifhewas okay with you askingmeto go onhistrip?”

Aiden gave her an exasperated look and turned to face me. “Are you okay with Taylor using the other ticket, that will go to waste, otherwise,” he began, flashing a pointed look back at his sister, “and taking this trip with you?”

What the hell was I supposed to say? I looked back and forth between the siblings, my best friend and his little sister that I’d tried my hardest not to be attracted to for the last eight years. I really had no other option. None of my friends could go. My mom couldn’t get the time off work on such short notice. Trust me, I realized how weird it was to ask her, but if anybody deserved a free vacation, it was her. So, unless I wanted to take this trip solo, which felt really pathetic, Taylor was my only option.

“Sure,” I resigned with a shrug. I didn’t want to seem too excited about it, even though the thought of seeing Taylor in a bathing suit was already making me hard. Thank God the island shielded my groin from her view. I turned my body slightly, angling it away from Aiden, just in case. “Can you be packed and ready to go Sunday morning?” Gianna and I had planned on catching an early flight so we’d have most of the day to enjoy the sand and surf, hoping we wouldn’t be too exhausted from the festivities the night before.

“Yeah,” she replied sheepishly. “I can do that. What time should I be at the airport?”

“I’ll pick you up at six. We can ride together.” There was no point in both of us driving and paying to park two cars. It just made sense to pick her up. Her shocked expression confused me and it took me a moment to realize what caused it. We hadn’t been in a vehicle together since that night. The night she kissed me after my basketball game and I had to push her away, pretending it wasn’t exactly what I’d been dreaming of for over a year.

“See? It’s all settled then!” Aiden announced, clapping me on the back. “Aren’t you glad I’m such a great problem solver?”

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