Page 4 of Exposed

The thought of Beth trapped on an island with no one reliable watching her back made his stomach sink. And in a way he’d be doing Heath a favor, wouldn’t he? Keeping an eye on his little sis while she worked.

“Please?” she said, drawing his focus back to her. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need your help. The tickets and the retreat are already booked. Our flight leaves in the morning. Maybe I’m wrong and there’s nothing going on at all. In that case, it’ll be a one-weekvacation, all expenses paid. You can’t pass that up, right? All you have to do is pretend to be into me and look pretty.”

He didn’t have to pretend to be into her. That was the problem. But given everything else and the importance of this trip, he couldn’t say no.

It would be hard to keep his hands to himself, but no harder than staying up thirty-six hours to guard an encampment against the enemy. Plus, it would give him a much-needed change of scenery. And get him out of his apartment.

“Okay. I’ll do it,” he said.

Her eyes widened in happy surprise as if she’d thought he’d refuse. “Thank you—thank you so much! You don’t know how much this means to me.” She asked for his phone number and typed in his digits then stood to throw away her trash. “I need to get back to the office and tell my editor. Once I get everything situated there, I’ll text you with the details. Thanks so much for helping me out.”

Eric stayed behind at the table to finish his lunch. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Heath telling him his sister was fine and not to worry. Then he stared out at the sunny day and blue skies above, praying he’d made the right choice.

Heath buzzed back a response minutes later, thanking Eric for checking in on her.

Guilt pinched his chest before he shoved it aside. He was doing this to keep an eye on Beth and help her out of a tough situation. That was all. Before he knew it, it would all be over and he’d be back in his beloved city by the bay, tanned and relaxed and hopefully, with Heath none the wiser.

She was right. It was the perfect plan. Well, except for the whole lying to his best friend part.

He threw his own trash away and headed back outside, the sun hot on his skin.

Now, if he could just get his libido under control when Beth was around, he’d be all set.

3

The next morning Beth was waiting in the small terminal of the private airport to meet Eric so they could catch their flight for the LoveFix Retreat. After getting Eric’s agreement to play her partner on this adventure, she’d returned to the office and made all the arrangements.

Her pulse sped and adrenaline pumped through her system. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Eric that this story could be life-changing for her. The bigger news outlets were always on the lookout for the next breakout star and if Beth could prove her suspicions were true—that Robert Hart and his isolated resort were involved in something shady—then that was pure gold career-wise. She could stop counting every penny, stop dreaming about the day her big break would come, stop worrying about the fact that she was closer now to thirty than twenty and still had nothing to show for her efforts than a desk job in a mid-sized newspaper that had dwindling readership and offered little hope for advancement.

“Ready to go?” Her phone lit up with a message from Leila.

“Sure am,” she responded even if she felt a pit in her stomach. So much was riding on this trip. She’d have been nervous going with Jeff, but going with a near stranger, intensified everything. “I hope my partner is.”

“SEALs are ready for anything. Trust me on that one.” Leila had found happiness with a former SEAL herself. Happiness that she absolutely deserved. The two women had met via social media when Beth was writing a story about women becoming empowered and taking control of their lives. As she’d learned about Leila’s first husband, who been involved in drug and gang violence, and how Beth had found the courage to divorce him and build a better life for herself and her son, she’d been so impressed that it had sparked a genuine friendship. Even though they lived at a distance from each other, they texted often, and Beth considered Leila to be her closest friend.

“I’m sure he can handle it. I’m just concerned about spending so much time with someone I don’t know.”

“Is he hot?” Leila asked.

She glanced up and caught sight of Eric strolling into the terminal, all long-legged male grace and devastatingly confident attitude. Damn and perdition. If they could bottle even an ounce of his potent charisma, cologne companies could make a fortune.

“Way hot. I’m in so much trouble here,” she texted and got an immediate “LOL” in reply before putting her phone away. Beth cleared the sudden constriction from her throat and stood to wave him over to where she was sitting.

“Hi,” she said when he reached her. She put her hand on his shoulder and went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. She felt him still. He didn’t back away, but he didn’t embrace her either.

“What are you doing?” he kept his voice low.

“Playing my part. We’re supposed to be a couple. I should look happy to see you, right?” She was happy to see him for a lot of reasons, but maintaining their cover was important.

There were probably thirty other couples there at the airport with them, of varying ages, ethnicities, and gender orientations. A good-sized group. Hopefully, she and Eric would be able to blend into the background—drawing no attention as she dug for information.

“Got it,” Eric said. “Is our greeting done now? Or should we go for a real kiss?”

That was tempting, but she shook her head to indicate no and gestured to the seats near the windows she’d claimed. A real kiss would be a huge mistake. Huge. Enormous. Off the charts bad. So why was she wondering what it would be like?

As he sprawled in the chair next to hers, he looked like he’d walked off the cover ofHot Guys on Vacationin his cargo shorts that cupped his taut ass to perfection and form-fitting white T-shirt that showed acres of muscled torso and lickable tanned skin. He also smelled amazing—like soap and citrus and a hint of fabric softener.

Of course she was attracted to him. Why wouldn’t be? Especially since it had been more than a few months since Beth had been with a guy. Butfeelingattraction andactingon it were two very different things. She shook off her erotic thoughts about the lastman on earth she should sleep with and frowned down at her phone screen instead. “Did you receive all my notes?”

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