No Foolin' (Willowdale Romance Novel) (7 page)

Kate shrugged. “Heartbreak kind of runs in my family. Must be some mutant gene.” She looked away and twisted her straw wrapper until it snapped.

He was quiet for a moment, but she knew he was studying her. Finally, he said, “I doubt that.”

The waitress arrived with their food, and Kate realized how hungry she was. She took a big bite of her mango salad.

Teague grinned, watching her eat. “I guess that’s good.”

She nodded, her mouth full. He probably wasn’t used to watching women scarf down their food. But she was too famished to be dainty. She certainly wasn’t going to fake a wimpy appetite for him.

He cut into his steak. “That’s one thing I never do.”

She paused with her fork in the air. “Eat salad?”

He laughed. “No, cheat. Don’t believe everything you read in those rags. I may make the rounds, but I’m very loyal. Even to fake girlfriends.” He set down his silverware and settled his hand next to hers.

Kate looked at their fingers, just a whisper apart. She wanted to correct Teague that Tommy hadn’t cheated on her, but it didn’t really matter. After seeing Mama’s horrible relationship with George, then experiencing it firsthand, she knew Mama was right about love—not everyone was meant for it.

“Loyal is good.” She looked up from their hands, into his eyes. This certainly wasn’t the mean, heartless T-Rex she’d read about. He was kind and attentive—even thoughtful.

Then she remembered Tommy had been that way once, too. Of, course. This was probably how Teague did it. He lured in a girl by pretending to be a nice, sensitive, caring guy. Once the unsuspecting sap fell into his trap, he moved on. Kind of like how he wrapped up when he was done with a movie. On to the next project.

He was more like a calculating spider than a ferocious, dating demon. And he probably thought Kate was the easiest of them all. Just a few sweet words tossed her way would get a country girl like Kate to fall at his feet. Plus, there was that wager they’d made. He was just trying to win.

But no way would she let that happen. She pulled her hand away from his.

TEAGUE FELT A JAB to the gut. He swallowed his disappointment. She was probably smart, doing that. He needed to stop this foolishness and remember this was just an act. He’d experienced phantom feelings before with his co-stars. Those feelings had always faded, and Kate was just another co-star. This would pass, too. He stole another glance at her and winced. Was it just knowing he couldn’t have her that made him want her? Was he no better than Chief Larsen?

“Let’s go.” He flipped a few twenties on the table and told himself he wasn’t getting back on the bike just so he could feel her arms around him again. She hopped on behind him, looping her arms around his waist. He liked the feeling. Two cars pulled out onto the street, with photographers hanging out the windows.

“Hold on!” He sped down the street and blew through a light just as it turned red. Dodging down a few side streets, he lost them. He was aware of every move her body made against his. Man, she fit against him nicely. The way she clung to him made him feel needed.
Needed.
That’s something he didn’t experience very often.

They cruised along the coast until the sun started to set in a puddle of orange, dribbling into the sea. He pulled into his neighbor’s driveway, stashed his bike, and they snuck back into his house. “At least I can show you to your room tonight. You were pretty out of it yesterday.” He smirked, remembering it.

Her smile fell. “That’s right. How did I get in?”

One eyebrow raised. “I carried you.”

“Oh,” she said in a tiny voice. “Up the stairs?” She pointed to the second floor.

He shrugged. “My pleasure.” And it had been. There’d been something wildly provocative about sliding his hands underneath her thighs and neck, carrying her off the plane and then out of the car, settling her on her bed, like a treasure he couldn’t touch.

Her cheeks were pink. “And you didn’t have any problem getting me up there?”

Teague flexed his bicep. “Did it with one hand.” He winked at her.

She looked up at him shyly and smiled. “Right. You do your own stunts.”

“And so do you, as I recall.” He could think of a few stunts he’d like to try out with her right now.

They stood at the base of the stairs like a pair of preteens at the front door after a first date. He scratched his head. “We should probably turn in. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

“I almost forgot.” She rolled her eyes.

“Come on.” Laughing, he led her up the stairs to her room. “Do you need anything?” He leaned against her doorframe, just inches from her. It would be so easy to pull her to his chest and take a taste of those perky little lips that somehow always seemed to be formed in a smile. Kate was exceptionally cute when she was trying to be mad; it was a hard look to pull off with those lips.

She rubbed her arms and stifled a yawn. “No, I don’t need anything. I have enough supplies to stay here for a year.” She paused, and pressed her hand against his chest. “Don’t worry. Not like I want to or anything.” Again, with the lips and the dimples. Then she yanked her hand back and a blush crept across her cheeks, as if she hadn’t realized she’d touched him.

He smiled. A year with this woman? He’d never last. He needed to kiss her again, to see if that spark was real. The one he’d felt when he first laid his lips on hers, and then later at the café. He’d like to carry her to bed now that she was awake. He’d peel her clothes off and find out if this magical attraction was really there or just the result of this charade. Maybe then he’d be able to shake this longing he couldn’t ignore any longer.

He blew out a breath and took a step back from the door before jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m down the hall if you need anything.” But he knew she wouldn’t come to him.

He spent much of the night staring at the ceiling, wishing he’d been wrong.

DINA ALMOST DROPPED the phone. Good thing she didn’t; it was getting hard to bend over these days. “Kate? And T-Rex? It’s gotta be a different Kate.” When she said she was out of town she should have mentioned the part about the hot guy.

“It’s in all the papers. Just go online and check it out,” her friend, Chelsea, told her. “Didn’t you know? She lives with you. She never talked about her movie-star boyfriend?”

“I’ll call you back.” Dina hung up the phone and did a quick Internet search. And sure enough, there was Kate kissing Teague Reynolds in front of an airplane. Her chest tightened. Did this mean she wasn’t coming back? How could she do this to Dina? She swallowed the giant lump in her throat and realized she shouldn’t have claimed she didn’t need help with the baby. And she should have agreed that Kate was right, that George wouldn’t stick around.

Dina paced around the room, nibbling on a cookie. There was a stash of them in her nightstand. She couldn’t let Kate know how desperate she felt. She’d probably come back in a minute and blow everything with gorgeous T-Rex. Someone should live happily ever after. So, she texted Kate:
OMG. T-Rex? U R So Lucky!

Dina dropped the phone when someone knocked on her open bedroom door. She looked up. “Oh, it’s you.” Flopping back on her canopy bed, she studied the boy-band posters that still lined her walls. Probably should take those down now that she was going to be a mama.

“That’s a fine way to greet your father.”

She shrugged. “Did you hear about Kate? She flew out of town yesterday with Teague Reynolds, the movie star.”

Dad’s eyes widened
.

Just one more thing perfect Kate did right. I get knocked up and she hooks up with a celebrity.

“Movie star?” Dad knitted his brows. “She left town and didn’t tell me?”

Dina rolled her eyes. “She’s twenty-six, Dad.”

“Who did you say it was?”

“Teague Reynolds.”

He widened his stance and crossed his arms. “I don’t like this,” he said. “Not one bit.”

She picked at a hangnail on her thumb. “What’s not to like? If she’s lucky, she’ll get knocked up, too.”

He frowned at her and left the room.

So that was it. Dina really was all alone; all alone with a baby on the way and no one to help. Her throat clogged, and she blinked back tears. She hated crying. Oh, she faked it when she needed to, but real tears were another thing.

She stared at her closet, which was taunting her with cute clothes that no longer fit. Favorite childhood stuffed animals sat on top of her dresser. Old issues of
Cosmo
peeked out from under her bed. Not too many parenting articles in those. It was like she didn’t even belong in this room anymore. But where did she belong? She just wasn’t ready for this.

Pressing her fingers against her eyes, she sucked in her breath. There was only one thing to do; there was only one person who could help her. She had to talk to the baby’s daddy, tell him he was right. But would he want her now? The baby kicked, and she rubbed her belly and stared out the window.

GAZING OUT THE WINDOW, Kate felt like she was in a different world when the plane ducked under the clouds and she saw Maui rising from the sea. Of course, she’d been in a different world since she met Teague. But Hawaii was paradise. Pale pink clouds steamed over mountain tops, and white foamy waves rimmed the shore of the jewel-green island. This tiny land mass had appeared out of nowhere in the vast gray-blue sea. It was as if she’d entered a tropical dream when the flight landed. Fitting, she thought. This whole thing seemed like a dream.

They climbed into the fanciest limo she’d ever seen, but still, she was distracted by the sights and sounds. She fingered her orchid lei as the limo shuttled them to their hotel. Spiky green fronds danced in the breeze on top of tall, skinny palm trees. Sunlight glinted off the ocean while gulls bobbed and swooped down to the water. She lowered her window to get a better look. The weeds growing along the highway looked like her houseplants back home. She inhaled deeply and decided it even smelled exotic.

Teague was watching her. Dang, she felt stupid. Like a dog out for a ride, sniffing the breeze. She put up her window and shrugged. “I never thought I’d get a chance to come to Hawaii. It’s probably no big deal to you, but I think it’s incredible.”

He stretched out his legs and draped his arm across the seat. “You’re right. It is incredible. Sometimes I forget.”

She shifted in her seat and looked back out the window again, her chin in her hand.

He reached across her and put the window back down.

A THRONG OF photographers clustered outside the hotel, snapping photos as they checked in.
Don’t these people ever take a break?
she wondered.
Teague just smiled and laid his arm across her shoulder. Then his grin dimmed. Kate followed his gaze to the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen holding court in the lobby.

The woman perked up when she saw him. “If it isn’t T-Rex.” A beautiful, petite blonde, she stood with a hand on her hip, tapping a high-heeled toe. “I’m still wiping your big track marks off my heart.” Her wild, curly hair spilled over her shoulders like ringlets of spun gold. Her huge, round eyes were the oddest shade of amber, and she had breasts that were big, firm and on display for the world to see, but she was pointing them at Teague.

Kate cursed the anger bubbling inside her. How could a normal person be jealous of someone so unreal?

Teague’s arm slipped off Kate. “Hey, Simone. How have you been?”

She walked toward him. “Not as busy as you.” Her eyes flicked over to Kate. “Always looking for a way to keep your name in the rags.”

Kate looked for the nearest floral arrangement to hide behind, but Teague snagged her hand before she could flee. “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Kate Riley.”

Simone stared for another moment, like Kate was an informational safety display. “I read in the papers.” Simone did not offer her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Kate said checking out Simone from head to toe hoping to find some tiny flaw. No such luck.

“We’ve got to check in, Simone.” Teague wouldn’t look Kate in the eyes.

Kate had to sneak a peek at Simone again to make sure she was real. The woman looked like she’d been airbrushed.

Simone shook her hair off her shoulders. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you, Teague,” she said, ignoring Kate. “I’m in the suite on the 27
^th
floor.” She winked at him and sauntered away.

Kate blew out the breath she’d been holding. “I deserve hazard pay for that.”

Teague frowned. “My relationships don’t end well, I can tell you that.”

She glared at Simone and her perfect backside—perfect everything. Kissing Kate must have been like locking lips with his sister in comparison.

Teague grabbed her hand. “Come on.” They walked up to the desk to check in.

Kate couldn’t wait to hunker down in her room and hide. Maybe they wouldn’t have to spend much time together at all. She glanced around the lobby, wondering who would make a move on Teague next.

A slender Hawaiian woman with long, black hair, and a grass skirt approached them with another lei. “Aloha.”

“Aloha,” Kate said, letting the woman place the flowers around Kate’s neck.

“And for your husband?” the woman asked, gesturing to Teague.

“No, not my husband,” Kate said nervously.

“Boyfriend,” Teague added helpfully, kissing Kate’s cheek.

“Now, now, honey. Plenty of time for that later,” she said with a tight grin.

“As you wish.” He smirked.

The clerk at the desk tapped on his computer. “Ah yes, Mr. Reynolds and guest.” He stared at the screen and his mouth formed a thin line. “I’m afraid we could not accommodate your last-minute request for a suite. But we’ve upgraded you to our beach bungalow. There’s a nice big king bed, and you’re right down by the water on your own private beach.”

“There’s
one
king bed?” Kate gripped the counter for support.

He looked up from the computer. “Yes. Don’t worry. It’s very private. I assure you, these are our finest accommodations.” He nodded with a smile.

Teague’s lips curled into a grin like the Grinch’s after he plundered Whoville. “Sounds perfect.” He snatched the key card and grabbed Kate’s hand.

She could barely take in the glorious setting: the crisp, white, poolside cabanas, the manmade rivers and koi ponds, the gigantic tropical floral arrangements. Good golly, she didn’t know places like this were real. But her mind was swirling around something even more unreal: she and Teague would be sharing a room. A room with one bed.

“I couldn’t exactly say no,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.

When they arrived at the bungalow, the bellhop opened the door and several attendants carried in their luggage. Once they left, they closed the door behind them, leaving Kate and Teague alone in the little love nest.

“This is nice,” Kate said, trying to sound casual when she really wanted to squeal. She walked around the big airy space, running her fingers over the finery. Gauzy netting draped the big bed tucked in the corner. A marble table held a basket of tropical fruit and a bottle of champagne. A couch and giant TV flanked the opposite wall. She peeked out the window. The cabana was tucked in a small cove surrounded by tall palm trees, providing plenty of privacy, just as promised. A hammock hung between two of the trees, and a hot tub bubbled on a small patio off the living room. It was breathtaking. But there was just the one big room and a bathroom. There would be no hiding from Teague.

“I’m sorry you don’t have your own accommodations,” he said, sitting on the couch, stretching back. “I can sleep on this tonight.”

She hugged her arms around her. “I’ll take it. I’m smaller, you wouldn’t get any sleep.” So much for spending very little time together. “Can I just stay in here today?”

The bungalow seemed like a dream, with no photographers or superstar girlfriends kicking around. “If you want to go out by yourself, that’s fine,” she said. “Say I have jet lag.” That was probably her best plan: spend as little time with Teague as possible. A gorgeous man in a gorgeous setting was too hard to resist. There was probably some mathematical equation to prove it.

He grinned. “I’ll say we both have jet lag. Let’s stay here together. We can order room service later. But first, I’m dying to lie in the sun.” He got up and rummaged through his suitcase. “Be right back.” While he ducked into the bathroom to change, she fished out her swimsuit and groaned. The damn makeover team sent her a bikini. A bikini! She was definitely a one-piece girl.

Teague walked out of the room and she sank to the bed. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on the man. His biceps bulged as he reached for a towel, and his abs would certainly inspire some naughty dreams. She gulped down the squeal that might slip through her lips and looked up at him.
Wow.
Lord, she didn’t say that out loud, did she?

He stood with his legs apart and put his hands on his hips. “Your turn.”

For what?
She nodded and scuttled into the bathroom like a crab trying to outrun a seagull that could swallow her whole. She undid her ponytail and shook out her hair. It fell in waves past her shoulders, but the circles-under-the-eyes jet-lag look wasn’t working for her. She slipped off her clothes and stepped into the shimmery gold bikini.
Bada-Bling.
She might blind Teague. She slid on sunglasses that covered half her face and walked out.

“Whoa.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know. Talk to your stylist. She picked this flashy thing out for me.” She grabbed a book and a tube of sunscreen and left the room.

He followed her and plopped into the chair next to her chaise lounge, then looked out over the sea at the misty mountains beyond. “That’s Molokai over there,” he told her. “Isn’t this gorgeous?”

A light breeze warmed her skin. She squeezed a dollop of white cream into her hand and smoothed it on her legs. “I don’t even have the words to tell you how amazing this is.” She rubbed the cream into her skin, fretting about the size of her thighs which had never bothered her before. Wondering if Simone had any arm jiggle at all, she tried imagining what a set of fake D’s would look like in this suit, all the while one hundred percent aware that Teague was watching her every stroke.

Was he amazed how much sunscreen it took to cover a regular-sized woman? She reached for her back and realized
that
wasn’t going to happen. Guess she was gonna burn, baby, burn.

“Let me help you with that.” Teague got up to squat next to her chair.

Her mouth turned into a tiny circle as she considered his proposition. “Sure.” She handed him the sunscreen and rolled onto her belly, relieved Teague couldn’t see her face. Or her stomach. She heard him squeeze the tube and held her breath as she waited for his touch. He started at the base of her neck and his strong fingers slid down her back. She gasped.

“I’m sorry. Is it cold?” His sultry voice might be enough to warm her up.

“Cold. Yes,” she lied. But no worries. Her medical training had prepared her for situations like this: situations of intense shock and trauma. Keep the victim talking, that’s what she had been told. Only this was the first time Kate had been the victim. Pick a boring topic. Something mundane, not at all related to bodies or sex or . . . Aw, hell! “It’s hot out, huh?”