kissing and touching Hayley all evening worked to erase all other thoughts. It also worked to create a bulge in the front of his khaki shorts. If a simple kiss had him this excited, he wasn’t sure how he was going to get through the next few days.
“Well, I hadn’t really given it that much thought. I am now.” She paused. “Is this... I mean, is kissing me again—only if necessary, of course—going to be a problem?”
He tilted her chin upward. “Trust me, Hayley. Kissing you whenever the need arises will most definitely not be a problem.” In fact, not kissing her might be.
* * *
AWARE OF THE curious eyes watching them, Hayley led the way straight to her boss on unsteady knees. Get a grip, she commanded herself. It was just a kiss. So why did it have her feeling dizzy? Because no other kiss in the history of kisses had ever made her body spring to life so quickly. Her heart was still racing, and her flushed cheeks and neck weren’t due to the Hawaii heat.
“Hayley!” Lila’s voice behind them made her stop and turn. Good, better to ease into this with someone she could be honest with. Besides sharing an office wall, they’d also shared countless bottles of malbec in the office’s law library during too many late nights. She could count on Lila to keep this to herself.
Chase wrapped an arm around her and smiled brightly at her side.
“Don’t worry, Lila’s an ally,” Hayley whispered before addressing her coworker and her husband. “Hi, guys, this is Chase,” she said pointedly.
“Chase...” Lila repeated slowly. “This is my husband, Craig.” Lila did the introductions and while the two men shook hands, she shot an inquisitive look at Hayley.
“I’ll explain later,” Hayley said, leaning toward her friend.
“Just tell me one thing—is he a...” She raised an eyebrow. “A... You know...”
Hayley swiped her arm. “Of course not.” She’d never admit to Lila that hiring an escort had crossed her mind. Her perfectly happily married friend with the fantastic husband, adorable kids and two-car garage would never understand her desperation. Telling Lila she’d met Chase on the plane probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing, either. “He’s just a friend. Shall we sit?”
Chase held a chair for her and she fought the feminist voice in her mind urging her to insist that wasn’t necessary. Especially when Lila chastised Craig for not making the gesture.
“Quit it, man. You’re making me look bad,” Craig said with a friendly shoulder punch to Chase.
“Sorry,” Chase said, taking his seat next to Hayley. He immediately moved his chair closer and draped an arm over the back of hers.
Were they overdoing it a little?
“Well, I had my doubts, but here he is.” Marvin’s voice boomed behind them.
“Here we go,” Hayley whispered as she turned with a forced smile. “Marvin, I’d like you to meet Chase. Chase, this is my boss, Marvin Marshall—head attorney at Marshall and Thompson Family Law.”
Chase extended a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“So, Chase, what do you do?” Marvin asked.
Seemed like a safe enough question to answer honestly, so she gave a slight nod at his side. She was almost certain she’d never told Martin much about James. He’d never remember that she’d been dating a dentist most recently.
“I’m a police officer with the LAPD,” Chase was saying at her side.
“Tough gig,” her boss said.
“It can be challenging.” He nodded.
“Well, we’re glad you were able to be here this week.” He shot a glance at Hayley. “We were starting to think Hayley had made you up.” His pointed look spoke volumes and she was relieved that she hadn’t had to deliver her speech about her absent fiancé. Her boss would never have accepted it as the truth.
She gave a tight laugh. “He’s real,” she said, squeezing his arm. “Anyway, it looks like the performance is about to start.” On the stage a man dressed in traditional Hawaiian costume, holding a large coconut in one hand and a pointed stick in the other, had silenced the band and taken the microphone.
“Yes, well, enjoy the show.” With a wave, her boss rejoined Cornelius Thompson and his wife at their table and Hayley let out a sigh of relief.
First round, a success.
* * *
“JUST ONE QUICK drink then we’ll duck out.”
“Chase, don’t worry. After the performance you just gave with my coworkers, one drink with your family is the least I can do,” Hayley said, feeling slightly tipsy from the two strong mai tais she’d already consumed that evening.
The luau had gone flawlessly. Chase had been the ultimate charmer and everyone seemed to like him, even her boss. A few times he’d seemed to know her so well she’d paused to remind herself that they had just met hours before, not six months ago, the way they claimed. His thoughtful, affectionate ways had almost made her believe they were a happy couple, relieving her anxiety about their ability to pull this off, but giving her something else to worry about.
He did know this was all an act, right?
“Oh, believe me, what we went through over there was nothing compared to the Spanish Inquisition we’re going to face over here,” he said, opening the door to the resort bar and showing his hotel room key to the hostess. His sister had texted him twenty minutes before asking where he was and suggesting the resort bar for a drink. He’d yet to tell them about her and that worried Hayley a little.
“They can’t be that bad...right?”
He squeezed her hand and it was only then that she realized he was still holding it. “They aren’t. It’s my sister, Kate, who will want to know every detail. And as I said, she’s been trying to set me up with a bunch of her friends, so she may be a little...annoyed and full of questions.”
“Like what?” Now she was nervous. Her boss had been happy enough to see a living, breathing male next to her.
“Like how we met, our first date...” He scanned the busy bar for his family.
“We didn’t go over those things.” Shit. They’d spent most of the afternoon discussing her. She realized now she knew little about him, except that he was a cop and his kiss could do things to her she’d never thought possible. Probably not enough to win over his family.
“Just let me answer her questions,” he said with a wink.
A thought struck her then. “What about your parents? Won’t they be suspicious? Wouldn’t you have told them about the woman you’ve been dating long enough to bring to your sister’s wedding?”
He turned to her with a sad smile as he nodded. “Yeah, I would have...but they passed away a long time ago—a car fire when I was eighteen.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m sorry.”
“I should have mentioned it before now... Oh, there’s the group.”
Hayley turned in the direction he’d nodded. Oh, my freaking God. Had half of Los Angeles been invited to this wedding? Didn’t destination weddings mean just an elaborate elopement? Apparently not for Kate Hartley. Three long tables had been pushed together in the center of the bar to accommodate the group of about thirty people. “They all came for her wedding?” she whispered.
“Let’s just say my sister usually gets her way—all the time actually. People have a hard time saying no to her. Including me, which is why you’re here.” He winked.
That was right, she was his no-strings-attached safety harness to keep him from having to entertain Kate’s single girlfriends. Well, if a bodyguard against these crazy ladies was