people we were when we knew each other in El Paso. You’re paying me to be your personal assistant. I don’t believe sleeping with the boss is in my job description.”
Wade tamped down rising anger. “That had nothing to do with business or the fact that I’m your boss. As I recall, you said yes and couldn’t wait for me to get into your pants.”
Gina’s dark eyes went wide. She lifted her hand and Wade warned her with a searing glance not to even try it. When she lowered her hand, she spoke with quiet calm, her words more potent than any slap to the face. “I thought I saw an inkling of the man you once were, Wade. The man I wanted above all else, the man who was kind and generous and caring. But I was mistaken, you’re nothing like him.”
Wade jammed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, watching her spin around and walk into the hotel lobby. Her words stung but he wouldn’t be played for a fool ever again.
No matter how much he wanted her.
* * *
Wade poured himself a whiskey on the rocks, something that always soothed his bad temper, and took a seat at his desk. He let the mellow rocking of the boat and the fresh sea breeze calm him for several minutes before opening his e-mail account. He punched in his password and viewed more than a dozen messages forwarded to him from Triple B.
As he went through half of them, all having to do with the Catalina project, Wade came upon one message he hadn’t expected, from Sarah Buckley.
He hadn’t spoken with Sarah in over six months. They’d always remained friends, but ever since that episode with Gina years ago, their relationship hadn’t been quite the same. He’d left El Paso shortly after that tumultuous summer to work at Triple B with his father. Maybe his imagination was in overdrive, but whenever he had visited his uncle and aunt in El Paso, he’d also made a stop in to see the Buckleys and, oddly, they’d been slightly distant, polite but not as friendly as he remembered. And Sarah, too, had seemed more cautious with him.
He punched in and opened the e-mail.
Wade, I know you’re out of town, but it’s important that you call me when you return. We need to talk.
Always,
Your friend,
Sarah
Wade sipped his drink, staring at the message for a moment, making a mental note to call Sarah once he returned to Los Angeles. Right now, he had enough to deal with, Gina being right up there on his list.
He realized his approach with Gina had been completely wrong. She wasn’t an easy female to figure out but he did know that when she was backed into a corner, she came out fighting. Though she was as headstrong and volatile as she was beautiful, Wade wouldn’t let her get away this time around. She had become nearly as important as the Catalina Project and both were challenges he fully intended to win. He finished his drink, took a quick shower and changed into different clothes. Before meeting Gina at the hotel, he had one important errand to run.
Gina glanced at the digital clock on the bed stand. It was ten minutes after two and Wade was late. It wasn’t like him to be late for a meeting.
She glanced at her reflection in the framed beveled mirror, straightening out her tan skirt and cream knit shell top. She tossed the short tailored jacket she’d donned minutes ago onto the bed and headed to the wraparound balcony for a breath of fresh air.
Her nerves had been wrought ever since she’d come to this island. The trip over here in Wade’s yacht had nearly done her in and she hadn’t thought things could’ve gotten any worse. But they had.
She didn’t know where she stood with Wade. He was her boss, that was a given. He wanted to be her lover. That’s where it all got confusing. She knew enough not to get involved with him romantically, yet when he kissed her and touched her tenderly, memories flooded in, sweet hot wonderful memories of the times they had shared in the past. Gina had succumbed to him earlier today and the heat of his touch still sizzled on her lips and other highly sensitive parts of her anatomy. Wade had left his mark on her body.
A light-hearted tap on the door surprised her. She strode the distance wondering who it could be. Certainly Wade’s knock had always been more commanding. When she opened the door to her suite, she stood in awe, looking at a smiling Wade, dressed in khaki shorts and a tan polo shirt, black beach sandals on his feet.
“Our meeting was cancelled,” he said, walking in holding a shopping bag. “I figured we both could use some down time.”
“Down time?” Gina asked, confused by Wade’s uncharacteristic light mood.
“Yeah, you know…relax, soak up some sun, enjoy the beach.”
Gina stared at Wade. “That sounds nice,” she fibbed. The last place she could relax was staring out at the fathomless ocean. “But I’m afraid I didn’t bring ‘down time’ clothes with me. Sorry, you’ll have to go it alone.” She sent him a small smile.
Wade lifted up the bag. “That’s why I brought this.”
Gina watched him set the bag on her king-size bed. “Oh, I was hoping that was lunch.”
Wade shot her a sweeping glance, his eyes raking in her body from top to bottom. “Depends on how you look at it.”
“What? What did you bring me?” Gina walked over to the white bag and tossed the contents onto the bed. Swimsuits, sarongs and fancy rhinestone flip-flops scattered. Gina lifted up a pure-white dazzling bikini. “A thong?” She turned to face him. “Not on your life.”
Wade laughed. “I had to try.” He gestured to the others. “What about the black one?”
Gina eyed him cautiously, before picking it up and scanning it over. The bikini had a tad more material than the thong, she noted. She shook her head. “You don’t know my size.”
Wade stepped closer to her and looked into her eyes. He spoke softly, with confidence. “I know your body, Gina. They’ll fit.”
Heat rushed up, warming her throat and blistering her face. Once again she thanked the Almighty for her olive complexion. At least she could hide her blush from Wade, if nothing else. She set the suit down. “I’d really rather stay in.”
Wade folded his arms across his middle. “Okay, we’ll stay in.” He glanced at her then the bed. “What do you suppose we can do in here all afternoon?”
Gina flinched. “I wasn’t inviting you.”
Wade took a seat on the sofa, his arm spread along the top cushion. “Gina, what are you afraid of? We’ll go down, have lunch at a café, then relax on the beach for a few hours.”
“You know I don’t like the water.”
“You traveled twenty-two miles over that water to get here.”
“I know. I’m dreading the trip back.” Just the thought brought shivers.
Wade pointed to the clothes on the bed. “Try the red one, Gina. It’s a one-piece.”
Gina glanced at it and frowned. “With more cutouts than Swiss cheese.”
“You noticed that, too?”
Wade didn’t even try to hide his amusement. “Come on, Gina. You must be starving by now.”
Gina’s stomach rumbled quietly. Thankfully, Wade didn’t seem to hear. She was hungry and it seemed the only way to get Wade out of her hotel room was to leave with him. “Okay, fine. I’ll wear the red one.”
Gina grabbed the swimsuit, a multicolored sarong and sparkling rhinestone flip-flops and stomped into the bathroom, ignoring Wade’s satisfied chuckle from the sitting area.
She knew he’d be right. Everything he bought would fit her.
Perfectly.
Gina sipped her piña colada, the coconut-and-rum tropical drink sliding