“You laid it on the line for him,” she pointed out.
“Yeah, but I guess I didn’t think he’d seem so unaffected by it.”
“He loves you, Zoe. He just needs to realize that while he can. Men are slow sometimes, but I have a feeling he’ll get the memo after your little talk today. If not, Mike’s still single.”
“Oh God,” Zoe moaned before turning away. What have I done?
• • •
Dylan got to his feet as Zoe approached the table. She was stunning in a simple black dress with thin straps that showed off the generous swell of her breasts. Down, boy. Save it for later. You’ve got more important matters to take care of first. “You look beautiful,” he said sincerely as he pulled a chair out for her. He’d chosen a local seafood bistro that was one of their favorites. He’d arranged ahead of time to have a secluded table in the corner where they’d have some privacy. Of course, as Ash walked up behind her, he didn’t know why that was necessary with his brother along.
“Thank you,” she replied as Dylan leaned in to kiss her cheek. Fuck, I want to taste those lips again.
“You do look hot,” Ash said, causing Zoe to whirl around in shock.
“Asher . . . um, hi. I—I didn’t know you were going to be here,” she stuttered before shooting Dylan a questioning look.
“He won’t be staying for the meal,” he assured her. “I just needed him to drop by for a bit to help me out.”
She looked confused as to what he’d need assistance with, but she shrugged and took the seat that he indicated. He took his own, leaving the last one for Ash. When Ash took a laptop from the bag he was carrying and set it on the table, Dylan shot him a “what the hell” look. They made small talk until they were relaxing with a bottle of wine. Finally, Zoe said, “All right, this is starting to freak me out. What are we all doing here?”
Before he could answer, Ash laughed and flipped the top on his computer open to show what looked like a PowerPoint presentation. Sure to God he wasn’t going to talk work while Dylan was trying to convince Zoe that he’d changed. “I—um, want to talk to you about some new developments that you’re unaware of. I’m hoping they’ll make a difference to you.”
“That’s where I come in,” Ash interjected. “Instead of us both boring you with a lot of promises, I thought I’d make it easier to understand.” No, he didn’t. Dylan closed his eyes briefly before glancing at Zoe. She was staring at the screen as if fascinated, which he thought was a good sign. As long as this wasn’t some disaster that Ash had made as a joke. The first few screens were basic facts about how the Pensacola location did more business than the others. He had to admit, his brother had skillfully shown why Dylan stayed so busy. He’d also listed all the projects that they had in the works now and in the future.
Shit, now she just looked depressed. This was only confirming her beliefs that he’d never have enough time for her. “Could we get to the point?” He nudged his brother under the table. At this rate, she’d run from the restaurant and never speak to him again before he could get to the best part.
Ash glared at him. He was rather OCD about his presentations and being rushed wasn’t something he liked. Thankfully he clicked a few more times and Dylan found himself laughing as a big selfie of his brother filled the screen. At least he’s wearing clothes. “So yours truly will be moving to Pensacola and dividing the daily responsibilities with Dylan. We’ve known for a while that the resort is getting too big for one person to handle. My operations manager will take over in Charleston and I’ll be here permanently within a month. There will still be some things to work through as we find the right balance, but this should lighten Dylan’s load, allowing him to spend more time with you.” With another click, Zoe’s image filled the screen with hearts circling her head. Sweet Lord.
She threw back her head and laughed before clapping. “That was one of the most informative things I’ve ever seen. Plus, I now know so much more than I did about the Oceanix.”
“I am pretty amazing,” Ash bragged. “Oh, wait, I forgot one thing.” Click. No way! There on the damned screen was a picture of a man on his knees with a diamond extended toward a woman.
While she was gaping at the image, Ash was motioning for him to take action. This was not at all what he’d had in mind for tonight, but the jig was up now. Ash obviously had no intention of leaving before the good part. So Dylan slipped from his seat and almost fell flat on his face before he finally ended up in the correct position. Click. Dylan leaned to the side incredulously to see yet another picture, this one instructing her to look down. “I—um, love you so much, Zoe. Will you marry me?” Real smooth. How could she resist that?
Tears were running down her cheeks and he had no idea if they were happy or sad ones. Maybe she just felt sorry for him for making a fool out of himself. Then she flew into his arms, knocking him back against the seat as she peppered kisses all over his face. “I can’t believe you did all of this for me.”
“Technically I did it,” Ash inserted before Dylan shot him a look.
“Yes, a thousand times yes! I love you too, Dylan, and I never wanted to be without you. I just couldn’t come last anymore. Please say that you understand.”
“Of course, sweetheart. I’m ashamed to say that it took almost losing you to make me see that you’re more important than anything else in my life. Without you, I can’t breathe. You’re my one constant and you always have been.”
“Oh, Dylan,” she cried as he slid the ring on her finger. Click. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen change to the words “And they lived happily ever after.” For once he had to concede that his brother was indeed a master when it came to presentations. He’d just helped Dylan close the biggest deal of his life.
Epilogue
Zoe stood next to her husband during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new addition to the Oceanix Resort. The last year hadn’t been easy, but more often than not, Dylan was home for dinner in the evening. Asher had lived up to his word—or his presentation—and had taken a great deal off his brother. Zoe and Dylan had been married three months previous in a quiet ceremony on the beach in front of the resort. She hadn’t wanted anything fancy, so it had been only family and a few close friends. Dylan had groaned at the reception when Dana had caught the bouquet. “Some poor bastard has misery coming his way,” he’d muttered, then winced when Zoe elbowed him in the side.
“I swear, that man’s such an asshole,” grumbled her friend and coworker now as she glared at Asher a few feet away. “When he came in the shop this morning, he told me I needed to stop sampling all the cooking.”
Zoe fought back a giggle at Dana’s indignant expression. “I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. You know he has a strange sense of humor sometimes.” She was actually quite fond of him now, but it was a woman’s duty to side with her friend.
“Oh, really?” Dana huffed. “When I asked, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Lots of men like women with big butts.’”
Shit. Ash. “You look fine, honey. He’s just trying to get a reaction out of you. He picks on me all the time.”
“Has he ever called you fat?” she snapped.
“Um . . . well, no,” Zoe admitted. “But he didn’t exactly say that, did he?”
“Close enough.” Luckily Dylan picked that moment to end the conversation he’d been having with someone else.
“What are you two whispering about over here?” he asked as he pulled Zoe back against his chest.
Dana narrowed her eyes and said, “Your brother’s a dick. And you’re not much better.” There goes the peace.
Instead of being offended, Dylan laughed. “Yeah, apparently it runs in the family. Why don’t you get on your broom and fly back to your castle, where you won’t have to deal with it?”
“Dick.”
“Witch.”
r /> Zoe shook her head before leading her husband away. He enjoyed this verbal sparring far too much. “Will you stop egging her on?” she chided as they walked back inside the resort. “You two are impossible.” When he punched in a code on a nearby door and pulled her inside, she looked around in surprise. “Why are we in the janitor’s closet?”
He gave her a sexy grin that meant instant wet panties for her. Oh, how she knew that look. “Because you’re awfully dirty, Mrs. Jackson, and I believe I have something in here that’ll clean you right up.”
“Is that so, Mr. Jackson?” Leaning closer to his ear, she palmed his dick and whispered, “First, I’d like to demonstrate my skills with a certain thing I like to call the Hoover.” Throaty laughter turned to moans soon after that as she pleasured the first and only man to ever possess her body and soul.
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The relentless pounding in her head was what finally woke Lydia Cross from a sound sleep. Her mouth felt like she had been chewing on a dirty gym sock and her eyes were glued together so tightly it took several attempts for her to pry them open. She lay in a darkened room, attempting to get her bearings. A quick glance at the clock on the bedside table had her sitting up too quickly—which turned out to be a big mistake. Her stomach immediately staged a revolt and she struggled to free herself from under the covers—then promptly smacked into a hard surface. What the hell? Who’d moved the wall in her bedroom? She rubbed her smarting nose and inched along with half-closed eyes until she reached a doorway. She fumbled before locating the light switch, then flipped it up. The bright glare that filled the unfamiliar bathroom temporarily blinded her.
After blinking a few times, she was able to focus on her surroundings. Then it finally hit her that she was in Vegas. Her coworker and good friend, Crystal Webber, was getting married to Mark DeSanto in a few days and their friend Mia Gentry had insisted on throwing the bachelorette party at the Oceanix–Las Vegas. Luckily, Danvers was a big company and they were all able to find temporary replacements so they could take a few days of vacation together with no problem.
The nausea that had temporarily abated while she was hunting for the bathroom returned in full force. She barely made it to the toilet before the contents of her stomach came back up in horrifying fashion. She was doing her best to remain upright when her hair was suddenly pulled back and someone touched her back. She jerked in shock, nearly falling into the toilet, before strong hands steadied her. A masculine voice rumbled, “It’s okay, little one. I’ve got you.”
Lydia managed to shrug out of the hold long enough to spin around and look at her mystery bathroom guest. “Sweet Jesus,” she exclaimed at the sight of Jacob Hay, clad only in snug boxer briefs, towering over her with concern etched on his face. She couldn’t help herself—she drank him in from head to toe. Who in the world could possibly blame her for taking advantage of this screwed-up nightmare to check out the man she’d lusted after for months? In all her fantasies, though, she’d never quite imagined him in this scenario. “Wh—what are you doing here?” she asked in confusion, before belatedly realizing that she was also quite nude. She grabbed a robe off a nearby hook and fumbled to put it on.
Jacob raised an amused brow at her. “After last night, I wouldn’t have guessed that you had a shy bone in your body, gorgeous.”
Oh shit, what’s he talking about? Did I wrap myself around him and beg him to come to my room? “You’ve got three seconds to tell me what in the hell you’re doing in my hotel room,” she snapped. Thank God, she’d finally gotten the damn robe tied. Laying down the law was rather hard when your boobs were hanging out.
Instead of answering right away, Jacob walked calmly around her and flushed the toilet. He then moved to the sink, unwrapped a toothbrush, and filled a glass with water. He motioned her over and she cringed as she realized he was trying to get her to brush her teeth. Maybe she could pause for a moment to take care of her breath before she continued her inquisition. Lydia quickly took care of business before putting her hands on her hips. “Well?”
He looked as if he was biting back a smile. “Could we possibly take this conversation into the next room?”
She resisted the urge to childishly stomp her feet as, once again, he made her feel like an idiot. Naturally, he didn’t want to stand around and chat in the room she’d just tossed her cookies in. “Oh, all right,” she grumbled as she stalked past him. Wait, I don’t remember my room being this nice.
He moved over to the bedside table and picked up the phone. Despite her glare, he calmly placed an order for coffee and Danishes from room service. Then he turned back to face her. So hot, she thought to herself. He studied her for long enough that she began to fidget. When he finally spoke, the deep rumble of his voice in the quiet room had her jerking. “Do you not remember anything about last night?”
Was he nuts? Would she be standing here looking like a complete train wreck if she knew what was going on? But instead of opening her mouth to unleash a sarcastic comment, she took a breath and admitted, “I have no idea. I vaguely remember going dancing at some club with Mia and Crystal.” She rubbed her throbbing temple as she attempted to re-create the events of the previous evening. “Didn’t Mark and some of his friends show up at some point?”
He had the look of a proud teacher as he nodded his head encouragingly. “That’s right. I flew here with Mark and the Jackson brothers. We met up with you ladies sometime during your club crawl.”
Images exploded in her head as jumbled memories came rushing back to her. Dancing. The taste of his lips. Our tongues tangling. Hands touching. My new husband. Wait, what? Lydia stared at Jacob in dawning horror before looking down at the glittering diamond on her ring finger.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
“We got married,” she whispered, then promptly staggered over to the bed and dropped down onto it.
Acknowledgments
As always, a special note of thanks to my agent, Jane Dystel, and my editor at Penguin, Kerry Donovan. None of this would ever be possible without you both, and I appreciate all that you do.
To my special friends: Amanda Lanclos and Heather Waterman from Crazy Cajun Book Addicts, Catherine Crook from A Reader Lives a 1000 Lives, Shelly Lazar from Sexy Bibliophiles, Christine with Books and Beyond Fifty Shades, Marion Archer, Lorie Gullian, Stacia from Three Girls and A Book Obsession, Shannon with Cocktails and Books, Sarah from Smut and Bon Bons, Andrea from The Bookish Babe, Jennifer from Book Bitches Blog, Tracey Quintin, Melissa Lemons, Lisa Granger, Chantel Pentz McKinley, Nicole Tallman, Stefanie Eldrige-O’Toole, Tara Thomas, Lisa Salvary, Monique Harrell-Watford, Kim Roar, Sandy Ambrose, and Jen Maxner.
Sydney Landon is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Danvers Novels, including Watch Over Me and The One for Me. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children, who keep her life interesting and borderline insane, but never boring. When she isn’t writing, Sydney enjoys reading, swimming, and being a minivan-driving soccer mom.
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Sydney Landon, Keeping It Hot
(Series: Breakfast in Bed # 1)
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