“I know, I…” She arches into me as my hands slide down to grip her ass. “I want you too, but you confuse me.”
“And you think I’ll be less confusing in a day or two after you get that contract signed?”
She laughs. It’s raspy and so fucking sexy that this time, I swear it’s my cock itself getting punched. “No, but at least I won’t be caught off guard.” I shake my head, and she flutters her eyes shut. “The part you added into the contract? About paying off my parents’ past due bills?”
If that’s keeping her from spending the night with me, I’ll have to hold off on giving her the ring until the day we say I do because I don’t want to scare her completely off. I groan but she stops me before I can say anything by putting her finger over my mouth. “Just … give me another day, okay? That way I can warm my parents up a little more to the idea of us being together.”
Setting my mouth in a tight line, I nod. “You’re killing me, beautiful.” But I’ll give her what she wants because I like seeing this woman happy. I flick my tongue out over her fingertip and she sucks in a breath and moans like it was her pussy instead.
Good.
I hope that keeps her up tonight because I sure as fuck won’t get any sleep.
She doesn’t come back on Thursday. Instead, she sends me a text that she’s got to go pick up some of her personal belongings that just arrived from North Carolina. By noon on Friday, two weeks to the day where she first strutted into my life, she still hasn’t returned the contract. Waiting in my office, I convince myself this will be the third weekend in a row where I’ll be stroking my dick in the shower and cursing her name. That she’s making me wait on purpose.
So when I get a call from the front desk shortly after four, I assume it’s to let me know that my appointment has arrived early. Then the clerk informs me that Maggie is here. Suddenly, the end of the week is looking even better. A smile spreads across my face. “Send her on up. And for future reference, make a note in the system that Miss Kinsella is free to enter any part of this hotel.”
“Yes, sir.” She sounds flustered but then I hear her telling Maggie that I’m available.
A few minutes later, she’s standing in front of my desk for the second time this week, her lip pulled between her teeth as she hands me a manila folder. I flip it open to find the contract, signed and notarized. “Sorry it took so long,” she eventually says. “And thank you for the flowers.”
Even though she doesn’t strike me as a flowers and candy kind of girl, I couldn’t resist sending the arrangement this morning. Judging by the ghost of a smile tilting the corners of her lips, it was a smart move. “Did your parents see?”
She drags a hand through her hair and laughs. “Dad’s given me so much shit about it all day. I swear if he said the words ‘I knew something was going on with you two,” one more time, I was about to scream. I—” At the soft knock at my office door, she cuts herself off. She glances over her shoulder and then back at me. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d still be working this late in the afternoon.”
“I’m not.” Her green eyes follow me as I stride across the office. Stopping at the door, I give her a smirk. “I have an engagement with a friend.”
“A friend?” she repeats in a flat voice. She sticks her tongue in her cheek and then offers me a tight smile. “I don’t want to impose. Should I come back later or…”
“No.” She looks like she’s about to say something else, but then I open the door and her eyes widen as Kale walks in. He’s wearing a grin and already telling me about some new girl in his class that he’s planning on making a move on. I nod to Maggie. “I figured you’d come with us.”
She blinks up at me and then lowers her stare to Kale, eyes narrowing as she tries to make the connection. “Gabe…”
“Maggie, this is Kale Mahelona. Kale, this is Maggie.”
“Nice!” He steps forward, wiggling his eyebrows and grabs her hand. He moves his head to one side and gives her a slow onceover that would worry the fuck out of me if he weren’t ten years old and almost a foot shorter than her. “You Gabe’s girlfriend or something?”
“Thought your grandma told you to stop being so nosy.” When I flick the brim of his baseball cap, he scowls. I look at Maggie and hook my finger into the belt loop of her shorts before she can skulk away. “Kale’s grandparents work for me. I take him out every couple weeks to hit some balls at the batting cage.”
“I’m better than Gabe.” He grins from ear to ear, and I roll my eyes. This kid is as cocky as they come but one hell of a little ball player.
She blinks again, but her shoulders fall in relief. “Oh.” She fans her face and rolls her eyes up toward the ceiling. “I thought…”
“I know what you thought.” That I had a secret kid. I feel her eyes trained on my back as I grab my keys from my desk. I turn around to find her shuffling her feet and laughing at something he’s telling her. The kid’s probably moved on from the girl in his class to my fiancée. “Don’t buy anything he says to you, the guy is a ladies man.”
He snorts as she throws her head back and laughs. “I can’t help it, girls love me.”
“Actually, I was asking him how he puts up with you,” she admits.
“Yeah, well, you can see for yourself.” She crosses her arms over her chest, shaking her head as I add, “I want you to come.”
She knows exactly what I mean because she tears her gaze from mine and focuses it on Kale. He’s gushing about surfboards now and looks like he’s head over heels as soon as she tells him how much she loves to surf.
“So what’ll it be, beautiful?” I demand, pulling her attention back to me.
“Please, come watch me practice,” he pleads.
Her spine stiffens and she takes a few seconds before she faces me. The smile she sends my way lights up the entire room, this entire fucking hotel. “You know what, Carter? I wouldn’t miss this.”
11
Maggie
I’ve got to admit, Kale is a huge surprise. The last thing I expected to discover about Gabe Carter is that he might have a soft spot for kids, so I spend the whole ride to the batting cages in Kapolei running scenarios through my head as to why he’s doing this.
There’s the community service angle. The guy’s been known to have a serious attitude—it’s all there online, each run in with photographers and every drunken fight. I can use all my fingers and toes and it still wouldn’t be enough to count all the individual incidents I’d read about when I looked him up. With him being a former major leaguer, it would make sense for him to spend his community service teaching kids how to play baseball if he were working off some legal issue.
And then, of course, there’s the reason he proposed to me. To look good for Elite’s potential investors. It’s one thing to use a grown ass woman to make yourself look shiny, but the idea of him exploiting Kale irks me. By the time he parks his gray Audi in the parking lot of the batting cages, I’m gritting my teeth and shooting him a glare. He kills the ignition and turns to me, mouth open and probably ready to toss out something sexy, but then he pauses.
He spends a long time studying my features and then he twists around in his seat to look at Kale, who’s chatting about his volcano science project due next week. “Hey, kid, why don’t you go inside and suit up? Maggie and I will be in soon.”
He nods slowly, grinning. “You’re gonna kiss her, aren’t you?”
Gabe laughs and rolls his eyes as I draw in a sharp breath through my nose. He cuts a questioning look in my direction then glances back at Kale. “The lady looks like she’s about to rip my lips off my face, so I don’t think that’ll happen. Give us a few.”
Kale’s already climbing out of the car and swinging his duffel bag over his shoulder, but he pauses for a second to poke his head back in and arch an eyebrow at me. “He’s probably gonna warn you about my badass”—his grin widens when Gabe growls “language”—“skills. See you inside, Maggie.”
Gabe sits in s
ilence, rapping his long fingers on the steering wheel as he watches Kale walk away. Once he disappears into the building, Mr. Fake Fiancé leans in close to me. “You’re confusing as hell.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. “No, I’m not.”
He chuckles and shakes his head incredulously. “Oh, you sure as fuck are. You’re all smiles and blushes in my office and now you’re looking at me like I’m shit. Like I told Kale, I’m almost positive you want to rip my lips off.”
“You’re exaggerating.” I carve my fingers through my dark hair, fisting it into a ponytail that I let fall around my shoulders. He reaches out, the rough pads of his fingers skimming my collarbone, and brushes a wavy lock back. “Don’t do that?”
“Touch my fiancée?” he challenges. “I could have sworn we agreed that once you signed that contract, you were mine. And you have signed the contract, Maggie. Did something change between the Elite and here that voided it out?”
It sounds like he’s mocking me, and I dig my nails into my palms to keep from punching him. “No, I just—” I drag my gaze from his hazel eyes and focus on the car’s sleek center console. It’s a complete 180 from my ten year old Chevy SUV that’s due to be delivered any day now and another reminder of what I’m getting myself into. This man lives and breathes luxury. Working my fingers together, I meet his stare. “I just couldn’t help but wonder why you’re doing this for Kale, that’s all.”
His eyes thin to slits. “Excuse me?”
“I thought you might have been spending time with him for the same reason you want to marry me. Using him.” The second I say those words, Gabe’s face tightens and his hard smile sucks the air out of my lungs. I run my tongue over my lips and prepare to explain myself, but then he gets out of the car. My heart launches into my throat as he stalks around the front of the Audi, and I swear I’m not even breathing when he swings my door open. “Gabe, I—”
His hand closes around my wrist and he wrenches me to him, molding my body to his. There’s nothing rough about the way he’s touching me—one hand gripping my hip and the other tangled in the hair at the nape of my neck—but it’s the look in his eyes that draws a gasp from my lips. It’s piercing.
“Make no mistake, Maggie. Yes, it’s fucking icing on the cake that I’ll get what I want for the Elite, but we both know I could’ve accomplished that goal with any other girl on this island. I’ve been crazy to get a taste of you ever since you crashed my party and I can already guarantee that you won’t even think the words “fake marriage” after I use you the way I want—and vice versa.”
He moves his hand from my hair to cup my face, tilting my gaze up to his. “I want you. And I want to spend time with Kale. He’s a good kid. Reminds me of…”
I shiver when he drops his hand from my face and takes a step away from me. Instinctively, I lift my fingers to the spot he just touched and close my eyes. “Of yourself?”
I open my eyes to find him nodding. “Kid loves baseball, lives with his grandparents, lost a parent in a car crash and—” At my raspy gasp, he shoves his hands into the front pocket of his shorts and gives me a ghost of a smile. “Not everything about me is on Wikipedia, Maggie.”
Shame churns in the pit of my stomach, so I press my hand against it as I murmur an apology. Over and over, I say the word “sorry.” He closes the space between us and trails his thumb over my cheek before carefully tracing it over my lips.
“Stop saying you’re sorry. Look, I get it, Maggie. I can be a cocky dick.” When I murmur in agreement, he hovers his mouth a few centimeters from mine and the edges of his full lips quirk. “But stop assuming I’m a dick about everything, okay?”
“When I start calling you a cocky dick, just remember those were your words, not mine.” My retort is enough to shift the tension between us, because he throws his head back and laughs before he crushes his lips to mine. The kiss makes my head spin. Sends butterflies spiraling through me and causes every nerve in my body to come alive. When he pulls away, I can barely hear the sexy chuckle he lets out because I’m so dizzy.
He pulls my hand in his. Links our fingers. “Come on, Kale’s probably anxious to show off his badass skills.”
Witnessing him interacting with Kale is a far cry from the Gabriel Carter I've gotten used to over the last couple weeks. The confidence is still there—I don’t think there’s anything that could rip that away from the man—but he’s different. And I can't say I don't like it. I knew that he had at least somewhat of a generous side, after all, he does host parties exclusively for his staff, but there’s an easy smile on his gorgeous features as he works with Kale out on the field. I watch them from the mini-stands, ignoring my phone as texts from Lani bounce through. I’m far more interested in the ripple of Gabe’s muscles as he demonstrates the perfect swing or the way they almost collapse from laughter at something one of them says. After an hour of practicing one-on-one, Gabe sets up the pitching machine and starts in my direction.
My mouth goes dry as his smirk returns and he slips onto the bleacher beside me. “Sorry that took so long. He wants to impress a girl, so he really wants to work on his technique.”
I laugh. “Is that how you impressed girls? Working on your technique?”
“Definitely.” He slips closer to me, brushing the outside of our thighs. He pins me with a look that’s so intense I swear it’s undressing me. “Though my technique for impressing is a little more involved.”
Warmth courses over my skin. Scooting away from him, I lick my lips. “You know, I’ve lived in Honolulu a third of my life, and I had no idea we had batting cages up until today.”
“Other than this one, there’s only one more.” When I frown, he adds, “My granddad was always a huge baseball fan, so from the moment I moved in with them on Big Island, he started teaching me how to play. When I came here and realized there weren’t many batting cages, I had this one built. Lots of good kids like Kale around so it would be a shame if they didn’t have every opportunity I had.”
And there's another shock. “The sign on the front said the Alvin Hughes Batting Cages,” I stutter.
“It doesn’t have to say my name, does it?” He smiles at me like I’m a fool. “Alvin Hughes was my pop, my mom’s father. They were a lot older than my other set of grandparents but far more interested in taking me in. My dad’s parents wanted to spend their retirement in their RV, visiting the world’s biggest ball of twine and cheese museums, or whatever the fuck they were into.”
“Sounds … fun.”
“About as fun as getting a root canal. I’m grateful for Mom’s folks. They were good people, hard-workers. I figured it was fitting to name this place after Pop since he was the one who got me into playing.”
Something tight forms in the back of my throat, so I have to clear it a few times before I start, “Are your grandparents…”
There’s a faraway look in his hazel eyes as he shakes his head. My heart sinks for him again. In just a couple of hours, I’ve learned more about Gabe than most reporters had ever discovered during his career, but it’s all heart-breaking. He’s lost everybody. “They’ve been gone for a while,” he admits. “I hate it because they would’ve loved to have met you. Watch me settle down and all the domestic stuff.”
“Even if I’m a fake fiancée?”
He snorts and a moment later, I suck in a deep breath when he lifts my hand to his mouth and presses a kiss to the heel of my palm. “That’s not fake. That flush you get whenever my hands or mouth is on you.”
I snatch my fingers back, rubbing my palm to stop the tingles. “You caught me off guard.”
“God, I love it when you lie.”
Jabbing my tongue into my cheek, I turn my focus back to Kale as he swings at a ball coming out of the machine. He hits it effortlessly, doing a silly dance as it sails across the field. “What happened to his parents?”
“His dad was never really in the picture but he passed away when Kale was four or five. Drunk driver. His mom is deployed. She
's from here, so he lives with his grandparents while she's gone or in the field.”
I bob my head in understanding. Though I’d never been in the same situation, I can still remember how excited the moms in my unit were whenever they got to speak to their kids during our deployments. I have so much respect for Kale’s mom, and when I tell Gabe that, he nods. “Yeah, me too. Laurie is really great and fucking adores that kid.”
“Laurie,” I sigh. Her name immediately brings to mind the hurricane that got us into this mess. “I can't wait to meet her. That is, if we're…”
I don't know why, but it aches to even consider finishing that sentence. If we're still together when she comes home from her deployment. If you haven't gotten exactly what you wanted, and we've gone our separate ways.
There’s a strange look on his face, so I release a nervous laugh and clear my throat. “You surprised me today, Gabe. In a good way.”
He lowers his forehead to mine and my heartbeat flutters. “Then here’s to more of that, beautiful.”
12
Gabe
2:45 PM: We’re having a birthday party for my Aunt at the Bungalow. If you’re not busy in an hour, you can drop by?
I reread the text from Maggie three times, my grin growing wider with every word.
It was late by time we got back last night. After baseball, we’d grabbed dinner and stopped by a local surf shop to pick up Kale’s new board from Cooper Taylor, the island surfing guru. Maggie had gotten caught up in talking to his wife and gushing over their new baby, so it had given Kale time to try out his board while we were there. It was half past ten when I finally parked the Audi in the parking garage at the Elite, and Maggie had given me a demure look as she told me she had to go home to work the front desk overnight. I’d thought for sure she’d finally be in my bed, but I had gritted my teeth as I kissed her good night. Ran some of my pop’s sage advice through my head—good things come to those who wait.