I walked out onto the deck. Aidan was already in the hot tub, which was a little disappointing because it meant I missed seeing him in his swim trunks. He, on the other hand, looked quite appreciatively at the sight of me in my bikini.
"I think pink is my new favorite color," he said as I climbed into the hot tub. The cool ocean breeze was the perfect setting for a steamy, frothy soak and having an extremely hot man in the spa didn't hurt either.
"I'm glad you like it. I rarely wear pink but this suit just screamed buy me when I saw it on the rack. That and the fact that it was fifty percent off."
I sat on the seat across from him. Instantly, he moved his big foot between mine. "I've got plenty of room on this seat next to me."
"It's kind of hot to sit close."
"I think hot is the point of a hot tub."
"Good point." I lifted my face to the sun. It was just beginning to sink in the sky. "It's so beautiful out here." I squeezed his foot between mine. "I suppose you appreciate nice things more when you haven't always had them. It must feel sort of unreal for you after a rough childhood."
"It does." He took a drink from his beer. "Of course, there was that near miss of mega stardom back when the guys and I had the garage band."
I laughed. "You had a band? How cool. I didn't know you were musical. What instrument do you play?"
"First, it was only cool in our minds. And I'm not musical. I'll sing to the radio on our way home, and you can judge for yourself. I played drums, but it was more like beating them than actually pounding out a coherent beat. But Chase was our lead singer, and we figured with the town heart throb as our front man, we were destined for the big time. Chase's musical talent is just one step above mine. But our hometown groupies, the girls who came to watch us practice, didn't mind that the music sucked. They just watched the lead singer with starry eyes and tone deaf ears."
"I wish I could see a picture of you guys practicing. Did your parents ever take any?"
His laugh was more of a dry snort. "Not my parents. If there are any pictures of me as a kid it's because I happened to be standing near a kid whose parents took pictures."
It was hard to hear how crummy his childhood was, but he never looked angry or sad about it. He said it as if that was just the way it was and that there was no use thinking about it.
I rubbed my palms over the frothy bubbles on the surface. A warm mist hovered over the top of the water mixing with the cool coastal air. "Tell me a little more about your partners. I'm curious about your band mates. You mentioned Chase was the town heart throb. I'm finding that hard to imagine as I look across the bubbles at my extremely dreamy hot tub partner. Chase must be amazing."
"He thinks so, that's for sure. But he's a good guy. He naturally fit the position as face of the Plaything company. He does PR and meets with investors and suppliers. He can charm a toad out from under a toadstool. That's what our sixth grade teacher used to say. His girlfriend, Macy, owns a bakery in town called Sweet Spot."
"Oh yes. One of the women I work with at Bulk Mart ordered her wedding cake from that bakery. It was beautiful and delicious. By the way, my tyrannical manager left an angry voicemail about me calling in sick today. I guess I'll hear an earful tomorrow."
"She can't fire you for being sick."
"I know but she can make my life miserable." I lifted my arms out of the water and waved them around. "But this has all been worth a day of playing hookie. So what about the other guys?"
Aidan leaned his head back against the edge of the hot tub. "Trey is the business guy. He keeps things in order. His girlfriend, Georgie, is a journalist. She's even won some awards. She's a lot of fun. And then there's Zane. He was the one guy who everyone expected to make it out of our crummy little town. He was destined for college on a full scholarship, but—" He drank some beer as if the story was hard to tell. "There was some family trouble with his stepdad and his schoolwork and scholarship fell apart. He's our marketing maniac, and he's great at it. He's dating the youngest heiress of the Bonneville fortune. Raini is wild and beautiful and just the right amount of challenge for Zane."
"All of their girlfriends sound so incredible. I don't think I ever want to meet them. I feel like such a nothing in comparison."
"Bullshit." He floated over and sat next to me. "You're just as incredible, and soon you'll be a box office sensation."
I laughed. "One call back does not mean box office sensation, trust me."
He reached for my hand underwater and laced his big fingers between mine. "What about you? Where did you grow up?"
"No place of note. I'm from the middle of nowhere, a little town called Sheffield. But I was the senior class vice president and president of the drama club. Of course there were only a hundred people in my high school so that's not saying much. The town does have its own supermarket and bank. In fact, my mom manages the bank, so if my big break doesn't come soon, I can always go back there and be a teller."
He reached behind my back and lifted me onto his lap. "Not a chance. Your break will come. And I think you'll like Georgie, Macy and Raini. I know they'll like you. Which reminds me, we've been invited for a day on the Plaything One in a few weeks. It's Trey's yacht. You can meet them all then."
"A yacht? I don't have clothes for a yacht." I felt the string on my bikini top come undone and next thing I knew I was topless.
"This easily removed pink bikini is the only thing you'll need."
He spun me to face him. I straddled his lap and lifted my breasts above the surface of the water.
"Hmm," he said as he rubbed his thumb over my nipple. "I think it's time to head back inside. This hot tub is getting just a little too hot."
Chapter Eighteen
Aidan
Out of the four of us, I was by far the guy who struggled the most with being rich. It sounded stupid as hell to struggle with the idea of suddenly having everything, house, cars, money for luxury vacations, but for me, my shitty upbringing wasn't so much about not having new clothes for school or a decent coat for winter, it was about not having a family that cared about my existence. The first time my parents' lack of interest in me really hit hard was after a three day stay at Chase's house. I went in through the kitchen door, and my mom looked up from her coffee. She was a mess from partying too much and all I could think was how badly I wanted her just to look like a mom with neatly cut hair and pink lipstick, like the other moms in town. That morning, after I'd been gone for three days without a call home, she looked confused to see me. I figured she was still stoned out of her mind and she didn't even know who I was. But it was worse than that. She glanced back down the hallway toward my room and then took a sip of coffee before speaking. 'You're up early, Aidan' she said. I'd been gone three days and she'd had no idea. So while my friends dreamt about fast cars and big houses, I dreamt about being in a family that gave a damn. And now I had one—my three best friends. They'd been there all along, it just took me until adulthood to figure it out.
I was finally getting comfortable with the idea that I could live like a rich man. I turned the car on the winding road that led up to the home site. I hadn't had time to check in on the progress and during our dinner date, I'd decided to show Jane.
"I'm excited to see your place, but it's dark out. I'm assuming there won't be any electricity."
"No, they've only got the framing done. I brought a flashlight."
She gazed out the window at the houses in my future neighborhood. "All the houses are so beautiful. Why didn't you just buy one that was already built?"
"I looked at a few but when you're my size, regular houses are just too small. I need higher door jambs and space in the kitchen and bathroom. Along with counters and vanities that are taller."
"So you're building a house for a giant."
"Actually, I'm building a place where I won't feel like a freaky giant because everything will be my size."
She sat back against the seat and straightened her dress. "What if you marry a petite
little woman?" She stretched to sit up a little higher. "Someone like me? Not that I'm suggesting you marry me, but hypothetically speaking."
"Well, I suppose I'll have to find a tall woman to marry so she fits the house."
"Oh." The disappointment in her voice made me laugh.
"Or I could marry a short woman and just buy some step stools."
She nodded once. "I like that idea better. Tall women are—well, they are just so darn tall."
"You haven't talked about the second audition for the movie part. How did it go?"
Jane fidgeted with the fabric on her dress. "I don't want to say because I worry that if I talk about it, I will jinx myself."
"Gotcha. I won't bring it up again until you do." I pulled up to the building site. The tall frames of the house looked like naked trees standing straight up from the ground.
Jane leaned forward to see better through the front windshield. "It's darker up here than I expected, but it looks big."
"It's a little smaller than the surrounding houses. In square footage, anyhow." The next neighbors were a good acre away, so any light from the other houses was minimal. I reached behind the seat for the flashlight.
We climbed out of the car. Jane pulled the sweater she was wearing closed around her.
"A fresh breeze floats up the hillside every evening, so I'm having big windows built across the front of the house both for the view and to keep the house cool in summer."
Jane stopped and looked back down the hill. "It’s a fantastic view." She worked hard to keep the skirt of her dress from floating up. "And there's definitely a breeze."
I watched her push one corner of her dress down only to have another one puff up. "I think I've just found another thing I like about that breeze. No one can see you except me, Jane. I say let those panties show. In fact, I'm kind of wishing you hadn't worn any." I pointed the flashlight into the house. "Leave the dress alone, Marilyn Monroe, and follow me."
We walked through the future double door entrance.
"It doesn't look like much now, but if you use a heavy dose of imagination—" I flashed the light into a corner. "That's the kitchen and the dining room. The living room is here along with a game room, because I never actually grew up."
Jane followed close at my heels. "Yes, a big imagination is needed. But I can see that the walls and doors look taller than average."
I headed down the plywood floor that would eventually be a hallway. I stood in the center of a framed room and waved my arms around. "And this is the master bedroom where I will eventually have a big bed and you will be stretched out in the middle of it. Naked, of course."
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, long and hard.
She was breathless by the time I lifted my mouth away.
"Damn, I wish this thing was farther along." I ran my finger along the top of her bodice, tracing the curves of her breasts. "There's not even a wall to push you up against."
"No, but the last time I checked your car had a spacious backseat. I haven't made out in the backseat of a car since—"
She bit her lip as I lifted a curious brow at her.
"Well, since never. I was just not the backseat kind of girl." She blinked innocently up at me.
"Right." I took hold of her hand. "Then I say we make you a backseat kind of girl right now."
We walked out of the house and frame. I stopped midway back to the car. "Wait, I just remembered something. I don't fit in the backseat of my car."
She laughed as she swung around to hug me. "You poor freakishly big man, you really weren't meant to live with mortals, were you? I guess that means we'll just have to go back to our crummy old apartment building and drown out the televisions on our floor with our cries of passion."
We continued toward the car. "That works."
Chapter Nineteen
Jane
It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. A crisp blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds and sunlight glittering off the water in such a way that it looked like a rippling carpet of diamonds. To top off the fantasy, I was sitting on a glistening white yacht with a man who was turning out to be everything I ever dreamed of in a perfect mate. And I had even grown instantly fond of his friends.
While I never considered men to be proficient at describing people, Aidan had done an accurate job when he'd told me about his friends and their significant others. Trey was extraordinarily handsome, the type of man who was just made to wear a tailored business suit. He looked dashing in his captain's hat as well. And he had that serious charm that made him seem very much the gentleman. And his girlfriend, Georgie, was the type of woman who just shouted sex appeal. And her brainy worldliness showed in the way she spoke. I had expected Chase to be gorgeous, but he surpassed even the image I'd had of him. And yet he was down to earth and funny and not the least bit conceited. His girlfriend, Macy, was as cute as she was nice. She was the type of girl who everyone in high school wanted as a friend. And she'd brought along spectacular strawberry tarts that melted in my mouth as if they were made of pure butter.
It seemed, though, that I wasn't going to get to meet Zane this round, which was disappointing.
Trey had driven us to a quiet cove, where the only other signs of life were seagulls and the occasional jumping fish. Aidan and I were sitting on the circular couch snacking on chips and dip. Chase and Macy had joined us. Georgie came out with a tray of strawberry daiquiris.
She lowered the drinks onto the table. "I'd hang on to these. That wind is picking up and last time Trey and I anchored here, I ended up with my drink in my lap"
Chase handed Macy and me a drink. "Where's Trey?"
Georgie looked at the cabin entrance. "He was on the phone with Zane."
Aidan took hold of his drink. "I'm thinking of lowering the canoe into the water and paddling to shore."
"I'm up for it," Chase said enthusiastically.
Aidan tilted his head. "I was talking to the lovely woman at my side. If I wanted a romantic shore excursion with you, I would have asked you specifically."
Macy giggled behind her glass, but Chase didn't look the least bit embarrassed. He didn't seem like the type of guy who even knew what embarrassmentt felt like.
Chase put his arm around Macy. "Fine then. Take the lovely woman, just don't expect me to ever say yes to your invite again."
"I'll try to power through that disappointment."
Trey walked out pushing his phone into his pocket. "Get this. Zane and Raini are flying to Tuscany for the weekend on the Bonneville private jet." He grabbed his drink and shook his head in disgust. "Must be nice."
I leaned my head closer to Aidan and lowered my voice. "He does realize that he's standing on a luxury yacht, right?"
"Just proves that even if you're standing on a grassy knoll in the middle of Ireland, the grass is always greener somewhere else."
I turned and looked up at him. "Well put. I might just take you up on that shore excursion since you're in such a philosophical mood today."
He tightened his arm around me. "You like that, eh? Well, let's go ashore, and I'll see what other nuggets I can come up with."
We got up from the table.
"Where are you going?" Trey asked.
"They're going for some beach exploration," Chase piped up.
"I see." Trey sat next to Georgie and pulled her closer. "Georgie and I left our exploration prints on the beach right behind that giant palm last month."
Georgie elbowed him. "Not everyone needs to know that."
"What? Just letting them know where the best spots are. Actually, don't use that spot. It's ours." Trey winked at us. Georgie popped up from under his arm. "I think I need another daiquiri."
"Have a good time," Chase called to us as I followed Aidan to side of the boat where the canoe was stored.
Chapter Twenty
Jane
It helped to have a boyfriend with giant propeller strength arms when in a canoe. Even rowing against the tide, as it boun
ced off the shore, Aidan managed to make a speedy trip to land.
He hopped out to drag the canoe onto the sand. I rested my arms on the oar as I watched him. A few hours out on the water, and he'd already gotten a golden tan, which went nicely with his dark blond hair. He was quite a sight in his swim trunks, with his stomach and arm muscles rippling in the sunlight.
He plucked the beach towel out of the canoe, lowered his hand for me to take and helped me out onto the sand. I was wearing my pink bikini, the one he'd mentioned he liked. It was my only bathing suit, so I didn't have a lot of choices. I had pulled on sandals for the hike around the beach. It was a rustic strip of coast that had no real access from land, unless a person wanted to drag a machete along to cut through the dense brush barricading the beach.
I stopped to smell two giant yellow blossoms on a bush. "Look at these. Do you know what they're called?"
"Nope." Aidan took my hand and led me along a narrow path of sand between shrubs and tall grass.
"We are moving awfully fast for exploration," I noted as I tripped along behind him, my sandals filling with hot sand with each step.
"Exactly."
"Are you going to stick to one syllable answers on this excursion?"
"Yes." He waved his big arms to clear a curtain of vines from the path. We stepped through to a clearing that was filled with ivory sand. Thin ribbons of sunlight poured through the overhead tree canopy.
Aidan laid the towel out on the sand. He circled behind me and untied my bikini top.
"Oh, but what if—" I looked around. We were surrounded by dense foliage and a few curious birds.
"I don't think the birds care if we make out." He continued on his mission of stripping me naked by pushing off my bikini bottoms.
"So you were jesting about the exploration part of the canoe trip?"
"I never jest when it comes to exploration." He took hold of my face. "I've been sitting next to you in this fucking pink bikini for two hours. I couldn't wait another second." His mouth covered mine as his hands smoothed down my back, stopping to take hold of my ass.