Page 47 of Fake it for Keeps

“Were you ever a Scout?”

“No. But the sentiment stands.”

She rolled her eyes but headed to the bedroom to change. I did the same in the bathroom, pulling on the swim trunks I’d packed and trying not to think too hard about the fact that I was about to be half-naked in a hot tub with Hallie.

She was still in the bedroom when I emerged from the bathroom. I had put on the robe but didn’t bother tying it. I went to the bar and pulled out one of the bottles of champagne, along with some of the fancy chocolates. Maybe I should order room service. I did cut her dinner short. I opened the fridge and found the fruit and cheese tray that I knew would be about ten times over retail.

I didn’t care. I found a tray, piled up the food, and opened the champagne.

When I stepped out onto the balcony, the cold air hit me like a slap. “Fuck me sideways.”

I positioned the tray next to the hot tub and dropped the robe before quickly sliding into the steaming water. I let out a sigh as the heat immediately chased away the chill. Snow fell gently all around me, dampening the sounds of the dark ocean, vast beyond the hotel grounds.

I poured two glasses of champagne and took a sip. I liked it better chilled, but it would be cold soon enough sitting outside. I closed my eyes and let the hot water loosen the knots in my shoulders. I rarely took the time to sit in the hot tub I had at my penthouse.

But damn, I was going to have to change that. It felt damn good.

The door opened, and Hallie emerged.

My breath caught.

She had on the robe, but it was hanging open, giving me a little peekaboo look first. Thank God because I wasn’t sure I could have handled all of it at once. My sanity and self-restraint would have failed me.

“It’s freezing out here!” she shrieked.

“Get in.” My words sounded like I’d been chewing glass.

Her eyes met mine for a half a second before she took off the robe and draped it over one of the deck chairs.

She was wearing a simple black one-piece that looked anything but simple on her. It showed off the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the fullness of her hips. Her long dark hair was piled on top of her head, a few strands escaping to frame her face.

Hallie was gorgeous.

She hurried across the balcony and dipped a foot into the water before sinking down. She gasped as the heat enveloped her. “Oh my god, that’s hot.”

“That’s kind of the point,” I managed, only staring a little.

She settled across from me, the water lapping at her shoulders. For a moment, we just sat there, the awkwardness settling between us like a third presence.

This had seemed like a good idea inside. Now, with both of us showing significantly more skin than we had at any point in this arrangement, it felt charged. Dangerous.

I couldn’t stop looking at her. The way the water droplets clung to her collarbones. The way the steam made her skin glow. Her face had a dewy look from the rising steam.

I caught her looking at me too. Her gaze drifted over my chest, my shoulders, my arms. Quick glances that she tried to hide but couldn’t quite manage.

The awareness between us was electric.

I should just lean in and kiss her. It would be easy. Natural, even. We were supposed to be engaged, after all. And if any other woman had been sitting across from me in a hot tub, looking at me the way Hallie was looking at me right now, I wouldn’t have hesitated.

So why was I hesitating?

The silence stretched, becoming almost suffocating. The only sounds were the bubbling water and the gentle patter of snow falling around us.

“Here,” I said and thrust the glass of champagne at her. “And I pulled out the snack tray. I know we didn’t finish dinner. You’re probably hungry.”

“Thank you,” she said and took the champagne.

I grabbed a chunk of cheese and popped it in my mouth, washing it down with champagne that wasn’t half-bad. Not the good stuff, but pretty damn okay.