My heart races in my chest, my whole body still tingling. It feels like my lips are on fire from his kiss, my hips still seared by his touch. I can’t help it. I risk a glance down at my fingers, where the ring he gave me sits, right where it would if this were all real. If he really were my husband.
I decide that, just for this weekend, it will be all right to let myself believe it. I know it will only make everything harder once this is over and we’re back at the office once this fantasy inevitably ends. But… I can’t shake the look in his eyes when he kissed me, either.
So I decide, just for the weekend, I’ll throw caution to the wind.
4
The first thing that catches my eye when we cross into our room is the welcome note the hotel staff left on our bed. There’s a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket of ice on a stand beside the bed, and in front of it, a short letter welcoming “Mr. and Mrs. Rossfield.” Just the sight of those words, a casual listing of me with his last name, like it’s normal, like we’re greeted that way every day, sends a thrill through me. How many times have I written fanfiction where that happened? How many times have I daydreamed about how good Celia Rossfield sounds?
My whole body tingles. Especially when I glance up at the rest of the room, with its huge windows overlooking the grounds below, a balcony outside, and a jacuzzi-style hot tub in our enormous en suite bathroom. “Did you actually book the honeymoon suite?” I ask, grinning.
“Of course.” Luke winks and steps closer to me, his gaze fixed on mine, that hungry expression in his eye again. “In a way, this weekend is like our honeymoon, isn’t it?”
I force a laugh, because I hope it will disguise the fact that my heart is racing, my pulse pounding. “Our pretend one, of course.” But I can’t keep my voice even, or my eyes off his lips. All I can think about is how he tasted when he kissed me in the elevator. How he’d taste if he kissed me again, right here, right now.
When I glance back up at his eyes, forcing myself to stop staring at his mouth, I notice his gaze doing the same thing. Jumping back to my face as if he wasn’t just checking out my lips, my body. My cheeks flush with heat, but he’s already turning away to survey the room.
I do the same, walking across to the balcony and sliding open the doors. It’s a beautiful day outside, the weather just right, warm not too hot. I step out onto the balcony and breathe in the fresh air, the scent of flowers growing along one side of the hotel. From up here, I can see the pool, huge and luxurious, with full beds around it rather than lounge chairs, and massage stations set up nearby, along with a swim-up bar. Farther away, I spot what look like outdoor hot tubs, and little wooden shacks beside them that must be steam rooms or saunas. Beyond those, a series of flower gardens.
In the other direction is a scenic clifftop overlooking white sand beaches and the ocean far below, crashing against the rocks. The view is beautiful, breathtaking. It will be even more so at sunset tonight, I’m sure. The thought of coming back to this room with Luke tonight has my pulse racing and my mind leaping toward dirty thoughts.
I didn’t think, when I agreed to this, that anything would happen between us necessarily. It seemed like too much to hope for. But after that kiss in the elevator, I can’t help wondering if he has more in mind than just playacting.
When I turn back into the room to call Luke over, I catch him staring at me, that unreadable look in his eyes once more. “You look beautiful,” he says, his voice so low I’m not sure I heard him right. He walks toward me, and I step back into the room to meet him, my heart racing.
“Thank you.” My cheeks are still flushed from earlier, and the heat flows back into them now, especially when I watch the way his gaze drips over my body, like he’s drinking me in. “You look… great, too.” My voice faltered before I could say what I was really thinking. You look hot enough to set me on fire.
Luke winks in response. “There is one catch, though, Celia.” He lifts a hand to trail along the wall closest to our bed. Luke taps lightly. “My friend Paul booked a room just on the other side, right next to us.”
“Oh.” My eyes dance from the wall to Luke and back again. “What does that mean?”