“You go ahead and get changed. I’ll see George to his truck,” I say and dart outside like the dome is on fire. Jesus, I’m a mess. I really shouldn’t be thinking about having sex with Wes, an NHL player who has a harem of bunnies—although Jules warned me not to believe everything I read. But he’s a guy who hired my tour company, and I shouldn’t be messing around with a customer, right? No matter how much my brain knows better, my body simply doesn’t care.
I wave George off as he climbs into his truck, and turn to see Jules and Rider’s dome all shut down. I smile. I like it when my guests love the little domes I built for the family business. It was a big investment, but one that’s going to pay off.
“All set?”
I spin and come face to face with Wes, who has my backpack over his shoulder. “You have a little…” I reach out and smudge the streak of white lotion under his eye. His chest heaves as I touch him and I honestly have no idea how I’m going to spend the next few hours with him, sleep in the same dome as him without handing over my white panties in surrender.
“Get it?”
“Yeah,” I say. He keeps pace beside me as we walk to the Jeep, and he jumps into the passenger’s seat, which brings a smile to my face. I can’t tell you how many times the guys I chauffer around insist on driving, like I don’t know how to handle a simple Jeep. Wes seems quite content with me in charge. That makes me wonder, would he be like that in the bedroom or would he take the lead?
Which do I want more?
“I can’t believe I grew up here and never once came to Brier Island.”
I cast him a glance. “I love it here. It’s so peaceful.” We pass one car on the narrow road.
“If they could get the traffic under control, it’d be paradise.”
I laugh at that. “Are you having fun so far?”
He points to his handsome face, and my gaze goes to his kissable lips. “Haven’t smiled like this in a long time, Charlie.”
“Yeah, how come?” I ask, hoping I’m not prying into something painful, but wanting to know more about him.
“Not a lot of downtime during the NHL season, and I worked my butt off to prove myself. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to be playing, it’s a dream, but I really want to prove to the guys that I’ve earned my spot on the roster, you know?”
“I can understand that. Do they still call you the rookie?”
“Yeah.” He laughs. “It’s better than some of the things the guys are called. My buddy Declan is known as the Heartbreaker. He has this girl in his hometown, though. He says they’re friends, but I think he wants more.”
“That’s a tough one.”
“He goes home every Christmas, so maybe this year he’ll finally stop being a chicken shit and do something about it. I know I would.”
I eye him for a second. “You’re saying if you want something, you go for it.”
“That’s right.”
If he wants me, does that mean he’s going to go for it?
God, I hope so.
“What about you?” he asks.
“I go after what I want,” I say. There’s no denying I want a piece of Wes, so why aren’t I going for it? I guess maybe there is some small part of me that’s worried about getting hurt. We’re just so different. He’s a big NHL star who got out of Dodge as fast as he could. I’m a small-town girl, who doesn’t want to leave, yet feel I have to. I should at least try a job in the city, right? That’s what Mom wants. I’m not sure she thinks the sea is in my soul, or if she does, she still wants me to try other things, just to be certain what I want in life.
I turn the radio down, and jack the air conditioning. I take a fast peek at Wes’ strong profile, and before I can stop myself, I ask, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Whatever happened with you and Breton, if you don’t mind my asking?” I flick on my signal light and turn down the path leading to the beach. “I’m assuming it had to be something bad, if you had to grab the girl closest to you and kiss her to prove you weren’t available.”
“You mean I had to grab the most beautiful girl in the entire province.”
I laugh at his playful words, but it falls flat when I note the seriousness on his face. “You thought I was a boy, Wes.” Eyes full of want and need narrow, as he shifts to face me, making it very clear he now understands that I’m a girl.
“Listen, Mack,” he teases. “You had your back to me, and—"