Outside at the bar, his buddy was surrounded by a bevy of admirers. “There he is,” Ethan called out, making the women turn in Drew’s direction. A couple of them scanned his body from head to toe. Usually, he would have played into their full-on perusal, but there was just one woman on the island whom he cared about.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.” Drew acknowledged the women with a nod. “I went out to dinner.”
“Ahh, hot date?” Ethan waggled his eyebrows. “Excuse us, ladies.” A collective sigh rang out, but that didn’t deter Ethan from throwing his arm around Drew’s neck and walking to the opposite end of the bar.
Drew and Ethan both ordered a beer. “You didn’t need to leave your harem for me,” Drew said before taking a swig of the beer that was readily placed in front of him.
“Dude, that’s a nightly occurrence.”So much for his father’s no-fraternizing rule. “I’m more interested in you and your date. Plus, I think my wingman is preoccupied.” Ethan glanced around. “Where is she?”
“Lacey was tired, so she went to her room.” Ethan’s eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully. “What?”
Ethan smirked. “Nothing, but you just seem different. Are you pretending to be her boyfriend all week? You know you’ll be breaking hearts left and right if that’s the case.”
Pretending.Even though it had been his idea only hours before, Drew was starting to dislike that word more and more. “She’s different, Ethan. I don’t know how to explain it past that. I did find out she lives in New York City, so that’s a shame. But to answer your question, yes, if anyone asks, she’s my girlfriend.”
Ethan brought his beer to his mouth and took a generous swig. “Noted. You know, New York isn’t that far from Chicago. Plus, you do sometimes travel to New York. Just in case you want to see her again.”
“True.” He absentmindedly began to peel the label off the bottle. “I’ve known her for less than twenty-four hours. Tomorroweverything could be different. Who knows if she’ll want to keep up this charade?” Using Lacey’s words, Drew said, “I’ll play it by ear.”
A cackle rang out behind them, and when the two men turned to see where the squawk came from, Ethan groaned. Kevin and Candi were cuddled together in one of the half-moon daybeds on the pool deck. “Those two were carrying on all day. My bar sounded like a porn set.”
Drew laughed but then remembered Kevin was Lacey’s ex. He took a minute to truly study the man, to see what had attracted her to him, but except for his obvious good looks, he couldn’t see what had drawn her to him in the first place. He made a mental note to ask her about it.
Kevin looked up and spotted Drew at the bar. Without hesitation, he left Candi behind and sauntered across the concrete path until he stood in front of them. “Well, well, if it isn’t Lacey’s boy toy. Where is she?” Kevin glanced at his watch. “Let me guess, she was tired and went to bed, right?”
Drew’s blood started pumping hard in his chest; he did his best to keep his voice calm. “It really isn’t any of your concern where Lacey is. Why don’t you worry about Candi and notmygirl?” His words were almost scolding, but he didn’t care. He was determined to protect Lacey.
Kevin tossed his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “Please,yourgirl. Do you think I bought your little show? Lacey might think she pulled one over on me, but I know for a fact she just arrived today, and I saw you at the bar yesterday, chatting it up with a hot chick. Do you expect me to believe this was a planned joint vacation?”
Drew stood from his stool. A bit taller than Kevin, he brought their chests together, forcing the other man to take a step back. Drew’s jaw ticked, and his hands itched to punch Kevin and knock him into next week. “I don’t care what you believe or what you think you saw at the bar yesterday. You stay away from Lacey; do you understand me? I don’t know how long you plan on being here, but don’t you dare come near her, or I’ll have you thrown out of the resort.”
“Please,” Kevin scoffed. “You can’t do that.”
Ethan stood beside Drew. “He can’t, but I can. Listen to the man, and back off. And while you’re at it, I need you and your girlfriend to keep it PG inmybar, understand? Families vacation here, and I don’t need the two of you acting like you’re the only ones at this resort.”
Kevin crossed his arms. “We’ll be checking out soon. I didn’t want to come to this hotel to begin with.”
“Do what you need to do,” Ethan said. “Just remember to tip your maid.”
The jerk walked back to Candi, took her by the hand, and scurried into the hotel, where Drew hoped they were going to start packing.
“Thanks, Ethan. You didn’t need to do that.”
They sat back down on their stools. “Yes, I did. Believe me, I wanted them gone before he said what he just did. Are you sure you want to get involved with the woman who went out with that loser?”
Drew lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “Yeah, I am.”
Chapter 5
Streaks of sunlight streamed in through the cotton curtains that covered the sliding glass door leading to the balcony. Lacey extended her body in a lingering stretch, releasing the tension in her muscles. It promised to be another gorgeous day. There was something about waking up to sunshine and warmth. It was so much better than the depressing New York winter weather, complete with gray skies and a chill in the air that could freeze a person’s bone marrow.
Even though it wasn’t quite seven a.m., Lacey didn’t want to waste a minute of the day. She popped out of bed with an extra spring in her step, washed up, and put on her running clothes. A smile crossed her face when she thought of running on the beach rather than on cold concrete or, worse yet, a treadmill.
With her earbuds in place, and her favorite workout mix playing, she headed outside and let her feet carry her through the plush white sand. With every step, she took in the ambiance around her. The slight breeze negated the bit of humidity that lingered in the morning air. Other vacationers started claiming prime beach real estate—just like Lacey would do when she returned to Spero.
Running was time spent to clear her head. It was her meditation of sorts. Lacey loved being able to get lost in her thoughts—or better yet have none at all. Some of her most successful advertising ideas would come to her when she exercised. Grace and Janine loved going to the gym to take intense cycling classes, but to Lacey the heavy beat of the music and instructor’s barked commands weren’t appealing. No, running all alone was her heaven.
Rather than think of work, she thought of Drew. Yesterday was wonderful, but how realistic would it be to believe Drew would want to continue the charade they’d started? Yes, he said and did all the right things, but even she had a slight bout of doubt after dinner. Plus, he was hands down the sexiest man she had ever laid eyes on—never mind her lips. How many women before her had the pleasureof his kisses? How many more would miss out on them because of their ruse? That thought slowed Lacey’s legs down to a walk until she stopped and sat down to stare at the water.