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I couldn’t help but stare.
He glanced over and caught me looking at him. Was I blushing? No, please no. No blushing.
He smiled. I melted. My face heated. Damn. Blushing.
The Irish-Mayan god stood between me and the reception desk. I would have to say hello. I wanted to say hello. I smiled. He nodded, motioning for me to approach. I took a step forward, but an overdressed older couple rushed over to him and began an animated conversation.
Dammit. Okay, I would wait around for him to be done greeting every guest. Maybe he was the manager, or the activities director, with a job to do.
I could think of a hundred ways he could entertain me.
He winked at me as if he could read my thoughts, and I abruptly turned and started walking. Right into the gift shop. Okay, good. I’d browse a bit, calm down, and when I was done, maybe my dream man would be free.
My cell phone rang, throwing me completely off-balance. I hurriedly pulled it from my bag and fumbled to answer, worried that there was an emergency at work.I knew I shouldn’t have come to a remote island!
No emergency. It was Jane, one of my closest friends.
“Mia!” Jane squealed. “I’m with Amanda. I’ve got you on speaker. We were just talking about you and decided to call instead. How is the resort? How are the men on the island? Describe them all.Everyjuicy detail.”
I glanced around to make sure no one could hear her side of the conversation.
“Stop. I practically just got here.”
“Where are you now?” Amanda asked. “On the beach? In that sexy new bikini we forced you to buy?”
Jane said, “I’ll bet she’s in her room reading.”
“Where are you?” Amanda demanded.
“I’m not in my room reading,” I said as I stared at a rack of bestsellers.
“See?” Amanda said. “So, talk.”
“About?”
“How is it? The island, the men, the drinks. Spill.”
“I literally stepped off the ferry less than thirty minutes ago. I was about to check in when you called.” I paused, glanced around, and then said quietly, “Almost everyone here is with someone, but there’s this one guy. I think he works here. He’s gorgeous.” Understatement.
“Ohhh,” the girls said together. “More,” Jane added.
Talking to my besties helped. If I was going to have a wild and crazy fling this week, I needed to prepare.
“He’s about six feet, lean, tan, muscles in all the right places,” I said. “Dark hair that curls at his collar.”
“Name?”
“I don’t know. I just saw him across the lobby.”
I glanced out and he was still there, talking to the same couple, laughing at something they said. Then he looked at me over their heads, and I froze as our eyes met. Then I turned my back on him. I needed more time to prepare.
“And you didn’t introduce yourself? Right then and there?” Jane said. “Dammit, Mia! What did we tell you?”
I moaned. “Channel Elle Woods.”Legally Blondewas our favorite movie. We’d seen it a million times.
“Channel Elle, channel Elle,” they chanted.
I needed to radiate calm, cool confidence just like Elle Woods. And here I was, heart pounding, hiding in the gift shop.