Page 7 of Hidden Resolution

“It was all they had,” she said.

“Yes.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Yes,” he repeated. “I’ll be your pretend-boyfriend shield in St. Thomas.”

They discussed resort details and discovered they were staying in the same hotel.

Convenient.

Maybe too convenient.

As Mason scrubbed the stain from his shirt, Shonda questioned Fate’s wicked sense of humor. Self-sufficient by nature, it had never occurred to her exactly how vulnerable a woman could be while traveling solo. Hell, she flew back and forth to Miami for business all the time.

Instinct told her Mason was safe. At least physically. Emotionally? Yeah, that was another story. If she indulged in a fling—and let’s face it, all signs pointed to go—she’d have to guard her heart.Her track record of falling too fast and later regretting it was Olympic-level gold. Most men she’d dated weren’t worth the time investment. Deep down, she’d always known it, but listening to her inner voice meant a life of loneliness.

Mason felt different.

And not just in appearance, though God knew those movie-star good looks didn’t hurt. She’d recognized him the instant he picked up his duffel bag. What girl from Stonebrooke didn’t know the Sharps? Their sex appeal was genetically encoded in their DNA, and their reputations as lovers were the stuff of legend.

Mason clearly didn’t recall her. But she certainly remembered him. His swagger demanded attention. Older by a couple of years, he’d been one of the few genuinely nice football players. And if memory served, he’d been utterly devoted to his high-school sweetheart.

She’d envied their kind of love. The hand-holding. The stolen kisses. The way he looked at the girl as if she were his whole world. Though his girlfriend had been on the same cheer squad, her face escaped Shonda. Funny how she recalled him so clearly, but not the person he’d been so crazy about.

Her breath caught.

Crap! She’d made an assumption he was single, based on his solo travel and his easy agreement to play boyfriend. But maybehe was simply being chivalrous. Maybe he had a girlfriend, or worse, a wife, waiting for him.

“You… uh, do you have…?” Her brain stalled the moment his blue eyes found hers. She gave herself a mental facepalm. Where did her college-level vocabulary go around this man? At the moment, she sounded like she had never passed the fifth grade.

Those eyes crinkled with amusement. “No. I’m single.”

Relief gushed out of her like steam from a pressure valve.

“Okay. Good.” She winced at how eager she sounded.

Get it together, Shonda. You’re a grown woman, not a lovesick teenager.

“Time to board.” Mason’s deep voice cut through her mental scolding.

Startled, she glanced around. Lost in thought, she’d managed to miss the announcement. Lord, help her! This man was turning her brain to pudding.

By the time they arrived on the island, Shonda was running on fumes and ready for a twenty-four-hour coma. But wasting valuable vacation time wasn’t an option.

A restorative shower washed off the worst of her travel grime, helping to cool her after the wild fantasies starring a certain sexy companion. And okay, she’d turned the water a few degrees colder than comfortable after visions of Mason under a waterfall began to feel too vivid.

When she stepped out onto her suite’s veranda, there he was.

Mason Sharp.

Who, from their high-school days, would have believed it?

Leaning casually against a railing across the courtyard, he looked out at the horizon like he owned it.

Relaxed.

Confident.