Page 63 of The Honeymoon Hack

I stared up at him. We were so close. His fingers remained under my chin, and his thumb brushed along my jaw. All I’d need to do was rise onto my tiptoes, close those few inches between us, and I could taste his lips again. I could lose myself in the sensation and forget about security badges and hurricane forecasts and everything depending on me to keep my cool today.

The idea should have terrified me.

Instead, it made my heart race with something that wasn’t entirely fear.

Get a grip, Brie.

I stepped back, breaking the contact.

Will dropped his hand, a slight frown creasing his mouth.

“You’re right,” I said. “The plan will work. I just need to focus.”

“You’ve got this, Bug.” He smiled, untying one or two of the knots in my stomach. “You always do.”

I forced a smile that I didn’t feel. Some stubborn part of me missed the charged energy between us. When had my pulse started reacting to my best friend?

No, you’re not going there. Don’t think about the kiss.

Or about watching his ass in the reflection on my laptop screen.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his words slow.

No, I am most definitely not all right.

I turned away from him so he wouldn’t see the blush I knew was climbing its way up my cheeks. I grabbed my lanyard andthrew it around my neck. “We should head to breakfast. I’m starving.”

Will threw his own lanyard on and walked to the door with me. He stopped at the door, blocking me with his body. “I almost forgot.”

His gaze dropped to my chest, and he grasped the small metal clip holding my ID card. He turned it over, twisting this way and that, his hands hovering just above my breasts. I held perfectly still, barely breathing, afraid he’d notice how much I wanted to close the distance. He was big and warm, and so… so right there.

If he moved his hands a few inches…

I pushed it all away, cheeks still burning.

Will’s eyes met mine as he finished, and he smiled again. That smile untied another of the knots in my chest, while tangling others tighter.

“All set,” he said finally, dropping his hands and my sabotaged ID card. “The clip won’t last the hour.”

I nodded, my brain completely fried. How had things changed for me so quickly when he didn’t seem affected at all? And why was I suddenly wondering what would happen if I stopped fighting these feelings?

Change means loss, Brie. It always does.

Doesn’t it?

“Let’s go,” I said, heading for the door before I could pursue that dangerous line of thinking any further. “We’ve got work to do.”

Chapter 25

Will

Thick clouds obscuredthe morning sun as we pedaled around the last bend toward Little Haven’s eastern beach. The sea churned gray-green beneath the looming storm front, waves breaking harder against the shore than yesterday. Hurricane Lorenzo was making its presence known, though landfall wasn’t expected for another thirty-six hours.

Brie skidded to a stop near one of the bike racks, parking her bike with more force than necessary. Her movements were quick, precise—the way they always got when she was anxious but trying to hide it.

“This looks clear.” She slipped her earbud in even faster than I did.

I spotted Rav immediately, running at a steady pace along the waterline. Several other security personnel used their mandatory outdoor time for exercise as well—he fit in with them perfectly.