Carolina’s ostensibly perfect fiancé. There had to
be a flaw somewhere besides the horse laugh . He
planned on finding it and exploiting it.
The problem
was, though, by the end of dinner—and maybe the drinks helped—Rain
was having just as much fun talking and laughing as everyone else at the table.
It turned out Manny was a huge Real Madrid fan. So was Rain. They also shared
interest in baseball just as Carolina had told him they did. Manny had gone to
Thailand on a backpacking trip after college, and the two ended up trading
crazy stories about their adventures in Bangkok and about hiking in rural areas
of the country. Manny even knew a little Thai—very little. Maybe three
words. But it wasn’t like Rain’s Spanish was much better.
The problem
with Manny was he was quick to make friends. Too damned likeable.
Unfortunately, Carolina and Daphne had been right about this fool, Manny. It
was impossible to hate the guy.
As they left
the restaurant later, Rain and Daphne trailed Manny and Carolina.
“Sorry. Hope I
didn’t go too far earlier,” he said.
“It’s okay,”
she said, but her smile was strained. “So what do you think?” She nodded ahead
in the happy couple’s direction. “Of Manny?”
“I mean, he’s
okay, I guess.” He added silently, but he’s
still the competition.
“Carolina’s
really happy with him,” she said. Her tone carried both concern and warning.
He watched
Carolina and Manny’s backs as they walked a few yards ahead hand-in-hand. The bright
neon lights of the storefronts on either side of the street next caught his
interest. Then he spied a guy across the street carrying presumably his
girlfriend on his back. Rain had carried Carolina like that one night after
she’d broken a shoe. He remembered feeling her chest pressed closed to his
back, feeling every breath she took and the more rapid movement of her chest up
and down when she laughed. And her chest had been moving pretty rapidly later
on that night as well.
Daphne must
have realized he had no intention of responding to what she’d said about his
Carolina being happy with Super Fiancé. After a moment of silence, she asked,
“You want her to be happy, right?” She dropped her voice to a near-whisper. “If
you love her, that should be exactly what you want.”
“Yeah,” he
said. But she’d be happier with me.
Chapter Twelve
The next
morning, Daphne woke early and sat up in the ridiculously comfortable bed. She
ran her hands over the smooth, white duvet. She could have stayed there, sunk
into that feather top mattress all day, but she had to resist the temptation.
Today was a beach day, and she didn’t want to miss one moment of it. After all,
she didn’t get the luxury of many beach days in late December.
She pulled
herself out of bed. She almost went out into the suite wearing only the cami
and shorty shorts she’d slept in before remembering Rain was out there.
Slipping on a big, fluffy white robe she’d found in the closet, she opened the curtained
French doors that led into the living area.
She took a few
steps forward and saw that the couch was empty. Then she saw Rain on the floor
in front of it doing push-ups. She watched his back muscles ripple
appreciatively for a moment. It’d been so long since she’d seen a half-naked
man in real life. It’d been even longer since she’d seen one with a back like
that. He looked like the guy from the Nordic Flex commercials, only with a
slimmer build. Maybe he was more like Josh Hartnett in Lucky Number Slevin from
the neck down. He was lean yet muscular. Not too big,
definitely not too small. Just right.
She hadn’t
realized she was staring until she heard him say, “Good morning.” He’d gotten
to his feet and now stood shirtless before her. Her eyes drifted down to his
abs—yep, the six-pack was definitely still there—and she finally
made herself look away.
You’re not only shameless, you’re
ridiculous, she told
be a flaw somewhere besides the horse laugh . He
planned on finding it and exploiting it.
The problem
was, though, by the end of dinner—and maybe the drinks helped—Rain
was having just as much fun talking and laughing as everyone else at the table.
It turned out Manny was a huge Real Madrid fan. So was Rain. They also shared
interest in baseball just as Carolina had told him they did. Manny had gone to
Thailand on a backpacking trip after college, and the two ended up trading
crazy stories about their adventures in Bangkok and about hiking in rural areas
of the country. Manny even knew a little Thai—very little. Maybe three
words. But it wasn’t like Rain’s Spanish was much better.
The problem
with Manny was he was quick to make friends. Too damned likeable.
Unfortunately, Carolina and Daphne had been right about this fool, Manny. It
was impossible to hate the guy.
As they left
the restaurant later, Rain and Daphne trailed Manny and Carolina.
“Sorry. Hope I
didn’t go too far earlier,” he said.
“It’s okay,”
she said, but her smile was strained. “So what do you think?” She nodded ahead
in the happy couple’s direction. “Of Manny?”
“I mean, he’s
okay, I guess.” He added silently, but he’s
still the competition.
“Carolina’s
really happy with him,” she said. Her tone carried both concern and warning.
He watched
Carolina and Manny’s backs as they walked a few yards ahead hand-in-hand. The bright
neon lights of the storefronts on either side of the street next caught his
interest. Then he spied a guy across the street carrying presumably his
girlfriend on his back. Rain had carried Carolina like that one night after
she’d broken a shoe. He remembered feeling her chest pressed closed to his
back, feeling every breath she took and the more rapid movement of her chest up
and down when she laughed. And her chest had been moving pretty rapidly later
on that night as well.
Daphne must
have realized he had no intention of responding to what she’d said about his
Carolina being happy with Super Fiancé. After a moment of silence, she asked,
“You want her to be happy, right?” She dropped her voice to a near-whisper. “If
you love her, that should be exactly what you want.”
“Yeah,” he
said. But she’d be happier with me.
Chapter Twelve
The next
morning, Daphne woke early and sat up in the ridiculously comfortable bed. She
ran her hands over the smooth, white duvet. She could have stayed there, sunk
into that feather top mattress all day, but she had to resist the temptation.
Today was a beach day, and she didn’t want to miss one moment of it. After all,
she didn’t get the luxury of many beach days in late December.
She pulled
herself out of bed. She almost went out into the suite wearing only the cami
and shorty shorts she’d slept in before remembering Rain was out there.
Slipping on a big, fluffy white robe she’d found in the closet, she opened the curtained
French doors that led into the living area.
She took a few
steps forward and saw that the couch was empty. Then she saw Rain on the floor
in front of it doing push-ups. She watched his back muscles ripple
appreciatively for a moment. It’d been so long since she’d seen a half-naked
man in real life. It’d been even longer since she’d seen one with a back like
that. He looked like the guy from the Nordic Flex commercials, only with a
slimmer build. Maybe he was more like Josh Hartnett in Lucky Number Slevin from
the neck down. He was lean yet muscular. Not too big,
definitely not too small. Just right.
She hadn’t
realized she was staring until she heard him say, “Good morning.” He’d gotten
to his feet and now stood shirtless before her. Her eyes drifted down to his
abs—yep, the six-pack was definitely still there—and she finally
made herself look away.
You’re not only shameless, you’re
ridiculous, she told
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