Chapter Thirteen

Reese grabbed her oversize beach bag and ran out front to where Vin had parked his sedan. An amused look on his face, he opened the car door. “You do know we’re going to the beach? For the Full Moon Party?”

She glanced down at the knee-length, pale yellow sundress. “You said this was a work event.” She’d dressed on the conservative side, but she had a bikini underneath.

He chuckled but kept his eyes on the road as they pulled into traffic. “It is. But with my marketing team, I have a different kind of reputation to maintain than with my board.”

“Why do I feel like you’re being serious right now?”

“Because I am.” With one hand, he opened the console. “See the wristbands in here? Those are the brainchild of my marketing team. My head of public relations, to be exact. If she can brand anything, she does.”

Reece pulled out a blue band that read #justlivelife. “I noticed you wear one of these.” Stretching the band over her wrist, she said, “I’m keeping this one.”

“They’re going to love you.”

Love her. Could it really be so easy to get a whole marketing team to love her? Just wear a rubber band around her wrist. If life were that simple, she wouldn’t have spent years cultivating an image to prove to her family she was worthy of their love. That they hadn’t made a mistake in adopting her and welcoming her into their family. Most days the negative thoughts stayed away, but the need for reassurance was always there. In the back of her subconscious. As she twisted the band around to read the hashtag again, she thought about the phrase and recalled the conversation in his office that started this whole series of adventures.

Sprint toward your dreams like you’re flammable and time is the match.

That was the quote on his website that first caught her attention. But how much of it was marketing and how much was pure Vin?

Tucking her ankle under her knee, she turned just enough to see his expression. “Sprint toward your dreams. What if I don’t have dreams?” She couldn’t think of a single thing she wanted enough to sprint toward, and that made her sad.

He shot her a frown. “Doesn’t everyone have dreams?”

“I don’t know. Goals, sure. But dreams? Like, what does that even mean?”

He placed his palm on her naked thigh. “Dreams are ideas you implement. For example, I’m dreaming of your smooth skin.” His hot hand slid up her leg, igniting all sorts of delicious dreams.

She bit her lip. “Oh, yeah, I get those dreams.”

His tone turned serious, but he kept his hand right there, his fingertips just inches shy of her most sensitive flesh. “Dreams are ideas we try because they sound fun, or exciting, or different, or new. Like, learning to surf has always been a dream of mine, and so I took a bunch of lessons. But goals are more calculated to produce a measurable result, like my goal to graduate with an MBA. But sometimes they can be the same thing.”

She never really thought about the difference. But the way he explained it gave her a new perspective. “I like that.”

He gave her leg a light pat and removed his hand. “So tell me your dreams.”

Staring out the window, she reminded him, “I just said I don’t have any.” She wasn’t sure why this bothered her so much, but spending time with Vin spotlighted her deficiencies and everything she didn’t do before hooking up with him.

“Make one up.” His voice sounded casual enough, but the weight of the request equaled flying to the moon.

She sucked on the corner of her lip. “Well…based on your definition…”

The road curved and the beach came into view. It was one of those rare occasions when the sun and the moon could both be seen at opposite ends of the sky. As they pulled up to the valet, she still couldn’t think of one dream she’d ever had. Goals, yes. But not dreams. Nothing like learning to surf. Unless her fantasies counted?

He tipped the valet and then turned to face her. “Well?”

“I’m thinking.”

Their gazes locked and held, and then he nodded once and looked around. They headed through the hotel’s entrance straight to the VIP section in the back, where most of the Ferguson Holdings marketing team already sat around an ice sculpture. The beach was packed with people in various stages of undress, and the drums beat a rhythm that matched Reece’s heart. Girls in bikinis roamed around with trays of colored shots, and a trio of guys hula-hooped like professionals. How had she never known about these drum parties? Just miles down the road from where she’d grown up.

Vin leaned down, brushed the hair back from her neck, and kissed her shoulder. “I expect you to come up with at least one dream by the end of the night, Reece Rowe.”

And she would, because damn if she’d disappoint him.

She accompanied him around the party, meeting his marketing team, drinking fruity beverages, and detailing every moment. She liked how he knew the names of his team, and with each introduction, he included a bit of trivia about the person. This is Carl. He’s too good at golf, so he’s the guy to have on your team during a tournament. She’d witnessed Vin in CEO mode with his board of directors, but this was a whole different breed of leadership with his subordinates. Accommodating and approachable. She could tell his team not only liked Vin, but they admired him.

She was just about to comment on her observation when Vin stiffened. “Reece, I’m so sorry about this.”

Before she could fully comprehend what he meant, the blonde from Amelie’s birthday party approached them wearing a rhinestone-studded bikini top and a micro-wrap around her slim hips. Tami Martin. The one Vin said had connected family. Reece had forgotten about the other woman, and she still didn’t know what the Martin family had done to gain notoriety or wealth or whatever Vin meant when he said she was connected.

“Vinnie! I was wondering when you’d make an appearance.” The blonde sauntered toward him, sunglasses perched on top of her head, so Reece could see the other woman’s bright blue eyes as they dramatically perused his body from toe to head.

Vinnie? Reece bit the inside of her cheek to keep from snorting, but some part of her ached to know the history behind the nickname. Had they been close at one time? She knew she had no right to be jealous, but the distinction between him voluntarily hooking up with Tami versus Reece and Vin’s arrangement stabbed her in the heart.

“Tami, I believe you know Reece.”

Tami held a blue drink in one hand and a clutch in the other, displaying her perfectly manicured, blue nails. “Your brother and I serve on the same board for the children’s grief shelter.”

“Landon?” Reece asked, wary of the direction of the conversation. She didn’t discuss her family with strangers.

Tami rolled her eyes. “God, no. That man doesn’t have an empathetic bone in his entire body.”

The woman’s familiarity with her brother irritated Reece, but she recognized it for what it was: name-dropping.

The blonde raked her eyes over Reece and continued, “Christopher is an amazing man. So dedicated to serving the community.”

Vin touched Reece’s elbow. “Excuse us, Tami, but this is a work function for me, and I’d like to introduce Reece to the rest of my marketing people.” He nodded toward two people walking in their direction.

Tami sipped her blue drink and puckered her lips. “Of course. I know how this whole thing works. Showing off your fancy girlfriend. But I wanted to ask you if you still had my champagne flutes in your office. I’d hate to lose another set of Waterfords.” She waved her arm in the air, and the liquid splashed over the rim and landed on the pale yellow fabric of Reece’s sundress. “Oh!”

As the sticky liquid stained a bright blue over Reece’s left breast, the familiar terror at ruining a dress slammed into her stomach. Accidents happened, but she couldn’t stop the way her heart raced and a thumping increased in her temples. They were in public. The dress was ruined. She was so embarrassed. Ever since she was a child, whenever she stained her clothing, she panicked. Now, as an adult, it was a little different—she didn’t burst into tears—but the physical symptoms accompanying her anxiety were still present. That, combined with the woman’s mention of champagne flutes in Vin’s office, practically blinded her to rational thought. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to keep focused. To keep breathing.

Tami’s face morphed from shock to a satisfied smirk and then polite apologetic indifference. “I am so sorry.”

With a tight smile and short breaths, Reece said, “It’s fine.”

Vin grabbed the attention of a passing server and requested soda water, and then, with his hand on Reece’s lower back, he excused them, turning Reece to face his approaching marketing people. “I’m sorry about that.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out another sundress, this one pale pink. “The soda water should help, and I have a backup dress.” With most of the people walking around in their bathing suits, Reece didn’t hesitate to drag the yellow mess over her head and slip into the pink one. She knew better than to make a big deal about a stain or about the champagne flutes. Waterfords.

“I don’t know if I should be impressed or confused you have a second dress in there.” He gestured toward her bag.

“It’s just this thing I do.” She tried to act casual as she stuffed the ruined dress into her bag. She was relieved the stains had been minor spots and not soaked through to her bikini top.

“Carrying extra clothes to parties?”

She gave a nervous laugh. “Childhood paranoia, you could say.”

“Childhood paranoia?” Vin raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. “Care to share what happened as a child so you carry around a change of clothing decades later?”

Now wasn’t the time to bring up her insecurities, especially with two people approaching them. “Not really,” she said as she nodded her chin toward the newcomers.

Vin looked over and shifted into work mode. “Hello, you two. I believe you know Reece. Reece, this is the head of FH’s PR team and her cyber-marketing analytics guru.”

The woman wearing a muumuu frowned at the departing blonde. “Reece, lovely to meet you.” When they shook hands, the other woman’s eyes brightened. “Oh! You’re wearing a band. How perfect!”

The guy in surfer shorts clapped Vin on the back. “Hey, boss. Great night for a full moon, huh?”

Vin cringed. “No more drinks for you if you call me boss again.”

Reece exhaled a soothing breath. Tami hadn’t said when she’d left the Waterfords. Maybe it had happened months ago. More than two months ago. She wouldn’t ask. She wouldn’t care. She’d focus on Vin’s head of public relations. Wearing a muumuu. That had a wonderful print. Not solid, like her pale yellow, now stained, sundress. Why hadn’t she thought to wear a printed muumuu?

“I’m so into Boho fashion right now. That’s a great print.”

The woman smoothed her hand down the fabric. “Thanks! I’m really loving anything Hawaiian or anything that makes me feel like I’m on a vacation.”

She nodded. “I’ve heard about your month. Sounds like you deserve a trip to Hawaii.”

She’d been joking, of course, but Vin scowled at her. “Don’t give them any ideas.”

The cyber-marketing guru brightened immediately. “Remember last year’s retreat? We should definitely to do that again!”

“Big Sky? No. That retreat was earned because your team launched a kick-ass campaign for those online workshops.” Vin shook his head. “This year feels like the year of dousing fires.”

The head of PR sipped on something fruity. “Well, tell your coders to keep it together.”

The pineapple on the side of the glass slipped, and the cyber guru caught it, taking a bite. “The growing pains of success.”

When the server approached with the soda water, Vin also took two rum runners from the tray and handed one to Reece. “I never dreamed we’d grow this big this fast.”

There it was again. That word that caught in Reece’s ear. Dream. She touched Vin’s arm, and his attention turned to her. “Have you always known you wanted to run a company?”

“No. As a matter of fact, after I sold my first app, I thought I’d just keep creating more of them. But then I had too many ideas and not enough time, and I convinced some friends to help me code them faster, and one thing led to another, and well”—he shrugged—“here we are.”

His head of PR shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “I have never heard you tell the story that way.”

Vin laughed. “That’s because I knew you’d cringe to hear the randomness of it. You like a tidy story with a hook to sell the company image.”

That sounded like the Vin she was coming to know and lov—

She choked on her rum runner and then coughed. Where on earth did that thought come from? And why would she love Vin’s randomness? She liked lists and plans and measurable results.

The cyber guru waved to someone in the distance. “Looks like they’re ready for you, Vin.”

Vin winked at Reece. “I have a surprise for you.”

Reece glanced to where the stage was being rearranged. “Are those fire dancers?”

As she followed Vin to a beach towel near the front of the low stage, he hopped up and took the microphone from the emcee. “I hope y’all don’t mind that I’m gonna sing one song I wrote for a very special lady in my life.”

The crowd collectively sighed, and Reece bit her lip to keep from tearing up. Vin wrote her a song? More than that, he called her a very special lady. It might be for show, but he didn’t have to go to such lengths in front of his employees. Not one single board member or member of the press was here—that she knew about—and still, he’d written her a song. It was the most romantic gesture she’d ever received, and he hadn’t even strummed a single note.

The band started playing, and the magnitude of the whole thing hit her hard.

Vin wrote a song and found time to practice with a band to play it for her.

She listened to the words. While not a love song—what did she expect?—the song did speak volumes to her and, more exactly, to their situation. Chaos, joyrides, and living for fun. But it was the chorus that caught her heart and squeezed.

I can’t slow down for should’ve could’ve beens.

That sounded perfectly like Vin.

Just get crazy.

When the last note ended, Reece—and everyone else—clapped wildly, but he just returned the mic and hopped off the stage, striding forward until he cupped Reece’s face and planted a kiss right on her mouth, in front of everyone. Someone might have whistled. She might have heard a get a room. But all that was blocked out as his tongue slid along her lower lip and they parted for air.

With his forehead pressed to hers in an intimate moment, Vin smiled at her. “Come up with a dream yet?”

“Not yet.” It made her sad to think she still didn’t have a dream to pursue. But then again, she’d never really thought about it. I just want to be good enough.

“Hey”—he nudged a finger under her chin—“I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

Sad wasn’t exactly the right word to describe the hollow ache in her chest.

Why didn’t she dream? Why hadn’t she ever imagined being more than she was? It was ingrained in her DNA to prove to her family she was good enough for them, to somehow thank them for adopting her when no one else wanted her, but she’d never dreamed of more. Somehow, she’d allowed herself to slip into this mediocre existence willingly, and she knew what happened to people like that. People who played their part. People who played it safe. People who played by the rules.

They didn’t have cosmic sex with the hottest guy on the planet.

“I’m dreaming of you naked right now. Does that count?”

…

That was twice now Reece had blindsided Vin. Yesterday, he’d asked her to accompany him to a Flag Day parade on Marco Island that ended with sex in the bathroom and again on the renovated bridge. Hot. So hot. And the blow job she’d given him in the car riding back across Alligator Alley? Illegal and the hottest road head he’d ever had.

And now, she’d switched from having no dreams to dreaming about him naked.

He’d be a fool not to accommodate her. He’d fully expected her fury after the Tami disaster. First, the mention of the champagne glasses and then, dumping her drink on the front of Reece’s dress. But even though he’d seen anger in Reece’s eyes, he’d seen something else. Panic. And her comment about childhood paranoia… His mind cycloned back to twenty years ago, and a rush of something unexpected flooded over him.

Her companionship at these events had showed him how different it could be if he had the right woman by his side. Dangerous line of thinking, for sure, but also realistic. This evening could have gone so many ways sideways, with his team and Tami and… He didn’t want to recount all the women who’d waved to him with hopeful expectations, only to back down once they saw he had his arm around a woman. He wasn’t used to showing up places with someone else, so he’d always left his options open about who he’d take home, but tonight…he knew who’d leave on his arm, and he couldn’t wait to get her alone and naked.

With the sun fully set and most of his marketing team spread around the beach, he could disappear with Reece for a solid hour and not be missed. But looking at her in the pink dress, recalling the bikini he glimpsed when she’d changed, he figured an hour wouldn’t be long enough.

Burying his nose in her hair, he whispered, “Should we check balcony off your list?”

Her face brightened with the mischievous grin he recognized well. “Yours or mine?”

“National’s. I booked a Cabana Suite with a balcony overlooking the beach.”

She glanced toward the hotel, a slow smile spreading over her face. “Perfect.”

“I thought so.”

She grabbed his hand and all but dragged him toward the path. “Well, let’s go make my dreams come true.”

He’d checked in earlier in the day, so he wasted no time getting her inside the room. As requested, a bottle of champagne, a charcuterie platter, and freshly dipped chocolate-covered strawberries greeted them on the sideboard, and the moan that whispered from Reece’s throat when she first tasted the bubbly gave Vin an immeasurable amount of satisfaction.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she murmured, “A girl could get used to this kind of treatment.”

“So could a guy,” he said, running the backs of his fingertips over her bare arm. There was a lot about Reece a guy could get used to. From cocktail dresses to tank tops and upscale casual in between, the woman proved to be a damn chameleon, a trait that made her impossibly easy to be around.

She opened her eyes and held his gaze for a long moment, and then she kissed him. Her lips parted to let him in, and as his tongue teased and explored, his hands pushed the straps of her sundress over her shoulders and down her body. Then his fingers found her bikini top’s one hook, and with an expert flick, he exposed her nipples. With their mouths fused, she rubbed her bare chest against him, accompanied by a low moan. Any sense of control disappeared with her bottoms, and then she was naked, her clothes in disarray around her sandaled feet.

Reaching for his shirt and yanking it over his head, he said, “If we’re going to check off that balcony fantasy, I think you might want to leave on the dress, as much as it pains me to say it.” He toed out of his loafers and grabbed one of the condoms from his pocket before unbuckling his belt.

“Hold that thought.” Without hesitating, she disappeared into the bathroom and returned wearing one of the thick, white robes—backward. “How about this?”

He liked this unexpected Reece. The one calling the sexual shots. This woman had an imagination unmatched by any of his previous women. During their time together, he forgot how different their backgrounds were and how bad she’d made him feel when he was a child. Whenever he had his hands on her skin, he only cared about pleasuring her, and that should have warned him to detach, but it didn’t. If anything, it drew him to her like those mosquito zappers.

“You”—he turned her around and inspected the robe from behind—“have a beautiful”—he opened the robe just under where she’d belted it and cupped her bottom—“mind.”

She whirled around on him. “I was thinking I could have a glass of champagne and lean on the rail, looking at the beach.” She picked up the glass of champagne and held it up for him to refill. “And you could come behind me and… You get the idea.”

“I do. Let’s get you outside.” He opened the door and gave her a light push onto the balcony.

He could playact with her all day and all night, and if that meant lying to himself, too, well, that was something he’d do. Make believe these fantasies would last forever.

Holy shit.

When did forever come into the equation?

The protection rolled on with lightning speed, and he drove into her with a force that should’ve cleared his head. He blinked into the horizon, the sparkling water, the sway of the palm trees, but none of that held his desire in check. She was so damn wet, and the way her hair fell down her back…

“The moon is so huge,” he mumbled, distracting himself from the building pressure.

“You’re so huge,” she panted.

With one hand anchored on her hip, the other circling her core, he felt her muscles clench hard at the same time she pleaded, “Cover my mouth so I don’t scream.” He cupped his palm over her mouth as she spasmed over and over and over again around him.

When she giggled, he brushed the hair from her neck and finished, and she sagged against his chest and said, “That was better than any dream.”

A tight ache formed in his chest. Yeah, that was better than his best dreams.

On a low sigh, she said, “I’ll never look at another moon and not remember this.”

Her words wound around his brain and connected the full moon with her bare backside. Like he needed another thing to remind him of her utter perfection. He’d never spent much time with a woman during the day, and he was awed by how easy it was to be with her now. Her sugary scent filled his nostrils, and three things became all too clear. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever fucked. When she said sex fantasy, a few of his own popped into his head. When this ended, he’d have to sell his condo and move somewhere far away, because he just might kill whoever the lucky bastard was to marry his dream woman.