JENN LET HERSELF INTO her hotel room and waved goodbye to the two sisters she’d met on the beach. Originally from West Virginia, the sisters had married and started careers, but they got together once a year for a sisters-only vacation.
Padding over to the balcony, she unlocked the patio doors and slid them open, letting the salt-laden breeze drift in. The view of the ocean was indescribable, a blue so clear and perfect it…
Reminded her of Nick’s eyes? Fresh tears stung her lids and she blinked rapidly. She was not going to cry. She’d done enough of that lying in bed last night, listening to the surf crash against the shore.
What was Nick doing? Was he still furious with her? She missed him with every breath she took, and she’d picked up the phone a half dozen times to call him, only to set it down again. If he wanted to call her, he would.
This morning she’d walked the beach in her bathing suit without wearing a coverup. She’d sat by the pool and ordered one of those fruity drinks with an umbrella in it. Yeah, she was slowly finding her diva side. If only Nick were here to—
Stop it! It’s bad enough that you’re here with a broken heart. Don’t make it worse by calling Nick only to hear him hang up on you. Pining is useless.
Sighing deeply, she entered her room and walked over to her closet. She was supposed to meet the sisters in the lobby in an hour. She had to shower and get ready, not to mention work up the nerve to dance. That was the plan for the evening. Meet the sisters downstairs and dance.
Like nobody’s watching.
Forty-seven minutes later, she stared in the mirror and put the finishing touches on her makeup. Just in time. She grabbed a small purse from the table, checked for lipstick, keycard and some cash and made her way into the hall.
Downstairs she flashed the two women a smile, appreciating the way they let her tag along on their night of fun and considering them safe enough since both were married and only inclined to dance and enjoy themselves. She wasn’t in the mood to pick up a man. Perhaps not ever again.
Music throbbed and vibrated, and inside the club Jenn smiled and nodded as they headed toward an available table near the dance floor. A waiter flirted with them, but Jenn didn’t flirt back. It hurt too much.
“Ooh, I love this song. Come on, Jenn!”
Laughing at the others, she automatically shook her head. “We just ordered drinks.” That was her wallflower excuse for the next five songs. Finally the sisters glanced at each other, downed their drinks and grabbed Jenn’s hands, pulling her out and into a throng of dancers. Jenn took a deep breath, her body all arms and legs and no coordination—until she remembered why she was there.
She wasn’t Jennifer Rose, the overweight, boring teacher. She was Jenn, the fun-loving, gotta-dance diva who’d planned this trip for years, paid good money for it and was bound and determined to enjoy herself. Somehow.
Another breath left Jenn laughing, her feet moving in time to the beat. Body swaying, arms lifted, she raised her face to the sparkling lights overhead and danced. It was fast and fun and furious. And while she was a far cry from being good at it, she wasn’t the worst one on the dance floor. Why had she waited all this time? This wasn’t so hard. Never again would she hesitate to open herself up to new experiences. If she wanted to do something, try something, she was going to do it. Why worry about what people would say? There was only one power she’d ever answer to.
“That guy is sooo checking you out!” The blond sister yelled in Jenn’s ear, dragging her back to reality. “And he’s gorgeous. Go talk to him.”
She shook her head automatically. “I’m not interested.”
“Are you nuts? Look at him!”
Still moving in time with the music, she turned her head toward where her new friend waved and froze. Impossible. It wasn’t Nick. Her eyes were playing tricks on her, because it couldn’t be him. He was angry at her. He wasn’t there. Could it be Luke?
No. No, she felt the sizzle of excitement, the butterflies in her stomach. Things she only experienced with Nick.
Blaming her imagination and wishful thoughts, she continued dancing until the song ended and another began. This one was slower, sexier, more in tune with couples than…
“You might not be interested, but he is. He’s coming over here.”
What? Jenn turned her head to see and there he was, moving toward her with an intense expression. “Nick?”
“You know him?”
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off him.
“Dance with me?” He held out his hand.
The sisters turned as one. “See ya!”
Jenn found herself flush against Nick’s body, his eyes blazing as he studied her. The tempo was slow and sensual and with his silver-blue gaze holding hers, she began moving against him, loving the feel of his arms around her. If this is a dream, please don’t ever let me wake up. But the song ended too soon and a hard new dance beat gave her an instant headache.
“Want to take a walk?” Nick yelled.
She nodded, completely and totally dazed by his presence.
Outside, Nick led her toward the path to the beach. She stopped long enough to slip her heels from her feet and welcomed the feel of the sand between her toes. “It’s really you, right?”
He flashed her a slow, tired grin. “Actually, no.”
“Huh?”
Pulling her to him, Nick lowered his head and kissed her, deep and hard and thorough. When he lifted his mouth from hers, he sighed. “I’m not me. According to the passport I’m traveling with, I’m Luke. It was the only way I could get here to you.”
Her heart stopped beating, then quickened. He’d done that for her? “Why did you come?”
“Because I love you. Jenn…I’m sorry I lost it. I overreacted.”
“No. No, you didn’t. I should’ve talked to you about using you and Matt in my paper.”
“I would’ve said no. Like it or not, you made me realize it was time to face facts. My grandpa always said we reap what we sow, and all the lies I’d told, all the secrets I’d kept, they were suddenly coming back to haunt me. I couldn’t escape the truth.”
He stared into her eyes. The full moon and waves crashing against the shore made a perfect backdrop.
“It was time I told my family what was going on, but I wouldn’t ever have done it if you hadn’t written the paper and forced me to.”
She blinked at him. “You told your family?”
Nick nodded. “And they were supportive—and angry that I hadn’t spoken up sooner. All these years, I was too full of myself and my pride to know they’d love me regardless.”
“Oh, Nick.”
“Just as I love you exactly as you are.”
She was not going to cry. Not now when she had so many things to be happy about. “You know I’m never going to be a size six.”
He lowered his head and took her mouth again, kissing her deeply, wildly, not breaking the contact until her legs felt weak and she leaned against him. “I don’t care. You’ll always be a perfect ten to me.”
She blinked rapidly, but the tears came anyway.
“Have I told you how much I like your dress?”
Jenn sniffled and dropped the shoes dangling from her fingers, wrapping her arms around Nick’s neck and holding tight. “My Paradise dress didn’t fit.”
“It didn’t do justice to the new you. Are you upset?”
Nose buried in his neck, she breathed deep, inhaling the fresh salt air and Nick’s cologne. “Not anymore. Because you’re right. It didn’t go with the new me. I don’t have to be a size six to be happy. Or loved. You love me?”
“I love you. And I’ll buy you another dress. I promised I would. But it’s going to be a wedding dress that shows off every beautiful inch of you.”