Bob Spencer rose, clinking his fork against his glass. “Although I didn’t have time to prepare a toast, I’d still like to say a few words to the happy couple.” He raised his glass. “Paige, you know Susan and I love you like our own daughter. We couldn’t be happier that you’ve joined the family and that you’re bringing us not only one grandchild, but two. It’s all the more important that we move out to California ASAP, because we want to be here for the twins’ arrival.” He laughed. “We’re going to be spending so much time with your kids—” He looked at the parents in the group. “With all of your kids, that you’re bound to get sick of us and want to send us back to Chicago.”
Paige—and everyone else—called out, “Never!”
He raised his glass. “Evan, you done good, son. Real good.”
Then Will rose. “You caught us by surprise, bro. The best possible surprise. So, like Dad, I’ll be short and sweet. All I’ll say is that after it took you ten long years to get your head out of your butt and marry Paige—” Everyone laughed and cheered. “—I’m glad you can finally see the sun shining again.”
There were guffaws and more huzzahs, and everyone toasted with glee because Evan had finally picked the right sister.
But Cal didn’t touch a drop. Champagne reminded him of the London Eye and holding Lyssa in his arms as they danced the unforgettable night away.
He had to be on the next ferry. He wasn’t going to be able to keep his distance for much longer. And if he touched her again?
On a silent curse, he picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp, consumed by the seriously hot sparks that would fly if he gave in to his desperate need to pull Lyssa into his arms and kiss her breathless.
Sparks that would surely burn to ashes any friendship or business relationship left between them.
Chapter Twelve
With the fabulous meal over, the staff cleared away the plates. A waiter rolled in a trolley with a one-tier wedding cake covered in fondant icing and beautifully made sugar flowers.
In all the hubbub, Lyssa saw Cal slip out. Knowing this was the chance she’d been looking for, she followed him as he made a beeline for the rear exit. By the time she reached the French doors, he’d already wended his way through the tables on the patio and was heading along the path to the cliff.
She couldn’t run in her heels, so she slipped them off, lifted her dress, and jogged after him. Fortunately, the patio was empty, and no one would see her making a fool of herself.
She was breathless by the time she caught up to him. “Cal,” she called.
Cal finally turned.
The look he gave her made her whole body tremble. He didn’t look angry or annoyed. His gaze simply ate her up, his eyes hot, blazing, taking in her heaving chest, sliding down her body to her shoes in her hand and her bare feet. Then he licked his lips as if his mouth had dried up.
She couldn’t catch her breath, and it wasn’t just the running. It was that look.
That hunger. For her.
Working to think clearly, she said, “I wanted to talk to you face to face. Clear the air.”
“What things do we need to talk through?” His voice was rough-edged.
She’d planned on being calm, cool, and collected. But his question—one that was so full of denial it might as well be a river in Egypt—made her see red.
“Are you kidding me?”
He’d flown up and down the East Coast for over a month just so he didn’t have to be near her. He’d run from her parents on the ferry because she’d been with them. And now he intended to skulk in the garden to avoid her?
Without stopping to think whether it was a good idea or not, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into a secluded glade off the main path. Surrounded by tall hedges, a fountain babbled prettily, a bench beside it. It was the perfect place to yell at him without anyone seeing.
She deepened her voice, doing her best imitation of him. “I have to fly off to Miami. I don’t have time to talk. I’ve got to run here, there, and everywhere to make sure I’m not in the same city as you.” Her entire body was vibrating with emotion. “Okay, so we had sex. But it’s no big deal.” She defiantly ignored the fact that the words didn’t ring the slightest bit true. “We’re both adults. We can handle this. You don’t have to avoid me like I carry the plague. I don’t know why you’ve turned the whole thing on the plane into a federal offense.”
“It shouldn’t have happened.” His voice was low, his tone raw.
She gave a painful snort of laughter. “So that means we can’t even talk anymore?”
“We talk,” he insisted. “I answer every question you have about the foundation, don’t I?”
“Okay, so you talk to me over email or the phone. But you haven’t been to the office since London. You didn’t even let me know you were in town when you worked on Mom and Dad’s deck on Saturday.” She rolled her eyes. “What’s going on with you, Cal?” She flashed back to the heat she imagined she’d seen in his eyes a few moments earlier, and the devil climbed up on her shoulder. “Are you afraid you can’t resist me or something?”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” It was the very last thing she’d expected him to say. “I can’t resist you. No matter how hard I try.”
Oh. My. God.
Her knees went weak, and her heart pounded. So hard that she thought it might actually leap out of her chest. She hadn’t invented anything in her head. She hadn’t made up the heat or the hunger. Which meant she wasn’t the only one who had been left struggling with unquenchable desire for the past several weeks.
“You should never have come out here to find me.” His voice was deep and harsh. “I should never have agreed to come to the island at all.”
But even as he was listing all the things they shouldn’t do, his hand slid beneath the fall of her hair and wrapped around her nape. His skin was warm, and his eyes were hot as he hungrily drank in the sight of her. Then he devoured her, tasting her, consuming her as if he’d been starving.
For her.
She forgot all about clearing the air. Forgot about burying the past. Forgot every vow to be nothing more than friendly and professional. Forgot how difficult the past weeks had been, how awkward, how weird. Forgot about needing to move forward with a clean slate. Forgot how much she wanted her job and how determined she was not to make another mistake.
All she could think about, all she could feel was Cal. How much she loved his kisses, his touch. How much she longed to be with him again. And how sure she was that this time, things would be different.
They could both see now that there was no point in trying to stay away from each other. They both knew what they shared was too special, too wonderful to ignore.
They would have to find a way to make everything work—from her brothers to the foundation to their age difference.
None of those things mattered anymore. Only this.
Only Cal.
She dropped her shoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held on for the wild ride. His hands were all over her, caressing her breasts, slipping down her sides, cupping her bottom, and bringing her tight against him. She could feel every hard inch of why he’d been avoiding her. She pushed her hands beneath his suit jacket, shoved her fingers down the back of his slacks.