Shit. My heart is clanging wildly. I’m going all-in right now and I know it. “What do you have to lose?” I ask.
“So it would be like a one-week vacation-fling?” she asks.
I nod vigorously. “Exactly. ‘What happens in Maui stays in Maui.’”
She bites her lip.
“No commitment. No pressure. One week. The only thing you’d need to commit to—and this is non-negotiable—is exclusivity while we’re here.”
She takes a sip of water. “Definitely something to think about.”
My stomach tightens. “What do you mean? It’s a no-brainer.”
She shrugs. “I’ve been drinking tonight. I’m not gonna make any decisions about anything ’til I’m completely sober.”
“It’s hardly a major life decision. There’s no downside.”
“I’ve never done anything like what you’re suggesting. I just wanna think about it and not make a snap decision.”
I open my mouth and close it again. What the fuck is wrong with this woman?
“Can I ask you something?” she asks.
“Anything.”
“Do you have some sort of raging flight attendant fetish?”
“What?No. Why do you ask?”
“Because you were so damned furious with me when you found out I wasn’t a flight attendant, and now that I’m getting to know you, that seems so contrary to your personality. All I can figure is maybe I’d dashed some raging flight-attendant fantasy you had.”
“I don’t have a particular boner for flight attendants. I was just pissed as hell you’d sent me on a wild goose chase.”
She looks at me quizzically. “How did I send you on a wild goose chase?”
Shit. How the fuck did I let that slip out? I pause, considering my reply. Should I say fuck it and tell her everything, right here and now? My gut tells me not yet. “Bad choice of words,” I say. “I just meant I was pissed I felt so connected to you and it turned out you’d lied. But Colby reminded me Kat always used to pull that kind of shit, too, which made me realize you’re no more or less of a sociopath than her—although Kat’s definitely on the sociopath-spectrum, so don’t get too excited.”
Tessa giggles. “Kat was telling me about some of her ‘personas’ from back in the day. That girl’s got quite the imagination.”
“You have no idea.” I laugh. “Actually, all us Morgans have pretty active imaginations.”
Tessa cocks her head flirtatiously. “You ever thought about maybe doing some kind of...” Her cheeks flash with color. “Role-play? Like, I dunno, maybepretendingyou’re screwing a flight attendant?”
My cock jolts. “Let’s do it!” I blurt.
She giggles. “Well, I’m notoffering. Just gathering information.”
I flash her a wicked smile.Sure, she is. But, okay, I won’t push it—I’ll let my little Virgo warm up to the idea slowly and get her freak on when she’s good and ready.
Tessa stretches her arms over her head and lets out a huge yawn, and her eyes flutter closed. She tries to open them, but it’s clearly difficult. She looks like she’s about to fall headfirst into her plate of fruit.
I stand. “Let’s get you to bed, beautiful.” I pull her up and walk her back into her room. I wait for her to brush her teeth and wash her face and then I tuck her into bed, kissing her gently on her soft lips. “Good night, Argentina. See you tomorrow. Thanks for feeding me before kicking me out. I feel so much less trampy now.”
“You’re still a tramp,” she says sleepily, her eyes closed. “Don’t kid yourself.”
I touch her cheek. I’m physically aching to slip into bed right next to her and hold her close all night long. “Don’t overthink my proposition, okay?” I whisper, stroking her hair. “I won’t hurt you—I promise. I’ll never hurt you, Tessa.”
Tessa surprises me by grabbing my hand from her cheek and softly kissing it. “Thanks for an amazing night, Ryan,” she whispers, looking at me dreamily. She opens her mouth and closes it, and then bites her lip, clearly on the verge of saying something.
