Sticking my head in my boss's office, I said goodnight. Thank fuck it was Friday. I was ready to head home, pour myself a glass of wine and sink into the tub.
“Have fun in Hawaii,” Dante said with a wave from his desk.
Dante was a workaholic and more than once we’d argued when I’d refused to go home until he did, which ended up with him packing up and stomping out of the office hours earlier than he wanted to. Tonight though, I didn’t care.
My bag was packed and first thing tomorrow morning, Hayden and I were flying to Hawaii for a week of absolutely nothing. As long as there was sunshine, cocktails, and a beautiful view, I didn’t care if I did nothing.
“Will do. And don’t make Eliza cry. Please.”
“I make no promises.” He smirked.
With a shake of my head, I said goodnight and headed home.
Home.
Our new home.
A month ago, Hayden had surprised me when he told me he wanted to move. He wanted a place that was ours and not a bachelor pad in a building he didn’t think was secure enough for me. I argued that if it was good enough for him, I was fine but he stood firm.
Hayden was the worst travel companion ever. The entire flight to Honolulu was horrific. When he wasn’t snoring and taking up as much space as humanly possible, he was complaining about all the things he hadn’t finished before we’d left. Two hours into a nine-hour flight he was lucky I loved him. it was the only thing stopping me from strangling him with the cord of his ear phones.
Arriving at the hotel, I was shocked when our room was upgraded to a suite but the view of the crystal-clear blue water made it all worth it.
“Did you do this?” I asked him, standing on the balcony staring out the crystal clear water, the warm ocean breeze ruffling my hair.
“No.”
We both looked at each other before dissolving into a fit of laughter. “Marianne,” we said in unison.
Last week when she was in town, she tried to hand us a check for a million dollars. At first, I think Hayden was stunned, but she explained that Cassidy loved us both and would want to share her success with us both.
“Marianne. We love you. We do. But we don’t want Cassidy’s money,” I told her, feeling awkward.
“I loved Cassidy. I always will,” Hayden said and even though it made my heart hurt, I knew where he was coming from and I had no reason to be jealous. “But I don't want her money. Cassidy was an amazing woman and I’ll never forget her, but I have everything I’ll ever need right here.” When he wrapped his arm around me and pressed a kiss to my temple.
“What do you want to do this afternoon?” Hayden asked, coming up behind me and snapping me back to the here and now.
“Honestly? I want to change into my bikini, grab my sunglasses and go down there and lie with my toes in the sand and a cocktail in my hand,” I told him, more than ready to relax.
“I suppose I could be persuaded to come and rub lotion on your shoulders.” He smiled, already pulling his t-shirt over his head and throwing it towards the bed.
“I wouldn’t want to put you out…” I started. “I mean, I’m sure there’s someone down there, who could give me a hand.” I knew I was pushing him, but that was half the fun. Sometimes Hayden was so serious, and I completely understood, but if it was his job to walk around with a stick up his butt, then it was mine to give him shit about it.
Picking me up, he tossed me over his shoulder and carried me back inside before setting me down on the bed with a bounce.
“You’re an evil woman and you’ll pay for this,” he threatened, slapping my ass, the sound bouncing off the walls.
“We’ll see,” I taunted sitting up and peeling off my shirt, loving the way his eyes went wide as my boobs came into view. To say Hayden was a tits and ass man was an understatement. Any time he could get near my boobs, he was there. And from the way his eyes were darkening right now, I could tell he was thinking dirty, dirty thoughts.
Sliding off the bed out of reach, I unsnapped my shorts and pushed them off my hips, letting them drop to the floor before bending over strategically, waving my thong-clad ass in the air, smirking as a strangled groan was torn from the back of Hayden’s throat. Straightening up, I popped the front clasp on my bra, tossing it on the bed before walking over to my suitcase and unzipping it.
“Woman!” Hayden growled.
“Yes, dear?” I replied sweetly, knowing I was pushing him to breaking point.
“You’re playing with fire,” he warned and the smile on my face was almost painful. Finding my brand-new, hot-pink string bikini that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, I pulled it out and got changed, staring directly out the window.
Behind me, I could feel the heat of Hayden’s gaze as he watched my every overly-exaggerated move.
