“Hold on!”
“I’m trying!” My arms quickly grew tired. I peered down. How far was the ground? Andrew dropped the flashlight and stepped to the wall below me. An additional feeling of horror rose up my neck. “Andrew. Don’t. Look.”
“Christ, Adriana. This is not the time to worry if I see your backside.”
“I’m sure Charlotte wouldn’t approve of this.”
“Charlotte?” he said with bewilderment. “Why would she care?”
Really? Why would a woman care if her husband checked out another woman’s ass?
“Let go. I’ll catch you.”
“It’s too far. I’ll pull myself back up,” I lied through my teeth. There was no way I could do it, and my arms were only getting weaker. Terror ripped my heart apart. I didn’t want to get hurt. I didn’t want to crush Andrew, either.
Damn it.
“This is all your fault!” I yelled, glancing down at him.
“Do you want to chat about whose fault it is, right now?” Andrew pinched his chin. “Fine. Let’s chat. Do you want your shoe so you could throw it at me again because?—”
“Andrew!”
He raised his arms toward me. “Let. Go.”
I squeezed my eyes shut until white dots appeared.
Fuck it.
My fingers relaxed, and I dropped. My skirt flew up to my neck, and a moment later Andrew’s hands wrapped around my torso, catching me. His warm forearms pressed hard into my bare stomach. He stumbled backward, his arms not letting me go, and we crashed onto the ground, our bodies pressed tight, my bottom on Andrew’s crotch, my hands on the ground on each side of his legs, my back against his rising and dropping chest. His heart drummed hard against his ribcage, its beat vibrating through my body. Electricity coursed through me, making me aware of every point of contact between Andrew and me, of every inch where his hot skin was touching mine.
Andrew pressed his forehead into the back of my head, snorted once and then he erupted with a healthy laugh, and the sound of it went straight into my bloodstream and right into the center of me.
A chuckle bubbled up in my throat too, and I burst out laughing.
“That was graceful.” I quietened my laugh and wiped the tears that had formed in my eyes.
Andrew drew in a deep breath. When he released his breath, it skimmed the side of my neck. “Your hair smells like roses.”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “Stop smelling my hair.”
“Your hair is in my face. I’m merely observing a fact.”
The dress bunched up above my waist, covering Andrew’s arms. My dishabille stateshouldhave mortified me, and Ishouldhave pulled my skirt down, but the flashlight lay several yards away from us, tossing its light into a dark void. Andrew shifted, and his thigh muscles flexed beneath me. I shouldn’t have been in this situation, in his arms or on his lap. But I couldn’t deny how good it felt to be pressed against him. I didn’t want to move. And dang it! It was so wrong to want that. Just for a split second, for that one short second, I wanted to believe he was free, and I could relax into him and pretend that I hadn’t simply crash-landed on him, but that he’d hugged me, wanting to be close to me.
“I don’t think your wife would appreciate us sitting like this,” I said, and my voice came out like I was sharing a secret with him.
“My wife?” he asked his breath a whisper against my exposed skin.
I nodded. “The beautiful woman by the pool? I saw you with her the morning we left.”
“You think Charlotte is my wife?” His question was tinged with humor.
“Yes. And your daughter, Lulu, who seems to like to call you a lot.”
He chuckled. “Charlotte is my sister, and Lucille is her daughter.”
I wanted to let out a sigh of relief but held it in. “You aren’t married?”
