Page 82 of The Work Wife

“I have to go.”

“Sure. I won’t keep you.” He stepped back with a smile. “Go knock them dead.”

“Will you be staying?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

She felt the smile take over her face. For someone as busy as Benjamin Archer, it meant a lot that he would spend his precious free time watching her performance. She was touched.

“Can I buy you a drink when you’re done?”

“I’ll be playing until one.”

“I’ll wait.”

She was so nervous she about dropped her guitar as she stepped up on stage to start the second set. Ben was here, watching her and waiting until she was done, so he could buy her a drink.

But it was during her best performance of one of her favorite songs that she looked over to see him and he wasn’t there. She searched the dim room and found him on the phone, heading for the door.

She hid her disappointment and smiled wide at the crowd, forcing the fantasies back to the depths of her soul.

* * * *

Wes had made it through the first night. Almost.

They’d slept in the same bed before. But there was something about sleeping next to her in this place that felt different. And his body had taken notice.

He’d woken up hard and pressed against her. For a moment he didn’t know whether to roll away or press closer. Fortunately the alarm on her phone went off. She rolled away to turn it off and he quickly turned and turned again when he noticed the bulge in the sheet.

“Are you ready for another day in paradise?” she asked as she got up to dig through her suitcase. He could have told her he had just been in paradise, but he needed to rein it in. It was only day one.

Maybe it was all the talking about feelings, or the unlimited supply of rum punch that caused him to notice all the things he’d managed to hide from himself until now. He had a whole day to prepare himself for sleeping beside her again tonight. He’d just have to find a way to keep things friendly.

He heard a knock from inside the bathroom.

“Is it safe to come out?” Jamie called.

“Yes.”

Since she was smaller and could change in the bathroom, they’d worked it out so they would change at the same time.

She stepped out wearing what looked like a very large T-shirt. For a second he thought she was wearing one of his until he saw the tiny, colorful fish all over the fabric and realized it was a cover-up for whatever swimsuit lurked beneath.

God, he hoped it wasn’t a bikini. Not that a one-piece would protect him from his imagination. He was doomed. So much for reining it in.

After breakfast the group met down at the beach and Misty clapped to get everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, everyone. This exercise will teach us the skills necessary to communicate effectively. We’ve probably all done some form of this exercise at work during team building, but this version takes it to the next level.”

That didn’t sound good. Especially the way she wiggled her eyebrows.

“We’ll start with everyone in the water. Wives will sit on their husband’s shoulders. Husbands will be blindfolded, and you’ll be following your wife’s directions to locate the balls floating in the water. The team that is able to gather the most balls is the winner.”

Jamie snickered next to him, causing him to laugh. He knew she had slipped into her fifth-grade-boy humor and found “gathering the most balls” amusing. He knew because he also found it amusing.

“Are you ready to win this?” she asked.

“Of course.”