Just Deserts

Her gaze immediately latched on to his lips. They were full, inviting. She felt a sudden pull in her stomach. She wondered how they would feel if she were to press hers against them.

“Dani?”

She snatched her gaze from his lips and focused on his eyes. His probing eyes. “What?”

“You called me. What did you want?”

Frowning, Danielle compressed her lips, deciding for the moment to keep her mouth closed or else she might say the wrong thing. There was no way she would tell him that for a crazy moment she had been almost ready to ask if she could sample his lips. Almost.

“Dani? What’s wrong?”

If only he knew. She glanced up at him and at the other people on the elevator and leaned over and whispered, “It’s nothing major. We can talk about it later.”

He looked at her as if confused. “All right.”

And then she felt it. He had caught hold of her hand and lightly squeezed her fingers. As always, that was his way of letting her know that things would be fine. Of course, that was easy for him to convey—he hadn’t been privy to her thoughts. If he’d known what she was thinking he would probably run in the opposite direction.

Contrary to what some people wanted to believe, Tristan was not attracted to her. He thought of her as a kid sister and nothing more. She knew all about that promise he’d made to Paul to watch out for her. That had been why she’d eloped with Marc and hadn’t told Tristan until it was over. There was no doubt in her mind that he would have found a way to stop the wedding, convince her she was acting irrationally. Now, considering everything, she wished he had intervened. She wouldn’t be in this predicament.

The elevator door whooshed open, and she and Tristan stepped off. He continued to hold her hand as they walked down the long hallway.

“I was able to get tickets for that train ride through Napa Valley tomorrow,” he said.

She smiled at him. “That sounds wonderful. It’s a while since I’ve been in this area. I’d also like to cross the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

As they continued walking down the hall toward their suite, she couldn’t help but get excited about the next five days they would be spending together.

Tristan began unpacking his clothes and putting them away. The suite was even nicer than he’d thought it would be. Two bedrooms and a common living area, it was roomy, spacious and just what he and Dani needed. As much as he wanted to spend time with her, he didn’t want to cramp her space.

Actually he had been surprised that she had insisted he come along. He had wanted her to take time away, thinking she needed to be by herself. But then, almost too late, he’d realized that any man in his right mind wouldn’t send a woman who looked like Danielle off on a vacation alone. The moment they had walked into the hotel lobby it seemed that the eyes of every single male in the place were drawn to her.

When he heard a knock, he crossed the room to the door that connected to the suite’s living room. He opened it to find Danielle standing there in a printed, flyaway cover-up with a matching bikini underneath. He forced his gaze off the outfit, above her exposed stomach, and up to her face. “Going to the pool?”

She smiled. “Yes, and I wanted to see if you’d like to join me.”

“I’m still unpacking.”

“Boy, you’re slow. One of the first things you learn as a model is the correct way to pack so you can unpack easily. I’m going to have you show you how it works one of these days.”

She glanced around him to see his room. “It looks like mine.”

He opened the door wider. “Come on in. If you don’t mind waiting for minute, I’ll join you in that swim.”

“Sure,” she said, entering the room when he moved aside. She immediately crossed to the window.

Tristan’s gaze roamed over her and the outfit she was wearing. He was glad she had agreed to wait for him. There was no way he wanted her anywhere near the pool without him.

“Hey, wait a minute. You have a better view of the Bay. That’s not fair.”

He chuckled as he went about placing his shirts on hangers. “Stop whining. I’ll swap if you want,” he offered. Or you can just stay in this room with me if you prefer. He wanted to say it but he didn’t.

“That’s okay,” she said, grinning. “I’ll let you keep this one pleasure in life.”

He glanced over at her, saw her beauty against the backdrop of the view outside the window and thought there couldn’t be any pleasure greater than loving her. “Have you decided what we’re going to do for dinner?”

She left the window to sit on his bed. “The restaurant downstairs looks nice. Why don’t we eat there tonight?”

“That’s fine with me. I’m going to step into the bathroom to put on my swim trunks and will be back out in a second.”

“All right.”

And then he disappeared, putting a closed door between him and temptation.

“So, what were you going to ask me about earlier on the elevator?”

Danielle glanced over at Tristan. They were lying side by side on loungers by the pool. It was a beautiful July day and a bright sun was in the sky. She thought the swim trunks Tristan wore looked sexy on him. She’d always thought he had a nice body.

Earlier, when she’d gotten up to get drinks for them at the poolside bar, she’d noticed a woman trying to catch his eye. Danielle knew enough about women to know that although the woman had a nice body, she was probably in her fifties. She was definitely a cougar. And Danielle had no intention of letting her get her claws into Tristan. At first the thought of her being so overprotective gave her pause. Hadn’t she felt the same way about Karin Stokes? But then she realized Tristan was such a nice guy, someone had to look out for him. There were too many unscrupulous women out there, like the cougar in the lounger on the other side of the pool who was still trying to get his eye. Why didn’t the woman just give up?

“Um, I was just wondering,” she said, deciding to respond since he had inquired, “why you aren’t seriously dating anybody.”

He released her gaze to look out over the pool. “I don’t have the time.”

She grinned. “I thought that was one of the things in life that a man typically made time for. Paul usually did.”

Tristan chuckled. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he?”

Both of them knew her brother had been a ladies’ man. She and Tristan hadn’t been the only ones grieving over his death. A lot of the single ladies in Port St. Lucie had been grieving as well. “So, Tris, what’s the real deal?”

Tristan didn’t say anything at first, deciding to think about what response he would give Danielle. He could come right out and say he wasn’t dating anyone because she was the one and only woman for him. But he reconsidered. Given what she was going through right now and had gone through over the past two months, hearing that would be the last thing she needed. He made his head rule his heart and said, “I’ve been too busy.”

“And I guess I haven’t been helping matters.”

He frowned. “I thought we weren’t going there, Dani. Don’t bring him on this trip,” he said rather harshly and then regretted it.

For once he wanted her to relax and have a good time without thinking of what had been going on in her life for the past couple of months. He knew for her it would be hard to do, but he wanted her to try.

“Sorry.”

“You’re forgiven.”

A few silent moments passed and then she said, “Did I tell you I got a call from Jeri?”

His frown deepened. Jeri had been her agent. More than once the woman had tried luring Danielle back into the world of glitz and glamour. “No, you didn’t. What did she want?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation he felt out of his voice.

“A major designer is putting a project together for the holidays and wants me included.”