Plus One is a Lucky Number

He was glad she’d insisted on him sleeping in this comfortable bed; it was large enough he'd felt like he had it to himself. A first, too - sleeping with a woman and not expected to perform, even if she had made a joke about it. Maybe that was why he’d slept so well.

Sleeping, she looked pretty and peaceful. He studied her face more than he'd have dared to if she were awake. Her long, dark eyelashes covered her brown eyes. His mind travelled back to their kiss. He smiled. Her lips were inches away from him, relaxed in sleep. Kissable, soft, full lips. He shifted uneasily. It was morning, and watching her was not helping dull his arousal. He could quite easily kiss her, wake her …

He threw cold water over his thoughts and turned them instead to their conversation last night. Well, now he knew the truth about why she was on edge around Simon. Last night Simon had obviously done something to upset her, although she wasn't letting on what. Keep an eye on him, Adam told himself. Even with what Sophie had confessed, he still couldn't quite understand how a woman like her had fallen for a guy like that. Maybe he'd find out.

Fighting the urge to scoop Sophie into his arms while she lay there, like he would do with any other woman, Adam decided he didn’t feel comfortable sleeping in. Not while she slept. Not while his brain resided lower down. If he touched her, she might wake, and that could be embarrassing … or get him into very hot water.

He’d get up, order breakfast and a paper. Yeah, that would work, too. Make the most of the quiet time. Bring himself back to his senses.

***

Sophie awoke, stretching and sighing. Opening her eyes, she realised Adam’s side of the bed was empty. Adam was sitting on the chaise longue in his pyjamas, one hand clutching a paper, the other holding a cup of coffee.

“Hey, morning,” she drowsily groaned. “Did you sleep okay?”

Adam looked up from his paper and gave her a smile. Would she ever get used to his smile? It made her quiver inside every time. If she were a puppy, she’d be wagging her tail in response.

“Yeah, great, thanks,” he said.

“What time is it? How long have you been up?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Not that long. It’s about eight o’clock.”

“Eight! I said we’d meet Cassie for breakfast at eight.” Sophie abruptly sat up.

“Relax. I’m sure Cassie will forgive you. Besides, I thought breakfast in bed would be better.”

“Better why?” Sophie scratched her head and stretched again, trying to clear the fog from her brain.

“Think about it. Not being down there, well, can act for us.” He gave a sly smile.

“Oh.” Sophie blushed, now feeling very awake.

“This way, we can let it work for itself, for very little effort.” His tone deepened sexily. “I could be feeding you fruit. Let them think we’re at it like –”

“I get the picture!” The thought sent guilty sensations through Sophie’s body. Visions of him feeding her grapes, wearing only a short towel tied around his hips, was a very awakening experience; one she needed to bury at the back of her brain.

“And we get to relax, not having to pretend to be something we’re not.” He smiled reassuringly.

“Though Cassie will tease us about it later, I’m sure.” Sophie pulled the sheets back and got out of bed.

“Let her. She’d probably tease you anyway. In the meantime, coffee and a croissant, sweetheart?” Adam smirked, leaning across to the low table in front of him and holding up the coffeepot.

She narrowed her eyes playfully. “I thought you’d never ask.”

If only she was his sweetheart …

***

During breakfast, they both read the papers delivered with the room service. Adam was glad they could relax in one another's company. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. The deliberation in her face as she read, the way she licked her finger to turn a page. He’d never done anything so normal with a woman. He was captivated, watching her concentrate and read.

He loved women; he’d had plenty of girlfriends, albeit short-lived romances. Some lasted longer than others, but he’d always been honest from the start, never wanting anything complicated or serious. He was too busy for that kind of commitment, and luckily, so were his girlfriends, with their fast track careers. When he started feeling their neediness, he’d nip the fling in the bud, hoping to minimise the damage. Maybe the reason he’d not looked twice at Sophie originally was because his type of woman were immaculate, morning and night, rushing off the morning after with a ‘ciao, I’ll call you’. They never relaxed, they didn’t have time to. That was the way it went. It was his choice. He was happy with his lot.

But was he now?

This felt strange, yet good. Relaxing. Maybe James had been right. He did need a holiday, a change.

Sophie sat in her conservative cotton pyjamas - which Adam found tantalising - her hair still tangled from sleep, not a trace of make-up on her face. Absolutely natural, and there was something so gorgeous about it, it unnerved him.

“What?” Sophie looked up from the newspaper, catching his stare, and frowned at him.

“Nothing.” Adam went back to reading his paper. But he couldn't concentrate. “Um, when are we going to the beach?”

“Oh, I’d forgotten about that.” Sophie reached for her mobile phone. “Maybe we’d better start getting ready.” She sent a text message.

It beeped back a minute later. “We’ll meet them down on the beach.”

Adam nodded, trying to hide his anxiety. Not so much about the beach, but he couldn’t surf, and imagined Simon could, being a local. He had the impression Simon would be trying to show Adam up wherever he could – especially after last night. Was Adam about to be moved out of his comfort zone? He made another note to himself on how to kill James – slowly.