Body Double (20 page)

She gaped at him with surprise and wariness in her face.

He chuckled, ushering her inside. “I didn’t mean it that way. Let me make some calls.”

Inside the room, he pulled out his cell phone and made a call to the travel agency and explained their change in plans. He heard the click-clack of fingers on a keyboard, and the agent said she found two empty seats in first class on a flight leaving at 3:40, but they weren’t together. Blake was confident he could talk someone into switching with him. He told her to go ahead and book them, and she promised to have the limousine service and hotel room reservations updated as well, so that everything would be set when they arrived.

Blake ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket. “We’re set to depart at 3:40 if we can get to the airport in time. It’s 2:25 now.”

Andrea giggled. “I feel like we’re skipping school.”

“To make out in the woods behind the P.E. building,” he added, smiling. “I’ll text Joe when we’re at the airport to let him know what’s happening.”

They changed out of their wedding garb and into their traveling clothes, Andrea in the bathroom out of view. When the door closed behind her, Blake’s heart sank. He was hoping the time they’d spent together that week and the successful wedding had brought them close enough that she would want to become intimate that night, his wedding night. If she thought he was going to sleep in a separate bed, or heaven forbid one of those damned cots the hotels provided, she had another think coming. She could forbid him from touching her, but he would damned well sleep in the bed with her.

Blake called for a bellhop to carry their luggage down to the limo, and then called Scotty to give him an update on their plans. The wedding planner sounded annoyed that his hard work wouldn’t be fully appreciated, but he would get over it. He’d be paid the same either way, and Blake would tip him extra for having to break the news to the guests that the bride and groom weren’t going to be there.

With the bellhop following with their bags on the bellman’s cart, they went down to the limo, and Blake rapped his knuckles on the window, startling the newspaper-reading driver.

“Sir?” Pedro asked, getting out of the car.

“Pop the trunk, would you?”

“Oh,” Pedro said, fumbling for the lever to open the trunk. “I thought the schedule said—”

“Change of plans,” Blake told him. The bellhop set the suitcases and carry-on bags into the trunk, and Blake handed him a twenty. “We’re going to the airport instead of the reception.”

Pedro cracked a smile and then hid it behind a mask of professional seriousness. “Very well, sir.”

“And our flight’s at three-forty, so we’ll need to hurry.”

With Pedro’s skillful driving, they checked their bags and made it to the gate just as boarding started.

On the plane, Andrea had a window seat in row two and Blake had an aisle seat in row five. He shoved their carry-on bags in the overhead bin and sat in the aisle seat beside her until a man showed up, claiming it as his own.

“We just got married today,” Blake said. “Would you mind taking my seat so I can sit beside my wife? It’s 5C.”

“Yes, I do mind. You should’ve thought of that when you were booking your tickets.” The guy was tall, sandy-haired, about Blake’s age, early thirties, and already had scowl lines etched into his face.

A flight attendant approached. “Is there a problem?”

“This is my seat,” the man said, offering his boarding pass as proof.

Blake stood and moved into the aisle so the other fellow could take what was his. “We just got married today,” he told the flight attendant. “I was asking if he would mind switching seats with me.”

“Here,” said the middle-aged woman seated in 5A. “I’ll switch seats with your bride so you two can sit together.”

“Thank you very much,” Blake said. He stepped out of the aisle into row five to let a couple of other boarders by. The two passengers smiled at him and offered congratulations as they continued past into the main cabin.

“Thanks,” he replied. “Thank you.”

“It’s not a big deal,” the woman said, gathering her belongings. “I don’t understand why anyone would be so big a jerk that he wouldn’t let newlyweds sit together. Is this your honeymoon?”

“It is,” Blake said. “We really appreciate it.”

Andrea stepped past the man sitting in the seat Blake had vacated, struggling with her bag to get around his knees without stepping on his feet.

“The gentlemanly thing to do would be to stand up for the lady,” Blake said.

“Hey, screw you,” the man shot back.

“Classy. Do you really want to sit next to that guy?” Blake asked the woman. “I can switch with my bride instead, and you two can sit together.”

“I’m not afraid of small men,” the woman said, patting Blake’s arm as she slipped past. “Sit with your lady.”

Once everyone was situated, buckled up with their tray tables properly stowed, the plane started off for Hawaii. When they reached their cruising altitude, the flight crew began beverage service, and offered the passengers in the first class cabin free champagne to toast the newlyweds. Everyone partook, even the scowler in two-D, though he sipped quietly without offering congratulations or a handshake like everyone else did.

Chapter 8

It was 8:50pm local time when they touched down in Honolulu, and a quarter to ten by the time they got to the hotel. The travel service had rescheduled everything perfectly so that not only was the limo driver waiting with a placard that read
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas,
but the hotel had their suite ready too. Though it was almost midnight California time when they checked in, Blake wasn’t ready for sleep. Not by a long shot.

The bellhop delivered their luggage to the suite, and a middle-aged man in a stylish, black suit dismissed the bellhop with a nod. “As your valet, I’ll be dedicated to attending to your needs during your stay. The telephones in the room ring directly to my cell phone. If for some reason I don’t answer, you’ll automatically be connected to our concierge.”

The valet gave them a tour of the suite and its amenities, which included a private pool and lovely outdoor patio, butler service, a personal chef to cook their meals in the suite’s exquisite kitchen, and even a violinist or pianist at their beck and call.

Andrea could hardly believe she was staying in what had to be the most lavish hotel room ever conceived. It had a spacious living room with an admirably stocked bar, a powder room, and a recreation room with a pool table. The bedroom had a king-sized, top-of-the-line adjustable bed covered by red and gold bedspread adorned with red rose petals. One bedroom, one bed, two people. She began to warm, thinking about spooning with Blake on that bed. And more.

The adjoining bathroom styled in black marble with red and gold accents had a heated tile floor and towel rack, a separate room for the toilet and bidet, and a roomy shower stall with two showerheads on opposite walls. An image came to Andrea’s mind of the two of them naked and wet under the showerheads while steam filled the stall. If he washed her back, she would wash his. And more, much more. She swallowed hard and shook her head to jar the image loose.

The private hot tub captivated her the most, situated in front of a huge window that overlooked the beach. The valet assured them the glass was mirrored on the outside and perfectly private in all lighting conditions, but if they were more comfortable, a button on the wall opened and closed the floor-to-ceiling drapes.

“I’ll leave you to get settled for the night,” the valet said. Blake offered him a tip, but he politely declined. “Gratuities are included in the room rate, allowing you to spend your vacation enjoying your stay without the worry of carrying cash. If you have valuables to store, there’s a safe in the bedroom closet, or I’ll be happy to put them in the hotel’s vault, if you prefer. I’m a phone call away if you need anything at all.” With a bow, the valet left.

Andrea slipped off one shoe to test the water. It was warm and inviting. She could definitely get used to this lifestyle. “We should try this,” she said.

Blake laughed as he walked up to her. He stroked her cheek with his thumb. “We’ll definitely make good use of it. What do you say we take a walk on the beach under the stars?”

Andrea couldn’t imagine a better idea. “That sounds wonderful.” There was something intensely arousing about being alone with him in a hotel room. Going out in public would help her get her head—and her body—back into a less sensual place. Now that they were an ocean away from Harold and Gloria, there was no need to keep up the pretense that they were in love. They were now just two people sharing a vacation.

And a bed.

“Let me just use the bathroom real quick, and I’ll be ready.”

He nodded and left her alone.

After closing and locking the door, she pressed one hand against it and the other against her chest. Her heart was like a jackhammer, pumping desire-fueled blood to every part of her body. And she’d thought the wedding would be the hard part.
No, Blake has the hard part
, she thought with a giggle.
No, no. I have to stop thinking of him like that. He’s not my husband.

Was Blake thinking about her that way? Surely he must be. He’d said she was gorgeous, but she’d also set the boundaries the day they met. That was before they’d spent three full days together getting to know one another. That was before they’d had a lovely wedding in which they pretended to get married. That was before she realized how much she liked him.

“Babe, everything okay?” he asked near the door.

“Almost ready.” She flushed and washed her hands, then checked her breath in her cupped hand. In a basket on the counter was a small bottle of Scope, so she swished some and spit it out. With one last check in the mirror, she noted that her hair still looked pretty, though the curls had fallen about halfway out. She found him in the living room, gazing out the sliding glass door onto the pool and patio.

“The wall around the pool is tall enough that nobody could see in,” he said.

“So it would still be private if someone didn’t bring a bathing suit?” She joined him by the door and started to slip her hand into his, stopping herself when she remembered she no longer needed to act the part of Sarah.

Blake smiled down at her with a sideways, lusty grin. “Didn’t you?”

“Oh, I did.”

“Rats.” He chuckled. “You do swim, don’t you?”

“Sure, I swim. I love the water.”

“Good. Shall we?”

The night was mild without being hot, and this far from downtown Honolulu, the sky was dark and the stars brilliant overhead. The smell of the salt air was strong but pleasant, and the gentle, rhythmic rush of the waves provided a kind of music that completed the scene. They walked side by side without touching along the sand, wearing rubber flip-flops and marveling at the beauty around them, despite not being able to see much of it. And there was no one else she’d rather be there with.

“I can’t thank you enough for being my wife today,” he said. “You made a breathtakingly beautiful bride. Everything was perfect.”

“You’re not mad I took your ugly ring back?”

He snorted. “Actually, I’m glad you did, not because the lion’s head was the wrong ring but because I made an emotional decision, not a rational one. This marriage is a business arrangement, nothing more. I just didn’t want you to go through the trouble of correcting my mistake.”

“Sarah would’ve wanted you to have the platinum one.”

“No, Sarah didn’t give a damn what ring I wore. You wanted me to have the platinum. You picked it out. You put it on my finger. That’s why I like it.”

Andrea smiled. If only things had been different, she and Blake... no. He’d never have dated someone like her. It took a bizarre circumstance for the two of them to even meet. “Listen, now that the wedding is over, now that we’re two thousand miles from home, we don’t need to pretend to be a couple anymore.” Even as she said the words, she didn’t want them to be true. No, that wasn’t quite it. She wanted to be a couple without the pretense. “But I have a confession to make,” she said.

“Another one? Let me guess. You’re not really Andrea, and you’re playing the part of a woman playing the part of my bride?”

A giggle bubbled up her throat. She slipped her hand into his, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. He didn’t. “No, silly. I like you. I don’t mind pretending we’re actually on a honeymoon.”

He gave her hand a squeeze. “I like you too. A lot. And we
are
on a honeymoon, just not yours and mine.”

“What boggles my mind is that we’ve only known each other for four days. I feel like it’s been a lot longer than that.”

“Maybe it’s only been four actual days, but when you count the hours, it’s been three virtual months.”

She laughed. “What?”

“Think of it this way: we’ve spent about forty hours together in that four days, right? More or less?”

She counted the hours quickly in her head: fourteen hours on Wednesday, twelve on Thursday, ten on Friday, and about six so far today. “Okay...”