The Honeymoon Prize (15 page)

A
fter Addie filmed her statement, she sat on the hammock, swinging, nine years of regret lifting away. She’d taken back her life and was moving forward, not stuck in a waiting pattern again. She had Nick’s full support. That was all she needed.

So what if she craved his kisses whether the cameras were on or off? Hot kisses didn’t make a relationship. Being friends had been and would continue to be their best and only option.

“Great job.” Nick sat on the hammock, sending her careening into him. He handed her a water bottle. “I can’t wait to see your aunt’s clip. She’s going to look like greedy inheritance chaser.”

“I hope people see the truth.” Addie unscrewed the lid, satisfied she’d done what she could. “I want this settled before we get back.”

“Nothing like being met by the police when you step off a plane,” he teased.

She remembered a story he’d told her about a trip to Florida where things got out of hand. “You would know.”

He laughed. “I forgot about that.”

“I didn’t.”

“Obviously.”

Looking around, she took a sip of water. The crew milled about on the back patio. Conrad sat on the queen-sized lounge readying his equipment for their next sequence. Dylan sat at the table, listening to something with his headphones on. Wes was filming on the beach.

Brad whistled. The shrill sound sent the birds in the trees replying in unison. “Let’s do a quick interview before going horseback riding.”

She downed more water. The couple interviews were her favorite part of filming. Brad would ask them a question. She and Nick would answer, playing off what the other said. Easy and fun.

The crew surrounded them. The equipment pointed in her direction was no longer intimidating.

“Where do you want us?” Nick asked.

Brad moved closer. “The hammock is fine.”

“I’ll say.” Nick slid his arm around her. “Cozy.”

For now. Soon this would be over. The honeymoon. The filming. Their fake marriage. At least they’d always be friends.

A wide smile settled into place on her face, one she’d perfected with Grammy on bad days. “We’ll have to get a hammock to remind of our honeymoon.”

“Unless you take home a more permanent reminder,” Brad said, standing out of the view of the camera, his role as off-stage interviewer.

Her brows drew together. “T-shirts?”

Brad hummed a song, one she recognized, but couldn’t place.

A vein throbbed at Nick’s jaw. “We just got married. Give us some time before you start talking kids.”

Oh, no. Brad was talking about a baby. Her and Nick’s baby.

Addie’s ovaries’ alarm clock blared so loudly she was surprised no one else heard the sound. If she could pick the father of her children, she knew who was top at the list. Better hit the snooze button because without having sex, a baby was not on the horizon. No matter what a beaming Brad might be hoping for, biology was clear on this point.

“But if you go home with a bundle of joy in the oven,” Brad pressed.

Nick stared at her stomach. Not totally flat, but no baby bump. That was for sure.

“I’d be thrilled,” he said finally.

She knew he was telling the truth. He’d been so excited when Carrie had told him he was going to be a dad. He wanted to be a better father than his had been to him. Addie had no doubt Nick would be.

“Me, too.” The two words were all she could manage with visions of a happily ever after running through her head. He was acting for the camera, but the thought of having his baby filled her with a contentment she’d never felt before, and the thought of being a wife and mother with husband and father Nick by her side and in her bed was the most amazing daydream ever. Way better than the ones she’d had in high school.

“That’s all you’ve got to say, Addie?” Brad asked.

She hesitated, trying to compose her thoughts. “I’m sure we’d have a cute baby if
he
took after Nick.”

“Or if
she
took after Addie,” Nick added.

Fantasy. Not real. For television only.

Except somehow her palm now rested on Nick’s thigh. His thumb stroked her side. The temperature had risen ten degrees. Today was going to be a scorcher.

Maybe she should become a teacher. She’d be surrounded by kids at school and get over this unexpected want-to-have-Nick’s-baby feeling. Divorcing would help, too. She didn’t want to think about this. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

She said the words for the television audience’s benefit as well as the film crew’s. No one knew this was the least passionate honeymoon that ever happened on Starfish Island. “As Nick said, we’re newlyweds. Time together would be nice before we have a family.”

“But you’ve been friends forever,” Brad said. “Engaged for what? Twenty-one years?”

She thought back to the little blue-eyed boy with a shy smile who’d helped her when she tripped walking into the kindergarten classroom on the first day of school. If love at first sight existed when you were five, she’d experienced it. Three months later, Nick had proposed to her during recess, right before Christmas break. “Twenty-two.”

“Call the
Guinness Book of World Records
,” Brad shouted.

Nick didn’t say anything.

Addie didn’t blame him. She had no doubt he would agree this was awkward. “But we weren’t attached at the hip like some kids. Remember when you decided being best friends with a girl wasn’t cool?”

“I was what ten or eleven? The teasing from the guys was so bad,” he said. “But I was there when your grandfather died.”

“I appreciated that. Of course, when we got to high school, you went out with my friends.”

“But you were the prettiest one.”

“I was the only one you didn’t date. Or kiss.”

He kissed her forehead, as if to apologize. “You were going off to college and I was joining the army. Why start something when we were going to be apart?”

“We stayed in contact. Though I could have done without the butt dialing in the middle of the night.”

He winked. “That only happened . . .”

“A dozen or so times. Less than the drunk calls.”

His cheeks reddened. “Shows you who was my last call.”

“True.” Except, she wasn’t always his last call. Not when he was seeing some other woman, however temporary. Their friendship ebbed and flowed like the tides. They’d fallen into a pattern—when one of them needed something, the other was always there. Nick was helping her now. But they hadn’t been there for each other day-to-day, and they hadn’t taken care of each other at the same time for over sixteen years ago.

Nick raised her hand and pressed his lips against her skin. “Now you’re my first kiss of the day and my last.”

She kept her smile frozen in place when a part of her wanted to hold him tight and cry for what they would never have together. How many times had she fallen for him only to forget about those feelings in the name of friendship? “And you’re mine.”

He lowered his mouth to hers. No stage direction needed. They had the kissing down, like the hand holding, intimate touches, and glances.

But this time felt . . . different. Maybe she was imagining things after an emotional morning, but Nick’s kiss was more . . . tender.

The way his lips moved over hers made her feel cherished. Warmth flowed through her veins. The heat had nothing to do with the tropical temperatures and everything to do with the man holding her. The kiss was nothing more than another display for the camera, but she wanted to pretend the words he’d said and these kisses were real.

This time she would.

Her left hand splayed his bare back feeling the ridges of his muscles beneath her palm. She touched his hair with her left hand, letting the strands sift through her fingers. He drew her closer, sending the hammock swinging.

Love you.

Addie knew without a doubt she’d fallen in love with Nick once again. As long as he was part of her life, she would keep falling in love with him. Like taking her next breath of air and her heart continuing to beat, she couldn’t help herself.

Forget finding Prince Charming. No man would stand a chance against Nick. He wasn’t perfect. Far from it, but as long as he and she were friends, her heart would belong to him. Worse, she feared she would find herself waiting for him to return to town to spend time with him. She’d put her life on hold for too long to do that again.

So much for winning the grand prize. She’d lost. Big time.

Shoving aside her feelings so they remained friends wasn’t going to work this time. Not after their “honeymoon.” And now realizing what she’d been doing these years.

Continuing to be Nick’s
friend
would be like living in quicksand, never knowing when she would start sinking, and the descent would be quick and painful.

That left her one choice. One painful, heartbreaking choice.

Addie couldn’t afford to keep falling in love with Nick Cahill and pretending she hadn’t. She needed to be true to herself, to her feelings, even if she couldn’t imagine life with Nick.

But what else could she do?

Nothing else.

She needed to say goodbye. No contact. No anything once they returned to San Diego.

A
fter horseback riding, the film crew gathered their gear and headed back to their
bures
. About time. Nick ground his toe into the sand.

He didn’t know what was going on with Addie, but she had been the definition of hot and cold this afternoon, kissing him with reckless abandon, which he appreciated, then not saying much, which he hated. He needed to speak with her alone to find out what was going on. “Want to take a walk along the beach?”

“Sure.” Addie shook off the sand from their beach towels and placed them in a bag. “A walk will be nice.”

Not much enthusiasm in her response. Maybe everything she’d had to deal with today had worn her out. “We don’t have to go far if you’re tired.”

“I’m not.” Addie placed her wide-brimmed straw hat on her head. When they were in high school, she was the one who reminded people to put on sunscreen and wear hats when they were at the beach. Might explain why she had such pretty, clear skin and no wrinkles or laugh lines.

Note to self, Nick thought. Make sure Addie laughs more.

She walked along the beach in ankle deep clear water.

He caught up to her in five steps, then shortened his stride to match hers.

She stared off into the horizon, where the water seemed to go on forever. “This place is a slice of heaven on earth.”

He laced his fingers with hers. “Paradise.”

Addie raised their link hands. “We’re not on camera.”

“We’re honeymooning. You don’t want Mama Lani to think we had an argument and want us to have makeup sex.” He expected Addie to smile. She didn’t. “Worried about what’s happening with your aunt?”

“No, I did what I could and I’m good with that.”

A middle-aged couple from San Francisco waved from their paddleboards. They’d met the two celebrating their anniversary with a toast at the lovo dinner.

Addie waved back. “You were right about us playing the honeymooners when we’re alone. I’d forgotten.”

Nick liked holding her hand. Too bad they needed a reason. “I wish we could do this vacation over without the cameras in our faces. I’ve got an idea. Let’s go somewhere for Christmas. Belize or the Caribbean.”

She stopped walking, let go of this hand. “Nick . . .”

Her troubled tone made every nerve-ending stand at attention, ready to spring into action. He touched her shoulder, her smooth skin warm beneath his palm, but he also felt a tremble. “Hey, if you want a white Christmas instead of a green one, we can go to the mountains. A place like Montana, one of those luxurious guest ranches with lots of snow and sleigh rides.”

Her bottom lip quivered. “I . . . can’t.”

“Spend Christmas away?”

She shook her head. “I can’t keep pretending.”

Crap. The anguish in her voice tightened his chest. “Okay, I shouldn’t have mentioned Christmas. I know you want a divorce, but I’ve been thinking. Why rush? You said breaking up after the show was over would be best. I’m leaving on an assignment when we get home. Stay at the townhouse while I’m gone. We’ll deal with the marriage when I get back.”

The words flew from his mouth, one after the other, a hint of panic, unfamiliar and raw, underlying each one.

“It’s not only the fake marriage. It’s . . . us.”

“Us,” he repeated, not understanding. “What about us?”

“I–I . . .”

“Come here.” Nick pulled her into his arms in a big bear hug, sending her hat flying. He caught the brim before the straw hit the salt water, then held onto her again, both arms around her. She fit perfectly against him, and he enjoyed the closeness. If only she wasn’t so upset. He brushed his lips over her hair. “I’m not sure what’s wrong, but it’ll be okay.”

A sob wracked her body.

“Addie?”

“I love you,” she said softly.

“Love you, too.”

She pushed away from him. “No, I
love
you. Not as a sister or a friend. As a girlfriend or wife.”

Crap.
She loved him? Part of him was thrilled, the other shocked.

“I—” He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. Addie was in love with him? How had that happened? When? “I thought you had more sense than to fall for me.”

“Me, too.”

“You said you pitied any woman who feel in love with me.”

“I do. Just never thought she would be me.” Addie took a breath, then another. “But feelings aren’t logical. I wish they were.”

For years, he’d thought one thing about Addie and now this. “I wasn’t expecting this. I need a minute.”

Or a few thousand.

Addie wiped her eyes. “I don’t expect a compassion-filled soliloquy. Blurting this out and wanting you to say the right words isn’t fair to you.”

“I’m a guy. You have better odds winning the lottery than me knowing what to say. But I’ll give it my best shot.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to say a word.”

“I want to.” He placed the straw hat on her head. “We’ll get through this. Trust me. Love is fleeting. Our friendship is the most important thing.”