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He found the outlet and plugged in the laptop and then his cell phone. He took a seat, ready to scroll through his incoming email.

“Oh, thank God. I already feel terrible I’m missing tonight. The rehearsal. The party. I’m going to have to throw Kate something post-wedding—I don’t care if she’ll already be married. How did she and Dominic take it?”

“I didn’t give them the details—no sense worrying them. Just let them know we had some car trouble but would be back on the road in the morning and we would see them for sure by afternoon.” He scanned three emails from subcontractors, trying to confirm if the Eastman Motors contract was signed and their services would be needed. “They’re going to hold off lunch until we’re there.”

“Then we’d better not disappoint them,” she said, still preoccupied in the bathroom. “I had an interesting hour out shopping with Bev and Patty and the others. This tour they’re on, did you know what it’s for? What they’re doing tonight for their performance?”

“Hadn’t really thought about it.”

“They’re square dancers. They’re booked here tonight and have six more events in the next two weeks across Mexico. Who’d have thought? Anyhow, they’re going to be meeting down in the lobby in fifteen minutes to make it to the tequila distillery. You know, if we wanted to go with them. I was thinking it might be fun,” she said from the doorway of the bathroom.

He looked up.

Dear God Almighty. The woman really was going to make this evening as hard on him as possible.

“I picked up a few things, too, while we were out. I couldn’t stand the thought of wearing the same outfit again tonight and when I saw this in the shop window, I couldn’t resist. It’s not usually my style, but it just seemed to…speak to me. What do you think?”

Caliente red. That’s the color of the dress.

Caliente was the word that fit how hot and delectable and downright tempting the woman inside the dress was.

It was short—but not too short—and skimmed that sweet little body like a second skin until it reached mid-thigh, where it flared loose and soft. As a tease, the fabric crossed one shoulder at the top, but left the other bare. And her hair. Soft and full with one piece that fell in front of her eye, even after she tried to pull it away. Her lips were almost the same shade as the dress and smiling a little uncertainly at him. Eyes, dazzling green, looked back at him with the same uncertainty.

“Well? Is it too much? Lord knows what my mother would think if she caught sight of me in it, which might be why I was drawn to it. But now… I’m afraid I might have let Bev’s and Patty’s compliments go to my head. I don’t look like a hooker, do I?”

He blinked and cleared his throat. “No. I can safely say you don’t look like a hooker.” But she did look like a dream. A dream that would have every man within twenty feet ogling to see more of, to maybe even touch her. To see if that mouth was as hot and enticing as the rest of her…

He had to stop.

Realizing she still needed some reassurance, he forced his voice to sound even and unaffected, though he felt a stirring that was going to make the one bed even more hellish. He’d better get used to this chair. He was going to sleep in it, if he knew what was good for him.

“You look damn sexy, and you very well know it.”

Her smile dropped the shyness and it was like someone plugged her in because she was positively glowing now. “Why thank you, Mr. Sorensen. But don’t let me stop you, if you want to turn my head a little more…”

“And ruin the perfectly antagonistic relationship we’ve developed after all this time? God forbid.”

But it didn’t feel antagonistic anymore. In fact, as they stared at each other from across the room, the heat and magnetism between them was almost palpable. What he wouldn’t give to be any other guy than the one he was now, one who had nothing to lose by closing the distance and showing this woman just how much he wanted her.

It was her turn to clear her throat a little nervously. “Well, I think the tour starts in twenty minutes. Did you need the bathroom to clean up or anything?”

Hell yeah, he needed the bathroom. He needed some time to get a grip on himself and some space away from her.

“Yeah. I’m going to need a shower,” he said and stood, leaving the laptop on the chair and grabbing the smaller bag of personal items he kept in the laptop carrier.

How was he going to keep his vow to his family, Dick Eastman, and himself most of all, and deliver Payton safe and sound when the thoughts crossing his mind would shock them all.

A few minutes later, when he left the steamy bathroom, he found her standing on their balcony. The sun was close to setting and shone a golden glow on her hair. She looked over at him and he came to join her, the sound of music and crowds growing stronger as he did.

“It’s the prettiest view, I’m sure,” she said.

She only knew the half of it.

He willed himself to look out past the woman before him to the plaza and festivities that were bound to continue throughout the night. “Prettiest view but no doubt also the loudest. We’ll be lucky to get any sleep, even with the window closed.”

She laughed. “Lighten up. It’s going to be fun. You ready to head down?”

“Not really. But there’s no way I’m going to trust you not to get into trouble. So I might as well stay close.” He sounded chagrined and annoyed.

“What has you in such a foul mood? I don’t need a babysitter. If you want to stay, feel free.” He couldn’t mistake the flash of anger in those eyes. “I’ve survived this long without you shadowing me. I think I can manage a little longer.”

“Miraculously,” he muttered.

He was being kind of a jerk and he reminded himself it wasn’t her fault if, since he met her, everything seemed to go wrong. He also was aware enough that his curmudgeonly attitude was a cover. To hide the fact that the prospect of spending the evening with Payton Vaughan excited him more than any date he’d had in the past five years. Probably longer.

“And don’t forget that just managing not to look like you’re about to strangle me isn’t enough.” She smiled sweetly at him. “You have to pretend that I’m the best thing to happen to you, so much so that you plan to spend the rest of your life with me.”

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, “No thanks to you.”

Truth of it was, it probably wasn’t going to be something he’d have to pretend very hard at.

Chapter Nine

For a liquor that Payton didn’t care much for unless it was chased down with salt and a lime and another drink, the tour of the purple-hued agave fields and the distillery had been fascinating. The worker in cowboy boots and a wide rimmed hat had made quick work of digging out what had looked like an overgrown pineapple from the ground. He’d made it look so easy that it became comical when Lenny and a few others tried to imitate his actions when invited to harvest an agave plant.

It was definitely harder than it looked. She’d even seen Cruz crack a smile at the theatrics. Probably made more humorous by the fact that the men and women were all bedecked in their square-dancing finery. The women in full ruffled blue skirts and the men in matching blue shirts.

Finished with the tour, they had been escorted down into what looked like a cavern, but lit by soft lighting and candles, it felt almost magical. The large round table where they sat was surrounded with chairs carved from old oak barrels, adding to the ambiance.

Up to now, Payton had been surrounded by the women of the group as they were whisked through the fields in golf carts and then walked through the distillery, but she was ever conscious of Cruz’s presence behind her. Certain he was watching her. With those dark, swoon-worthy eyes that felt like they could see right inside her head. Now, as they took their seats, the couples paired off, and she couldn’t avoid him any longer.