Jo Leigh - One-Click Buy - September Harlequin Blaze

Her gaze fell on the envelope.

Well, maybe one more date.

She reached for the dare, opened it and read.

You are hereby dared to have sex in an exotic place.

Exotic place? Hmm.

She thought of the bungalow her family owned in Fiji. How easy it was to think of her and Liam walking the white sand beaches, sipping festive umbrella drinks, feeling the balmy tropical breezes on their skin. Not to mention making love in a hammock under a bright starry sky.

Goose bumps scattered up her arm. Erotic and exotic.

But how to get Liam to go to Fiji?

Before she could formulate a plan of action, the sound of Tanisha dragging into the office twenty minutes late drew Katie’s attention to her coworker.

She took in Tanisha’s disheveled appearance, wrinkled clothes, her lovely braids coming undone, eyes red-rimmed. She’d never seen her confident, stylish friend looking so demolished.

Katie sprang to her side. “Omigosh, are you all right?”

“No,” Tanisha whimpered, and plopped down in her chair, knees pressed together, feet splayed apart.

Katie knelt beside her, wrapped her hand around Tanisha’s forearm. “What is it?”

“It’s Dwayne.”

“Has something happened to him?”

“He broke up with me.” Tanisha’s voice cracked, and a single tear slid down her caramel cheek.

That solitary heartbreaking tear startled Katie. She’d never seen her friend cry, much less shed a tear over some guy. She pulled a tissue from the box on the desk and pressed it into Tanisha’s hand. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“He said he couldn’t trust me.” Tanisha pressed the tissue to her eye.

“Why would he say that?”

“Because,” Tanisha mumbled, “I sort of lied to him.”

“Sort of?”

“He wanted to be open and honest. He told me about his past, the women he’d known, and then he wanted to know how many men I’d been with.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“Two.” Tanisha cringed.

“Why did you lie?”

“Because he’d only been with two women. How could I tell him the truth? I was afraid he would think I was slutty or something.”

“So how’d he find out that you weren’t being honest with him?”

“He met Jerome.”

“Your brother ratted you out?”

Tanisha nodded, sniffled. “He said if I would lie to him about this kind of thing, how could he trust me when it came to the important stuff?”

“You were only trying to salvage his ego.”

“I know,” Tanisha wailed.

“He placed you in a no-win situation.”

“Exactly, but he’s an honesty-is-the-best-policy type of guy.”

Katie let out a soft sigh. It certainly didn’t sound like a happily-ever-after ending for her friend. To think, strong-minded, independent Tanisha was reduced to rubble over a man. If it could happen to her, it could happen to anyone. Her heart gave a strange jerk of disappointment and she realized she’d secretly been rooting for Tanisha’s relationship with Dwayne to be of the soul-mate variety.

See what happens when you believe in fairy tales?

Katie rose to her feet. This was precisely why she avoided committed relationships-too much chance for heartache.

“I knew better than to tell Dwayne a white lie. I made a mistake. I know it now. But he won’t even take my calls.”

Not knowing what else to do, Katie patted her friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry you’re hurting.”

“You were right to stick to sex and avoid romantic entanglements,” Tanisha said. “Love, marriage, happily-ever-after, it’s all bullshit.”

“No.” Katie shook her head. “I was wrong. Yes, maybe I’ve never been hurt, but I’ve also never had the depth of intimacy you found with Dwayne.”

But you could have it, if you let yourself.

Yeah, right, willingly lay herself open to the kind of pain Tanisha was suffering. No thank you.

“I love him so much. I’ve never felt this way before and it’s ripping me apart inside to think I’ve lost him because of my own stupidity. How can I ask him to forgive me when he won’t even talk to me?”

“If he’s this unforgiving, maybe he’s not the right one for you,” Katie ventured.

“He was the one,” Tanisha said, and shed another tear.

“Then if Dwayne’s the one, you guys will work this out,” Katie said, not believing what she was saying but knowing it was the only thing that would make Tanisha feel better.

“You really think so?”

Katie crossed her fingers behind her back, telling her own white lie. “Absolutely. Give him some time to deal with his bruised ego and he’ll figure out he can’t live without you.”

Tanisha smiled sadly through the tears. “Thank you, Katie, for being such a good friend. You’re probably right, the male ego being what it is. Dwayne really is a stand-up guy.”

Katie forced a smile of her own. For Tanisha’s sake, she prayed it was true.

WHILE KATIE was consoling Tanisha, Liam was staring out the big plate-glass window of his office building watching the bustling city go about its daily activity. He knew she was holding back, keeping her emotions in check. Using sex to keep from experiencing something deeper. He had a feeling she’d been using adventure as a barrier against intimacy for most of her life. He’d just had to figure out a way to knock that wall down.

Truth was, he was out of his league when it came to this romantic stuff. But like any successful executive, he knew where to turn to find answers. Breezing past Vanessa, he headed down the corridor to Tony’s office.

He knocked at Tony’s door but charged in without waiting to be invited.

Tony glanced up from his paperwork. “Hey, boss, what’s up?”

“I need your advice.”

“Sure.” Tony tossed down his pen, leaned back in his chair. “What can I do for you?”

This suddenly seemed like a stupid idea, and Liam almost turned on his heel and walked away. But the thought of winning Katie’s heart had him taking a seat across from his best friend’s desk.

“I’m here for you. What do you need to say?” Tony arched his eyebrows.

“It’s complicated.”

Tony steepled his fingers. “Do you want my advice or not.”

Liam cleared his throat. “Okay, here’s the deal, I think I’m falling in love with Katie, but she’s terrified of intimacy and I don’t know how to get through to her.”

Tony snorted. “Katie’s not the only one afraid of intimacy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How many years has your love life taken a backseat to romance?”

“Thirty-one,” Liam admitted.

“Exactly.”

“But that’s not because I didn’t want to fall in love. I was just too busy.”

“And why is that?”

Because he’d been determined to prove to Finn Delancy he was worthy of his respect, but he couldn’t tell Tony this. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Because you were terrified you’d screw it up.”

Liam laughed harshly. “Okay, that’s a fact. So what do I do about Katie?”

“Tell her you’re falling in love with her.”

Liam swallowed. The thought was daunting. “I’m afraid she’ll run away.”

“Then take her someplace where she can’t run away. A place where she has to face her feelings and talk things out with you.”

“And where would that be?”

“I dunno. A tropical island.”

“You mean, take a vacation?”

“I know that word isn’t in your vocabulary, but if you want to romance this woman, then you’ve got to think of her desires. You both need time away from work and family to create a fantasy world all your own.”

It made sense. “But what if she doesn’t have real feelings for me?”