The Marriage Match (Entangled Bliss) (Suddenly Smitten) Read online

  Trent nodded once. It would be disingenuous to argue. “So you shaped up after that?”

  “A little. Enough to graduate and get into college—another costly venture for my parents. I mean, I worked all kinds of crazy hours at Domino’s, but still. Then I got the wise idea to go Goth.”

  “I have a vague memory of you like that,” Trent said. “All white makeup and black lipstick.”

  “Totally attractive, right? I’d like to blame Edgar Allan Poe and Anne Rice, but it was more about my search for an identity, since I’d been told who to be and what to believe ever since I could remember.”

  Trent was even more impressed that she’d turned out so well-adjusted and easygoing. Down to earth, but fun to be around. Serious when she needed to be, silly when she wanted. “That makes sense.”

  “It didn’t to my parents,” Cyn said. “They didn’t go for the Goth look, or begin to understand what I was going through. When I came home for summer after my freshman year all Goth, they asked me to give it up or tone it down. Appearances really matter to them, but they never have to me. I wasn’t interested in setting an example for anyone, so I left. I went back to College Park and rarely came home after that.” She frowned. “We went through some tough times, but things have gotten better over the years.”

  “But you’ve been back in Maple Creek a while now, right?”

  She nodded. “After I grew up enough to look back and take responsibility for what I’d done, I came home to try to build a relationship my parents.” The sea breeze caught a lock of her hair and blew it across her face. She swiped it away and anchored it behind her ear. “I kinda hoped they’d meet me halfway. Maybe consider that, as much as I did wrong, maybe they’d been a little unreasonable, too. You know, agree to disagree, but still be a family.”

  “Have they?”

  “For the most part,” she said. “I think they understand that I’m not the reprobate I used to be, but I’m still not who they want me to be—modeling my life after theirs.” She picked up her knife and fork and cut a small piece of filet mignon. “We still love each other. We’re trying.”

  The sadness in her eyes tugged at Trent’s heart. Now it made sense that she’d avoided his question about being raised by a preacher and a librarian. “What will they think when they see you on TV?”

  Cyn gave him a plaintive smile. “Wearing a strapless dress? Or, heaven forbid, a bikini? Drinking wine?” She lifted her glass and took a sip. “Two steps back, for sure.”

  A knot tightened in Trent’s chest. He’d already asked her to risk a lot and go along with his plan—her relationship with Gran, her job—and now he’d learned this about her situation with her parents. He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I had no idea.”

  The wind picked up, and the sea stirred restlessly amid the rocks below them. Dark clouds blew quickly across the sky, the almost-full moon peeking through at random intervals.

  “There’s no way you could have,” Cyn said. “But don’t worry. I’m going to put the money you’re paying me to appear in the ads toward saving their house from foreclosure, so there’ll be a silver lining for them.”

  Trent drew his head back. “Seriously? That’s what you’re going to do with the money?”

  She nodded, the candlelight of the swaying lanterns shimmering in her eyes. “There’s a lot at stake here, and I’m trying to do my best for everyone.” She dazzled him with a full-wattage smile. “Even me.”

  …

  Cyn walked close to Trent’s side as they headed along the narrow stone path that led to her cottage. Gas lanterns lit the way beneath the thick canopy of trees, whose branches rustled in the shifting wind.

  “Storm’s coming,” Trent said.

  “But it’s supposed to be sunny tomorrow, right?”

  “Bright and clear.”

  Cyn had a huge case of nerves about tomorrow. She was exhausted from traveling, and from lots of adrenaline surges that had left her drained yet oddly exhilarated. Maybe because this was the first time she’d been alone with Trent since he’d surprised her in her cottage after she arrived. No cameras, no production crew.

  Just the two of us.

  They got to the cottage door and Cyn’s heart took off sprinting. Should she ask him to come in? Say good-night? Everything had become so complicated. Digging in her clutch for her key bought her a little time.

  “Here’s the deal,” Trent said just before she put the key in the lock. “Jamie threatened me with bodily harm if we show up with circles under our eyes for the shoot tomorrow, and she’s a woman of her word.” He winked. “How ’bout I make sure you’re settled inside, then I’ll take off.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” At least she knew what to expect. But if she was honest with herself, she’d admit that she wanted him to stay a while. She unlocked the door and they stepped inside, finding the lights dimmed, acoustic guitar music playing low, and a plate of chocolate-dipped fruit on the wet bar.

  “This is exactly what it’s like when I come home to my cottage in Maple Creek,” Cyn teased. She glanced into the bedroom to see the sheets turned down on the bed and fresh flower petals strewn on the pillows.

  “This place is stupidly romantic,” she said. She couldn’t help but imagine sharing that huge king-size bed with Trent, considering he was standing there with her looking way too irresistible. She had to remind herself that this was all about business, that she was hired to be here, that this was her job—and he was her boss. Besides, there were Ava and Naomi, and he’d meet Claire soon, too. The place might be romantic, but there wouldn’t be any romance between her and Trent.

  But that kiss in the boxwood maze…

  Trent followed her gaze into the bedroom and frowned. “Man. I was going to go all gallant on you and turn down your bed and put flower petals on the pillows, but the staff beat me to it.”

  Cyn’s pulse fluttered. She grinned, glad that he couldn’t read her mind.

  Trent opened the French doors that led to the balcony and gestured outside. “It’s beautiful at night, too.” She followed him out despite the storm that was stirring. Lightning flashed in the distance, and thunder murmured beneath the hiss of the churning sea. They stood facing the view, resting their elbows on the railing, quiet for a while.

  “Too bad it’s stormy,” Cyn said, “because I’d really love to sleep out here.”

  Trent gave her a grave look. “Hmm. You wouldn’t want to do that anyway, considering how the Chickcharnies freaked you out.”

  “Weren’t they only on Andros Island?”

  “Yep.” Trent leaned in close and whispered over the wind. “But here they have Ol’ Hige.”

  Cyn’s heart tripped over itself and she searched the canopy of shifting branches overhead, unsure what she was looking for. “What’s Ol’ Hige?”

  “She’s a witch.”

  “No way.”

  “She takes the form of an owl and flies around at night,” Trent said with sincere drama. “And sucks out people’s breath while they’re sleeping.”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “She also sheds her skin like a snake. So if you woke up out here and found her skin, you’d be lucky she didn’t get you.”

  “You’re making this up,” Cyn said. “Besides, that’s gross.”

  Trent shrugged and gestured to the chaises next to the pool. “Take your chances after the storm passes, then.” His eyes glimmered.

  Suddenly, heavy raindrops plopped on the tree leaves and lightning flashed closer. Thunder clapped loudly enough to shake the balcony. They ducked just inside the cottage but left the doors open.

  “Hmm…” Cyn pressed her lips together tightly. “That bed does look inviting, with the flower petals on the pillows and all. It’d be a shame not to sleep in it after someone went to all that trouble.”

  “That’s my girl,” Trent said. “Now I won’t have to worry.”

  That’s my girl…

  If only that were true.

  Chapter Seventeen

>   The storm had given Trent the perfect excuse to try to get more time alone with Cyn last night, but he’d known better than to tempt himself by hanging out with her in such a seductive atmosphere. He’d forced himself to head home despite the driving rain and dancing lightning.

  He was fooling himself if he thought his arrangement with Cyn was strictly business, because it was feeling more personal with every moment he spent with her. Especially after he’d gotten so close to her when Gordon had the camera rolling. Touching her again had quickly rekindled the sparks that had fired between them weeks ago—at least for him. He kept getting flashbacks of their time together under the stars, and he’d had to fight the urge to kiss her again last night when they were alone. But his attraction to her was more than physical—he liked listening to her, laughing with her, learning about her life. It made it hard to switch gears after Gordon turned the camera off.

  But the camera was already rolling this morning. Trent and Cyn were feet-in-the-sand and ankle-deep in the surf on the beach at the base of Dunn’s River Falls. As Trent had promised her, the storm passed and the sun was out full-force. After learning about her situation with her parents last night—and her generous plan to save their house from foreclosure—he was eager to give her a day free of worry and full of fun.

  “How about slathering some of that sunscreen on Trent’s back, Cyn?” Gordon called. “We can’t have you two getting burned slam up first thing.”

  “Sensuous circles,” Jamie chimed in, and Gordon narrowed his eyes at her.

  “These islands just do something to her,” Gordon said, bowing his head and shaking it.

  Trent instinctively flexed beneath Cyn’s touch as she smoothed the velvety sunscreen below his shoulders and lower on his back, his pulse picking up with each stroke. As far as he was concerned, Gordon could keep the camera rolling nonstop from now on. Gordon, Jamie, Stuart, and the camera would be their constant companions today, but Trent’s focus would stay 100 percent on Cyn. Easy work made even easier since she was wearing a Dreamsicle-colored bikini with a sexy halter top and tiny bottoms held together by a narrow strip of white beads.

  Her mesmerizing back rub ended abruptly and she stepped in front of him. Not a bad trade—a back rub for an eye-popping view. She dabbed a blob of sunscreen on the tip of his nose. “You’re all set.” She grinned.

  Trent swiped the sunscreen off of his nose and trailed what was left down her neck to another strip of white beads that was working hard holding her top together in the middle. Gordon needed realistic couple footage after all, right?

  Cyn’s gaze followed his fingers, then met his eyes.

  “Perfect,” Gordon called. “Take it a little further.”

  Trent wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, his abs pressed against her bare midriff. He liked the feeling more than he should admit. Sweeping her silky hair away from her ear, he leaned in close, catching the fresh scent of citrus and spice. He whispered, “Any Ol’ Hige sightings last night?”

  Cyn tipped her head back and laughed lightly, seeming to relax a little in his arms. “If she flew by, I had no idea. I was fast asleep in a bed strewn with rose petals.”

  Thinking of Cyn in that bed sent a shot of awareness through him.

  “Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about her sucking my breath out today,” Cyn said.

  Trent glanced up at frothy Dunn’s River Falls—eighteen stories high and six hundred feet long. Cyn followed his gaze. “It’s River Mumma you have to look out for in the falls.”

  Cyn shook her head and pressed her warm palm against his pec. “You and your tales. I think you make them up just to freak me out.”

  “They’re not my tales,” he said playfully. “Ask any guide up there on the falls.” He gestured to the blue-shirted attendants strategically positioned to help climbers on the waterfall’s natural terraces that looked like giant stairs. Others were stationed in the vertical sections of the falls where several small lagoons had formed. “River Mumma’s a water spirit serious about guarding the rivers. Sometimes she’ll sit in the water and comb her hair with a golden comb. Then she’ll leave the comb on a rock, shimmering in the sun, to entice victims to come get it. When they do, she yanks them down under.” Trent swept her off her feet, and faked as if he was going to dunk her in the sea.

  “Genius, Trent,” Gordon said. “Hold that for a few…and cut.”

  Cut? Just when he had Cyn cradled against his chest? He guessed it’d be really awkward if he held her there, since this was all just acting. Wasn’t it?

  “Ready to climb, you two?” Jamie asked. Trent set Cyn back on her feet as Jamie headed across the sand holding a pair of water shoes for each of them. “They’re not incredibly fashionable, but those rocks can get slippery.”

  “That’s why they invented editing,” Gordon teased, and Stuart gave him a thumbs-up.

  After Trent and Cyn put on their shoes, she shaded her eyes and looked up at the falls. “We going to the top?” she asked him, an adventure-loving grin on her face.

  Even though the camera wasn’t rolling, Trent skimmed his fingers down the side of her arm and risked a suggestive smile. “All the way.”

  …

  Cyn stood at the top of the falls, arm in arm with Trent, swirling, frothy water up to her knees and flowing against her calves. Just past their feet, it swiftly cascaded over the terraced rocks they’d just climbed and into the sea far below. Gordon ran the camera from the base of the falls, but Stuart wasn’t recording sound.

  “It looks even scarier from up here, but we did it.” She raised her arms in a touchdown pose, exhilarated and proud of her accomplishment, pleased to share it with Trent. “This has to be the best day ever.”

  “It’s only going to get better.” His sultry gaze met hers and lingered, sending a shiver through her and goose bumps rising on her skin. Had that been for her or the camera? The lines had started to blur for Cyn, and that could be dangerous, just like her view. Glimmering in the sun, water droplets beaded on Trent’s shoulders and drizzled seductively past his pecs and across each cut ab. Cyn’s gaze followed a droplet along its path, mesmerized, until it soaked into the top of his swim trunks. Climbing the falls had given her an every-angle view of him that had kept her motivated all the way to the top.

  Trent faced her and clasped her hands in his. “We’ve got a surprise planned for you.”

  Cyn lowered her eyebrows, her lips tugging at the corners. “Please tell me there are others involved and you’re not one of those people who talks about himself in plural.”

  He laughed. “We, meaning Jamie, Gordon, and Stuart—and a few other people you haven’t met yet.”

  “What’s the surprise?” she asked, barely able to stand the suspense.

  Trent shook his head. “The surprise is that we get down from here, grab some lunch, get cleaned up, and then you get the surprise.”

  Cyn rolled her eyes, imagining all kinds of things it might be—a plantation tour, a rain forest walk. “You’re going to be like that then? I think I’d rather you talk about yourself in plural.”

  “No such luck,” he said. “A surprise isn’t a surprise if you blow it ahead of time.”

  She shook her head. “That sounds a lot like ‘a wish won’t come true unless you say it out loud.’” The words were out of her mouth before she could bite them back. The last thing she needed was for either of them to be thinking about their real-life kiss in this land of make-believe.

  With a hint of a grin, Trent lifted her chin with his fingers and smoothed the pad of his thumb across her lips. “And look how well that worked out for me.”

  Cyn’s heart surged, her pulse rushing like the water over the falls. Was he going to kiss her again?

  Trent pulled her close, anchoring her against him on the slippery rocks. He threaded his fingers through her hair, cupped the back of her neck, and kissed her lightly, tentatively. Cyn tensed a moment, then relaxed as she gave in and pressed her palms to his pecs, gr
asping handfuls of firm muscle. The camera was rolling, after all, but it wouldn’t capture the sparks firing through her. She’d replayed the wish-upon-a-star kiss in her mind so many times, thinking how incredible it was with Trent—that elusive chemistry she hadn’t found with anyone else. But as the weeks had passed, she’d wondered if she imagined it.

  This kiss made her believe that she hadn’t. The softness of his lips. The sensual sweep of his tongue. The pressure of his hand at the small of her back. His skin was warm and wet against hers. She was nearly dizzy with sensation as he trailed light kisses along her jawline and whispered in her ear. “Even better than last time.”

  Cyn swallowed hard, trying to think of something clever to say. A wolf whistle from Gordon saved her. “Guess he liked it, too.” She grinned shyly.

  Trent looked as if that pleased him, which pleased Cyn too, but the whole scene left her even more confused as they climbed back down to the sea.

  They’d all left the falls and eaten lunch. Cyn had showered and Jamie had come to her cottage to help get her ready for the rest of the day. Despite Cyn’s best efforts, she couldn’t get Jamie to tell her about the big surprise Trent had mentioned.

  “I know I sound like a teenager.” Jamie’s eyes twinkled. “But I’m dying to hear about that kiss. It looked totally hot, especially for a first kiss—on camera. That’ll make it into the ads, for sure.”

  Heat rose in Cyn’s face. She wasn’t about to admit that the kiss at the top of the falls wasn’t her and Trent’s first. “I’ve kissed a few guys.” She couldn’t stop the Cheshire grin from spreading across her face. “But Trent takes kissing to a whole new level.”

  Jamie bunched her lips and nodded. “Hmm. I pretty much guessed that.” She held up a turquoise-blue bikini accented with black jet beads that winked in the light. “Expect more where that came from as soon as he sees you in this little beauty.”