Page 103 of The Work Wife

What had happened was that she had had the best sex of her life. But surely they couldn’t keep having sex, because it might cause problems later. Their friendship was on the line here.

Once she’d come up with an answer, she walked back to their seats and flopped down next to him

“Okay. I think I know what happened.”

“You think you know? Wow. Did no one ever have the birds-and-bees talk with you?”

Ignoring his joke, she moved on. “We were curious about one another. It’s only natural. We work together. We’re in the same room day in and day out. We see one another for hours on end. It makes sense that we would wonder what it might be like to become intimate. You’re an attractive man. I . . .” She motioned to herself. She was doable. Especially for someone like Wes, who didn’t like to spend a lot of time dating.

“You . . . ?” He raised his brow in challenge.

“I’m not bad.”

“You’re beautiful and sexy.”

Her blush was back. “Still, it was simple curiosity.”

He rolled his eyes while shaking his head. “Why would we have waited five years to give in? Wouldn’t we have been curious before now?”

“It’s the romantic setting. We’ve been content to be friends and not let it get out of hand, but after spending so much time together in a tropical paradise, it wasn’t a surprise that we gave in.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that now that we’ve had sex, there’s nothing to be curious about any longer. We can go back to being just friends.” She was hoping he was on-board with this plan, because seeing him lying there in just his trunks was making her itchy again.

“Just friends?” His voice was flat. “We’re married, Jamie.”

Yes. He did have a point, though she wasn’t willing to give up on her own point. “But we both know it was just a means to an end. Our friendship is more important than giving in to our sexual urges because we’re in a romantic situation.” She had to believe this. The only other option was that she had fallen in love with Weston Archer, and that couldn’t happen. That would only lead to heartbreak and her losing the best friend she’d ever had.

“Wait, no more sex?” Wes asked.

Good, he was thinking like a guy. She could handle this. “That itch has been scratched.” Although she already felt as if she could use some more scratching.

“Fine.”

She’d said the word fine enough times in that same tone to know it didn’t mean Weston was really fine. But rather than continue trying to convince him, she decided to let it go. In time, he would realize this was the best thing.

Wes left a little while later to go snorkeling. He hadn’t invited her to go, and she thought it was a good idea for them to get some distance. They would go out for dinner and dancing tonight, and then the next day they would be on a plane back to their normal lives.

Wes didn’t come back, and he wasn’t in the cottage when she went to shower and change for dinner. He still hadn’t returned when it was time to go meet everyone.

With a sigh, she smoothed the skirt of her sundress and pasted a smile on her face before going into the meeting room.

“Hey, Jamie. Looks like you forgot something,” Curt joked.

Yes. She had shown up without her husband. She’d hoped Wes had gotten ready earlier and would already be here waiting for her. No luck.

Had he had a snorkeling incident? Surely someone from the resort would have tracked her down to tell her had there been an emergency.

“I’m sure he’ll turn up.” She laughed it off.

Drinks were ordered and the specials were read. Still no Wes.

She was about ready to go looking for him when she felt the chair next to her move and her husband sat down. His hair was damp and he smelled of soap and Wes. She leaned in as he gave her a peck on the lips. It was just like the night before. Except everything had changed.

It wasn’t enough. She wanted him to kiss her. Really kiss her.

Through the dinner he didn’t even glance her way. He didn’t rest his arm on the back of her chair or take her hand. To everyone else seated at the table it might have looked normal, but Jamie knew it wasn’t. Wes was tense and unhappy.