Page 97 of Twice as Tempting

Occasionally, she’d glance over at Damian, who was either grinning or, at times, chuckling to himself.

My sweet man. Tough on the outside, but a real marshmallow inside!

They got lost in their fictional worlds until the pilot made an announcement for the flight attendants to prepare the cabin for landing. Damian started to bend over the page he was on, but Kelly stopped him. “Oh no you don’t,” she scolded. “I have a bookmark you can use.”

“Seriously? What’s wrong with bending the page?”

“Never say that to someone who works at a bookstore! Here you go.” She handed him a bookmark with A New Chapter printed on it, along with a picture of the storefront and their hours.

He stuck the bookmark inside and carefully handed the book to her as if he were handing her a rare diamond. “I’ll leave it with you for safekeeping.”

“Good idea,” she said.

Just then, the plane began its descent, and Damian went back to gripping the armrests. This time, Kelly didn’t tease. She simply placed her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. His eyes closed, and she leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Before you know it, we’ll be at the hotel pool, and I’ll be wearing my red bikini.”

Damian didn’t respond, but his mouth twitched, and his eyelids fluttered. Kelly kissed his cheek and continued to hold his hand until they were safely back on the ground.

A short time later, they were driving down the highway in their rented Chevy Tahoe, en route to the Naples Beach Hotel. Kelly’s parents had offered for her and Damian to stay at their condo, but Damian had balked at it. His exact words were “I don’t mind spending time with your parents, but I need my privacy too.”

When Kelly told her mom that they wanted to stay at a hotel on the beach, Maria accepted the decision with her usual grace. “I remember those days, when your father and I first fell in love. I can understand why you’d want some alone time,” her mother had said.

Now they were on the expressway, and Kelly requested that they drive with the windows down so she could feel the warm air against her skin. “Isn’t this awesome?” Kelly said as the balmy wind whipped through the windows.

Damian wiped the sweat off his brow and said, “It would be more awesome if I could turn on the air conditioner.”

“Are we going to start this already? We just got here.”

“Sorry, Kell. While I enjoy the warm weather, it also makes me sweat, and I don’t want to stink when I meet your parents.”

Kelly glanced over at him and wondered if he was nervous about meeting her parents. He would find out soon enough that Frank and Maria were the most easygoing, fun-loving parents on the planet. At least, that’s the way all her friends had described them when she was growing up. Hers was the house that everyone wanted to hang out at, for various reasons. Her mother, Maria, loved to bake, and there was always a variety of cakes and cookies available. Frank, her father, was a prankster who loved to make people laugh, and both excelled at putting people at ease.

“Don’t worry. You’ll have time to change before they meet us for lunch,” she said.

For their first meeting, Maria had suggested that they have lunch right at the hotel restaurant. “It’s hard to be nervous when you’re looking out at the ocean,” she had said, and Kelly agreed.

Damian seemed relieved the minute they stepped into the air-conditioned hotel lobby, and even more so when they entered their hotel room. “How long until they’ll be here?”

“Twenty minutes,” she said, already rifling through her suitcase.

“Good. I have time for a quick shower. Be right out.”

Kelly noticed that he hadn’t asked her to join him, but it was probably for the best. They might not be on time for lunch if she did. While Damian was in the shower, she changed into a bright pink tank dress and strappy white sandals. She fluffed up her hair a bit, touched up her blush, and called it good. Then she slipped out onto the balcony to take in the magnificent ocean view. It didn’t matter how many times she had been there; she was always drawn in by the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, the squawk of seagulls swirling overhead, and the warm, salty breezes. She was leaning over the balcony rail, watching a group of children build a sandcastle, when Damian came out to join her.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck, and now Kelly breathed in his fresh, masculine scent along with the salty air. “You smell good,” she said and turned into his arms.

“And you look beautiful,” he said, gazing down at her.

“So do you.” Damian had changed from his standard jeans and a t-shirt into a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a collared navy blue polo shirt. For him, this was dressing up, and she appreciated the extra effort that he had gone to.

“They’re going to love you,” she said, smoothing down the collar of his shirt. “Just like I do.”

“I hope so,” he said and bent down to gently kiss her lips.

Kelly was anxious to see her parents, but with Damian standing before her, looking so gorgeous, she was tempted to delay the visit.

He smirked at her as if he read her mind and said, “We need to get going, princess. There will be plenty of time for other activities later.”

Shortly after, they walked into the hotel restaurant hand in hand, and Kelly spotted her parents right away. “There they are,” she said, pointing to a table in front of the large plate-glass window where her parents were waiting. As Kelly and Damian approached the table, her parents stood up and held out their arms to their daughter. The three of them embraced for a long moment while Damian waited patiently.