2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

RILEY

V exed.

What an interesting word. Meaning annoyed, frustrated, or worried. I don't think I've ever used it in a book but it definitely fit my mood right now.

The couple next to me started arguing, their voices adding to the already loud noise of the hotel bar. I sighed and made a mental note to find a way to add vexed to a future manuscript as I shifted down a seat, putting some distance between me and the loud couple. Weren't they on vacation? Wasn't everything supposed to be happy and relaxing on vacation? At least that's what my assistant Ryan told me when he booked this vacation for me.

It was my first vacation in years and honestly, I didn't know why people did it. It was loud and noisy and people were obnoxious. Well, people were obnoxious anywhere but here at this beach resort they seemed even more so. If I wanted to be around obnoxious people I could have just stayed in Minneapolis. No, my idea of vacation was a remote mountain cabin with just myself and my laptop but when I suggested that idea to Ryan he shot it down vehemently. "A vacation is supposed to be about relaxation, not work!"

Ryan thought I was burnt out and maybe he was right. Okay, he was definitely right. I'd been working my ass off for years, writing in every spare moment I had until I was making enough to quit my day job at a marketing agency. My books did well but nothing was guaranteed for an indie author. The only true guarantee in this business is you had to just keep writing the next book. So that's all I tried to do. Or as Ryan liked to say, that's all I did.

Before I left, he made me promise to at least try to relax. And disappointing my best friend felt like kicking a puppy. You just didn't do that. Plus, Ryan could lay on a guilt trip like it was his job so I promised him I would try. But I still packed my laptop. And if this is how vacations were supposed to be, full of loud, drunk people, then I made the right call.

My nose wrinkled as I stared out at the crowd of people on the dance floor or crowding in front of one of the three cabana bars. Fuck, that was a lot of people. I ached to go up to my room and escape but I promised Ryan on a video call earlier that I would stay down at the bar for at least two hours. I checked my phone.

An hour and a half to go.

At least the bar I was sitting at was the least crowded of the three as it was against the back wall. I opened my phone and started scrolling through social media. If I had to sit here, maybe I could get some work done. I was answering a few comments when someone sat down on the stool next to me. From the sloppy grin on his face, he had started his night early. It was only 9pm for crying out loud.

"Hey, beautiful," he leered at me, his pupils blown out so wide I was sure it wasn't just alcohol he had consumed. "What's a pretty girl like you doing here sitting alone?"

I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. Could guys come up with anything more original? Contrary to what Ryan thought, I did enjoy sex and I wasn't opposed to a casual fling although I was too busy for a relationship. But not with a guy like this. He wore a preppy salmon colored polo shirt and cargo shorts. His hair was slicked back and his grin was too wide as his eyes blatantly perused my body, focusing on my breasts. I felt dirty with his gaze on me and snapped my fingers in his face to get him to look up.

"Not interested, thanks."

His face screwed up like he couldn't comprehend that I had just shot him down. "What?"

I leaned forward, ignoring the way his eyes dropped to my breasts again. It wasn't like they were falling out of my shirt. I was wearing a simple white v-neck t-shirt and some striped linen shorts. A perfectly respectable outfit. "I'm not interested in you. Please go away." I enunciated each word clearly in case the alcohol was impairing his hearing.

His face flushed and the vein at his temple pulsed. "You don't have to be such a bitch. I was doing you a favor anyway. Who else is going to want a fat bitch like you?" He snarled.

I rolled my eyes at him, letting him see all my annoyance. "Tip for you, if you're going to come hit on a girl and then insult her, at least choose one original pickup line or insult to use."

His face scrunched up again but someone shouted at him and he turned. "Whatever, bitch." he threw over his shoulder as he left.

I scowled at his retreating back. Seriously. It was 2024. Couldn't men get it together? Listen to a Taylor Swift album for crying out loud.

"You look like you really don't want to be here." A voice came from her right. The loud couple had left sometime during my interaction with the drunk asshole, allowing me to see the man sitting a few stools down.

Damn, so this is what a good old country boy looks like. In a black t-shirt and jeans that molded to his very fine ass, he looked out of place amidst the sea of Hawaiian print shirts behind him. His broad shoulders and tanned skin didn't look like it came from lying around at a beach but instead from years of hard work under the sun. Light stubble dotted his jawline but it only made him sexier. Hazel eyes twinkled at me but the sprinkles on top of the sexy cake was the baseball cap he wore backwards.

What it was about a backwards baseball cap, I didn't know, but it was like catnip to a woman. He was the total package. A small voice whispered in my head that guys like him didn't go for girls like me but I squashed it down. I was on vacation and crazy things were supposed to happen on vacation.

I leaned back against the bar and smirked at him. His body posture was hunched over and his back was to the crowd. He looked like he was hiding over here as well. "You don't look like you fit in too well yourself there."

His eyes widened as if he hadn't expected to be called out. He let out a husky laugh. "It's definitely not my usual scene or my choice of vacation spot."

"A bar at a beach resort isn't your choice of vacation spot?" I questioned, my eyebrows shooting up. I had just been thinking the same thing.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean the location is pretty but it's just weird not having anything to do. I probably haven't taken a vacation in over a decade. My best friend, Justin, insisted I take a break and booked it for me. It was probably payback for something I did though cause neither of us are really vacation people."

I laughed. His best friend sounded a bit like Ryan. "My assistant did the same thing for me. Not the place I would have chosen." I would definitely be getting more writing done if I was at a remote mountain cabin, I was on a deadline after all. Although, I probably wouldn't have run into a guy like this at the cabin.

"Where would you have gone?"

"Somewhere remote for starters. Probably a cabin in the mountains or on a lake. Somewhere I wouldn't have to deal with drunk people. And I could bring my laptop and get work done."

He laughed and I ignored the way it did things to my insides. "That's my type of vacation as well. Although I can't bring work with me as easily."

"What do you do?"

"I own a construction company with the best friend I mentioned earlier. It's not glamorous but we stay pretty steady. What do you do?"

I hated this question. When I worked at a marketing agency, it wasn't bad. I answered with my job title and people accepted that. But when I answered that I was an author I usually got raised eyebrows or "do you make a living off that?"

"I'm an author." I said evenly, prepared for my flirty conversation with him to come to an end.

He grinned. "That's so cool! What do you write?"

I barely kept my eyebrows from shooting up. It seemed this man fell into the elusive second camp of support and admiration.

"I write a variety of genres. Mainly a mystery right now."

"Those are some of my favorites. Are you published? Oh, and I'm Colton, by the way." He laughed. "Before I start talking your ear off, I figured I should introduce myself."

"I'm Riley," I reached my hand out and he took it with one of his for a quick shake. His palm was warm in mine and butterflies danced in my stomach. Sexy and a reader? I was doomed. "Do you want to move closer?"

"If it's okay with you." Colton checked. "I didn't want to crowd your space."

I appreciated him checking but I nodded. "We can use each other as a buffer against the rest of the people." I joked.

He fake shuddered. "True. Have you seen how many people are in here?" I laughed and he grinned. "Okay, let's talk books."

Before I knew it, two hours had flown by as we dove into our favorite books and authors. Colton was surprisingly really well read although he admitted he did more audiobooks because of his job. The bartender had stopped by a few times and I was on my third Long Island iced tea when a song I knew came over the speakers and my foot started tapping to the beat.

Colton noticed immediately and held out his hand toward me, palm up. "Do you want to dance?"

It was probably the liquid courage running through me or the fact that over the last few hours this man had gotten even sexier to me with his knowledge of books but I flirted a little. "Just a dance?"

A slow smile spread over his face. "My momma raised a gentleman so just a dance until you say you want more."

"Until I say I want more?" I arched an eyebrow. "That sounds awfully cocky there. What if you're a terrible dancer?"

"I guess you'll just have to dance with me to find out." He flirted back. I bit my lip and the green in his eyes popped as he tracked the movement. I slipped my hand in his and let him guide me out onto the dance floor.

He pulled me up, placing his hands on my hips as he pulled me against his hard muscles. Standing up, I fit just under his chin, the perfect height in my opinion and I relaxed into him, moving to the beat. My prospects for a vacation fling were looking up and I hoped Colton would be interested. He was hot and a gentleman and through the course of the conversation I found out he would also be here for the same week I was. Now it was time to gauge his interest. I let my hands move from his shoulders down his back and up again, running my fingers down his spine. He moved with the music easily, moving a leg in between mine and rocking our hips in time with the beat. My breath hitched and he dipped his head to whisper in my ear. "How am I doing on the dancing so far?"

I laughed breathlessly. "Not too bad to start. But don't you know it's all about the finish?"

He laughed and it sent a tingle down my spine. "Oh. I can finish it."

The beat picked up then and he spun me around until my back was to his chest. He pulled me closer as we rocked our hips together to the beat. I bit my lip as it felt like warm tingles spread from every part of our bodies that touched. I closed my eyes and lifted my arms to grab behind his neck. He buried his face in my neck, his hot breath hitting the sensitive spot where my neck and shoulder met. His hands stayed on my hips although they flexed and released like he wanted to move them. We danced like that for a few more songs and when I rocked back against him, he let out a quiet groan.

After another song, he pulled back slightly and motioned with his head towards the bar. I nodded. My mouth was dry and I could use some water. He must be thinking the same thing as he flagged down the bartender and ordered two waters. I studied him as he talked to the bartender. He seemed interested but now that we were off the dance floor, doubts were starting to set in. Was he just being polite? Did he just want a one night stand or a vacation fling? Or did he want one at all? He screamed relationship material but relationships didn't really work out for me. Only one way to find out though.

"So I've been thinking," I started after taking a sip of water.

"About my dance skills?" He grinned and I laughed.

"No, although those were…" I trailed off. In the past I had been accused by past boyfriends of being too much. Too forward and too direct. I tried not to let their words get to me but in the short time I'd known Colton, I really liked what I had seen. I didn't want to come on too strong or too much and ruin this before it began.

"You're really going to leave me hanging there?"

"I'm trying to think of the word," I teased, as I collected my thoughts.

"I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that you can't think of the word as an author."

I laughed. Fuck it, I was just going to go for it. "It doesn't happen often. Anyway, I don't know how to vacation very well and you said it's been ages since you've vacationed either so maybe we can be vacation buddies and figure it out together? "

Colton studied me for a brief moment and my stomach clenched before a slow grin spread across his face. "Vacation buddies. I like that."

I bit down my sigh of relief and started rambling. "Great! I mean good. Umm, anyway, my assistant booked me a jeep to take around the island tomorrow so maybe we can grab breakfast and see where the day takes us?"

"A jeep trip sounds great. What time should I meet you for breakfast?"

"What about 9am?" That should give me plenty of time to get some writing in before he got there. "There's a little cafe around the corner from the resort that's supposed to be very good."

"Sounds like a plan."

Colton flagged down the bartender and settled up our bill, pointedly ignoring me when I tried to pay for my drinks. The slight tick in his lips at the side of his mouth had me rolling my eyes but I tucked my card away. I would pay for breakfast tomorrow. We exited the noisy beach bar and headed towards the elevators. There were two sets to the two different resort towers and I was on the first set. I was feeling unsure if I should invite him up or not when he pulled me to a stop. I looked up at him and he smiled.

"I want it to be clear that the only reason I'm not asking you up to my room right now is we both been drinking and I want you sober for all the things I want to do with you." He said in a husky whisper that had my stomach clenching.

"You're very confident." I said back softly, not sure how to respond.

"And I'll show you I have every reason to be. But tomorrow. Good night, Riley."

He lowered his lips to mine, giving me every opportunity to step back but I tilted my head to meet him. The kiss was slow and sweet but my head still spun and I locked my knees when they went weak. Fuck, if this was how a kiss from him affected me, a vacation fling might just ruin me .

He pulled back after what could have been a few seconds or a few hours and a self-satisfied smile spread across his face at my dazed look. I smiled and shook my head at him and he gently pushed me toward my elevators. "I'll see you tomorrow. 9am."

I was still smiling when the elevator doors closed on his handsome face. Maybe taking a vacation wasn't all that bad.