“You must have missed him.”
“Not as much as you might think,” she said wryly, wishing she heard the tiniest hint of jealousy in Stone’s voice, but knowing that wasn’t going to happen. She had created Raoul—tall, dark, handsome, silent. The perfect man. Actually he was a lot like her image of Stone. Another man she’d never met, but at least Stone existed outside of her imagination. Raoul, Angie, Brad and the threeMs did not.
“Tell me everything,” he said. “Did you wear a bikini?”
“You have to ask?” She’d been playing the game so long, it was easy. The words weren’t really lies; they were stories, told to entertain. No one got hurt. She was someone pleasant in Stone’s life. A diversion. If he knew the truth about her and her world, he would think her boring. Thin, beautiful Cathy who had fabulous friends and an exciting life was more his style.
“The room was great,” she said.
“A suite?”
“Not this time.” She consulted one of the sheets she’d printed out about the hotel. “I had a corner room, and it was pretty big. I didn’t have anyone staying with me, so that was fine. I could see the pool and beyond it, the ocean. We had a great time. There was a water slide. I practically ripped out the bottoms of my suit on that.”
He chuckled. “Wish I’d been there to see that.”
“Mr. Ward, I’m quite shocked!”
“Liar.” His voice caressed her like a silk glove. “What color is your bikini?”
“Red.”
“Low cut?”
The question made her smile. Even though it wasn’t real, she enjoyed their flirting. “Are you asking about the top or the bottom?”
He groaned. “You’re killing me, Cathy. I can picture it. Never mind, what I’m thinking about is plenty vivid without you providing more of a description. Did you go snorkeling?”
“Yes.” She scanned another sheet. “There’s a boat at the hotel and it took us out to a wreck. It was great. The wreck is only a few feet below the surface. The water is so warm there, it’s easy to swim for hours. There are fish and interesting plants. I could have stayed a lot longer.”
“Sounds nice.”
It did, she thought. Someday she would actually try to get there. And to Paris and all the other places she’d told Stone she’d visited. In truth, she didn’t even have a passport.
“The hotel has a restaurant right on the water,” she continued. “Saturday we all went there. It’s very formal.”
“I’ll bet you wore something short and sexy.”
“Were you spying me?” she teased.
“I wish. Go on.”
“Well, dinner was fabulous. Fresh fish, great wine.” She turned to her laptop and double-checked the menu. “They’re known for a flaming dessert, and we all decided to try it. Our waiter was obviously new. He wheeled up a cart and began fixing the dessert right there at the table. But there were six of us, and the pan he was using was too small. I guess he didn’t want to do it in two batches or ask for help.”
“I sense a disaster.”
“So did we, but we had no idea what was going to happen. So there he is, spooning the brandy over everything so he can light it. But he keeps putting on more and more. Then he lit the match.”
Stone groaned. “How much of the building went up in smoke?”
She laughed. “Not as much as you might think, but there was definitely a loud whoosh and a fireball. The entire room took a leap away from the flames. The waiter nearly burst into tears. And the dessert tasted a little burned around the edges.”
“I’ll hand it to you, Cathy—your life is very exciting.”
“That’s my goal,” she said lightly, determined he wouldn’t ever learn the truth. “Did you really stay in all weekend?”
“Sure.”
“Stone, there’s a whole world waiting for you out there. You should go explore it. You never go out.”
