“Well, you’ll understand when you see her. She’s a model,” he said, like that explained it. And, having been raised by one, it kind of did. “She’s not exactly swimming in female companionship.”
He crossed his arms and took another long, slow look at her, his gaze leaving a trail of heat, followed by goosebumps, and more heat. Still not even the slightest shadow of recognition. No surprise there.
Very few—actually none—of the people who knew her in college would recognize Willow Ambrose as Willie Zatarain. Not even someone who’d always said hello and made a point of being kind to her…but not that kind. Not kind or even drunk enough to sleep with a woman who outweighed him by more than a hundred pounds.
That was then, and this was…getting awkward.
“You know,” he said, as if suddenly aware of how much time had passed while they looked at each other. “In the military, there’s a rule that once you’ve seen someone naked, they get to see you naked.”
Suddenly, a flash came back to her. Nick, friendly and even flirtatious when they were in college. His voice—at least when he wasn’t singing—still had that smooth, silky quality that poured over her like hot fudge on cold ice cream. And like sundaes, he’d always been a temptation.
But Willow had long ago learned how to conquer temptations, hadn’t she? “Good thing I’m not in the military, then. I get a pass.”
The vaguest hint of disappointment darkened his eyes, giving her a surprising jolt of satisfaction. “Hey, can’t blame a guy for trying. Lieutenant Nick Hershey.” He extended his hand for a shake. “You don’t work for the hotel, so are you one of the planner girls?”
“The planner girls?” She coughed a soft laugh, mostly to cover the certainty that he didn’t remember her. The question was, should she refresh his memory? See the look of utter and abject shock on his face? Endure the questions, the litany of congratulations, and the embarrassment for both of them?
“Sorry, that sounded demeaning as shit, didn’t it? I meant are you working for Misty as her wedding consultant?”
“Yes.” She finally lifted her hand to slide into his, fighting a shudder when his warm, large fingers closed over hers.
“And you’re…” he prompted.
“I’m…” A girl you knew a long time ago. Not that she could blame him. Most days, she didn’t recognize herself. “Willow Ambrose.”
“Willow.” He let the word roll around on his lips, tasting it, nodding as if he liked it a lot, smiling as though meeting her for the first time. Well, wasn’t that why she’d ditched the shortened nickname and lopped off her world-famous last name?
“The pleasure is…well, I guess the initial pleasure was yours.” He winked, and it hit her heart like a red-hot spark.
“Not the singing part,” she teased.
He laughed, a low rumble in his chest that she knew could curl toes, melt hearts, and vacuum up phone numbers. “I suck, I know. But that’s how I relax. Does your job mean I’ll be seeing a lot of you this weekend?” The little bit of hope in his voice tweaked her heart, still not grasping the fact that he was flirting with her.
“Depends on how much wedding planning you and the BTB are going to do.”
“BTB? Wait, don’t tell me. Bride That Bitches?”
It was her turn to laugh. “Bride To Be, but your version is often dead-on, too. I thought you and Misty weren’t going to be here for a few hours.”
“We came from different places, and I got bumped to an earlier flight, and she’s…somewhere.” He put his hands on his narrow hips, the move accentuating his chest and pecs and stunningly cut abs. “Want to show me around until she gets here?”
Could she…not tell him? The thought landed in her head with a thud. It would be dishonest not to tell him they’d known each other a dozen years…and a hundred and twenty pounds ago.
Except, he’d known Willie Zatarain, the fat girl in Sproul Hall who had few friends and famous parents. He didn’t know Willow Ambrose. And by the way he was looking at her, he wanted to.
The powerful, dizzying, irresistible pull of temptation tugged at her insides. This time, just this one time, temptation kicked her ass.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I’ll show you around.”
Chapter Two
Nick tightened the towel, even though it was exactly the opposite of what he’d like to do with this lovely surprise who couldn’t hide her admiration. He was probably looking