Romancing the River (Survive the Romance #8) - Cami Checketts Page 0,3

Nobody could escape, least of all her. Her insides were on fire and she arched up as he bent toward her.

Finally, finally she was in the arms of the man she’d longed for since teenage years. He was going to kiss her, and she would explode with the joy only Axel could bring.

“Wow,” a snarky female voice said from much too close. “That’s not the greeting I got from Axel Dexter.”

Kinsley was slammed back to reality. She turned her head to look at the speaker just in time to avoid making the biggest mistake of her life and kissing Axel. His warm, firm lips brushed her cheek and set off another inferno. Mistake or not, it was horrifically disappointing to miss out on what she knew would be a dynamite kiss. Axel might even pretend to like her for a minute or two before he moved on to the next supermodel.

She tried to disentangle herself, but Axel kept one arm firmly around her and turned her to face the group.

“Kinsley,” he said as if she was his favorite person in the world. “This is my executive assistant and best friend, Emerald Taylor.”

Kinsley had to get away from him. She was face to face with the perfect model who also happened to be Axel’s long-term girlfriend. How uncomfortable was this? Emerald didn’t look bothered by it at all, which bothered Kinsley immensely. Emerald beamed at the two of them as if seeing her boyfriend hug and almost kiss the river guide was the best thing she’d ever seen in her life.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Kinsley.” Emerald gave her a brief hug, pretending for some twisted reason that they would be fast friends. It was odd, but at least it gave Kinsley an excuse to move away from Axel.

Unfortunately, Axel immediately stepped in close and wrapped his lovely arm around her again. Her heart thumped irregularly against her chest and she longed to stay close to him forever.

“Kane Gibbons, our military hero who served with your amazing brother Brit as his captain. Maybe you’ve met?”

Kane stepped forward and Kinsley shook his hand. He was a good-looking, swarthy guy, stockier and shorter than Axel. “I’ve seen pictures and heard stories. It’s great to meet you.”

“You too.” His voice was warm and welcoming. “Cap is one of the best men I know.”

“Thanks. He only cut off my pigtails and burned my Barbie house down twice. I guess I’ll keep him.”

Everybody laughed.

Axel continued the introductions. “Kane is here to help Amelia Jensen, our charitable, accomplished superhero make half a million dollars for her charity, Emotional Overload. And this is Jake, our favorite cameraman.”

Amelia didn’t step forward, so Kinsley waved to her and the guy behind the camera. Every word and action being recorded would be the worst part of this week, besides failing to play it cool around Axel and knowing it had all been caught on film. Would the cameraman ditch that huge camera for the trip down the river? She’d been informed a cameraman would be coming with them, but she expected a guy with GoPro and Garmin cameras.

She didn’t like the way Amelia’s pale blue eyes roved over her as if sizing her up. Amelia was a beautiful brunette. Did she have designs on Axel or was she hoping to get the military hero Kane’s attention this week? Kane looked to be a perfect mix of Spanish and Italian heritage. He was extremely good-looking and well-built. He was also studying Kinsley, but in a very different way than Amelia was. A way that said he was interested.

Great. Hopefully it was just the connection to Brit that had him giving her warm glances. She wasn’t looking for a fling, and fending off Amelia’s claws was not her idea of a good time either. The money was not worth a week of drama, or even being close to Axel Dexter for the next few minutes. At the moment, the latter didn’t feel like a hardship, but as soon as he walked away, it would hurt worse than ever to know that Kinsley meant nothing to him.

“Everybody, this is Kinsley Grady, river tour guide expert and my close friend.”

Close friend? Ha. He hardly knew her, though every time they saw each other, he acted like they were best friends.

Friends. That was all they’d ever be. She should be happy he still had her in that zone.

“How long have we loved each other, Kins?” Axel asked.

Kinsley started choking on nothing at all. Axel studied her