He blinked and cleared his throat. “No. I can safely say you don’t look like a hooker.” But she did look like a dream. A dream that would have every man within twenty feet ogling to see more of, to maybe even touch her. To see if that mouth was as hot and enticing as the rest of her…

He had to stop.

Realizing she still needed some reassurance, he forced his voice to sound even and unaffected, though he felt a stirring that was going to make the one bed even more hellish. He’d better get used to this chair. He was going to sleep in it, if he knew what was good for him.

“You look damn sexy, and you very well know it.”

Her smile dropped the shyness and it was like someone plugged her in because she was positively glowing now. “Why thank you, Mr. Sorensen. But don’t let me stop you, if you want to turn my head a little more…”

“And ruin the perfectly antagonistic relationship we’ve developed after all this time? God forbid.”

But it didn’t feel antagonistic anymore. In fact, as they stared at each other from across the room, the heat and magnetism between them was almost palpable. What he wouldn’t give to be any other guy than the one he was now, one who had nothing to lose by closing the distance and showing this woman just how much he wanted her.

It was her turn to clear her throat a little nervously. “Well, I think the tour starts in twenty minutes. Did you need the bathroom to clean up or anything?”

Hell yeah, he needed the bathroom. He needed some time to get a grip on himself and some space away from her.

“Yeah. I’m going to need a shower,” he said and stood, leaving the laptop on the chair and grabbing the smaller bag of personal items he kept in the laptop carrier.

How was he going to keep his vow to his family, Dick Eastman, and himself most of all, and deliver Payton safe and sound when the thoughts crossing his mind would shock them all.

A few minutes later, when he left the steamy bathroom, he found her standing on their balcony. The sun was close to setting and shone a golden glow on her hair. She looked over at him and he came to join her, the sound of music and crowds growing stronger as he did.

“It’s the prettiest view, I’m sure,” she said.

She only knew the half of it.

He willed himself to look out past the woman before him to the plaza and festivities that were bound to continue throughout the night. “Prettiest view but no doubt also the loudest. We’ll be lucky to get any sleep, even with the window closed.”

She laughed. “Lighten up. It’s going to be fun. You ready to head down?”

“Not really. But there’s no way I’m going to trust you not to get into trouble. So I might as well stay close.” He sounded chagrined and annoyed.

“What has you in such a foul mood? I don’t need a babysitter. If you want to stay, feel free.” He couldn’t mistake the flash of anger in those eyes. “I’ve survived this long without you shadowing me. I think I can manage a little longer.”

“Miraculously,” he muttered.

He was being kind of a jerk and he reminded himself it wasn’t her fault if, since he met her, everything seemed to go wrong. He also was aware enough that his curmudgeonly attitude was a cover. To hide the fact that the prospect of spending the evening with Payton Vaughan excited him more than any date he’d had in the past five years. Probably longer.

“And don’t forget that just managing not to look like you’re about to strangle me isn’t enough.” She smiled sweetly at him. “You have to pretend that I’m the best thing to happen to you, so much so that you plan to spend the rest of your life with me.”

He rolled his eyes and grumbled, “No thanks to you.”

Truth of it was, it probably wasn’t going to be something he’d have to pretend very hard at.

Chapter Nine

For a liquor that Payton didn’t care much for unless it was chased down with salt and a lime and another drink, the tour of the purple-hued agave fields and the distillery had been fascinating. The worker in cowboy boots and a wide rimmed hat had made quick work of digging out what had looked like an overgrown pineapple from the ground. He’d made it look so easy that it became comical when Lenny and a few others tried to imitate his actions when invited to harvest an agave plant.

It was definitely harder than it looked. She’d even seen Cruz crack a smile at the theatrics. Probably made more humorous by the fact that the men and women were all bedecked in their square-dancing finery. The women in full ruffled blue skirts and the men in matching blue shirts.

Finished with the tour, they had been escorted down into what looked like a cavern, but lit by soft lighting and candles, it felt almost magical. The large round table where they sat was surrounded with chairs carved from old oak barrels, adding to the ambiance.

Up to now, Payton had been surrounded by the women of the group as they were whisked through the fields in golf carts and then walked through the distillery, but she was ever conscious of Cruz’s presence behind her. Certain he was watching her. With those dark, swoon-worthy eyes that felt like they could see right inside her head. Now, as they took their seats, the couples paired off, and she couldn’t avoid him any longer.

They were, after all, supposed to be a couple. In love.

Their server circled the table, a bottle of tequila in hand. He poured a little of the whiter, less-aged product into her glass and invited them to smell the liquor’s distinctive aroma, to notice how the liquid clung to the glass, showing it’s sweetness.

Payton stared into the glass with some trepidation. No chaser was around today, and she was certain she would probably offend them if she even asked for one. Cruz took a sip and nodded. He looked back at her with some amusement in those dark brown eyes.

“Gonna give it a try?”

When he looked at her like that, his eyes almost dreamy and languid in the dim lighting, she’d do about anything. She sipped and immediately grimaced as the liquid burned its way down. But the aftertaste…well, it actually wasn’t so bad. Light. Flavorful. She maybe even liked it.

The burning in her belly grew hotter as Cruz looked at her in approval. He had to stop looking at her like that. It was unnerving.

Then there was the fact that now, ensconced so close to each other, it was hard to miss the faint smell of soap and aftershave that clung to his skin. The familiar leather and incense that conjured up a dark bedroom, satin sheets, and all the sorts of forbidden thoughts that were more appropriate to Fifty Shades of Grey than her life.

The server returned with another bottle, more amber than gold that he called an anejo that was aged a minimum of a year. She let him pour it but held off on drinking it until she had some food in her stomach so as not to repeat yesterday’s unpleasantries. And to make certain she didn’t do anything crazy, like lean across the space dividing her and Cruz and lick the dark crevice under his jaw. Something that may have passed her mind a time or two in the past five minutes.

“So tell us,” Patti said over the din around the table and pulling her gaze from the dark figure next to her. “How did you two meet?”

She met Cruz’s eyes but looked away quickly. The image of him standing at the door of the flower shop that night flashed in her mind. Remembering the way her heart had hammered like some cartoon character at the way he looked at her.

She took a tiny sip of her drink, needing a little more fortitude.

“Funny story.” She cleared her throat. “His brother, Dominic, had just gotten engaged to my best friend, and to surprise his new fiancée, Dom had planned a surprise party. Before that day, we had never met each other, so when we ran into each other at the florist the night of the party, we were complete strangers.”