Fire-engine red like my lips, it lightly hugged my curves and stopped just below my knees, with a sexy slit at the side. The dress’s V-neck was just deep enough that it offered a glimpse of my double Ds. Tasteful, in my opinion, but still sexy.
I was five minutes from when I was supposed to meet Colin in the lobby for our date, since, billionaire or not, I didn’t know if it was safe to give him the exact coordinates to where I was staying. I was sweating bullets—which was why I had paper towels stuck underneath each armpit to make sure I didn’t stain my dress as Holly talked me up. Penny was still on shift, so I’d have to give her the whole story later.
“You sure you don’t want to walk over with me?” I asked Holly. “Just to get out of here and see what activities they might have going on?”
“No, thanks.” She forced a yawn. “I’m probably just going to take a walk on the beach and turn in.”
Sure she was. I would bet she’d be on her computer checking back with the lab within a minute after I left. Well, at least she was here in Hawaii and getting some rest instead of holed up in her office or our apartment. That was progress.
“Good night,” I said and shut the door behind me. Pressing the dress down in case of any invisible creases, I found the path to the main hotel and started walking, careful to steer around cracks and dips so I didn’t fall over in these heels. Someone did a low wolf whistle from behind me, a sound that immediately made me want to vomit, and I was about to turn and give the dirtiest of looks when I caught sight of the culprit. It was Mike. He broke into a slow jog to catch up with me, which, considering my snail-like speed, took him about three seconds.
“Wow. You look great. Where are you heading tonight?”
“A date. We’re meeting in the lobby.”
“Lucky guy. I’m heading that way myself. Can I walk with you?”
“Could I stop you?”
He grinned, not bothering with a reply.
I glanced sideways at him, something I immediately regretted, because the moment I stared into those light blue-gray eyes, I didn’t want to stop. Was it me or did the space between us feel almost electrified? If I touched him, would I get some kind of shock?
Stupid me, having taken my eyes off the path, I didn’t see the fork in the sidewalk, and I nearly walked into a flower garden before Mike’s hand went around my waist and pulled me against him. Okay, so his touch was electrifying, and as his hand held me just above my hip, I thanked the Tahitian gods that I had opted for wearing my Spanx tonight. No extra roll for him to pinch there.
I pulled away, almost reluctantly. Had to keep my head on straight.
“And what are your plans tonight?” I asked, noticing his hair was damp and slightly wavy as if he’d just showered, his faint masculine scent teasing my senses with its appeal.
“Hanging out with a few friends from work. Tonight is trivia night in the bar, which isn’t as nerdy as it sounds, I promise.”
“Trivia? I love trivia,” I gushed.
“Oh? You play often?”
“I would. Unfortunately, my entire family swore off playing with me. Something about me being too competitive.” I’d even tried to get Eddie to play once or twice, but he was never interested in playing, preferring video games and watching sports to the dozens of board games I had saved through the years. “What can I say? I’m a sponge for irrelevant facts and details.”
He laughed. “My family says the same thing about me. You know, you and your date should stop by and check it out.”
I had a hard time picturing Colin sitting in a loud bar. He seemed like he’d be more comfortable on a golf green than in a sports bar. “Maybe. I don’t really know what the plans are.”
We climbed the stairs that led to a side entrance to the hotel and a large patio with a terrace. Mike’s hand was on my elbow, a small reassurance he’d catch me if I should lose my balance. Reaching the top of the stairs, I figured this would probably be a good place to say good-night, since I didn’t want to give Colin the wrong idea if we talked in together, but before I could say anything, I caught sight of Colin already waiting at the terrace. He saw me and smiled and headed over.
“Thanks for the escort, Mike. You have a good night,” I said in a rush, hoping he’d get the picture and part ways.
He only lingered, though, a strange smile on his face. “Sure, I understand. Just one thing.” He reached out and pulled something from under my arm, startling me for a moment as he slid a slightly damp folded paper towel from my left armpit and handed it to me.
Oh, crap. I’d completely forgotten it. Which meant…
Sure enough, I reached for the other side and pulled out the second one.
“Good evening, Jane.” It was Colin. Immediately, I crumpled both paper towels in my hand and tried to look cool and collected, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
“Colin. Hello.” I smiled, finally giving him my attention. He looked very debonaire in a white silky shirt that opened at the neckline and a dark jacket and pants. We must be going somewhere very swanky if he was in that getup.
He looked surprised to see me standing with another guy—not that I could blame him—and the two men stared at each other for a long moment as if summing each other up.
I cleared my throat. “Colin Fitzgerald, this is Mike…”
“Mike Helzer,” he finished, since I realized I didn’t know his last name.
“Right,” I said, watching as they shook hands. “Mike was heading in the same direction and was nice enough to keep me company.”
“Nice to meet you, Colin,” Mike said, a mischievous gleam in his eye that had me nervous.
“You too, Mike.”
“I mentioned to Janie that it’s trivia night at the bar, and she was telling me how much she loved playing trivia. If you two don’t have any immediate plans, you should stop by.”
Colin looked at me. “Jane? Was that something you were interested in? We have a little time before our dinner reservation if you want to check it out.”
“Oh, you don’t have to change your plans for me.”
“Nonsense. I admit I’m rather curious to see what a trivia night looks like.”
“Mike! Over here!”
I turned to see a pretty blonde somewhere in her early twenties standing at the door to the hotel, waving him down. Behind her was another woman and a guy, whom I recognized as employees from the hotel.
“That’s my cue. If you two decide to come, you should head over now so you can get signed up before the teams are filled.” Mike met my gaze for a few seconds then nodded and ran over to the younger blonde, who slipped her arm through his as they walked inside and out of sight.
“So what do you say, Jane Carmichael? Should we give trivia night a little look-see?”
I had to admit, I was biting at the bit to get in there and test my mettle against Mike and anyone else who thought they knew more extraneous facts and useless bits of news than I did. “Are you sure it won’t ruin your dinner plans?”
He shrugged. “We should be fine. And if we miss our reservations, I’m sure we’ll find other accommodations.” He held his arm out. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” I said a little lamely since I had no idea what sort of witty response people said to that. But Colin didn’t notice, only tucked my hand in his arm and walked me inside.