Page 110 of The Au Pair Affair

Chapter Twenty-Six

Burgess strode along the stone walkway leading to the patio where the welcome dinner was being held, his heart still located in his fucking mouth since his encounter with Tallulah at hotel reception. Encounter? Yeah. More like an ambush.

He was not off to a good start.

Some vine-like greenery blocked his view of the lit-up outdoor space ahead and he smacked it out of his way, berating himself once again for being too impulsive. He’d meticulously written and planned a speech declaring his love, bullet pointing the reasons he could not live without her. He’d intended to deliver it the first time he saw Tallulah again, but as soon as he laid eyes on her, the words he’d practiced in rehab, in the shower and on the plane became nothing but scratches of noise, utterly and completely unworthy of her.

Mother of God, he’d actually let the most beautiful woman alive walk out of his life.

She’d gotten even prettier, too, started doing something different with her eye makeup. She’d bought a new pair of sandals he’d never seen before. A mere six weeks and he’d missed a whole host of little things he could have noticedasthey took place, instead of after the fact. How did he screw up so badly? And then double down this afternoon by challenging her, instead of kneeling down in front of the girl and asking for mercy?

These had to be adverse effects of anesthesia.

And God, he could use a shot of the stuff in his chest right now, because the whole thing was a throbbing wound that begged to be numbed, just so he could breathe. Focus.

Focus on what he needed to do.

Apologize. Prove to Tallulah he could be the right man to love her.

Maybe even prove it to himself in the process.

Get her back.

Love her until his heart gave its final beat.

Burgess slowed to a stop on the path when the party materialized in front of him. Approximately three dozen guests mingled beneath a half-moon, sipping champagne from flutes, candles flickering among greenery dotted with white hibiscus. The Beach Boys drifted softly in the humid night air... and all he could see was Tallulah.

In a pink dress.

Not just any pink, though. It was hot pink—and he only knew the exact name of the color from back in the day when Lissa used to play with Barbies. There was nothing plastic about Tallulah, though. Jesus, he’d never seen anyone look softer or more natural, her hair left loose and kind of curly due to the tropical air. Her dress was like a swift knee to the balls. Looking at her actually, physically hurt. Like a son of a bitch.

And the message was clear as crystal.Look at what you’re missing.

Despite the misery it would cost Burgess to get closer, he couldn’t help gravitating toward the party, the need to be near her fiercer than ever. But hell if keeping his jaw off the floor didn’t grow impossible. Goddamn. Her ass and thighs in that tight hot-pink dress were going to be listed as the cause of death at his autopsy. Dew glistened on her skin from the humidity. Her lips were painted to match her outfit. And men were noticing.Golfers.

Fuck. That.

Burgess made a face and stomped into the moonlight, cutting across the grass toward the gate that would let him onto the patio. He closed it behind him with an intentional clang, hitting every golfer at the party with a look that saidtouch her and die. And he meant it.

Get yourself under control.

He’d lost her by acting like an asshole. He definitely wouldn’t win her back that way.

“Hey, man,” Wells said, appearing in front of him in a crisp white polo shirt, a glass of scotch in hand. “You’re looking a lot better since the last time I saw you. Mostly.”

Burgess stared at Tallulah over his friend’s shoulder. “Mostly?”

“You still look like you’re being tortured on one of those medieval stretcher tables, but at least you’re up and walking around. I call that progress.”

“Not the kind I’m looking for right now.” Sighing, he clapped Wells on the shoulder. “Congratulations on the wedding, by the way.”

“Heartfelt. I’m misting.” Wells chuckled dryly, before leaning in and lowering his voice. “I hear you’re signed up for cliff diving and zip-lining tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” Finally, Tallulah paused in her conversation with a group of women and made eye contact with Burgess, the sudden fulness in his throat making it necessary to pull hard on his collar. “Hopefully we’ll get a chance to talk.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult, since you’re the only ones who signed up.”

“We are?”

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