Page 28 of Her Fake Island Wedding

Chapter Thirteen

“Yoo-hoo, darling! Lucy!”

“Fuck!” Lucy sat bolt upright, clutching the sheet to her bare breasts. Despite making the excuse to Bryce the previous night to convince him to stay, she hadn’t really thought her mother would come looking for her at some unearthly hour.

Glancing at the clock by the bed, though, she groaned. It wasn’t early; it was ten past nine, and she’d told Justine she’d meet her at nine in the lobby to take her on a tour of the island.

“Hm?” Beside her, Bryce rolled closer, an arm curling around her waist and pulling her towards him. “Is it morning already? Good, I can ravish you again…”

She spared a few seconds to appreciate how he looked, all rumpled in the warm light of morning, his hair shining gold, blue eyes peering up at her as he tried to pull her down for a kiss.

“My mother’s here!” she hissed.

“Don’t want to walk in on anything, darling,” Justine said loudly from outside the door. “Did you oversleep or did that gorgeous man of yours just not let you out of bed on time?”

“Sorry, Justine,” Bryce called back after a moment as Lucy fled for the bathroom. “My fault. Lost track of the time. I kept her up late, too.”

“Naughty boy,” Justine said playfully, and slid the door open. Bryce made sure the sheet was covering his hips before lying back and putting his hands behind his head, feigning a casualness he didn’t feel. Justine just stood and surveyed him for a moment, a smile on her perfectly painted lips. Even this early in the morning, she was fully made up, large designer sunglasses perched atop her glossy hair, wearing a white silk blouse with large pink flowers printed on it and white designer Capri pants. And white high-heeled sandals, Bryce noted, willing himself not to laugh at how ridiculously overdressed she looked. She could have just stepped off a film set or a yacht in St. Tropez.

“Hey, Mum.” The bathroom door slid open and Lucy emerged, putting the final couple of twists in her simple braid before wrapping a tie around the end. “Be right with you, I just need to put sunscreen on.”

The contrast couldn’t be more extreme between mother and daughter. Lucy looked surprisingly fresh — Bryce suspected she’d just splashed cold water on her face — her eyes sparkling, cheeks glowing. She wore a strappy pale blue cotton sundress, and stepped into a pair of old rubber flip-flops as he watched.

“Are you wearing sunscreen?” Lucy checked as she grabbed the bottle sitting on the dresser and squeezed some onto her hands. “Otherwise you’re going to fry.”

“My moisturiser is SPF 30, darling,” Justine dismissed.

“That probably won’t be enough. I’ll bring the bottle.” With a glance at Bryce, Lucy said brightly “Will you put some on my back?”

“Of course.” He patted the bed between his thighs, accepted the bottle as she sat down. Took his time massaging the thick sunscreen into her shoulders and upper back, ignoring Justine entirely. “There,” he murmured at last, leaning forward to nibble her ear. “Enjoy your morning. I’ll catch up with you for lunch? Got an afternoon dive leaving at two.”

“Lunch sounds good.” Lucy turned her head to kiss him, smiling at him gratefully. Though after the previous night, Bryce had no idea why she might think he wouldn’t go along with anything she wanted. He craved her again now, wanted to tell Justine to get lost and pull Lucy back into the bed, spend the whole morning exploring her body, the softness of her skin, the sounds she made as he made love to her.

As she capped the sunscreen and got off the bed, he had to shift a knee up to hide the fact that he was tenting the sheet. Justine was pointedly ignoring the pair of them, picking up and putting down things on Lucy’s dresser.

“Cheap moisturiser, darling, really?” She held up a bottle and shook her head. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

“You tried to raise me with expensive tastes, yeah,” Lucy said dryly. “Considering how much of the stuff I go through in this heat, I’d be broke in a few weeks if I tried to use high-end stuff. That’s been working for me.”

Justine pursed her lips and shook her head. Bryce sensed this was a regular battle between the two, and one Lucy had long since won by simply ignoring her mother’s recommendations and demands.

He heard Justine start up again as the two of them left, Lucy with a final wistful glance over her shoulder at Bryce still in her bed. He gave her a warm smile and she returned it before closing the door behind them.

Still tired, Bryce only gave brief thought to trying to go back to sleep. Sleeping in Lucy’s bed without her felt too intrusive, somehow. Pushing himself up with a regretful sigh, he headed for the shower. He’d clean up, get some food, and go prepare for the afternoon dive class. At least that would keep him busy until he could see Lucy again.

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