Page 14 of The Problem with Playboys

Buckle up.She definitely needed to settle in after that back rub. Her shoulders were still tingling. Parker’s touch was a revelation, but she was scolding herself for enjoying it so much. Why did she want more? From him? This wasn’t like her. At all. She was the woman who kept her eye on the prize, and logic said that getting this job done so she could move on to the next one was not only what she wanted, it was what she needed. But there was a little voice in her head telling her that it was okay to crave his hands on her and to wonder what it would be like to kiss him. She might be focused, but she wasn’t a robot. That bit of warm human attention had stirred a hunger inside her.

The plane touched down a few minutes before noon, and Parker had a driver waiting for them on the tarmac, who whisked them away in a jumbo black SUV. They sailed through the bright and sunny city as palm trees bent in the wind and slivers of blue water peeked out between buildings perched atop manmade keys. Maybe it was the change of scenery, but, damn, she felt like playing right now. Not working.Get it together.

When they pulled up to Marcus’s Miami Beach mansion and they stepped outside, the sight took Chloe’s breath away, even though she’d seen a whole slew of pictures online. It was a sprawling modern structure of glass and stucco-covered concrete set in a tropical paradise, which she knew to include eight bedrooms, ten bathrooms and an infinity pool running the width of waterfront property with an unobscured view of Biscayne Bay.

“We’ll go around the side to the guesthouse,” Parker said. “We can drop our things and meet Marcus inside.”

“Perfect. The photographer and writer from the men’s fitness magazine should be here in less than two hours.”

Parker entered the code on the wrought iron gate and opened it, offering with his hand for Chloe to go first. “Straight ahead.”

She started down the path, which had square gray stepping-stones with moss packed between them. Textured white walls were on either side, shutting out any sounds other than the soft trickle of a fountain and a few birds chirping in the branches above. With every step, she felt herself unwind a little more. The sights, sounds and smells of her surroundings made her want to jettison work and do nothing but play. The instant she reached the end of the path, she came to a stop. “Wow.”

“Pretty impressive, huh?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” She didn’t know which way to look first. Everything before her—the lush tropical landscaping and the serene oasis of the pool, surrounded by a clean-lined, all-glass house was simply too beautiful to be believed.

“Wishing you’d brought that bathing suit?”

She was. A lot. The pool was so inviting it felt as though she might never get beyond the regret of not bringing a damn bathing suit. “I’ll dangle my legs in the water.”

“Your room is on that side.” Parker pointed to the far corner of the guesthouse. “I’m over here.”

There was nothing but an open-air breezeway between them. And they each had a door. She was thankful for that. “I’ll get unpacked and meet you back here in a few.” Chloe cast aside her bathing suit woes in favor of exploring her bedroom. It was tranquil, with pebbled pale gray terrazzo floors, all-white bedding on a king-size bed and floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides that afforded her a perfect view of the tropical plants and that tempting pool area. She could see herself wanting to stay here for a very long time. She could imagine herself not wanting to go back to New York. But that wasn’t reality, just like her thoughts about Parker weren’t grounded in anything that made sense. And yet, they were there, crowding out things like logic and sensibility.

She needed to get her head on straight, so she forced herself to at least make good on the one thing she’d said she was going to do. She unpacked her clothes, then met Parker back in the courtyard.

He was pacing back and forth, talking on the phone. He glanced at her and bounced both eyebrows. “I need to run. I’m going to be with Marcus the rest of the day, but text me if you find out anything.” He jabbed at the screen to end the call.

“Everything okay?”

“Absolutely perfect. Come on.” Parker led her back through the walkway to the gate and out into the parking area outside the main house. Large rectangular slabs of bright white concrete, artfully arranged with lush green grass in the gaps, led up to an oversized double door of ebony wood. He didn’t knock. He walked right in. “Hello? Marcus?”

“Mr. Sullivan? Is that you?” A man’s voice came from the other room.

Parker waved Chloe ahead. “I told you to stop calling me that, Marcus. You make me sound like I’m your teacher or something.”

As they walked into an open and airy great room, with a luxe living space off to one side and a large kitchen to the other, Marcus Grant came into view. He was just as all-American as Chloe had seen in his pictures, with a dazzling smile, close-cropped dark hair and warm brown eyes. His bronze skin was glowing, which was impossible to ignore since the very fit Marcus wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Oh, shoot. Mr. Sullivan. You didn’t tell me you were bringing Ms. Burnett in with you.” He grabbed a T-shirt that was sitting on the kitchen island and scrambled to put it on.

“Hey, Marcus. I have Ms. Burnett with me,” Parker said in his trademark smart-ass tone.

Chloe extended her hand, trying to ignore the awkwardness. “Nice to meet you, Marcus.”

“Sorry about that. If my mom knew that I met a woman for the first time without my shirt on, she’d kill me.”

Chloe shook her head, finding Marcus’s demeanor nothing short of super charming. He cared about what his mom would think. Who wouldn’t love that? “Think of it this way. Your first interview is with the writer from the fitness magazine. Now I know you’re just as in shape as I told them you were.”

Parker snorted and put his arm around Marcus’s sizable shoulders. “See? I told you she was the perfect person for the job.”

Chloe took a deep breath, hoping that assessment bore out as true. Then in two short days, Marcus would be back on the road to reclaiming his pristine reputation, Chloe could celebrate a job well done and she and Parker could walk away from their professional involvement. That was all she wanted. Well, mostly. There were a few other things she wanted, but she knew that she needed to focus on what was good for her.Notwhat was tempting her.