get away from Zac soon she was liable to do something stupid—like push him up against the wall and have her wicked way with him.
He continued to stand there, staring at her, looking far too gorgeous for his own good, which annoyed her to no end. “Anything else I can do for you?”
Zac opened his mouth and then closed it, as if reconsidering his words. He backed away slightly. “It’s okay to let people in sometimes.”
“Seriously?” She laughed and shook her head, doing her best to sound flippant. “Maybe you should take your own advice, then, mister, instead of shutting me down each time I ask a personal question about you. See you later, Zac.”
“Is that a challenge?” he called from behind her. “I love a challenge.”
Carmen chuckled as the door closed behind her, leaving her alone in the stairwell. She leaned back against the wall, her heart still pounding and her mind still racing.
Silly. So silly. Just infatuation. That was all her reaction was.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself—only to have more images of their one night together flash through her head. The two of them entwined in her sheets...him bringing her to release again and again as she cried out his name in ecstasy.
No matter how drunk she’d been that night, a girl didn’t forget something that good.
Weys, dat boy rel bess...
The Trinidadian slang echoed in Carmen’s head. And it wasn’t wrong.
Zac was really sexy. Sexy times a thousand. Sexy times infinity and beyond.
She was in trouble and the conference hadn’t even started yet.
Hands shaking, Carmen pulled out her cell phone and called her sister back as she climbed the stairs to the third floor.
Clara picked up on the second ring. “Ey, wam?”
“I might have done something incredibly stupid. That’s what’s up.”
Before she could stop the words, an explanation of her fake engagement and the upcoming weekend with Zac tumbled out of her. She felt like she had to tell someone or else she’d burst.
“Wait—wait!” Clara said, as the sound of their mother’s favorite soap opera droned on in the background. “You did what?”
“I lied to my potential new employer in California. They’re very pro-family, and they were so impressed with Priya and her engagement to Lance I felt like I had to make something up in order to still have a shot at the job. I need this promotion, sis. We need this promotion. The extra money would pay for Mama’s care and help put you through university.”
Carmen stopped on the landing between the second and third floors, trying to convince herself as much as her sister that she’d done the right thing.
“Look, it’s no big deal, right? Three days of pretending and then it’s over and hopefully I get the job. Easy.”
“What about leaving Alaska? I thought you liked it here. I like it here,” Clara said.
“I do like Anchorage,” said Carmen.
She loved Anchorage the same as Mama and her sister did. She’d hate to leave. But that was beside the point. You did what you needed to do.
“California is pretty too, though. If I get the job it will be like we’re living on the island again. Beaches and sunshine and the ocean. They have good nursing programs at their colleges too.”
“Hmm...” Clara didn’t sound convinced, but it was too late to back out now. “And you think taking this man you had a fling with and having him pretend to be your fiancé will get you this new job? After you two...you know...?”
Yeah, she’d told her sister about the one-night stand. Hard to hide a man staying over in your bed when you shared the same living space. Ugh. Clara was right. Whatever had made her think inviting Zac to be her fake fiancé was the most brilliant decision ever?
In the end, though, what choice had she had? With Priya’s stellar background and experience, Carmen needed to produce someone who could seriously schmooze. Priya’s family was rich, and she’d had the best education and training money could buy. Carmen had worked nights and weekends to pay for her RN degree at the University of the Southern Caribbean.
After that she’d scraped together enough money from tips at the bar and working third shift at a twenty-four-hour convenience clinic to move her family from Trinidad to Anchorage, where she’d interned at Anchorage Mercy and completed her graduate degree.
Then she’d sat for the national certification exam and applied for her Advanced Nurse Practitioner license. The whole process had taken a decade, but it had meant a more secure future for the ones she loved and she’d do it all again, if asked.
Carmen said at last, “Zac knows the score.”
“Does he?” Clara said, her tone skeptical. “I don’t want you to get your heart broken.”
Carmen didn’t want that either. Problem was, she’d never really had a Plan B when it came to this weekend. And, honestly, their mutual attraction might be a good thing if they could keep to the script and use it to their advantage, making their ruse more believable. Lord knew their chemistry was still sizzling hot, despite the fact months had passed since they’d done the deed.
“I’ll be fine—promise,” she said, to convince herself as much as Clara.
She pushed away from the wall and squared her shoulders before walking out of the stairwell again. The hallway was delightfully empty, thank goodness.
“You’re all set to take care of Mama this weekend?”
Clara sighed. “Yep.”
Regret pinched Carmen’s chest. She hated to ask her little sister to care for their mother, but it couldn’t be helped in this situation. She wanted Clara to experience all the things she’d never had at her age—parties and fun and boyfriends and dating and all of life’s good things.
“What time’s your flight?” Clara asked.
“We fly out Thursday morning. Zac’s meeting me at the airport.” Carmen picked at her nails—a bad habit that tended to recur when she was stressed. “On a private jet.”
“Weys! Well, try to have a good time this weekend. You deserve to let loose. Just not too much, eh?”
“Don’t worry. It’s still a working midwifery conference.” Carmen laughed. “Mama doing all right?”
“She’s fine. Watching her telenovela.”
“Good. Okay. I need to go. Tell her I love her and I’ll see her later tonight.”
Carmen ended the call and headed back into the busy ER. She’d hoped her little walk would help clear her mind and sort out her thoughts. Instead, it had only brought more concerns to the surface.
If
