Excerpt

Guilt washed over Jim Nixon, and not for the first time. He had to be the worst dad in the world, dumping his sons with their grandparents while he indulged in a ten-day singles’ vacation…in Hawaii, no less. He hadn’t been apart from his boys since they were born—ten years for Dale; eight for Jay. And since their mother had walked out five years before, they did everything together. Too much together, according to his family and friends.

They’d been after him since the divorce to get out and meet women, to get a life beyond that of his sons. Jim had ignored them for the most part. Sheri had burned him badly. He wasn’t anxious to repeat that event, not even for the sake of sex. It was much safer taking care of his needs in the shower than taking a risk in the dating pool. Yet here he was, standing on the edge, waiting to dive in. He credited Colt Adams and Melissa Brody for giving him the nudge he needed. Seeing the couple together had stirred Jim’s long dormant passion.

Jim rolled his eyes. Long dormant passion? Shit, he was horny as hell now, and all the self-indulgence in the world wasn’t going to fix it. He needed a woman—a sweet smelling, soft feeling, horny-as-he-was woman. So here he was, sitting on the 747 in LAX, waiting for the plane to whisk him away to paradise where he hoped to find a fling to settle his libido.

He nearly laughed out loud. Who was he fooling? It wasn’t casual sex he was after. Jim was gambling against the odds to find something more permanent. This singles’ vacation was the test. Away from home, virtually anonymous, he hoped this experience would give him the self-confidence to jump back into that shark-infested dating pool once he came home. He’d get the sex out of his system, then be able to find a woman who fit ideally in his world.

It was the perfect time to do so. Not only was he ready, the trip also allowed him to leave his work disappointments behind. Jim still couldn’t believe his company had chosen an outsider over him. Damn it all, he’d really wanted that promotion! Still, he tried to be philosophical about it. If he’d gotten the job, he wouldn’t be sitting here right now. He tried to view it as the Universe giving him one more nudge in this direction. Nervous as he was, it felt like the right thing to do, even if the guilt of leaving the boys was almost too much to bear. He’d have a great vacation, come back refreshed, be much more pleasant to live with, and be ready to embrace work rather than resent being passed over.

The rest of the passengers finally settled in their seats. The window seat beside him was still vacant. Looked like he had the pleasure of stretching out during the five-hour plane ride to Honolulu. He watched the flight attendant as she started to close the door then re-opened it. A woman stepped through the hatch, juggling a tote bag that just barely made regulation for a carry-on. She gave the attendant a smile and a thank you, then headed right for the seat beside him.

Jim watched her progress down the aisle. She wore a sleeveless, floral top with matching pants. One section of her long brown hair was trapped under the strap of her tote. Wincing, she freed it and shoved it back. She wore sunglasses, so Jim couldn’t see her eyes. Her nose was a little pink. She glanced at the number above him. Yep, he had a companion for the duration of the trip. At least she was attractive. Maybe he’d be lucky and she’d be interesting to talk to. He unsnapped his seat belt and stood, offering her easy access to the window seat.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile, then tried to squeeze in. Her tote made it impossible.

“Sorry, I just need to stash this.” She bent over and shoved the bag under the seat in front of her.

Jim got a perfect view of her nicely rounded bottom. No need for apologies here. It was all he could do to keep from running his hand over it. Other parts of his body obviously intrigued. Maybe the next five hours weren’t going to be as comfortable as he’d hoped.

She straightened, pulled her long hair back, then tossed it behind her. A strand brushed his bare arm. Agony. He was going to have five hours of lust. She gave him another of those hesitant smiles and eased into her seat. But not before her breasts accidentally came in contact with his chest. Now he knew true torment.

Doing his best to hide his erection, Jim slipped into his seat, then quickly accepted the flight attendant’s offer of a blanket and pillow, as did the lady beside him. The engines revved and the pilot gave the order to the attendants to crosscheck and prepare for take-off. The safety video flashed on the screens. Jim focused on it, hoping it would alleviate his distress. It helped to some degree. It was probably safe now to introduce himself to his traveling companion.

“I’m Jim Nixon.”

Still wearing her sunglasses, she turned his way. “Liv Smith.” Just as quickly, she turned away to look out the window.

The plane jerked a little as chocks were removed from the wheels, then it started backing away from the gate. A muffled sound escaped from her. She brought her fist to her mouth. That’s when he realized—she was crying. He was screwed. He’d always been a sucker for a woman in tears.

“Something wrong?” He took a dare and lightly touched her arm.

Sniffling, she glanced his way. “No, I just… It’s just… I’m the worst mother in the world.” She broke down, then. Tears poured in rivers down her cheeks.

Resisting the urge to say, “aww”, Jim twisted around as much as the seat belt would allow. He gently rubbed her arm. “I know exactly how you feel.”

“You do?” She blotted the tears from her cheeks, then blew her nose on the tissue.

“Yes, I do.” He pulled the sunglasses from her face. Light brown eyes framed by long lashes spiked from her tears stared at him. Damned if he didn’t want to kiss her right then and there. “I was just sitting here thinking the same thing.”

“Really?” She sniffled again and seemed to have the tears under control.

“Yep. I’ve never been apart from my boys. Since their mother left, we’ve…ah, never mind. I don’t want to bring up the past. It’s time to move forward.”

Liv nodded. “Yeah, I was shoved back into the dating pool by my brother and sister. They bought this trip for me, knowing I’d never spend the money on myself. My boys are staying with my sister. They were as happy as they could be when I left this morning, but still…I feel so guilty. I almost didn’t get on the plane…in case you didn’t notice.”

He laughed lightly. “But you sucked it up and here you are.”

“Here I am.” She pulled in a breath and tucked the used tissue into the edge of the seat pocket in front of her. “A singles’ vacation. I can’t believe I let them talk me into it. I’m supposed to start a new job when I get back. I should be focusing on that. But my brother and sister said I was too tense, had been working too hard as it is, and needed a break. Which was a polite way of saying I needed to get myself—” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting off the rest of the sentence.

Jim laughed and laced his fingers between hers. “Yeah, I was told I needed to get laid too.”

Liv giggled and tightened her hold on his hand. “So we have a common goal. And a little something else in common—sons. Is this what they call fate?”

He liked her already. “Well, we have five hours to determine how much more we have in common.”

“I’d like that. Hell, this could be easier than I thought.” She beamed a smile that devastated his senses. “So, what do you do for a living?”

He hesitated. The last thing he wanted was to dredge up his bad feelings over work. Still, he had to tell her something. “I’m in advertising.”

Her face brightened. “Me too. Where do you work?”

No, he didn’t want to talk about work. “You know what? This is vacation and I’d rather leave work behind me for the next ten days.”

Liv nodded. “Well, what do you know? Another thing in common. I’ve been busting my buns lately and I’d like to leave work behind me too. So, work is off limits. And let’s add our failed marriages off limits for the time being too.”

Man, she was perfect. “Here’s to ten days of fun in the sun.”

The plane lifted off, shoving them into their seats.