Two-Step Temptation by Emma Jay Page B

at the time because while it was going on, she’d wanted to keep it private, something for just the two of them. Telling them after the fact would have only hurt more, when they’d offer sympathy. Now, well, she hadn’t been lying when she told Eric she didn’t want their drama to disrupt the weekend. Besides, this way the affair was still something that belonged to only the two of them, and the idea of that warmed her.
    “He’s been in the jungle all this time,” she told Jill. “He may not have much staying power.”
    As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he passed her on the trail, turning to stare, his eyes wide. Before she could wish herself into a hole in the ground, Jill burst out laughing.
    They reached the picnic area where the resort staff had laid out an elegant arrangement, white cloths on the ground, silver buckets icing champagne, trays of fruits and cheeses artfully set on the linens. Nearby a cooler held bottled water and wait staff stood by ready to serve sandwiches.
    “This is my kind of picnic.” Jill split from Haven and hovered near Eric, as if waiting to see where he’d sit.
    Haven didn’t. She sat near Christine and helped herself to a strawberry as Jared opened the champagne. When she glanced up, she saw Eric sitting across the linen from her, looking at her. Great.
    Jared motioned with the bottle of champagne. Ignoring Eric, she leaned forward, holding out her flute so Jared could pour. She sat back, her weight on her hands, and grinned at Christine, who lifted her shoulders in an exaggerated sigh, though Haven noticed that she kept an eye on the servers to make sure everything ran smoothly. Affectionately, Haven patted her friend’s thigh to remind her to enjoy the weekend. But with Eric present, it took her a bit—and two glasses of champagne—to relax. Finally the teasing among the groomsmen penetrated her nerves and she let the tension ease from her own shoulders.
    “It was a science experiment,” Eric protested when Jared brought up the smoke bombs in the boys’ restrooms.
    “To what? See how quickly you could get me suspended?” Jared shot back.
    “To see how fast the fire alarm went off,” Eric replied. “Took a damned long time, as I recall.”
    “And two seconds after that, the principal was hauling us out by our ears.” Jared shook his head, smiling fondly at Christine.
    “Wouldn’t have been so bad if she’d looked like Haven,” Eric said, his eyes glinting at her. “I might have gone to the principal’s office even more often.”
    “You couldn’t have gone more often,” Jared countered. “And she looked like what she was, a former WAC shoved into a purple suit.”
    Eric leaned across the linen toward Haven. “She was shorter than some of the fifth graders but could kick their asses with one look. No lie.”
    “How often did she kick yours?” she asked, unable to hide a smile. When they’d been together, she hadn’t seen him interact with his friends and hadn’t realized what she was missing.
    He eased away with a smile of his own. “Every damn day.”
    The walk back to the resort was more relaxed as the four bridesmaids, four groomsmen and Christine’s family headed back up the hill. Haven still kept her distance from Eric, concentrating instead on listening to Christine enumerate the tasks that needed to be done before tomorrow. The bride’s tone was sleepy and she weaved a bit on the path. Haven reached out to catch her elbow, and her foot slipped out of her sandal, twisting beneath her.
    With a grunt of frustration and pain, she landed on her ass on the dusty path. Before she could catch her breath, Eric crouched before her, his hands on her ankle, which was beginning to throb.
    “Are you okay?” he asked, his fingers smoothing over her skin.
    Haven stopped herself from jerking away from that touch, so familiar that her hormones were dancing, appreciating the tingle his callused fingertips sent from the tender skin behind her ankle to