Free No Strings... by Janelle Denison Page A

island?”
    “Absolutely.” He gave her a smug smile. “And I’m going to make it work in a way that’s going to increase the resort’s exposure and gives them an added edge over their competition.” He grabbed her hand and picked up their pace along the walkway. “Come on, we need to hustle or we’re going to be late for the risqué charades.”
    Liking the feel of her hand enclosed in his, Chloe tried not to read too much into the gesture, though it did make her feel a little warm and mushy inside. Or maybe that light, pleasant buzz she was experiencing was a result of that second love potion drink. As she looked at Aiden’s face, she could see that his mental gears were already churning out ideas for his presentation, and she had to admit that using Hattie and her traditional methods of matchmaking, beyond standard compatibility quizzes, would provide a unique twist to Aiden’s campaign.
    He’d just verbally staked a claim to Hattie and her matchmaking knowledge—which they’ve done plenty of times in the past to make sure the other person didn’t latch on to the same idea, too. Now Chloe just had to find a bigger and better hook for her own presentation. She had something in mind, but wasn’t quite ready to share her concept just yet.
    Back inside the hotel, they entered the room for the charades just as the men and women were in the process of dividing into teams. Chloe intended to sit on the sidelines and just enjoy the show, but when one of the teams came up short a couple, she and Aiden were recruited to play. With a little alcohol in her system, it didn’t take long for her to put the incident at the greenhouse out of her mind, loosen up and get into the spirit of the game...and the competition.
    Each couple drew a phrase from a large glass bowl, and a timer was set for three minutes. Back and forth the teams battled for supremacy, playacting the expression or sentence they’d been given, which ranged from a couple having sex on a sandy beach, skinny dipping in the ocean, impatient newlyweds on their wedding night, to a couple playing nurse and doctor.
    More rum cocktails were served, and inhibitions were shed as everyone got into character to execute their scenes. The sketches were at times bawdy and X-rated, and hilarious to watch unfold as different guesses were shouted out. Chloe’s sides ached from so much laughter.
    She and Aiden managed to avoid being chosen until the very end of the game, when it came down to a win-or-lose tiebreaker for their group. Since they were the only couple who hadn’t performed, it was up to them to score the last point in order for their team to win.
    “Bring it on!” someone on their team cheered as Chloe and Aiden stepped up to the small staging area.
    Chloe flashed Aiden a sassy smile. “You know I don’t like to lose at anything, so you’d better bring your A-game.”
    “You’re such an overachiever,” he teased as he reached into the glass bowl and randomly withdrew one of the crumpled pieces of paper.
    She rubbed her hands together. “Failure is not an option for me.”
    He unfolded the paper, silently read their phrase and grinned like a tempting rogue. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
    Judging by the sinful look on his face, Chloe was certain he’d selected one of the more daring expressions—but then again, this was risqué charades so she’d expected something outrageous. “You know I love a good challenge.”
    “Well, then, here you go.” He revealed the act they had to execute.
    Making out in the backseat of a car.
    Getting their team to guess “backseat of a car” was a fairly easy process and took less than thirty seconds of their time. After that Chloe and Aiden embraced in order to playact the first part of the parody. Their bodies entwined and Aiden ran his flattened palms up and down her back while she threaded her fingers through his hair in an attempt to look like frenzied teenagers in the throes of passion. The only