Forever (Time for Love Book 1) (14 page)

"Don't worry about me. I'm joining the grandmothers for dinner. I think Magda didn't want me crashing your date with Zach."

Rebecca chuckled. Magda had been thrilled to bits when she learned that Rebecca and her grandson were dating. Magda had even launched into the story of how she'd picked up the attraction between Rebecca and Zach, and how she'd encouraged Zach to ask Rebecca out.

Rebecca hadn't told Magda about her past relationship with her grandson. She felt that it was Zach's place to tell his grandmother, not hers. At any rate, she didn't think it mattered that Magda didn't know.

"Hey, where did you get these flowers from?" Sarah asked, inspecting the arrangement that sat on the coffee table.

"They were from Alix. He pleaded with me to accept them. I felt so bad that I agreed. Besides, I thought you'd enjoy them."

"How did he take it?"

"Not bad. He said he still wants to catch up with me every once and in a while—with you."

"Right. And Alix did mention meeting a couple of other Greek guys the other day. Maybe they're single. I'll ask him about them."

"What about Ron's Aussie friends? Wouldn't you want someone who's closer to home?"

"I'm looking for a fun holiday fling, my dear. I don't care how far away they live from Sydney."

"You're not working on our New Year's resolution, are you? Remember, we're looking for men who are likely to commit."

"I'll do that when we get back home," Sarah stated. "For now, I kinda like the thought of a fling. I haven't done it before and I want to try it."

"Watch your heart," Rebecca warned her friend.

"If my heart gets bruised and battered, I'll blame this ship."

Rebecca sighed, praying once again that Zach's turnaround wasn't due to any non-lasting romantic vibes exuded by their temporary floating home.

*****

"O
nly dance with your gran when the music is slow," Rebecca said to Zach as they made their way to the nightclub. "Sarah and I are worried that she may be overexerting herself. She's been doing too much walking and too many physical activities. We have to slow her down a bit."

"I've noticed that, too," Zach said. "I'm glad she's enjoying herself, but she seems to be doing too much."

"I'm wondering if it's her way of pushing aside her grief. Her birthday's coming up and it's only the second year that she doesn't have your grandfather and your parents to celebrate it with her."

"I know," Zach said gravely. "That was why she was so intent on having Jeff, Greg and me join her on this trip."

She stopped walking and halted Zach. "I'm sorry I brought that up," she said softly, looking up into his eyes.

He gave her a smile that didn't fully reach his eyes. "Don't be. I miss them. Terribly. But I'd rather people still talk to me about them because that means they haven't been forgotten."

She placed a comforting hand on his cheek, not knowing what else to say.

He kissed her palm. "I'm fine," he whispered. This time his eyes smiled, too.

Zach leaned down to give her a soft peck on the lips, before putting his arm around her waist as they continued on to the nightclub.

*****

R
ebecca and Sarah formed a small circle with Magda's friends Olga and Debra on the dance floor as the four of them jiggled to a sixties dance tune. Rebecca caught Zach's wink as he danced with his grandmother, who was clearly enjoying herself. Vicky and Marilyn weren't in sight, and Rebecca wondered where they were. She was glad they weren't around, though. No telling how Vicky would react when she found out Rebecca and Zach were going out.

"Rebecca," Debra said loudly over the music. "I heard from Magda that you managed to get Zach to go out with you."

Debra was smiling, but Rebecca could tell that Vicky's grandmother was none too pleased at the fact.

"Yes, we're dating," Rebecca confirmed with a pleasant smile.

"Well, he is quite the catch. You're lucky. I think Zach is feeling grateful for the way you look after his grandmother."

Rebecca forced a smile, pretending she didn't get the barb in that comment. If Debra weren't one of Magda's good friends, she would have retorted in kind.

"Excuse us, we were wondering if we could have this dance?" Two men in their late twenties or early thirties were talking to the grandmothers.

"Do you want to dance with us old people or these two young girls?" Olga asked.

"With you, mature but beautiful ladies."

"Well, of course, young man. We'd love to," Olga exclaimed, taking the hand of one of the guys as Debra did the same with the other man.

Sarah and Rebecca chuckled, leaving the ladies with the guys. As they made their way off the dance floor, Rebecca felt a hand on her elbow.

"Dance?"

"Ron!" Rebecca glanced at Sarah to find Alix talking to her. Hmm. What had these guys planned?

"Come on, just one," Ron encouraged.

Sarah was already stepping back onto the dance floor with Alix, and Rebecca didn't want to sit at their big table all by her lonesome. Reluctantly, she accepted Ron's invitation.

With a pleasant smile, she moved with the music, grateful that it was a fast song. At least she and Ron didn't have to hold each other or anything.

The dance floor was filling up fast. She couldn't even see where Zach and Magda were, or Sarah and Alix—

"Switch," someone said.

Speak of the devil. Before she knew it, Alix had grabbed her hand and had put an arm around her waist. He smelled of alcohol, although not as strongly as Vicky had last night.

"Alix, what are you doing?" she asked in alarm.

"Dancing with you," he grinned.

"I didn't remember you asking," she said, frowning.

"I didn't want you to say no."

A slow song started playing, and Alix held her tighter.

"Alix, let me go," she said stiffly, pushing at his chest.

Alix dropped his arms to his sides, looking so absolutely shattered that she immediately felt guilty. He said something, but she couldn't hear him over the blaring music.

"I can't hear you, Alix," she said, shaking her head.

Alix leaned closer. "I said I only wanted a dance. Is it so bad to dance with a friend?"

"Zach's here," she explained, looking around to try to spot him.

"What?" Alix asked.

"I said Zach's around," she said louder.

Alix pulled her close and spoke in her ear. "Is he that much of a control freak that he'd stop his girlfriend from enjoying a friend's company?"

"He's not a control freak," she said, defending Zach.

"Then what's one dance, Becky? I'm not asking for anything else," Alix asked, his face—hell, his whole body—too close to hers for comfort.

"Bec?"

The voice was low but she heard it. "Zach," she said, prying Alix's hand from her arm and stepping toward her boyfriend.

"Zach," Alix acknowledged with a mirthless smile. "Later, Becky," he said to her, boldly running a hand on her back.

"Don't touch her," Zach snarled, taking a step toward Alix.

Rebecca quickly put herself in between the two men. "Alix, please leave," she said, wanting to punch the man herself. Alix was deliberately trying to make Zach jealous, the bastard.

Alix smirked before turning on his heels and walking away.

Zach was glaring at the man with cold eyes, and Rebecca put her arms around Zach's neck, hoping to calm him down.

"I think he's a little drunk," she explained, running her fingers gently on his nape.

"If he touches you again, I'll chop his hand off," he said harshly.

"I don't want you to go to jail," she joked, desperate to lighten up the situation.

"I don't care," he muttered, placing his arms around her waist and drawing her closer. His eyes had softened and his lips had curved up.

She chuckled, letting herself melt in his arms. "Where's Magda?"

"I took her back to our table. She was getting tired. I think she wants to go back to her room."

"We better escort all the grandmothers back to their rooms. They've all been too active this past week."

"It's a shame. I haven't even danced one whole song with you," Zach said, nuzzling her cheek. "Those grannies wouldn't ease up on me."

"Well, you're the best-looking man in the room. Can't say I blame them," she said, running a finger along his jawline.

Zach gasped softly and captured her wandering hand. "Okay, let's take the grandmas to their respective rooms so I can spend the rest of the night kissing you without interruption."

"Okay," she said, her body responding deliciously to his words. "Where do you want to do that? Your suite?"

Zach sucked in a breath. "I think your room would be better."

"Sarah might want to go back to the room, too," Rebecca said, looking at him quizzically.

"The idea is to have a distraction. You're far too tempting."

Rebecca sighed. Zach was keen on keeping his word to not sleep with her. It thrilled her that he was so intent on proving he was after something more lasting.

But, Lord, it had only been one day and she was already suffering from severe sexual frustration. There was something about having their previous barriers broken down that made her feel it was totally natural for them to take their new-found closeness to bed. Zach's recent actions—most especially the fact that he was happy to show everyone they were together—had her doubts evaporating into nothingness. She couldn't even remember why it had been so important for her that Zach proved himself by not sleeping with her. It sounded crazy now.

Well, since she was the one who'd insisted on it, she could cancel it, right?

"A
re you sure you don't want us to go to your room instead?"

Zach smiled as Rebecca hesitated to open her door. She was so beautiful, and so tempting. But it had only been a day since he'd made his promise. What if she was just testing him to see if he really meant what he'd said?

No. He wanted her to have proof of his feelings. He didn't want to stuff up again.

"I'm sure," he answered her.

Rebecca unlocked the door and pushed it open. When he closed it behind him, she immediately curled her arms around his neck.

"We can do more than kiss, you know," she said huskily.

"What do you have in mind?"

"A lot more than kissing."

He sighed. She certainly wasn't making things easier. "Are you going to seduce me?"

She smiled wickedly and pressed herself harder against him. "Now that's a thought."

"Is this a test?" he asked tentatively.

"A test?"

"To see if I'll keep my promise?"

Rebecca chuckled. "What if I tell you we can forget about that promise?"

He stared at her. "Why?"

"Because I really want you," Rebecca said, planting soft kisses on the corners of his mouth.

He groaned, capturing her lips fully. Before long, they were devouring each other's mouths, and he had her against the wall, his hand cupping a breast.

There was a click and the door opened, making them jump apart in surprise.

"Oops," Sarah said. "Sorry. Carry on. I just need to grab a cardigan. I'm a little cold."

Zach caught Rebecca's pointed look and he chuckled. She was right. There would have been no interruptions if they'd gone to his suite.

"What time will you be back, Sarah?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm just having one last drink with a couple of people I met today," Sarah answered. "Shouldn't you guys go to Zach's room?"

"He doesn't want to," Rebecca said with a pout.

"Well, he does have something to prove," Sarah said, winking at him.

"And I still intend to prove it to the best of my ability," he said with a wry grin. Then he noticed the flowers on the table. "Hey, these are beautiful. Where did they come from?"

"Oh, um, I brought them back here because I thought Sarah would enjoy them," Rebecca said rather nervously. "They were from Alix."

He glanced at her, frowning. "When did he give them to you?"

"Earlier today. I had coffee with him to tell him about us."

"And in response he gave you flowers and you took them?" he asked, his voice low.

"Uh, I'll leave you guys now," Sarah said and hastily left the room.

Rebecca quickly went to Zach, her face showing worry. "I didn't want to take them, but I felt sorry for him. Earlier, he seemed to accept we won't be anything more than friends. Of course, he was quite different tonight, but he had a bit too much to drink, I think."

He looked back at the bouquet, considering chucking them in the bin. The other man was obviously quite serious about Rebecca. More than he'd originally thought.

He'd also seen the flower shop at the terminal when they were docked at Cairns port, but he'd been so excited to go back to the ship that he didn't even think to stop and get Rebecca something. Alix had gone out of his way.

He shook his head, annoyed with himself. He had all this money and he couldn't even think of buying a simple present for his girlfriend—especially when they just got back together and he was still on 'grovel' mode. Rebecca had chosen him over Alix, but he knew there was power in persuasion and pursuit. If Alix was as determined as he looked, Zach better be at the top of his game. Instinctively, he knew Alix wasn't the type to back off that easily.

"Hey, are you mad at me?" Rebecca asked softly, running her hands on his arms.

"No," he assured her, kissing her on the lips. "But I'd rather you don't accept anything from him in the future."

"Okay," she said. "Do you want us to go to your room?"

He exhaled loudly. "Tell me again why you asked me not to sleep with you while we're on this ship, Bec."

"Why? It doesn't matter now."

"It does to me," he said quietly.

"I was afraid that it was only this environment that made you think you want to be with me again."

"And you don't think that anymore?"

"Well, I can't say I absolutely don't think that anymore, but I'm willing to take the chance."

He smiled at her. She wasn't sure.
He
wanted her to be sure. He wanted to make her feel secure in their relationship.