CRUISE TO ROMANCE (9 page)

Jennifer didn’t answer.  She just
rested her head against his shoulder while members of the crew called to the
occupants of the other two yachts.  Over the laughing and joking, Jennifer
could hear the voice of Sheila and Mike calling to them.  Ryan waved, but Jennifer
just smiled. She sighed, closed her eyes, and finally admitted to herself that
she was falling in love.  Even the rain couldn’t take away the beauty of these
moments.  As if in agreement, Ryan pulled her closer and kissed the top of her
hair.

Just as quickly as it had come,
the rain began to slacken.  Soon there was nothing but mist and sunshine.  The
yachts reached the shallow waters of the bay, where the crews transferred to a
power boat and headed for
Bobby’s Marina
.  When they finally reached the
pier, Jennifer was drenched; tiny rivulets of water ran from her hair.  Feeling
slightly rebellious and even more contrary, Jennifer mentally refused to wrap
herself in a towel.  Let them look, she thought, enjoying for the first time
the appreciative looks from all of the men.

Ignoring the easy smiles from the
men, Jennifer followed Ryan to a table set up near the door of the gift shop.  Ryan
turned and handed her a glass of rum punch.  “Try this, Jenn, you’ve earned
it.”

“Thanks.”  Eager and thirsty, she
drank the whole glass.  “Can we take the punch inside the museum and gift
shop?”

“I think so.”  Ryan laughed. 
“But you don’t have any more.”

“Well?” she demanded with a
smile.

“Honey, you smile like that, and
I’ll get you anything you want,” he answered.

“Really?”

“Really.”  Then he kissed her, a
wet greedy kiss that curled her toes, before he walked off to retrieve more rum
punch.

“Boy, your crew really came
through at the end there.  I thought for sure we would win with all those
Exercisetech men onboard.  Even Mike was shocked.”

At Sheila’s amused voice,
Jennifer turned and studied her friend.  Her wet halter top was plastered to
her breasts and her straw hat was ruined.  “You look like the winner of a wet
T-shirt contest.”

“Thanks,” Sheila laughed.  “You
don’t look so put together yourself.”

“Where’s Mike?”

“Checking out the museum. We’re
catching the water taxi back to the ship in a few minutes.”  Sheila walked over
to a trash receptacle and tossed in her hat.  “Coming with us?”

“No.  I have plans.”  At least
she hoped she did.  Jennifer smiled as Sheila went to pair up with Mike.

“Staring off into space already?”
Ryan handed Jennifer a glass of rum punch and steered her into the gift shop. 
“We’re going to get matching racing caps.  My treat.”

“Great.  I want a red one,” she
sipped her punch, “to match my laces.”

Ryan laughed and placed a bright
red
America’s Cup
racing cap on her head.  “Fits perfect.”

“I’ll take it,” she countered
happily.

“I come along with it,” Ryan
teased.  “How do you feel about that?”

“Desired,” she teased back.

Ryan grabbed the visor of her red
cap and tugged gently.  “A perfect match,” he breathed before lowering his head
to kiss her.

A perfect match
.  Ryan’s husky voice still
echoed in her ears.  Three little words that had her dreaming dreams and
spinning fantasies of the future. 
A perfect match
.  Those sweet words
were a promise sealed with a kiss.  Jennifer was filled with joy and
anticipation.  Ryan did feel the same way she did.  Tonight she would meet him
for an intimate dinner at the steakhouse and after that he would make slow,
sweet love to her.  How wonderful to be introduced to love-making by a gentle
and caring man who was also an expert.

Jennifer toweled off from her
nice hot shower and began to rub her favorite moisturizing skin cream onto her
body.  She looked up from her body massage when she heard a card slip into the
door’s card reader.  Sheila stepped inside.  How in the world did she do it? 
Sheila was dressed in a straight shift with tropical fish adorning it, her hair
was neatly braided and her make-up, what little she used, was perfect.

“You are a mess, Sheila,”
Jennifer teased just to be contrary.  “You look like you just got out of bed.”

“My, my.  You are so astute,”
Sheila countered.  “Not only did I just get out of bed, but I had a wonderful
time in it.  Thank you very much.”

“You’re incorrigible!”  Jennifer
tightened the towel around her, finished soothing the cream over her feet, and
stepped to the closet to pick out some clothes.

Definitely pleased with herself,
Sheila beamed.  “I know.  Now, Jennifer, do you mind telling me why you are in
the cabin instead of with Ryan?”

“He said he had something to take
care of,” she answered.  “Which is for the best, because it gives me time to
get ready for dinner.  I’m meeting him later.”

“So that’s why he showed up at
Mike’s cabin.  Naturally, we didn’t answer the door.”  Sheila plopped down on
her bed and sighed.  “I’m going to take a nap.  It’s been a long day.  By the
way, you can have the cabin all to yourself tonight.  I’ll be staying with
Mike.”

“Oh.  Does he know about this?” 
Possibilities raced through her mind, but she really didn’t want to have Sheila
interrupting the best experience of her life, regardless of how innocent.  It
would probably be safer to make love in Ryan’s cabin, but she would feel more
secure in hers.

Sheila kicked off her shoes and
settled back on the bed.  “Of course not.  I never tell a man what I have
planned for him.  After all, that would give him too much time to figure out a
way to object.”

“Are you saying that Mike is
controlling?”  Jennifer asked.  Now there was a clash of personalities, if she
ever saw one.  Talk about controlling.  Sheila was one manipulating woman, even
with her.  Not that she minded terribly.  Sometimes Sheila’s aggressive nature
came in handy and sometimes it was a real pain.

“Oh, yeah!  But then he can’t
hold a candle to Ryan.”  Sheila smiled as she dropped her little bomb.  “Have you
bedded him yet?”

Embarrassment flooded her neck
and face with a flush of red.  “Must you always bring up sex?  You are so
horny!”  Jennifer slipped into a robe before crossing over to the vanity. 
After running a brush through her hair, she set the blow dryer on low and began
to style her hair.

Sheila shook her head and gave
Jennifer a secretive smile.  “No.  I’m not horny.  I’m sexually focused.”

“Oh good.  I’ll remember that
next time you want me to go on a cruise with you.”  Jennifer finished drying and
styling her hair.  What had Sheila meant when she implied Ryan was
controlling?  It seemed like an unfair assessment.  Was there a connection
between being controlling and not making love to her?  Granted, he had been the
one to pick the place and time for their intimate encounters, and except for
that first night, the encounters had been much too public for them to make
love.  It seemed Sheila had a valid point.  Was he avoiding complete intimacy
and why?  Here she had been dreaming of lovemaking instead of facing reality. 
She set the brush down on the vanity and looked at Sheila through the mirror. 
“You win, Sheila.  Why doesn’t Ryan want to make love to me?”

“I don’t know, but I do know you
have been trying to seduce him.  Very skillfully, I might add.  While I don’t
have a solution, I would absolutely love to have your problem.”

Jennifer’s eyes widened as she
turned.  “You’re crazy.  Did you know that?”

“Who? Me?” Sheila laughed.  “At
least I’m not afraid of the chase.  In fact, I enjoy every minute of it!”

“Very funny.”  Disgusted,
Jennifer padded over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. 
“Want some?” she asked holding up the
Piesporter
.  At Sheila’s nod,
Jennifer poured two glasses and replaced the bottle.  She handed a glass to Sheila
and sipped hers.

“Listen, Jennifer,” Sheila said
quietly, “According to Mike, Ryan tries to control every aspect of his life.”

“Oh, great.  Now I’m taking
advice from baby brother.”  Jennifer rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed
next to Sheila.

“No, Jenn, you’re not listening. 
Maybe it hasn’t been the right place or the right time.  According to Mike, Ryan
has this thing about making a good impression on the Captain.  He doesn’t want
any of the salesmen fooling around with the passengers.”

“Sheila, he owns the company. 
This cruise could generate a lot of business if it is handled right.  He just
wants the men to be discreet.”  Jennifer sighed and studied her glass.  If
Sheila couldn’t come up with a solution, who could?

“True, but he is keeping a tight
rein on them.  Even so, it doesn’t really matter.  He just needs a private
place and a little persuasion.  Maybe you could get him to drink tonight, then
bring him back here.  Ryan is obviously attracted to you.  How much control can
he maintain when you’ve plied him with wine or liquor?”

“Plenty.  We did that the first
night.  Remember?”  Jennifer finished her wine.  “Good grief.  How am I going
to compete with a bunch of exercise machines?”

“Won’t you try one more time? 
This time with gusto?” Sheila smiled, then downed the rest of her wine while
she waited for Jennifer to answer.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really.”  Sheila placed her
hand on Jennifer’s shoulder.  “If you think he’s worth it, try again.  After
all he’s a man.  He’ll get the right idea.”  Sheila handed Jennifer her glass, indicating
that she wanted a refill.  With a heavy sigh, she asked, “Why is it so
difficult for women to find men who are caring, sensitive, and handsome?”

“I wish I knew,” Jennifer
shrugged her shoulders and went back to the refrigerator.

“They already have boyfriends,”
Sheila giggled.

Jennifer laughed and reached for
the wine.

Sheila shifted uneasily.  “Jenn .
. . Mike told me that Ryan’s old fiancée wants him back and that she called him
a couple of times before the cruise.”

Jennifer wheeled around with the
wine bottle in her hand and stared at Sheila.  A foreboding thought swept
through her.  “Sheila.  Do you think that he still cares for her?”

Sheila sobered at the thought. 
“I don’t know, Jenn.  You may be on to something.  He sure acts like a man
who’s taken.  My advice to you is to move in for the kill as quickly as
possible.”

Jennifer filled the wine glasses
and set them on the bedside table between the beds.  “You certainly have a way
with words, my friend.”  Jennifer flopped down on the bed and covered her eyes
with her arm.  “I really needed to hear that.”

“Well,” Sheila began, “it would
explain a lot—
if
he’s still carrying a torch for her.”  Sheila  tossed
aside their cruise guide on St. Kitts, their next port of call.  The men had
already decided to go scuba diving while Jennifer and Sheila shopped and
searched for recipes.

“Yes,” Jennifer admitted
reluctantly.  “It would.”

“Well, think it over.  I’m going
to take a shower.”  Sheila got up and picked out her clothing for dinner then
headed for the shower.

After slowly easing off the bed,
Jennifer sat at the vanity and applied some eye make-up. Talking with Sheila
had really given her something to think about.  New dimensions that she hadn’t
considered.  Ryan was attracted to her.  She knew it.  Why he hadn’t acted on
that attraction was the question.  Could it be his old girlfriend?  If so, she
was going to find out before this cruise was over.  Hopefully, she was
upsetting herself for no reason.  He’d been pretty affectionate today.  Why
wouldn’t he be tonight?  Tonight she had two options for a bedroom and one of
them would definitely be used.

Out of the shower, petite,
blonde, beautiful Sheila, carefully stepped into a pale pink confection that
emphasized her delicate build and high breasts.  She looked like a golden angel
and Jennifer wondered why this smart funny woman was still single.  It wasn’t
that she hadn’t had proposals, so what was holding her back?  Funny, she had
never even thought to ask, assuming that Sheila was happy with her life the way
it was.  How utterly thoughtless and self-centered she’d been.  Ashamed of
herself, Jennifer decided to have a talk with Sheila when they had plenty of
time for girl-talk.  Maybe Sheila needed a friendly confidant too.

Sheila twirled in front of the
mirror and smiled sweetly at Jennifer.  “One more night, Jennifer.  If you and Ryan
can’t get your act together, I’m going to go after him.  After all, I love a
challenge and, the truth is, I’d love to win our bet.  What woman wouldn’t? 
Compared to him, Mike is just an
hors d’oeuvre
.  I’ve given you all the
slack I’m going to.  Time’s wasting and Mr. Gorgeous is prime for the taking.”

As she walked out the door,
Jennifer stood, speechless with her mouth partially open.  No.  No.  No. 
Sheila couldn’t do that to her, not now.  Ryan was hers.  Besides that, how
humiliating for your best friend to take the man you care for and want.  For
Jennifer, it was more than a bet to get Ryan in bed.  Surely Sheila knew that. 
Besides, why would she snatch Ryan away from her when she already had Mike?  It
wasn’t as if the cruise was terribly expensive.  The bet had been her idea. 
Maybe she didn’t like losing, but her attitude and words implied that she’d
given Jennifer a head start.

Well, Sheila couldn’t have him,
she thought desperately.  But then Ryan was only a man.  What man could say no
to Sheila when she set her trap so expertly?  The men were snared before they even
knew it.  Just like Mike, they found Sheila intriguing and loved every minute
of her attention.  Sheila was right though; time was slipping by entirely too
fast.

Jennifer sipped at the remainder
of her wine and walked over to the closet.  She mentally discarded her initial
plans for dressing for dinner.  Tonight it was time to bring out the big guns. 
She found the strapless dress she was looking for, not that it fit her
definition of a dress.  It was made of black stretch lace with a nude lining.  
Once on, it settled at about three inches above her knees.  Both sides were
slit to mid-thigh.  To Jennifer, the real beauty of this dress was in its
comfort because she didn’t have to wear a bra.  The lining was so soft and the
lace so decorative that nothing scratched or showed through.

Helga had assured her that this
garment was made solely for seduction; if she wore nothing but the dress,
heels, and some expensive perfume, no man would be able to resist her after
being in her company for a few hours.  It was time to try it out and discover
the truth, she thought, as she hung her robe in the closet and slipped into the
dress.  After studying herself in the mirror, she decided the dress definitely
had merit.  She wasn’t thin, but she certainly had soft curves.  Feeling armed
and dangerous, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.  Mr. Gorgeous,
look out!

*    
*     *

A perfect match
.  That’s exactly the way he
felt, but he probably shouldn’t have said anything to Jennifer.  Leading a
woman on when there was no chance of a future was not his
modus operandi
. 
Not to mention cruel.  But he just couldn’t seem to help himself.  Jennifer was
beautiful, intelligent, kind, sweet, funny, sexy—and on top of that, she could
cook.  Of course, he never dreamed he’d find a woman like her.  She was
everything he’d imagined his perfect match to be—except they really had nothing
in common.

His life revolved around exercise
and healthy eating.  From the beginning Diane had been into exercise, fitness,
and low fat health food.  Jennifer, on the other hand, never exercised.  Hell,
she had been gasping for breath today after running one very short block.  Ten
years from now she probably wouldn’t even be able to run.  Diane always ate
salads and watched her weight, being careful to eat healthy and low-carb.  It
was pretty obvious that Jennifer loved to eat and didn’t consider the
consequences of high fat, high carb, gourmet food.  Not that he could blame her
for loving food, but she was not likely to change her lifestyle for any man. 
After all, gourmet cooking was her profession.

It wasn’t fair to compare
Jennifer with Diane, but Ryan found himself doing it.  Diane.  Beautiful and
sophisticated Diane.  What had he seen in Diane that was so special?  For some
time, he’d believed himself in love.  Maybe he still was.  But his feelings
were so repressed that even he didn’t know the answer.  But he was pretty sure
that Diane’s smile had never warmed him the moment he saw her, but Jennifer’s
did.  Diane’s voice never sent tremors of longing shooting through his body
like Jennifer’s soft voice did.  Ryan needed to talk to Diane, to hear her
voice, to find out to his satisfaction why she wanted him back.  When he saw
her again would he want her?  Never one to put off the important, Ryan picked
up the cabin telephone and dialed Diane’s number.