Finally (2 page)

“Thanks, sweetie.”

“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “Just a few days ago you were crying your eyes out because Zach had broken your heart again.”

“I know,” Rebecca said with a giggle.

Sarah let go of her friend and hurried to Zach, who already had his arms poised for a hug. She let out a surprised cry when she felt a wall of muscle hit her back. A low chuckle came from behind her as warm hands gripped her arms.

“I see you like being sandwiched by two men,” Jeff said, keeping her flush against his chest.

“Hey, I was going to give Zach a hug and I thought he was aiming for me.” Despite her light response, Sarah knew she was redder than a beet. And, heaven help her, she couldn’t move away. She was frozen in the hot water as Jeff’s caressing hands slid down her arms. When he stepped back from her, the chill she felt was startling.

“Here we go, Sarah,” Zach said, his voice laced with amusement as he embraced her.

“Congratulations, Zach,” she murmured, returning the gesture and swallowing her embarrassment.

“Thank you.”

“My turn,” Jeff said.

She moved away from Zach to make room for Jeff. To her utter surprise, Jeff wrapped her in his arms. Her already racing heart galloped faster and, Lord, she’d rather not admit it, but she felt a delicious, needy tingling between her legs.

“Oops, wrong person,” Jeff said, grinning wickedly before turning to give his brother an affectionate hug.

“Don’t mind him, Sarah,” Zach said, casting Jeff a warning look. “He’s just a big, flirtatious joker. And for all his reminders about our photos making it into magazines, he’s the worst when it comes to public exhibitionism.”

“I’m finding that out,” she said wryly.

*****

J
eff sat back down on the raised seat in the water, chuckling. It was slack of him to continue to tease Sarah when embarrassment was written all over her face, but he couldn’t help himself. She was just too cute. Plus, she was a good sport. Despite her blushes, she seemed to enjoy ribbing just as much as he did.

He was attracted to Sarah. She was hot and fun, and he loved watching her blush. He could still see some colour on her cheeks and even on her neck, which was fully exposed as her silky blonde hair was tied up in a bun atop her head.

He had the urge to pull her to him so she would sit on his lap, and he could place a kiss on that slightly tanned shoulder of hers. He shook his head mentally and dunked his head in the water to arrest the direction of his thoughts. His groin was stirring and his grandmother was only a few steps away, for heaven’s sake.

A question that had been prodding him lately popped into his head again. Would Sarah be up for some fun in bed?

It wasn’t ideal to even think about a fling with her, considering that she was the best friend of his brother’s new fiancée, not to mention that she was his grandmother’s nurse. And with Rebecca and Zach getting engaged, he was sure Sarah would be deep in discussions with Rebecca about engagement parties and weddings. Women could get funny when talking about those things. The last thing he wanted was the complication of a sex partner who’d want an eventual trip to the altar with him.

He’d meant it when he said he had no intentions of getting married. It was something that didn’t hold interest for him anymore.

It hadn’t always been that way. He
had
wanted to get married two years ago. He’d even been engaged for five whole weeks.

He remembered he’d still been on a high from Bianca’s acceptance of his proposal when the biggest tragedy in the Carmichael family history had struck.

Jeff dunked his head in the water again to hide the grief that crossed his face. It wasn’t as bad as it used to be, but it was still there. Every now and then, memories of that horrendous day flashed in his mind, making the big empty hole in his heart make itself known again.

He’d been in his office when he heard the news that the light plane that carried his grandfather, father and mother had crashed. The three had been on their way to an outback property that his dad and gramps had been interested in buying. Investigators had surmised that his dad, who had been piloting the plane, hadn’t anticipated the suddenness and severity of the freak storm that had developed in the area. In one fell swoop, they’d lost three loved ones.

He truly didn’t know how the rest of his family survived those first few days. But even though he and his brothers had been wholly devastated, they had rallied and pulled themselves together for Magda.

In honour of their gramps, mum and dad, they had been putting all of their energy into making sure that the company built by their family’s blood, sweat and tears continued to flourish. The Carmichael Corporation, founded by their grandfather, was now one of Australia’s biggest property development firms, with interests extending to wineries and eco-tourism. He was now its COO, Zach its CEO and their youngest brother Greg the CFO. Not in a million years did he and his brothers think they’d run the company so soon, and from such harrowing circumstances.

Yes, that short space of time two years ago had been the most devastating in his whole life. It was compounded by Bianca breaking off their engagement just a month after the funerals. She’d said that while she did love him, she wasn’t ready to get married, and that the sudden spotlight on the Carmichaels by the press scared her. She’d felt suffocated by the need to hide so they could keep their private lives private. Three weeks after the breakup, Bianca had left Sydney for New York to further her career in advertising.

He’d stopped moping around for Bianca a long time ago. But ever since they broke up, he hadn’t wanted to be in a committed relationship again. He’d discovered that giving his heart to a woman only added to his grief, not helped him out of it. He no longer had the motivation to put his heart in a position where it could be broken again. Those terrible events two years ago were enough to last him a lifetime.

Besides, he was happy enough with his mutually agreed casual relationships with beautiful, discreet women. Such agreements had an added benefit: the women didn’t get mad or demanding when he worked long hours. Apart from his grandmother and brothers, The Carmichael Corporation was, after all, his priority.

Happy laughter from Magda snapped him out of his depressing memories. He smiled as he watched his grandmother chuckle at something Zach was saying.

Now this kind of love was entirely different. One thing he absolutely had no doubts about was the love of, and for, his remaining family members. They had it in spades for each other. In terms of emotional support, that was more than enough for him. Maybe that was why he didn’t feel the need for a ‘special someone’ in his life anymore. What for? He had the love of his family. As for sex, he could satisfy his lust at any time with anyone he wanted.

Speaking of lust... His gaze returned to Sarah. She was talking animatedly with Rebecca, her beautiful hazel eyes shining brightly. To his bemusement, he felt himself go hard again.

He sighed in resignation. It wasn’t the greatest idea in the world to try to convince Sarah to have a short, hot affair with him. All he was likely to get was a hard slap on the face if he did proposition her for it. So he really shouldn’t even consider it... not unless she gave him some hint that she wouldn’t mind...

S
arah grinned as her laptop showed three girls crowding the screen.

“Finally, you two have deigned to come down from the clouds and video-call us!” Gemma Aldwin said.

“I know! After more than three weeks!” Amanda Payne agreed with a scowl.

“You better have a good excuse as to why this is the first call we got,” Brenna Ward said, narrowing her eyes.

“Sorry, we’ve been busy,” Sarah answered, thrilled to be chatting with her and Rebecca’s three other best friends. The five of them had known each other since they were eight years old. Twenty years later, they were still tightly knit and as close as sisters.

“Busy?” Gemma asked accusingly. “You sent us an email saying Magda’s perfectly fine, so the two of you have just been hanging around that ship having a good time. And where’s Bec?”

“Putting on her makeup for dinner.”

“Rebecca!” Brenna yelled.

Sarah laughed. “She can’t hear you. She’s in the en suite bathroom.”

“Just how big is your room that she can’t hear us?”

Sarah grinned. “I’ll show you.” She stood up and carried the laptop. She was in Zach’s suite—well, now Zach and Rebecca’s since Bec had moved her stuff here, leaving Sarah to enjoy the comfy room with the balcony that she and Rebecca had originally shared. She showed her friends the vast living area before walking toward the couple’s bedroom.

“Did Magda give you a suite?” Gemma asked in disbelief.

Sarah laughed. “Unfortunately for me, I don’t stay in here, but Bec does.”

Right that moment, Rebecca came out of the bathroom and waved to the camera. “Hi girls!”

“Something is obviously going on,” Brenna said. “What the hell are you doing in such a massive suite, Rebecca Andrews?”

“We-eell...”

“Oh. My. God,” Amanda said. “She’s back with Zach Carmichael.”

All at once, questions were fired by the three girls. Sarah walked back out to the living room, followed by a grinning Rebecca. She placed the laptop on the table as she and Bec sat together to face the others.

“I don’t believe this,” Brenna said. “How did it happen?”

Rebecca told them everything, with Sarah filling out interesting details here and there, while the others interjected with their comments and questions.

“And...” Rebecca said, getting to the end of her story, “we’re getting married.”

The stunned look on their best friends’ faces was so precious that Sarah quickly took a screen shot. The three then posed with happy, congratulatory expressions as Sarah captured another shot.

“Well, somebody fulfilled our group New Year’s resolution very quickly,” Gemma drawled.

They all laughed. A couple of months ago, in the fifth New Year’s Eve in a row that all five of them didn’t have someone to pash at the stroke of midnight, Gemma had suggested a group New Year’s resolution. As busy career women who each had their own share of painful pasts, they weren’t proactive when it came to finding a boyfriend. So they’d promised to make time for love. Importantly, they’d vowed to make the first move if a hot, decent, open-to-commitment guy showed up on their radar so they’d have a date for next New Year’s Eve. They were more than slightly tipsy when they’d made the pact, but they’d pinky-promised and there was no backing out.

“What about you, Sarah? You mentioned spending a lot of time with a guy named Ron in your email,” Brenna said.

“Uh, yeah,” Sarah responded hesitantly as Rebecca snickered.

“What?” the three asked curiously.

“She’s interested in someone else, not Ron,” Rebecca said.

“Who?”

“One of my future brothers-in-law—Jeff,” Rebecca supplied.

“What?!”

“I’m interested, as in I find him attractive, which we all know he is,” Sarah explained. “That doesn’t mean he’d be my New Year’s Resolution Guy. He doesn’t fit the bill.”

“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked.

“He’s commitment-phobic. He said he never wants to get married,” Sarah replied, telling them about the conversation with Jeff at the hot tub earlier.

“Really? That’s a shame,” Rebecca said. “It would be nice to have you for a sister-in-law.”

“Hey, aren’t we soul sisters already? Besides, didn’t you say he’s sleeping with Marilyn?”

“Not anymore. Apparently, their fling is over.”

“Oh really?” Sarah asked, pleased with that little piece of news.

“So now he’s free to have a one-night stand with you,” Rebecca joked.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Sarah quipped.

“What?!” came another round of incredulous cries from the laptop.

“Since when have you become the one-night stand kind of girl?” Gemma demanded.

“Since I boarded this damned ship! I tell you, it does something to your libido. So, I’m thinking, why not forget my personal rules on land and enjoy myself while I’m here? I have to hurry though, as we only have three nights left at sea.”

“Isn’t that telling?” Rebecca mused. “You’ve been saying you wanted some casual sex since week one of this trip. The cruise is almost over and you still haven’t done anything about it. I’d say that’s proof you don’t really mean it.”

“Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just been waiting for Jeff...”

Rebecca frowned at her. “That doesn’t sound like wanting something casual, Sarah.”

“It is!” she insisted. “Just because I’m only looking for a one-off experience doesn’t mean I’ll settle for someone I’m not highly attracted to.”

“Or is this just another excuse to get yourself out of finding your New Year’s Resolution Guy?” Gemma asked.

“No. I’m still going to look for him. But what’s wrong with not wanting a serious relationship at this point? We have plenty of time before next New Year’s Eve.”

Rebecca put an arm around her and squeezed her tight. “Nothing at all, honey. Except that you said you really want to break the shackles of the past this year, and begged us to help you. You even said you’re sick and tired of being afraid to fall in love again.”

She sighed. “I
am
sick and tired of being afraid to fall in love again, and I
am
eager to meet my soulmate—whoever and wherever he is. I just hope I won’t be stupid enough to fall for a heartless, lying jerk again.”

“That was five years ago, Sarah. You’ve grown up since then,” Amanda said teasingly.

“Oh God, I certainly hope so,” she answered, theatrically posing in prayer.

“Getting back to Jeffrey Carmichael,” Brenna interjected. “You said you’re
highly
attracted to him. If he doesn’t do serious, doesn’t that make him dangerous then? Wouldn’t you be setting yourself up for hurt and disappointment?”

“I don’t think so,” Sarah replied. “Like I said, I’m only interested on a one-night stand with him. And why shouldn’t I go for someone I’m really in lust with?”