Gillian’s Island (3 page)

A
chill ran through her in spite of the heat as his eyes dropped to
take in the skin exposed by her tankini. She hadn’t been tense
before, but she was now thanks to Brandon.

Torn
between covering herself and asking what he was looking at since she
had the least amount of cleavage of all the females on the boat,
Gillian struggled for a response. She had to be nice. He was one of
Rob’s best friends and they’d be trapped together on this
cruise for a week, not to mention the rehearsal dinner and the
wedding itself when they returned. That didn’t mean, however,
that she had to put up with his come-ons or Julie and Rob’s
pitiful attempt at setting her up.

What
were they thinking? Did Rob really think this guy was her perfect
man?

“Um…” How exactly could she handle this
delicately?

The best man appeared behind him. “Brandon, you’ve
got
to come over here for a minute.”

“The geek summons.” Brandon rolled his eyes. “I’ll
be right back.”

Great. She’d hold her breath waiting for his return. Gillian
managed to nod as she glanced in the direction of her savior and
wished she could thank her knight in shining armor, or more
accurately, knight in slightly baggy pleated shorts. He’d saved
her from having to come up with an excuse to get away from Brandon.
Even though she realized Brandon’s absence was most likely only
temporary, she breathed with relief.

Should she go hide in the stateroom she was sharing with her sister
before he returned? Though he could come looking for her there. Below
deck, she’d have no escape. Better to stay here, safely out in
the open.

She sighed. There went any hope for relaxation if Brandon was going
to be hitting on her the entire trip. She could kill her sister for
playing matchmaker.

And speaking of…

“Gilly, isn’t everything absolutely beautiful?”
Julie swept her hand to include the three-hundred-sixty-degree view
from the deck.

Besides the pushy groomsman I’m trapped at sea with?

“Yeah. Incredible.” Extremely unhappy with Julie at the
moment, Gillian’s flat tone didn’t match her words.

Her sister squatted down next to the chaise, handing her a glass of
champagne mixed with orange juice. She took it. Hell, alcohol could
only help this situation. The first mouthful felt so cool and tasted
so good, Gillian immediately took a second.

“I saw Brandon over here talking to you…” Julie
raised an inquisitive brow and let the sentence hang in the air.

“Yeah, thanks a lot for that.” Gillian felt her lips
twist in a scowl.

“What?” The head matchmaker actually managed to look
convincingly confused.

“Don’t try to look innocent. You’re setting me up
with that sleaze ball who wants to help me ‘relieve my stress’
after only knowing me for two hours.”

“I’m not trying to set you up with Brandon.”

“No? Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

“Gilly, Brandon’s
not
the guy Rob has his eye on
for you.”

That
was a relief, but if it wasn’t Brandon, then who? Hopefully not
the other groomsman. Perhaps it was the best man. Hmm. Maybe that
wouldn’t be so bad…

Gillian
shook that idea from her head. Set-ups never worked out. “Rob
shouldn’t have his eye on
any
guy for me, Jules. I’d prefer if you two left me to find my own
man. Please.”

“Okay. Whatever you want, but promise me you’ll keep an
open mind, Gilly. You never know when you’ll meet
the one
.”

Gillian glanced at Brandon and the other frat-boy usher, Reilly, both
giggling with their cell phones out snapping pictures of Julie’s
two bridesmaids as they sunbathed face down with their tops off at
the other end of the deck. She shook her head, seriously doubting
she’d be finding
the one
in those two.

“I have a feeling you’ve already got the best man on this
floating fun ship, Jules.”

“Aww. Thanks, Gilly.” Julie gazed lovingly at Rob at the
helm.

Gillian’s own coincidental use of the words “best man”
struck her, and James Foster, the official best man for the wedding,
came to mind.
There may well be two good men onboard.
It
certainly couldn’t hurt to get to know the other one a little
better and find out. If Brandon would stay away long enough, that
was.

She glanced over at Julie’s two friends. One girl stretched,
flashing them all with some side boob as the two ushers drooled.
Hopefully she’d keep her top off for the rest of the cruise.
That should keep Brandon off Gillian. She took another swallow of
champagne to celebrate that thought.

Julie stood. “You know, you’re going to get suntan lines
in that suit.”

“I’m not taking my top off like Adrienne and Ronni so
don’t get any ideas.” Gillian cocked one brow at Julie’s
implied suggestion.

“I didn’t mean that, silly. Don’t you have a
strapless bathing suit with you?”

Gillian
sighed. She knew she’d forget something. “No. I should
have bought a strapless one-piece before we left. I didn’t even
think of it in all the confusion. Damn. Sorry, Jules. Maybe I should
stay out of the sun for the rest of the trip.”

“Of course not. It’s okay. I have one. You’re
welcome to borrow it.”

“It’s not a bikini, is it?” Gillian narrowed her
eyes suspiciously at her sister. Julie was the model with the perfect
body, not Gillian.

“No, it’s a one piece, not that you couldn’t wear a
bikini if you wanted to.”

“So you say.” Gillian scowled.

Julie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. It’s in our stateroom.
Want me to go and find it for you?”

Gillian noticed Rob waving Julie over to where he stood steering the
ship. “No. That’s okay. Your groom needs you and since
he’s driving, or sailing, or whatever it’s called, you
better go see what he wants. I’ll go down and look myself.”

Julie grinned. “Okay. It should be in the top drawer of the
dresser.”

“I’ll find it.”

Now that Brandon the horn dog was otherwise occupied playing
peek–a-boo with Ronni’s breasts, the feel of the sun
beating down and warming Gillian’s skin was too luscious to
leave just yet. Thinking she’d get up in a minute and go change
suits, she closed her eyes again and drifted peacefully for she
didn’t know how long, until another shadow fell across her.

“Um, Gillian?”

Sleepily, she cracked open one eye. This time the man she found
didn’t make her want to jump overboard. He might make her want
to jump somewhere else though. Like perhaps into bed.

“Yes?”

As if he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, Rob’s
best man shoved them deep into the front pockets of his shorts. “Um,
I hate to bother you. In fact, I waited for you to wake up on your
own, but you didn’t. You’re really starting to turn red.
I didn’t want to wait any longer to point it out to you.”

If this were one of the other two frat boys, she’d assume the
next words out of his mouth would be to offer to spread sunscreen on
her chest for her, but this guy seemed legitimately sorry to bother
her and honestly concerned about her skin.

Gillian took a closer look at him. She’d barely had time to be
introduced to him earlier, between the confusion of getting everyone
onboard, and the spectacle the two ushers had made of themselves
ogling Julie’s bridesmaids in their bikinis. What color eyes
did those wire-rimmed glasses—that changed from clear indoors
to tinted outdoors—hide? Whatever the color, she was sure she’d
find sincerity in them.

“James, right? We spoke on the phone.” Gillian knew
exactly who he was, even where he lived thanks to the copy of the
guest list in her maid of honor folder, but no need for him to know
that.

“Yes, though I’d much prefer if you called me Jamie.
These guys only call me James because they think it makes me sound
like more of a geek than I already am.” His shy smile captured
her attention.

She let her eyes drop and found hints of a lean muscular body hidden
beneath his pleated khaki shorts and collared shirt. He looked
absolutely adorable as he kicked the toe of one shoe against the deck
like he was nervous to be talking to her.

Given a choice between siding with the shy nerd, which she had been
herself all through childhood, or the popular crowd, she’d
stick with the underdog any day. “They probably think you’re
a geek because you don’t do things like gawk and giggle at
half-naked bridesmaids.”

“Well, I rarely giggle and I do try not to gawk, but I have to
make a confession. I did
notice
the half-naked bridesmaids.”

“
Can’t
blame you there. Even I noticed.” She shrugged.

“I can tell you, though, my first thought when I saw those tops
coming off was that it would be the perfect opportunity to get
Brandon away from you.” He scrambled to add, “Um, just
because I saw him over here and you didn’t look too happy about
it.”

Gillian laughed. “You’re right. I wasn’t. Guess I
didn’t hide my feelings as well as I thought.”

Like right now, she probably wasn’t hiding how she was sizing
him up as the wind tossed his dark blond hair making him look like
he’d just finished an energetic romp in bed.

He grinned, making him even cuter.

“Yeah, don’t ever play poker. I saw the look on your face
and decided to call him over. I pointed out the potential of one of
those girls forgetting they had no tops on and rolling over. That’s
all it took.” Jamie shrugged, shooting a glance at the two men
who had moved on to rubbing sunscreen onto the backs of the two
bridesmaids. “I think we may have lost Brandon and Reilly for
the duration of the cruise.”

“I hope you’re right, and thank you. I really owe you.”

“Your gratitude may be diminished when you look in the mirror.”
His glance dropped to her chest. “I should have woken you
sooner.”

Her gaze followed and she gasped. She moved one strap to expose a
definite white stripe surrounded by angry, red skin. Her fingertips
brushed against her chest and she winced as even that slight touch
stung like sandpaper.

“You’re not terribly burned yet, but it’s getting
there. I think you should get out of the sun. Or at least put on some
stronger sunscreen and a T-shirt.”

“Julie is going to kill me.” The heat radiated off her
burn. She looked up at him panicked. “Our dresses for the
wedding are strapless.”

Eyes still on the obvious strap lines, he frowned. “Come with
me. We’ll take care of it.”

“How?” Instinctively trusting him, she took his extended
hand and let him help her out of the chaise. “Where are we
going?”

“To the galley.”

“The galley? Why?”

“I’m betting there’s something in there that will
cool that burn. Don’t worry. We’ll get that color evened
out before the wedding.”

She followed him all the way down the narrow stairs to the yacht’s
cooking facilities. Sadly, the galley was nicer than her kitchen at
home.

Jamie opened and perused the contents of the beverage fridge before
reaching in and coming out with a glass bottle. “This will do.”

She frowned at the beverage in his hand. “Iced tea? Am I
supposed to drink it?”

His surprisingly sexy laugh had her staring at his lips.

“No. Black tea applied topically is good for a slight sunburn
and the cold liquid will cool your skin. The heat can still do damage
even after you’ve gotten out of the sun, so you have to lower
the temperature of the skin as soon as possible.” He soaked a
kitchen towel with the iced tea and held it clumsily in front of her
chest. “Um, maybe you better apply this yourself.”

Suppressing a smile at his obvious shyness, she took the towel and
laid it over her hot exposed flesh. It felt cooler immediately. “Wow.
How do you know about this stuff?”

“I know a lot of things.” Jamie shrugged.

“You really are a nerd.”

He rolled his eyes. “Thanks.”

“No. I meant it as a compliment. Really.” Gillian tilted
her head, sizing him up again now that they were out of the glare of
the sun. His glasses had changed to clear, and she could see blue
eyes a girl could get lost in. “I happen to like your
geekiness. A lot.”

“Really?” He smiled. “So you have a geek fetish, do
you? Where were you during my lonely youth?”

She’d been trapped in geekdom herself, the studious introvert
hidden in her gorgeous and talented sister’s shadow. Gillian
shrugged. “I’m here now.”

“Yes, you are.” His throat worked as he swallowed hard.
He glanced nervously at the case of champagne in the glass-front
refrigerator, before he looked back at her. “Ah, you know, you
should also drink a lot of fluids today, and not champagne either.
Water. And take some ibuprofen.”

“Maybe you should stick close by and keep reminding me about
that throughout the day. Drinking the water, I mean.” She moved
a step closer, took the now hot cloth off her chest and dropped it on
the countertop.

“I’d be happy to remind you.” He nodded and the
action brought his head down a bit until his face hovered just above
hers.

Perhaps it was a combination of the sun and the glass of champagne in
her empty stomach, or how she hadn’t been on a date in ages.
Either way, Gillian’s libido went from deep hibernation mode to
burning up. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the sun, the alcohol or
her lack of a sex life at all. Maybe it was Jamie. His concern for
her. The way he had no clue how cute he was. How he’d bothered
to RSVP, by phone no less instead of email. The way he made her heart
pound.

Desire fluttered low in her stomach. “Would you think I was a
total slut if I kissed you right now?”

He drew in a sharp breath. “No. Not at all.”