Trapped in Paradise (7 page)

“I’m not feeling very well.” Saundra’s stomach cramped up something terrible.

“You don’t look much better,” Reba teased. “I’d be sick too if I left God’s gift to women in the cabin wearing
only a towel
while I was out here getting sauced with a bunch of women.”

“Don’t listen to Reba. She needs to read more romances. Toni and I are the experts. You’re in a classic example of the dark moment portion of the novel. Take time to figure out what you ultimately want from Jeremy, then go for it. What do you want?”

It didn’t take any soul searching or sobriety for her to know the answer. “Marriage,” she reluctantly admitted.

“From all you’ve said, he’s the marrying type and perfect for you,” Toni added.

“But we just met. How can I want to marry a man I don’t truly know?

“See, that’s your problem there.” ‘Cilla took another sip of her apple martini. “You’re trying to make an emotional piece fit into a logical hole. It doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you just have to step out on faith.”

Reba rapped her nails on the table, drawing everyone’s attention. “Look at the door. Do you see what I see? That man is toooooo fine.” The women snuck peeks toward the door.

Saundra’s eyes connected with Jeremy’s, and her heart did that skip a beat thing she had heard happens in romance novels. In the past she had thought for sure that was an indication of some sort of heart attack, but her cynicism was nowhere in sight.

Long, swift strides brought Jeremy to their table, but his movements seemed elongated to her.

“Hello, ladies.” He knelt before Saundra.

“Hello, Jeremy.” They giggled and tipped their drinks his way. 

He took Saundra’s hands into his and gazed into her eyes. Oh how she loved the depth of his dark eyes, but right now they reminded her of the richest coffee. She could really use a cup. And a muffin. Make that two. “I don’t feel very well.”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Too much. My stomach is on fire and my head is going to pop off any second now.”

Chuckling, he wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

“I kind of like my head. I’d like to keep it.” She leaned her throbbing head on his shoulder and allowed him to lift her.

“Goodnight, ladies.”

“Goodnight, Jeremy…” they cooed with a mixture of giggles.

As Jeremy carried her off, Saundra heard Reba throw out, “You can trap me in paradise with a man like that any day.”

Chapter Five

As if it weren’t humiliating enough to be carried across a busy ship because she was too sloshed to walk, Saundra knew what was left of the liquor in her stomach would be making an appearance soon. Jeremy lowered her onto the bed, and she rushed into the tiny bathroom. Puking into the toilet was not cute no matter what pose you struck, so she didn’t even try.

“You need some food in your stomach,” he said from the doorway.

Dry heaves followed her Long Island Iced Tea explosion.
Never again
, she swore. Never again would she drink on an empty stomach. She felt his hand caress her back, which made her feel even worse. Everything she hated about the romance novel heroine stereotype, she had become since she first set eyes on Jeremy. Was this what true love reduced you to? If so, she didn’t want any parts of it.

He dampened a hand towel, then helped her stand and wiped her face. “You make a cute drunk,” he teased.

She licked her tongue out at him and wished the blasted thing would fall out of her mouth. It tasted like something had died on it three weeks ago. “Toothbrush. Have you seen my small duffle?”

He stepped out and returned with her patchwork duffle.

“You are a savior.” She dug through and found her toothbrush and paste. “Thanks for finding me.”

“It’s no problem. I spoke with Miranda.” He leaned his long body against the doorframe.

“I’m afraid to even ask.” She began brushing her teeth.

“All I can say is don’t be surprised if there is a wedding party waiting for us in Grand Cayman.”

Choking on toothpaste, she fanned at the tears in her eyes. “Grand Cayman?” she barely got out. “She’s special.”

“You can say that again. The pizza on board is quite good. I’ve already had two. What type do you want?”

“How can you ask an inebriated woman such a complicated question?” She brushed her tongue. She was so hungry she didn’t care what kind of pizza he brought. “Spinach, goat cheese, artichokes, mushrooms and onions. If they don’t have that, pepperoni will do.”

He stared at her a few moments, as if to see if she were serious.

“What?” She hunched her shoulders.

“I’m just wondering what you’ll eat when you’re pregnant with my baby.” Before she could comprehend what he’d said or comment, he kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be right back.” He left her standing there with a small amount of toothpaste on the front on her shirt.

“Great,” she grumbled. She drug herself over to her suitcase, which Jeremy had set in the closet. She could have sworn he’d said something about having a baby, but that didn’t make sense. It must have been the booze hearing. After pulling out fresh panties and her favorite baggy T-shirt, she undressed and hopped into the shower. This wasn’t the first time she’d had a little too much to drink, but this was the first time it had snuck up on her so quickly. The water felt like acid pellets against her skin and sounded like World War III. She quickly lathered up and rinsed off. She wanted to make a call before Jeremy returned.

After dressing, she found her phone and dialed Miranda’s number.

“Where have you been? I’ve left a million messages.”

“You are entirely too loud.” She pulled back the cushy, down comforter and sheet. “Did I wake you?”

“No.”

“Too bad. So explain to me what goes through your mind when you’re making arrangements to have your baby sister room with a complete stranger. Nix that. Make it a strange man.” She slid into the bed and settled back on the pillows.

“So my methods are a tad bit controversial, the results are what matters.”

Saundra’s laugh echoed in her head and intensified the throbbing pain. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“You haven’t kicked Jeremy out of the cabin, have you?”

“It’s late and he hasn’t done anything wrong. If anyone is changing cabins, it will be me. Why should he be inconvenienced because I have a nut for a sister? And what is this talk about a Grand Cayman wedding? Stop. Just stop. I’m calling Mama in the morning to make sure you haven’t told her any of this craziness.”

“It’s not craziness. You’re in love.”

“Why are you so gung ho about this? And please speak softly. I have the makings of a mega-headache coming.” Eyes closed, she massaged her temples.

“We’ve been tip-towing around our issue for years.”

“What issue? The way you always meddle in my business? I haven’t tiptoed around that. I’ve asked—flat out told you to stop—but there’s no stopping you.”

“It’s time to lay all of our cards out on the table. We need to go back to what happened between us when you started seeing Nathan.”

Regretting this call, especially in her current state, she said, “That’s over with.”

“No it’s not. You don’t trust yourself when it comes to relationships because of what happened.”

“Helllllllooo! I married a man who moved me out to the middle of nowhere so he could beat me whenever the mood hit him. I have legitimate reasons to doubt my judgment in the relationship department.”

“But, Saundra.”

“Don’t ‘Saundra’ me. Even a drunk could figure that one out.”

“Why did you marry Nathan? You didn’t love him.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Liar. Oh, I take it back. You loved him, but you weren’t
in
love with him. And I’m ashamed of myself for my part in that disaster, but you married Nathan out of spite.”

“I did not.” She sat up in bed to defend herself.

“Oh please. Give me a break. Yes, you were interested in him initially, but because I voiced my dislike of him so… shall we say… colorfully, you began seeing him more. The more I objected, the more
in love
with him you claimed to be. I should have backed off, but no. I kept pushing you into his arms.”

“It was my choice.” Thinking back, she had been rebelling against Miranda, against her family. Who where they to tell her who she could and couldn’t date. She had earned her bachelors when she was only twenty years old. Unlike Miranda, had never been in any serious trouble and was very responsible and mature for her age. A late bloomer, she hadn’t even dated until her junior year of college.

“You couldn’t see his faults because you were concentrating on me. I knew you couldn’t see clearly. I shouldn’t have stood by to teach you a lesson.” Miranda sniffed.

Tears fell from Saundra’s eyes. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“But I played a role. A major role. When I think of what he put you through… How one of my stupid games hurt you. I’m so sorry. Please, baby. Don’t pass up on Jeremy because of Nathan. Your judgment is right on. Just as it always has been.”

“What you’re saying sounds so right, but…”

“But nothing. You were only twenty years old. You can’t be held responsible for your actions.”

They both released anxious laughter.

“You are my favorite nut of all times.” Saundra calmed. “I can’t really think straight right now. I’ve had too much to drink.”

Miranda giggled. “No wonder you’ve let me ramble so long. If you were sober, you would have hung up long ago. Where’s Jeremy?”

“He went to get me something to eat.” She thought about Marcus and Miranda’s relationship. “Aren’t opposites supposed to attract. Jeremy and I are so much alike. How will this work? Look at you and Marcus. Because you two are so different, it works.”

“How do I explain this…? Oh, I know. Marcus is so straight and narrow that he needs a high-strung, exciting woman to bring him out of his shell. We balance each other out. Where as you are all ready balanced. If you marry a man who isn’t balanced, you’ll be thrown out of whack. That’s why you and Jeremy are perfect for each other. I’ve never met two more boringly balanced individuals. ”

“This is scary.” She giggled. “That actually made sense. You’re unbalanced and need someone on the straight and narrow to keep you from tipping over.”