The Trouble With Paradise

FIVE

The rum punch had gone straight to Dorie’s head. Or maybe that was just amazement that she was really here, on a sailing yacht, out of her comfort area.

Make that a couple of time zones out of her comfort area.

Baseball Cutie wanted to be with her. Boggled the mind, it really did. In the bathroom just off the galley, she looked at herself in the mirror. “I’d love to go out with you, Andy,” she told her reflection.

See? How hard was that?

How was she going to do this whole living life thing if she couldn’t talk? Well, she’d be a mime if she had to, because this was an opportunity of a lifetime. He was the opportunity of a lifetime.

She touched up her gloss and headed back to the salon, looking around at the beautiful boat as she did. The interior gleamed with obvious care and pride in every nook and cranny, and the view… unbelievable. She was used to tall buildings, smog, and traffic twenty-four/seven. Here there was nothing but glorious open water.

And gorgeous, tongue-swelling inducing men. Remembering that odd conversation she’d overheard, she stood there a moment trying to put faces to the voices she’d heard.

But couldn’t.

Captain Denny was talking to Christian near the door. Gorgeous Grumpy Doctor had lost his baseball cap, and now his dark hair tumbled loose and free. He hadn’t changed those faded, well-worn Levi’s, and surrounded by elegance and sophistication, he looked like the last holdout.

His gaze snagged hers, and she couldn’t help but notice he seemed rough and tumble and… trouble, pure trouble. Before she could look away, he cocked a brow, and slowly dropped his gaze down the length of her.

Then again, it might just have been her rum punch.

Yet he did it again, definitely eyeing her skirt. Looking to see if she’d put on panties? Something went through her at that. A bit of daring. Bravery. And because of it-and the slip she’d added-she executed a little curtsy, spreading the material of her skirt out with her fingers, inviting him to do his best to try to see through it.

An invitation he freely took.

His gaze traveled slowly down to her toes and back up, and by the time his eyes landed on hers, they were two scorching balls of pure flaming heat.

Yowza.

She hadn’t realized the full potency of the serious sex appeal he was packing behind that edgy, dangerous front. So much so that she nearly staggered back a step. She actually had to look away to breathe, and then, unable to help herself, she turned back.

He was still looking at her.

She swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of even attempting to play, because unlike Andy, who probably ran bases during a World Series game looking relaxed and easygoing, Christian was one long, lean line of tensed muscle.

Ready.

But for what, she hadn’t a clue. Just thinking about the possibilities did the oddest thing-it heated her from the inside out. Interestingly enough, her tongue didn’t swell.

It made sense, she supposed. The men in her life had mostly been safe and sweet and kind. Fun and easygoing. Her father. Her sister’s husband. Her own too few and far between boyfriends. She liked fun and easygoing. In fact, it was what drew her to Andy. Fun and laid-back counterbalanced all the stresses in her life, such as working at Shop-Mart when she really wanted to be designing clothes.

But, and this was something she’d never really admitted to herself until she’d won this cruise, something had been sorely missing.

What, exactly, she wasn’t yet sure. Sex? Definitely. But if she could just get her nerves under control-and her tongue-she could have that. No, this went deeper. Maybe she needed adventure. Excitement. Danger.

A brooding rebel.

Another peek at Christian assured her that she was the only one still thinking about this because he and the captain were deep into conversation, both looking… extremely uptight? In fact, there was a tic in the captain’s jaw, and Christian’s eyes were still hot, but no longer sexy hot.

Temper hot.

Huh. Maybe things weren’t as comfy cozy as they seemed, which was a disturbing thought considering they were in the middle of the ocean.

Denny stepped onto a platform, and Dorie realized it was some sort of observation deck, and that he could control the boat from right here. Good to know.

He called Bobby to his side. Bobby tugged on his baseball cap. Whatever Denny said made the three of them look even more tense. Unable to help herself, Dorie shifted closer.

“The weather could go south,” Denny was saying. “Hard and fast. I want that storm jib checked.”

“We’re not going to hit bad weather,” Bobby said. “They’ve been calling for this supposedly big storm for days now, and we’ve gotten nothing.”

“Check the fucking jib.”

“But-”

“Look But-Boy, I sign your checks. I can stop signing your checks.”

Without a word, Bobby turned away.

Through the large windows, Dorie scanned the horizon but saw no signs of a storm growing. Surely they weren’t in any real danger or Denny would turn back. Right?

“Care to join us?”

She turned. The two other women on the boat were seated at the bar, smiling at her. The dark-haired woman wore capris and a blouse open over a tank top. Casual clothes, but worn with a look of easy elegance that spoke of wealth. Dorie recognized it because she’d never looked that way in her life.

The other woman was Sailing Barbie, who’d been trying to eat off Christian’s face in his office. She wore a different pair of shorts, stark white, with a matching itty-bitty halter that barely contained her, with carefully perfect makeup that couldn’t quite hide a hardened soul. She smiled though, a genuine one actually, as she scooted over to make room for Dorie. “Brandy,” she said, holding out her perfectly manicured hand-with the exception of her thumb nail, which was chewed down to the stub. She caught Dorie looking at it and laughed easily. “That’s my nerve nail. Have a seat.”

Dorie had no idea why such a gorgeous creature would ever need a nerve nail, but her handshake was warm, and in spite of wanting to hate her for looking like a goddess, Dorie couldn’t. So she sat.

“Cadence Powers,” the other woman said, and offered her hand as well, which was much smaller, but strong and callous. “We’re just figuring out what we’re going to do with ourselves out here in the middle of heaven on earth.”

“Whatever we decide,” Brandy said, “I plan to do it prone, while soaking up the sun, with any or all of the onboard stud muffins oiling up my back.”

“No prone for me,” Cadence said with a shake of her head. “I came for adventures.”

“Honey, there’s plenty of adventure to be had while prone.” Brandy waggled her brow at Dorie. “We’ve already had two drinks, each, and have jabbered for an hour. Let me put you on the fast track. Cadence here? An artist. In spite of that, she’s practical and pragmatic, and always in a hurry. Has a big problem with a little thing called relaxation.”

Cadence nodded. “True. And don’t leave out the part where I tend to make bad decisions when it comes to men.”

Brandy patted Cadence’s arm. “We all do that. Now tell her about me.”

Cadence considered. “You’re tough and jaded on the outside, but soft and gushy on the inside-”

“Soft and gushy?” Brandy repeated in shock.

“A woman with a big heart,” Cadence insisted. “I saw you tip Bobby fifteen bucks just for getting you another drink.”

“Trying to improve his attitude. He’s in the South Pacific, for God’s sake, and scowling like that. Can you imagine?”

Cadence smiled. “See? Soft and gushy.” She turned to Dorie. “She’s a dancer in Vegas.”

Brandy nodded, and Cadence continued, “Oh, and you like to eat bad boys for dessert.”

Dorie choked out a surprised laugh. She’d seen her doing just that with Christian.

“It’s a metaphor,” Brandy told her. “Although”-she looked over at the crew-“I’d gladly eat anyone on this boat. Anyone with a penis, that is.”

Cadence blinked. “You’re also very honest.”

“Yeah, most people don’t actually find that a bonus.”

“I do,” Cadence said. “How about it, Dorie? Give us the Cliffs Notes version on you.”

“Um…” Dorie tried to think. “I’ll go with the soft and gushy thing. I’m soft and gushy on the inside and the outside.”

“What do you do for a living?” Brandy asked.

“I’m working at Shop-Mart instead of starting up my own clothing line.”

“Oooh, you design clothes?” Brandy asked excitedly. “I love clothes. How about men? Are you good at them?”

“Good? Uh, no.” Dorie shook her head and smiled at Cadence. “I don’t choose the wrong men, I just don’t ever seem to choose at all.”

“You batting for the other team?” Brandy asked.

“What? Oh, no. I just haven’t had much luck in the long-term department, that’s all.”

“Join my club.” Cadence looked out at the water. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s go for a sunset dip off the swim platform.”

“See? Relaxation issues,” Brandy said to Dorie.

Cadence defended herself. “I just have a hard time sitting, that’s all.”

So did Dorie, thanks to her splinters.

“Well, I happen to enjoy sitting.” Brandy eyed Ethan as if maybe he were a lollipop and she was a sugar junkie. “It’s too bad he bats for the other team.”

“You mean…”

“Gay as a two-dollar bill, I’m afraid. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just think it’s a waste of a good package, is all. And he’s quite the package, isn’t he?”

Dorie took in Ethan. He was medium height, slim and trim, and to Dorie, he still looked twelve, albeit an extremely good-looking twelve. But how to tell if someone was gay by just looking, she had no clue. “How do you know?”

“Oh, I have the radar.” Brandy fluffed her already perfectly fluffed hair. “He’s gorgeous, immaculate, fit… They don’t make ’em straight like that, which is a real shame, let me tell you. Maybe I can convince him.”

Dorie blinked, then turned to Cadence. “Swimming sounds good.”

“What about sharks?” Brandy peered out at the ocean, a frown puckering her brow. “I hear they can sense you from twenty-five miles away. Aren’t you worried?”

Well, she was now. Given the look on Cadence’s face, she wasn’t alone. “Okay, so no swimming. I probably couldn’t anyway. I twisted my ankle earlier.”

“Right. When you fell on the dock.” Brandy nodded. “The crew was talking about it.”

Great. She was already infamous.

Cadence pulled her napkin out from beneath her drink. “Anyone have a pen?”

“Me.” Dorie fished through her purse and found one of her charcoal sketching pencils. “Here. This’ll work.”

“I’ll make our lists,” Cadence said.

Brandy looked over Cadence’s shoulder at the napkin. “You mean for which guy we want?”

Cadence laughed. “Uh, no. For our activities. I was thinking we could wind-sail tomorrow, see the whales and feed the turtles the next day, possibly parasail… And the captain said he’d show us this amazing coral reef…”

Brandy looked at Dorie and raised a brow.

“Oh.” The pencil slowed as Cadence looked up. “I’m doing it already. Impulsive organizing. Sorry. It’s just that I’ve never been on a vacation like this, in the South Pacific of all places. It’s unimaginable to me. We have to take advantage of it.”

“I’ve never even been out of Vegas.” Brandy lifted a shoulder when they both stared at her. “Born and raised to be a dancer. That’s my whole world, never ever even thought about making it bigger, or that I could and why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s just that you look so…” Cadence trailed off.

“Worldly,” Dorie finished diplomatically.

Brandy looked startled, then pleased. “Worldly? Really? That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Dorie thought that if that was true, then maybe Dorie wasn’t the only one who had some living to do.

Brandy glanced at Denny, who stood at the control pad with a deep look of concentration on his face. “I do like the idea of him teaching us to sail. Actually, I could get behind him teaching us anything.”

“Yeah.” Cadence sighed dreamily, also looking at the captain.

Dorie nudged Brandy, who took in Cadence’s expression and shrugged.

“You take him, honey.”

“Oh,” Cadence said, looking shocked. “No, I couldn’t. I’m not here for that. No more men. I’m on a penis embargo.”

“One more won’t hurt you.”

Cadence bit her lip, then shook her head. “No. My grandma just died, and I’ve been feeling a little… lost, I guess. I wanted a vacation, to clear my head, to try to relax.”

“No better way to relax than some good sex.”

Cadence choked on her drink.

“If I hadn’t won this cruise in a contest, my vacation would have been babysitting my sister’s kids,” Dorie said, patting Cadence on the back. “This saved my life. So count me in on the relaxing. With or without good sex.”

“We need to toast to that.” Brandy lifted her drink. “To making the most of this trip.”

Cadence and Dorie lifted their drinks. Brandy tossed hers back, then set her glass down on the bar and grinned. “But we have to do more than toast. We have to actually do it. Make this trip amazing. Who’s first?”

Dorie and Cadence looked at each other, then shook their heads.

Brandy laughed. “All right, me then. Watch and learn, girls.” She tugged on the hem of her halter so that it revealed a bit more cleavage. Not enough, apparently, because she tugged again.

Once more, Dorie thought, and there won’t be anything left to conceal. “Um, you’re getting sort of close to a situation there.”

Brandy patted her breasts like beloved old friends. “Let me give you a little tip on making the most of something.” She leaned in and whispered, “Know your audience.”

“I thought you already had your audience,” Dorie said, and when Brandy looked confused, she clarified. “I saw you with Christian.”

“Oh, that.” Brandy smiled. “He gives good Band-Aids, but he’s not interested.” Standing, she tossed back her hair and sauntered toward Bobby and Andy, who were talking to the chef.

“Not shy, is she?” Cadence murmured.

Dorie was having a hard time getting past “he’s not interested.” “When you look like that, I guess there’s no need.”

They watched Brandy cozy up to Bobby. The poor guy looked as if he’d won the lottery.

“Well, she’s right about one thing,” Cadence noted. “There is some serious eye candy on this boat.” She was looking at the captain, who stood hands on hips, his long legs planted firmly apart, his loose clothing nicely show-casing a lean, hard body as the sun sank below the horizon behind him. His face was deeply tanned and rugged, his long hair still held back by a strap of leather. “I mean look at him. There’s just something about that billowy pirate shirt and that long hair…” She laughed at herself. “Oh well.”

“Not oh well,” Dorie said. “Go for it. We just toasted to going for it.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no. I wasn’t kidding when I said I always go for the wrong guy. I have absolutely no radar when it comes to the losers. No men for me this week, thank you very much. I was serious about the penis embargo.”

“I’m perpetually under a penis embargo,” Dorie said.

“Then you must break routine. Which one would you do?”

“Do?”

“Oh, sorry. Didn’t meant to sound like the stripper-er, excuse me, dancer.”

Dorie laughed. “She might really be a dancer, you know.”

“Uh-huh. And I’m the Tooth Fairy.” Cadence’s dark eyes were shiny with laughter. “Look at her. Lapping him up. And then there’s the Cowboy. He’s something, too, isn’t he?”

“Andy?” Dorie looked at him, so big and strong and beautiful. “Actually, I think he asked me out.”

Cadence’s eyes widened. “You think?”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s cute, and my tongue swells near cute guys.”

“Sounds problematic.”

“You could say so.”

“Go for it anyway,” Cadence suggested.

“I’ll suffocate.”

“I know CPR.”

She should go for it. She’d planned to.

Except her gaze strayed to Christian, who stood at the far end of the salon, in front of the bar, eyeing the drinks.

He didn’t take one.

“Talk about dark and smoldering,” Cadence said, seeing where Dorie’s gaze wandered. “Nice choice.”

“What? Oh, no. No, not him. No. He’s too…” Everything. “He’s not my type at all. No. Not him.”

Cadence was smiling. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

Dorie nibbled on her lower lip, and Cadence laughed. “See, you want to bite him. I think you should.”

“Cadence.”

“Sorry. It’s the free alcohol.” She downed the rest of her drink. “Goes straight to my head. He’s curious about you, if that helps.”

“Based on…?”

“Based on the fact that he keeps looking at you.”

Dorie peeked again. He stood there, enigmatic and brooding. And indeed looking at her.

He was out of her league. Waaaay out of her league. “Problem.”

“Is your tongue swelling?”

“No.” Which was extremely curious in its own right. “He’s…”

“Fabulous?”

“Grumpy. Sort of offsets the whole fabulous thing.”

His gaze captured hers, held it prisoner.

And the oddest thing happened. Time sort of stuttered to a halt. Her body flashed hot, her heart kicked hard, and she began to sweat, but one thing did not happen-no tongue swelling.

What did that mean?

“He’s still looking at you,” Cadence whispered. “And oh my, but he’s hot. How’s the tongue?”

“Still behaving,” she said, shocked.

“Maybe it’s a sign.”

No, it couldn’t be. Clearly she was still suffering the effects from traveling halfway around the world, and then having champagne and a rum punch, because she couldn’t have a crush on him, she just couldn’t. Even without her social awkwardness, it was a supremely bad idea all the way around. Unfortunately, she seemed to make it her mission to follow bad ideas.