by Gina Drayer
"And you do all this traveling, but are afraid to fly?" he said with a laugh.
"I'm not afraid to fly. I just get motion sick, and…okay, I do get a little nervous. But you shouldn't let fear hold you back from something you love. Don't you think?"
"A hero and philosopher," he said with a slight bow of the head. "So tell me a little about Brazil. I've always wanted to go."
Matt had retreated back to captive listener, but unlike with Poppy, he seemed genuinely interested in her stories. The conversation continued, and the next hour flew by. She'd completely forgotten about her motion sickness until the captain came on again, announcing their arrival. Landing was the worst part. The change in altitude always caused her stomach to turn.
Matt must have caught on to her shift in mood. Without fanfare, he reached down and entwined his fingers with hers. She looked to their hands and back up to his face as he smiled reassuringly. It was a sweet and surprisingly intimate gesture from a man she'd met a couple hours ago. And she thought, not for the first time, about how easy it was to like him.
"Just a few more minutes and we'll be back on the ground," he said, giving her hand a firm squeeze as if he routinely held hands with sick women.
Maybe she was reading too much into it. Most likely he was trying to distract her because he didn't want her hyperventilating or hurling on him. And it worked; she could almost forget they were encased in two hundred tons of steel plummeting toward the ground, until the wheels made contact.
"That flight sucked, but I'm glad you sat next to me. I'm not sure I could have made that entire trip without the flight attendant duct-taping me to the seat. Maybe I should bring you along for all my trips."
She meant it as a joke, but Matt frowned. "I won't be flying back to Chicago from this airport."
God, he was the sweetest guy ever. He didn't even know her and seemed ready to act as her flying companion at the drop of a hat. Without thinking, Beth leaned over and kissed him.
It was a big mistake. What was supposed to be just a platonic gesture of thanks quickly morphed into something else. Beth had to fight the urge to crawl into his lap and take more. His lips were firm and tasted of the bourbon he'd sipped during the flight. And damn if he didn't smell like sex on a stick.
Reluctantly, she pulled back and smiled, hoping the heat she was feeling all over her body didn't show in her face. "You've done more than enough. Thank you."
Matt didn't say anything. Instead, he unbuckled his seatbelt and retrieved a bag from the overhead compartment. After rifling through it, he handed her a card. "When you get home, call me. If I'm not back yet, my assistant will get the message to me. I'd like to see you again." He looked down at his watch and sighed. "I'd love to get a drink now that we're back on the ground, but with the delay, I'm running late."
"Oh." She looked down at the card. Matt Carver, Chief Creative Officer. "Well, thanks again for sitting with me, Matt. I hope the rest of your trip is good."
"It was my pleasure, Beth. I'll look forward to hearing from you." He turned and shuffled off the plane with the other first-class passengers.
As she collected her carry-on and made her way downstairs, Beth hoped she'd see him. She wanted to let him know she'd be out of the country for a month. She wanted… Hell, she wasn't sure what she wanted.
But by the time she made it to baggage claim, Matt was gone.
Vacation Flings: Chapter 2
BE BOLD
So you've found potential fling material? Vacation is not the time to be timid. Make the first move. Let him know you're interested. You only have a limited amount of time.
Matt already regretted taking this cruise with his family. But this Friday marked Martha and Bill Carver's fortieth wedding anniversary, and the only thing his mother had asked from her children was to come on this cruise with them. Matt couldn't say no.
As soon as the ship pulled away from the dock, the orchestrated chaos that was his family started. And he was stuck in the middle of it with no escape.
Dinner was the worst. The volume at their table had reached a level usually only found at a six-year-old's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. All he wanted to do was nail down the schedule for the next couple of days so he could get some work done, but he couldn't get through five words before someone interrupted him.
"Tomorrow, after breakfast, everyone is going—"
"Matty, are you still seeing that girl from Lincoln Park?" his mother asked. "She seemed like such a nice girl."
"No, Ma. I wasn't seeing her. Sarah was just my date for the hospital gala," Matt said and turned back to his brother Jason, trying once again. "So, tomorrow morning there's a tour of the ship, but what about the time between lunch and—"
"Mike, stop making goo-goo eyes at Holly. Rebecca is escaping," his mom said and waved a spoon in front of Matt's face, pointing under the table to where her precocious two-year-old granddaughter was making her grand escape. Rebecca's twin brother noticed the commotion and started crying, desperate to follow his sister.
"Later, I promise. We can get the twins checked in at the nursery." Holly, his sister, winked at her husband, Mike. "Then I'll have you all to myself."
"If you're going to have free time," Bridget jumped in, "I could use some help with a few last-minute things with the reception."
"Sarah? Was that the tall blond or the busty redhead? It's hard for me to keep track," Terry said, talking over the wailing child. "You do have great taste, Matt. I'm going to take all the credit. Everyone knows you learned that kind of thing from your uncle."
"He's not a frat boy anymore," his mom said. "Matt needs to think about his future. By the time Bill was his age, we'd already been married ten years and had two kids."
"Martha, leave the boy alone." Matt’s dad spoke up from across the table. "Matt doesn't have time to think about marriage. He's growing a business. If he doesn't stay focused, he's liable to lose everything. Marketing," he said with an exasperated sigh.
You would have thought Matt was a professional gambler the way his father went on. "The business is doing fine, Dad."
"Sure it is now, but what about next year? Marketing is a fickle business. Have you thought any more about investing in real estate? I know the market's depressed right now, but that's exactly when you need to invest. I was thinking some long-term investments like commercial real estate."
"I'm very happy with my investments, Dad."
Matt hated it when his father started giving him financial advice as though he was still a twenty-one-year-old who'd just come into his inheritance. It didn't matter that he had made more money with his business than his father had in the last ten years in the market—his father still thought he was living off his trust fund.
"Sweetheart, Matt's company is doing fine. Those boys are smart. Why, Matt even told me they've signed with that large department store downtown. He's even expanding his team. Which is exactly why he needs to focus on starting a family." Mom looked right at him and pulled out the Mom knows best look. "Dating and going out with your friends are all well and good while you're young, but you're getting older. Is it too much to ask that all my kids are settled before I'm shipped off to the nursing home? If you don't watch out, it will be too late."
"My God, woman, it sounds like you're writing his eulogy," Dad said, pointing his fork at her. "The boy is only thirty-five. There's still plenty of time for that."
"I'm siding with Bill here, sis," Terry added, slapping Matt on the back. "Enjoy your freedom while you can."
"Says the lifelong bachelor," Mom scoffed at her brother. "One day you're going to wake up and regret not getting married, Terry. I don't want you to be unhappy, Matt. What you're really missing in your life is a home."
"I have a nice condo, Mom."
"That empty apartment is not a home. It's cold and sterile. Your apartment needs a woman's touch. Someone who can warm the place up and make it a sanctuary for you. Someplace you want to go at the end of the day."
Matt sho
t a desperate glance across the table, hoping his brother might jump in, but the asshole smiled and winked at their sister.
Jason picked up Bridget's hand, the one with the huge wedding set, and kissed it. "Mom's right. Bridget has made me the happiest man in the world. Finding her was the best thing that ever happened to me."
The traitorous bastard. Oh, he was going to pay for that one. Matt was pretty sure his mother giving him relationship advice was punishment in the sixth circle of hell. He was starting to pine for his father's investment advice. Anything would be better than this conversation. "I'm not unhappy, Mom. I like the peace and quiet."
His mom turned, ignoring him. "Kitty, I'm so glad Bridget invited you."
"I'm so honored to be included on your family trip," Kitty said.
"Please call me Martha. And you're Bridget's sister, which makes you family. I hope you didn't leave a boyfriend at home. I'm sure we could have accommodated one more person."
She wasn't smooth and the subtext of what she was asking didn't get past Matt. And by the way Kitty turned and eyed him, he could tell she knew exactly what his mother was getting at.
"No, Mrs.…um, Martha. No boyfriend at home." Kitty smiled at Matt, turning the charm up to an eleven. "It's so hard to find men of quality these days. You should be given a medal. Not only do you have two devastatingly handsome sons, but they are both gentlemen."
Mom beamed at the compliment. "Don't you live on Lake Shore? That's just a few blocks from Matt. I bet you guys pass each other all the time. I bet you have a lot in common."
"You know, we haven't had a chance to entertain since we got the new apartment. Why don't Jason and I have you and Kitty for brunch when we get back from our trip?" Bridget added. "Our best man and maid of honor should be the first people we invite over."
Great, now both his mom and Bridget were conspiring. Matt had hoped the nagging wouldn't begin until they reached international waters. And now that Bridget was in on the act, he wasn't sure he'd last fourteen days. This was exactly why he only saw them at Sunday brunches.
If they thought he'd go for Kitty, they were barking up the wrong tree. Matt had grown up in a loud and boisterous family. There was always a crisis or some misunderstanding or disaster. He hated all the melodrama. He wanted a woman who would be just as happy staying in as she would attending a party. A woman who would be the calm in his otherwise chaotic life.
And Kitty was not that woman. In the short time they'd been on the ship, he'd discovered how high maintenance the woman was. If the designer clothing and all-too-polished look wasn't warning enough for him, the fact that she'd complained about every single thing since boarding certainly was.
Just a few minutes ago, she'd sent back her salad for the second time. It was just a salad. How bad could the kitchen mess up a bunch of leaves with a few other veggies thrown on top?
"What a great idea. I haven't seen the apartment since you had the living room redecorated," Kitty agreed and turned an almost feral look right his direction. "We had so much fun at the wedding. I can't wait for us to get together again."
"Don't plan anything soon. I'm going to be swamped when we get back," he said. It was his fallback position, but it usually worked.
"You need to make time for your brother," his father said. He was bouncing Rebecca on his knee. "Business is business, but family is more important." He kissed the toddler's curly blond mop and slipped her another cookie.
It wasn't that Matt didn't want to date. But between trying to build his business and the fact he preferred a quiet evening at home instead of nights out, dating just wasn't on his list of priorities.
Why was everyone determined to meddle in his life? He thought of the woman he'd met on the plane yesterday and the way she'd come to his rescue. He wouldn't mind being rescued tonight.
Matt was trying to think of a tactful way to tell both his parents to butt out of his love life when a flash of crimson blossoms caught his eye. A familiar-looking dark-haired woman wearing a form-fitting sundress with large red flowers hurried down the aisle.
It was almost as though he'd conjured her out of thin air. He stood up and followed her across the dining room, desperate to find out if it was the same woman.
The woman had stopped to talk with a waiter. He didn't want to interrupt. Her back was still to him, and he still wasn't sure if it was her or not. But then she tossed back her head and laughed at something the man said, and he knew. Matt would recognize that laugh anywhere.
She laughed again and responded to some question, and then wound her way through the crowd at the servers' station. She was almost to the door before Matt finally caught up with her.
"Beth?"
When Beth turned around and saw Matt standing behind her, she plastered on a smile, trying her best not to act guilty. After catching sight of him in the dining room, she'd tried to sneak out without being noticed. She didn't want to have this conversation right now.
She wasn’t unhappy to find out Matt was on the same cruise ship, but Beth needed some time to figure out exactly how she was going to deal with this new situation. She had kissed him on the plane.
Kissed. Him.
And she never thought she’d see him again. Sure he'd given her his card, but Beth still hadn't decided if she was even going to call him when she got back home. Now she was trapped on a ship with him for two weeks.
"Hi," Matt finally said, when she'd just stood there looking at him, slack-jawed. He sounded about as perplexed as she felt. "When you said you were going on vacation, I didn't realize…" He waved his hand around, indicating the boat as a whole.
"Are you here to make good on that offer of drinks?"
Matt just stared, shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet.
Beth put on a big smile and tried to hide her amusement. Even though she wasn't sure what to do with him, she enjoyed teasing him. He was just so darn cute when uncomfortable. "I thought you said you were flying in for your parents' wedding anniversary party."
That remark got her an eye roll. "There will be a party, but this whole trip is part of the anniversary celebration. My sister's brainchild. My parents have been talking about a cruise for years, but never seem to make time. She thought if all us kids came, and we planned a big reception for their friends at our first port, they'd be forced to make the time. I didn't want to come. I think it's a bit much. I mean, I would have gone to the party. It would have been easier to fly down for the reception, but—"
"But family," Beth finished with a knowing nod. She knew that feeling well. "I get it. I hope your parents have a great time. I'm glad we ran into each other. Maybe I'll see you around the ship."
She touched his arm and turned to leave when her leg was attacked by thirty pounds of young boy, moving at breakneck speed.
"BEEEETTTTHHHHH!" The young boy gave her thigh a crushing hug.
"Hey, slugger," she said and scooped up the boy into a proper hug.
"Jake! Jake, get back here!" A harried young woman with an infant on her hip came running up behind the boy. "Beth, I'm so sorry. He saw you walking through the dining room and the second I turned my back he was gone."
"Don't worry about it, Lily," Beth said and turned to the boy. "How's the chin?"
The young boy lifted it up proudly to show a large bandage taped to the side of his face, and gave her a toothless grin.
"Thank you again for earlier." Lily turned to Matt to explain. "I had my hands full with this one when Jake fell. He was bleeding, and I didn't know what to do. Beth swooped in, wrapped up his chin, and helped us down to the clinic. She even sat there and told Jake about her time in Africa while he got his stitches."
"Beth wode an elephant," the boy announced.
"Your wife was a lifesaver," Lily said to Matt.
"Matt isn't my husband. He's just…" She looked up, trying to decide how to classify him. "He's just a friend."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I saw you together and just assumed." The baby in her arms started to cry. "I
need to get back. But I was serious earlier. When we get these two settled into the childcare center, Henry and I want to buy you a drink."
"I'll count on it."
Lily left in a hurry, chasing Jake back to their table.
They were alone again, and Matt was looking at her strangely now. It made her a little nervous. "What?"
"Seems like you rescue of men of all ages," Matt said. He straightened his back suddenly and pulled her out of the main flow of traffic into a little alcove. "Would you be willing to come to my rescue again?"
What was he thinking? Matt couldn't believe he'd just asked Beth to lie to his family. But when he saw her with the little boy, she looked like a wife and mother. The kind of woman you'd marry. And when Lily had mistaken them for a couple, the idea just came to him.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by girlfriend," Beth said, wrinkling her brow.
Matt rubbed his forehead. He was doing this all wrong. But then again, there probably wasn't a right way to ask a stranger to pretend to be in a relationship with you.
"My mom thinks I'm lonely, and she is going to drive me crazy this entire trip. She's doing her best to set me up with my sister-in-law's sister. I'm not interested, but Mom is on a mission. I was just thinking if my mom thought I was already involved, she'd leave me alone." Matt paused and watched Beth's expression for a few seconds, trying to gauge which way she was leaning. "I promise not to take over your vacation. All I'm asking is to be seen in public with me a few times. Maybe one dinner with my family. That's it."
She didn't say anything, just shook her head and laughed. But the fact that she hadn't slapped him and stormed off was promising.
"What about this anniversary reception? Surely you would be expected to invite your girlfriend." She used air quotes on the last word.
Okay, so maybe he hadn't thought the whole thing through. "That's only two days from now. We can wait until after the reception to tell them. That will give us time to set everything up." The plan was coming together in his head. He was confident they could pull it off. Now to get her on his side. "I know it's asking a lot, but I could hardly last one night. Please, Beth. I'm not sure I can do another two weeks of this."
