I turned to Ella and said, “It’s like a mini mansion. I’m cool with never leaving this room. You down?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, he had you at open bar and room service.”
I gave her a toothy grin. “Nope. It was the you can run around naked and no one will see you pitch.”
She snorted. “That is not what he said.” She paused, a flash of panic crossing her face. “What are you doing?”
I’d shucked my shirt, tossed it on the couch, and then toed off my shoes. “Getting comfortable.”
“If your pants come off next, it better be in the bathroom and you better have them back on before you come out,” she warned before walking into the bedroom. “And don’t leave your clothes all over the place.”
I chuckled, plucking my shirt up from the couch and grabbing my shoes as I said, “Yes, dear.”
She poked her head out the door. “Very funny.”
Ella’s phone rang as I walked into the suite and lifted my suitcase onto the bed.
“Oliver,” she announced, putting the phone to her ear. “We’ve boarded and should be leaving the dock soon.” A pause. “Josh? Yeah, hang on.”
She handed the phone to me as something like confusion flickered in her eyes.
I had a funny feeling… “Hey, Oliver.”
“Have you lost your mind?” he demanded.
I chuckled nervously, already knowing where the conversation was headed. “Do you really want me to answer that? Because the way I see it, I lost my mind the minute I said yes to Cole Enterprise, but you don’t hear me complaining. In fact—”
“I should have never given you my credit card,” he said over me, his anger reaching straight through the phone and clasping around my neck. “And you damn sure better get that ring returned when you get back from this mission,” he added, hanging up before I could tell him I’d planned to all along.
I’d damn near swallowed my tongue when the jeweler rang up the sale. Oliver’s black AmEx was practically smoking when I slid it back into my wallet. But my pretend fiancée wasn’t going to board a yacht full of yuppies without the best of the best. We’d tossed the little blue bag in the nearest trash can on the way back to the car. The ring had been slipped on, and the paperwork tucked away in less than a minute.
“He took it better than I thought,” I said with a forced laugh as I handed Ella her phone.
She pegged me with a look. “If by better, you mean he’s already picking out your coffin, then sure.”
I groaned. After shoving my fingers through my hair, I made for my suitcase and dumped it onto the bed. No use worrying about something I couldn’t resolve.
Ella snagged one of my shirts up from the pile and lifted it eye level. “Please tell me you have dress clothes too.”
I dug through the pile and unearthed a few button-up shirts and two pairs of slacks. “I do. See?”
She made a face, and then buried her face into her hands as she said, “This isn’t going to work.”
It aggravated me a little, hearing her say that. “Why? Because I won’t be wearing pastel-colored polos with white shorts? Hate to break it to you, Ella, but not everyone has a designer wardrobe. What did you bring?” I turned the question around on her, peering into her suitcase. “Why do you have bags inside of bags in your suitcase?”
Her face deepened a shade as she huffed. “Because Riley and Paige are interfering busybodies, that’s why.” She grabbed the first bag and emptied it on the bed in a pile of jumbled colors.
My eyes nearly fell out of my head. “Whoa! Do I get to pick which bathing suit you wear each day? ‘Cause this blue one? Hawt!”
She smacked my hand and grabbed the jumbled pile up in one scoop before dumping them in the nearest drawer.
“So, is that a no?” I asked, egging her on.
“No,” she fired back as she dumped over the second bag and began to sort through a small stack of dresses and shoes.
“No, as in yes?” I prodded, enjoying watching her come unglued.
“Josh…” She said my name as a warning.
“I’m just kidding, Ella.” I said, dumping an armful of socks and underwear into the drawer.
She let out an unmistakable sigh. “You could at least put them in some sort of order,” she said, shutting the drawer and pulling out the one underneath it.
“I did just like you did,” I said, moving around her to claim another drawer for my shirts and shorts. It was just clothes, for cryin’ out loud.
“Yeah, but I didn’t put my stuff away in heaps,” she countered, moving her suitcase back far enough to sort the rest of her clothing out.
I pulled out the bathing suit drawer, made a grand wave of my arm, and said, “Exhibit A.”
She ignored me until I pulled a skimpy bikini top from the pile and dangled it in front of her nose, saying, “I changed my mind. This one definitely should be worn first.”
She elbowed me out of the way, arms burdened with two stacks of clothes. “Make yourself useful and open that drawer for me.”
“Flip ya for the bed,” I said, pulling a quarter from my pocket.
She snorted. “I’m not flipping for anything. I get the bed. You get the couch.”
I laughed, stepping back to look out into the living room area. Nope. There was no way I’d be able to stretch out. “No deal. I’m too tall for that couch.”
She walked over to where I stood, looked at it, and then sighed before saying, “Fine. I’ll sleep on the damn thing.”
I dropped the quarter back in my pocket. “We could always share the bed. So long as you stay on your side and you don’t steal the covers. I mean… we are engaged after all.”
“Fine,” she said with a huff as she grabbed the bikini top dangling from my other hand.
“I wonder when we’ll get underway?” The ship’s horn blasted through the air as if hearing my question.
“Next stop… paradise,” I announced, grabbing the last of my clothes and putting them wherever they would fit before taking both our suitcases and moving them into the closet.
“Come on.” I took her by the arm and tugged her toward our private balcony.
The breeze was low and steady as it brushed along our skin. The ships horn blared again. From somewhere down toward the back of the yacht, festive music was played.
“I wonder if there will be any sort of itinerary,” Ella said, catching her hair up in one fist and shielding her eyes with the other, our sleeping arrangements put behind her for the moment as she added, “Or at least a list of times to eat, what days we’ll be stopping at the various locations, and how long we’ll be there.”
“Does it matter?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the water.
“If we want to eat, it does. Plus, it gives us a chance to research each stop before we get off the boat.”
“True,” I said, watching the busy harbor move further away before adding, “You know what I don’t understand? Why would Allyson’s father be okay with her taking a four-week cruise into international waters if he’s being threatened, and the threats have been extended to her?”
There was a flash of regret in her brown eyes. Not taking our mission seriously from the beginning had caught up with her.
For a moment, I felt bad… almost pitying. It couldn’t be easy, losing a husband and then finding out he wasn’t dead. And then trying to deal with being tossed into a mission where she had to lie to one of her oldest friends.
She shifted, face smoothing as she seemed to settle herself. “Because Garett Baron could never say no to Allyson. All of this is his way of giving her what she wants, and still having some sort of control over it. He—”
She broke off midsentence and winced.
“What?” I asked.
She held up her finger, twirled it in the air, and then mouthed. “Bug sweep. Now.”
It was unlikely we’d be overheard considering the doors were almost as thick as my bicep, but we’d forgotten to do the most basic of protoc
ol while undercover. It should have been done before we even unpacked. But I’d been distracted since we’d walked into the stateroom. Our banter, Ella’s bathing suit, the balcony, and the water. All of it had swamped my senses, and apparently Ella’s too.
Damn.
CHAPTER 8
ELLA
I yawned for what seemed like the millionth time and wiped my watering eyes as I blinked, trying to get my surroundings to focus after scouring every inch of our stateroom for cameras or bugs. The room was clean.
“All right, you, in you go,” Josh said, guiding me over to the bed.
I pulled back from him. “I can’t. We might miss something important.”
“I seriously doubt you’re going to miss anything other than cocktail hour, or the kick off to a four-week party. Up to you, though.” He shrugged as he put a little bit of distance between us.
“I should at least go see Allyson. She’s the reason I’m here in the first place.” I fought back another yawn as the phone in our suite rang.
Josh answered it, giving clipped answers to whomever was on the other end before hanging up.
My eyebrows dipped. “Who was that?”
“Our ‘fun’ guide. Everything we need to know is listed on channel four,” he answered.
I located the TV remote and sat on the end of the bed. When the screen flickered on, Allyson and who I could only assume was her brand-new husband filled the screen for a few seconds before the image changed to a picture of The Enchantress on open water with our sailing dates. From there, the image changed again and again. Each filled the screen with information on what locations we would make port at, and how long we would be there before moving on to the next. When that slideshow was over, it gave the listing to another channel that would have each day’s official meal times, along with the number to room service. Events happening while at sea were on another channel.
“Saves them from wasting a bunch of paper, I guess,” I said, shutting the TV off.
Josh had sat somewhere behind me when I’d turned on the TV, so when he didn’t answer, I turned around and found him hugging a pillow against his chest, sound asleep.
I found myself staring at him, taking in every detail. Josh was what I’d call classically handsome. He had long, sooty lashes that swept low like butterfly wings. He had a boyish look to him that would probably never go away. His lips were parted slightly, twitching with what might have been the beginning of a smile had he been awake.
I felt myself melting a little and wanted to berate myself for it. I reached out and grabbed his foot, then shook it. He sat bolt upright as if I’d electrocuted him.
“Scare you?” I asked, watching him stretch.
“Thought you were my brother,” he answered, voice gruff with sleep.
That was new. “I didn’t know you have a brother.”
He nodded, yawned, and then popped up from the bed, rubbing his hands across his chest. “Did you turn the air conditioning down?”
I turned away. “Haven’t touched it.”
There were things about Josh that I shouldn’t notice. Like how his pants hung at just the right spot on his hips, showcasing that indention of muscle that made most girls go weak in the knees. Or how when he stood next to me, my head fit perfectly into the crook of his shoulder. And then there was the way he always seemed to find a reason to touch me, even innocently, with the light pressure on the small of my back, or that spot up at the arch of my shoulder, close to my neck.
Our last mission had tested my ability to separate reality from make believe, and it was all because of him. How the next four weeks would go, I had no idea, but at least they would be a good distraction from my own mini personal crisis and my not-so-dead husband Trent.
“Are we going somewhere?” he asked as he set out a change of clothes.
“We are. Here, wear this.” I tossed him a clean shirt from his drawer.
He caught it up in his fist and wandered into the bathroom. While Josh took a quick shower, I changed, then eyed myself in the mirror and frowned. I looked like absolute hell. A little sun wouldn’t come amiss to cover up the shadows under my eyes. Maybe it would even take away a little bit of the haunted look permanently etched on my face.
There wasn’t much I could do besides cover it up. Thank God for Riley and Paige. They’d gone above and beyond for me. Not only had they made sure I’d have the right clothes, but they’d also tossed in a small bag of makeup, hair clips and ties, and some perfume as well.
I pulled my hair back into a sleek ponytail, added a touch of mascara to my lashes, and then some gloss to my lips. With a small spritz of perfume to my wrists and some in my hair, I was ready when Josh came out of the bathroom.
He walked past me, toweling his hair, and then came to a quick stop. Turning toward me, he tilted his head.
“What?” I asked, feeling a little unhinged by the way he gaped at me.
He stepped toward me and sniffed. “You smell like home,” he said, grinning.
“Home?”
He blushed slightly. “I mean. The scent reminds me… never mind.” He grabbed his shoes and sat down on the edge of the bed. “So, I’m Joshua, but prefer to be called Josh. And you are Isabella, but I call you my Ella…”
“Just Ella.”
“That doesn’t sound right.”
“Josh.” I rolled my eyes and groaned.
“Well, it doesn’t. I mean seriously.” He came up from the bed, put his arm around my waist, and said, “Hi, I’m Josh and this is just Ella.” He turned back to me. “See? Now listen to this.” He turned forward again and said, “I’m Josh, and this is my Ella.”
I looked up to see him beaming straight ahead as if there were someone standing in front of us. He looked down at me and winked. “Sounds much better, right?”
I didn’t like the way my insides tingled at that.
“Ooof. Note to self,” he said when I jabbed him with my elbow. “My Ella is a warrior princess who pulls no punches… or elbows.”
I felt my shoulders relax. “Get all your jokes out now, Joshua, because when we leave this room, you have to be on your best behavior.”
“You mean my snottiest behavior?” It was a sarcastic question in no need of a reply.
After slipping a pair of wedged sandals on my feet, I took a deep breath and blew it out as if that would settle the role I played onto my shoulders, making it a part of who I was.
“Ready?” I asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” Josh answered, placing a pair of sunglasses on top of his head, and then handing mine to me. “Let’s go mingle with the rich kids.”
CHAPTER 9
JOSH
“Izzy!”
I moved just in time or I would have probably lost an eye from the massive diamond that projected off the new bride’s finger like a marlin spike.
Jesus. Ella hadn’t been wrong when she said that not just any ring would do in this crowd.
Allyson did that high-pitched squeal overly excited girls emitted when they were over-the-moon-happy. And I fought the urge to stick my fingers in my ears to block the sound.
While Allyson hugged Ella and bounced like a two-year-old on a cotton-candy bender, I took a second to look around. The upper deck was filled with people, and they’d all stopped what they were doing to look in our direction. Some smiled, while others seemed to be looking down their noses at the display Allyson made of herself.
“This is Joshua.” I felt Ella’s hand curl around my elbow, her thumb digging in to get my attention.
I gave Allyson my best smile and put my hand out. She knocked it away and bear-hugged me.
It caught me off guard. A lot. And when I looked at Ella, she gave me a flash of smile that I would have missed if I blinked. The curve of her shoulder came up as if shrugging, but moved into the upswing of her arm as she brought her hand up and settled it on my chest when Allyson stepped back and took my hands in hers.
“I can’t believe you brought a date. But now I s
ee him, I can under—” Her eyes rounded. “Is that a ring?” She dropped my hands and grabbed Ella’s. “Oh my God, Izzy!”
I had a moment of panic when her voice pitched really high again. My feet itched to carry me away, but I forced myself to remain beside Ella.
“Allyson, love, you’re making a spectacle,” the guy from the picture on the TV said, taking hold of Allyson and pulling her gently back to his side.
She waved her hand as if dismissing what he said, and then came up on her tiptoes and pecked a kiss to his lips. He smiled down at her as she said, “Alex, this is my Izzy, and her fiancé—”
I stuck my hand out. “Josh. Nice to meet you.”
“And you as well,” he said, giving me a firm handshake.
When he turned to Ella, he lifted her hand, placed a chaste kiss to her knuckles, and then said, “Izzy. It’s nice to finally meet one of Allyson’s closest friends.”
“Ella, please. Just Ella.” It was a good thing he’d dropped her hand. If not, he would have felt the tension that ran through her body. I pulled her closer to me, hand cupped at her side, thumb moving in slow up and down strokes as if that would somehow calm her.
“There is nothing just about you, Ella,” he said, giving her something like a nod of approval.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to nod along with him and add a ‘see, I told you so,’ or get jealous and stake my claim by putting Ella over my shoulder and hauling her off to show just who she belonged to. Which was a stupid thought, because she wasn’t even mine… not really. I was saved from making an ass of myself when Ella turned further into me and said, “Josh tells me that all the time.”
“Must be true then,” I replied.
She pulled back slightly to look up at me. A smile bloomed and her eyes twinkled as she shook her head. The slight breeze blew a strand of hair in front of her face, so I reached out and tucked it behind her ear and then kissed her forehead.
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