Shawn took in a deep breath of fresh air, relishing the breeze on his skin after the suffocating heat of the Santa suit. It had been more than worth any discomfort, though, to see the smiles on those kids’ faces. And having Natalie share the experience with him had been icing on the cake.
He glanced down at his large hand enveloping her smaller one. The fact that he hadn’t even known Natalie four days ago, and now he was holding her hand, seemed unbelievable. The attraction raging between them was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. The loneliness that had been his constant companion for years disappeared completely in her presence.
The rented van was gone, and the staff had disappeared. Their two hours of shore leave didn’t allow for much exploring and most of them would be heading straight back to the tender boats. But Toujour didn’t have any activities planned until the ship set sail once more, and Shawn had a few hours of free time today. He intended to spend every minute with Natalie, if she’d let him.
Slowly, they walked up the sidewalk and away from St. Marguerite’s.
“That was amazing,” Natalie said quietly. They passed by a narrow alleyway, and Shawn caught a glimpse of kids kicking a soccer ball as he tugged her toward a stand with the most amazing tacos.
“Thank you for coming with me.” A lump formed in Shawn’s throat, and he quickly swallowed it back. “It meant a lot.”
She squeezed his hand, letting him know with her gentle touch that she understood his emotion. “I’m glad you invited me along.”
Shawn cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the emotions that clogged it. He pointed across the street at a taco stand with a small line of people. “Are you hungry? The tacos at that stand are to die for. We can eat while we walk to the basilica I want to show you. It’s a bit of a hike, but it’s beautiful.” He just hoped his leg would hold up reasonably well. If Natalie hadn’t come, he would’ve gone back to the ship with the other employees. But he wanted to share this experience with her. Watch her eyes alight with wonder as he showed her new sites.
“I could eat,” Natalie said. “I read about the basilica online. It attracts fifty thousand visitors a year.”
Shawn looked both ways, then led her across the street, where they took their place in line. “I’m not surprised. It was built in like 1621 or something and has been very well preserved.”
“1618,” Natalie said, then her cheeks glowed pink. “Sorry. I was going over my notes last night. I didn’t want to miss anything.”
They stepped up to the front of the taco stand, and the man asked, “Qué quiere?”
Natalie stared back blankly, and Shawn fought the urge to kiss her cheek. She was so adorable.
“Uh, what did he say?” Natalie asked.
“He’s asking what we want,” Shawn said.
Natalie smiled, resting a hand briefly on his arm. “I trust your judgment.”
Shawn nodded and placed their order. The weight of her trust settled over him, but he found it oddly comforting. A responsibility he wanted to take seriously.
With their food in hand, they slowly began the climb toward the basilica. Shawn’s leg ached and he knew he’d need to ice it again tonight, but Natalie seemed content with their slower pace and didn’t try to push him faster than was comfortable.
Natalie held her taco delicately, making sure no food fell to the ground, and took a careful bite. Her eyes widened. “This is delicious.”
Shawn smiled and took his own bite. “I’m glad you like it.”
“So you’ve been to Arenas Blancas before?”
Shawn nodded. “The Ocean Dream has been doing cruises in the Mexican Riviera for about two years now. Before that we were in the Caribbean, and before that the Baltic.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize cruise ships get around so much.”
“They tend to change locations every few years, so that customers have different ship options if they’re frequent visitors.”
“That’s so interesting.” Natalie swallowed her last bite of taco, and they both threw their wrappers in a trashcan as they walked past. “Do you always bring Christmas for a school in a port, or is that something new?
“No, this is the fifth year I’ve organized it. Sometimes feeling the Christmas spirit is a little hard when you’re far from home. Doing this every year helps.”
Natalie nodded, her eyes hooded. “It must be hard to spend the holidays without your family.”
“It is,” Shawn said. Her shoulder brushed against his, but she didn’t apologize. Didn’t move away. He swallowed hard. Talking about the accident was something he generally avoided, but something about Natalie made him want to show her the most vulnerable parts of his soul. “But it reminds me of the accident, too.”
She glanced quickly at his leg, then back up at him. “The one where you hurt your leg?”
Shawn nodded. “It was Christmas Eve. I was hanging out with some friends and hit a patch of black ice on the way back to the ranch.”
“Oh, Shawn.” Her voice was soft and comforting, without holding pity. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t remember much about the actual accident. The doctors kept saying how lucky I was to still have my leg, but all I could think about was how the navy would never take me now. Let’s just say it wasn’t a very merry Christmas.” He shot her a sideways glance, gauging her reaction.
“You wanted to be in the military?” she prodded.
Shawn nodded. “I’d just finished up my last year of community college. I’d wanted to be a Navy SEAL for as long as I could remember—was planning on enlisting just after the New Year. But after the accident, I knew it was impossible. It was almost a year before I could walk again without help.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Took me another two years of physical therapy beyond that before I accepted I’d never be a SEAL, though. I knew they wouldn’t want a soldier with more hardware than a store.”
“Is that when you joined Ocean Dream?” Natalie asked. Her voice was soft and soothing. He reached blindly for her hand and found it.
“Yes. I kept living at home and going to school online. I couldn’t drive for a long time, so my mom drove me to physical therapy three times a week in Tulsa. But once I graduated, there just didn’t seem a point in sticking around.”
“I can’t even imagine how hard that must’ve been for you,” Natalie said. She stretched out her own leg, as though imagining the accident and subsequent years of physical therapy.
Shawn gave her hand a squeeze. “Thanks. I know now how incredibly lucky I was. No one died and I didn’t lose my leg. But it still took me a long time to come to terms with things. If figured if I couldn’t be in the military, I could at least be at sea.”
“And you’ve been on the Ocean Dream ever since?”
Shawn nodded. “It hasn’t been a bad life, but I’m ready to get back on land. I miss my family.” And he wanted one of his own.
They walked in silence the rest of the way to the basilica. Shawn loved the easy companionship he always experienced with Natalie. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about, but he was also perfectly happy just being with her and enjoying the silence.
For the next few hours, they explored Arenas Blancas together. Shawn loved playing tour guide and showing Natalie all his favorite spots in the town. She was impressed by everything, and her awe made a town he’d visited dozens of times seem exciting and new.
Before heading back to shore, they wandered through the tourist shops in the town square right near the dock.
“I never would’ve pegged you as a shopper,” Shawn said, watching as Natalie crouched down to examine something on a low shelf.
She laughed and straightened up. “I’m not, really, unless you count tourist traps. I love looking at souvenirs.”
“Convenient, since you’ll be doing a lot of traveling soon.”
She laughed and paused to admire a display of Christmas ornaments. “Yeah, I guess so. It might be fun to collect something from every destination I visit.”
>
A few minutes later, Natalie left to use the restroom before they headed back to the ship. Shawn searched the display of ornaments until he found the perfect one. After he’d paid for it, he tucked it into one of the pockets of his cargo shorts.
On the tender boat back to the ship, Natalie leaned her head on his shoulder. Shawn wrapped an arm around her shoulders, loving the way her body seemed to fit perfectly against his.
All too soon, they were back on the ship and outside Natalie’s room. She paused in front of the still locked door and looked up at him.
“Today has been absolutely wonderful,” she said. “I’m so glad I came to your room to chew you out this morning.”
He couldn’t help himself—he reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind one ear. “I’m glad you chewed me out, too.”
“Arenas Blancas is everything I hoped it would be.”
“Did you get some good information for your article?”
“I think so. But my favorite part of today was definitely watching you with the kids.” Her hand rested lightly on his chest, sending pinpricks of delicious fire through his body. “You were so great with them. They’re never going to forget this Christmas.”
He put his hand over hers, capturing it against his chest. “I’m never going to forget today, either.”
She licked her lips, leaning back against the door and staring up at him with those luminous green eyes. The hallway was empty, leaving the two of them in a private cocoon. “Well.”
Shawn took a step closer, loving the way her eyes darkened with want. “Well,” he whispered.
Her hand curled against his chest as she stared at him. “I shouldn’t like you, Shawn.”
His heart leapt as her words confirmed the chemistry between them wasn’t imagined. He reached out, gently caressing her cheek with his fingers. “And I shouldn’t like you. Yet here we are.”
“Here we are,” she breathed. She bit her lip, driving him mad. “We’ll be back in Long Beach in less than five days.”
He put his hands on both sides of her head, trapping her against the door. Not that she looked like she had any intention of moving. “True.”
“You’ll get your business loan and move to Oklahoma, and I’ll be traveling the world as a journalist.”
“That is the plan,” Shawn murmured.
“So…” Natalie drew out the word for two heartbeats.
A relationship between them was absolutely pointless. Natalie wanted to explore the world. Shawn had already done his exploring and wanted to settle down. But his eyes drifted to her lips as she pulled the bottom one in with her teeth. And he couldn’t help himself. He was powerless to fight the attraction between them.
“So I guess we’d better make the best of these five days,” Shawn said as he slowly lowered his head toward hers.
He moved slowly, giving her ample time to pull away or ask him to stop. But she didn’t do either of those things. Instead she inhaled softly, the sound nearly undoing his careful control. Her hands spread flat across his chest and her eyes drifted closed.
That was all the invitation he needed. Shawn bridged the last few centimeters between them, allowing his lips to finally—finally—cover hers. They were softer than he’d dreamed they could be. She let out a soft sigh, her body seeming to melt into his. Shawn pressed her back against the door, his hand at her waist to steady them as his other cupped her jaw.
Natalie’s hands traveled up his chest and clasped behind his neck as Shawn deepened the kiss. And he knew he was lost. There would be no going back from this moment. There would only be Natalie.
A few minutes later he forced himself to pull away before they both did something they might regret. He rested his forehead against Natalie’s, loving the flush to her neck and the way she couldn’t seem to steady her breathing. Loving that he had that affect on her.
“I want to take you out on a real date tomorrow,” he whispered.
She chuckled, tracing his lips with her index finger and making him shiver. “What do you call today?”
He brushed a kiss against her jaw, then placed another on her collarbone. “A very happy, but unplanned, outing. My mama raised a gentleman, though, and I want to do this proper.”
Natalie laughed, her fingers tracing circles on his back. “I wouldn’t want to upset your mama. But don’t you have to work tomorrow? Toujour has the ice show after dinner.”
“Yes, but I won’t really have to work during it. I’d love if you came to the show as my date.”
Natalie smiled. “In that case, you’ve got yourself a date.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Natalie leaned against her door, imagining Shawn walking away on the other side. She let out a happy sigh.
That kiss. Wow. She hadn’t known such a simple act could feel so powerful. Natalie had kissed her fair share of men in the past, but she’d never experienced anything close to what had just happened in the hallway with Shawn.
The bathroom door opened, and Kendra walked out, making Natalie jump.
“Hey,” Kendra said, sinking onto her bed with a groan.
Natalie put a hand to her chest. “You scared me. I didn’t realize you were here.”
“Sorry.” Kendra slipped out of her shoes with a sigh of relief. “It feels so good to sit down. Brooke and I led a couples scavenger hunt in Arenas Blancas. It was a lot of fun, but my feet are killing me.”
“That does sound fun,” Natalie said. She knew she should regret the missed opportunity, but she could still feel Shawn’s lips on hers.
“What did you end up doing today?” Kendra asked. She grabbed an elastic off her nightstand and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. “I thought maybe you’d come on the scavenger hunt.”
Natalie couldn’t stop the grin from splitting her face. “I was planning on it, but something else came up.”
“Wait.” Kendra stopped massaging her foot and dropped it back to the ground. “I know that look.”
“What look?” Natalie asked innocently.
“The I’m falling for a guy look.”
Natalie pretended to pick at the pills on her dress. Today had been perfect. She’d relished the feel of Shawn’s strong hand holding her dainty one, as though it were the most valuable jewel in the world. But somehow, talking about today with Kendra would make it feel all too real. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “You know watching people fall in love is kind of my entire job, right?”
Natalie dropped her hands into her lap, feeling suddenly cold. “That’s totally not what’s happening here. Shawn just invited me along to deliver Christmas presents to an orphanage in town, then he offered to show me around the city. I went along for purely altruistic reasons.”
Kendra rolled her eyes. “Sure you did. This is VIP Coordinator Shawn you’re talking about, right?”
Slowly, Natalie nodded, some of her earlier happiness fading.
Kendra pursed her lips, as though thinking, then gave a firm nod. “Yes, I can see why the two of you would be drawn together. It makes sense.”
Natalie leaned forward, shaking her head. “That’s the thing, though—it doesn’t make sense. We’ll be back in California in four days.”
Kendra was eying Natalie with what she’d come to regard as the matchmaker look. All the matchmakers had the same shrewd, calculating stare when they were trying to determine if a match was a good one. “It’s true that long distance relationships are never ideal, but they don’t have to be doomed to failure. I’ve personally helped match six couples who ended up doing long-distance for a time. One of them ended up breaking up, but three are married and the other two are engaged. Location doesn’t matter as much as commitment.”
“Commitment? Who said anything about commitment?” Natalie’s heart beat uncomfortably hard in her chest. Shawn had seemed interested in her. Had been a perfect gentleman all day.
But he’d also mentioned Wyatt. A love of football. A desire to meet her f
amily. Maybe he was only interested in playoff tickets, like her ex. And Natalie definitely wasn’t interested in a relationship. In five months, she’d be graduating from Arizona State and joining World Traveler Magazine. For the next few years, her life would be that of a vagabond. She’d never stay the same place for long.
Kendra shrugged, slipping her shoes back on. “I thought you were interested in him, but I guess I was wrong.”
Natalie ran a shaking hand through her hair. “I am interested in him, but this can never go anywhere beyond the cruise. He’s an attractive man who asked me on a date. There’s nothing more to this.”
“If you say so.”
A sharp knock sounded at the door. Natalie stared at it, then scrambled to her feet. What if Shawn had returned for some reasons? She sent a glare at Kendra. “Don’t you say a thing about our conversation.”
Kendra pantomimed zipping her lips. “This is your relationship, not mine, and you aren’t a client so I won’t interfere. But I do know a thing or two about love, you know.”
“Love is for people interested in commitment,” Natalie hissed. “And that person isn’t me. I’m too young for that.”
But Shawn wasn’t young—he was eleven years older than her. Maybe commitment was exactly what he wanted. Her stomach swirled and writhed, but this time it felt like it was filled with snakes instead of butterflies.
She swung open the door, but no one was in the hallway. Instead, a package once again rested on the floor. Natalie crouched down and picked up the small box, slowly bringing it inside.
“Who was it?” Kendra asked.
“I don’t know.” Natalie slowly opened the box and gasped.
Kendra peered over Natalie’s shoulder, then let out a small ooo of admiration.
Natalie lifted the ornament out of the box, unable to stop smiling. It was a small Santa figurine made out of seashells. Arenas Blancas was hand-painted in black calligraphy on the base of the ornament, the letters a little uneven.
“It’s so cute,” Kendra said. She laughed, pointing to the little seashell puppy by Santa’s feet.
Natalie carefully set down the ornament and pulled the card out of the bottom of the box. She slid her nail underneath the envelope and drew out the card.
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