Hot Mistake

by Cara Lockwood

  Sure, she’d said something about keeping the whole thing under wraps, but he hadn’t realized she’d been so...serious.

  “I—” Sebastian began, but she cut him off with a glare. Every curse word he could think of was in that silent stare, as well as every threat. He decided not to challenge her out there, in front of Lola and Felicia. “I bet he was a lucky man,” he said.

  Confusion crossed Gabriela’s face for the briefest of seconds but then she quickly glanced away from him. He couldn’t understand what was happening. It was as if...Gabriela was trying to pretend none of it ever happened. He didn’t understand. Why was she trying to pretend the hottest sex ever never happened? Unless...unless she didn’t think it was the best sex of her life. Could it be? He thought back to the night before and to her many, many lengthy and loud climaxes. No woman was that good an actress.

  Or was she?

  Sebastian was determined to get to the bottom of Gabriela’s cold shoulder. He watched her as she grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel, and seemed to be headed out of line, away from the rest of the group. Back to her room maybe? Now was his chance. He stepped out of line, following her to the elevators.

  “Gabriela,” he called, but she didn’t turn. He knew she must’ve heard him. He was only twenty feet away. But she kept walking, stiffly and with purpose, away from him. “Gabriela, I know you hear me. Please. Wait.”

  Gabriela didn’t stop. She even bypassed the elevators entirely and hit the stairs heading up to their rooms. He took the stairs two at a time and finally caught her elbow on the second landing.

  “Why are you running away from me?” he asked, feeling winded and still off balance.

  “Why are you chasing me?” she asked, challenging him as she stopped, one foot on the next step up.

  “I wanted to...” Remind you what an amazing night we had. And plan another one. “I just...” As Gabriela stared at him, waiting, Sebastian felt all the words dry up on his tongue. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. That had never happened before. He always had something witty to say, always had a snappy comeback. What was it about Gabriela’s discerning gaze that made him feel like an awkward teenager again?

  “Look, I didn’t realize you were really serious. About keeping last night a secret.”

  Inwardly he wanted to slap himself. Why did he sound like such a needy jerk?

  “Deadly serious.” Gabriela left it at that. She didn’t elaborate, didn’t say any more. The look on her face challenged him to probe further.

  Now Sebastian started to understand that he might be in trouble. He’d been dreaming up big romantic plans, but looking at her face now, he realized she had not been doing the same. Nice going, egomaniac, he told himself. Just assuming she’d be on board.

  Come on, man, get it together, he told himself. You’re not helpless. This isn’t the first time you’ve ever been with a woman before.

  “Look. I had...an amazing time with you,” he said, trying to find his footing again. He reached out and took her hand. “You were...well, you turned my world upside down.”

  For a second Gabriela froze. “I did?”

  He nodded, slowly. “That kind of chemistry...it doesn’t come along every day.” Or ever. He’d been with a lot of women. A lot. None of them came close to Gabriela. Not even in the same league. He just couldn’t believe the chemistry was all one-sided, couldn’t believe only he felt the jolt of electricity between them, a current he could feel snapping even now as he held her hand. “I just thought we could explore it. I’ve never been with someone like you, and I really think this could be something.”

  There. That sounded reasonable. He wasn’t asking for marriage—yet. He wasn’t declaring his love or anything as crazy as that. Though his heart, hammering in his chest, told him he was already in way deeper. He wasn’t just falling for Gabriela Cruz. He already had.

  Gabriela hesitated. “You think we could be something?”

  “I do. I really do. I never say this. I really don’t. You intrigue me, Gabriela. I want to get to know you better.”

  She bit her lip. “Come on. We just had fun, that’s all.”

  “It was more than fun.” Gabriela felt seared into his brain. Her scent, the softness of her skin, the readiness of her body to meld against his. This seemed to reach her for a minute and her body language warmed slightly. She was hesitating, fighting some inner voice he couldn’t hear. “I’d like to try this. Try getting to know you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you and me. Let’s see where this goes.”

  “I thought you were only a one-night guy,” she said. “I thought last night was just...one night.”

  “Why not make it more than that?” Sebastian wasn’t going to let her go so easily.

  She laughed a little, showing her perfectly straight white teeth. “We can’t!” she exclaimed.

  “Why not?”

  “Because everyone would find out. And Felicia would lose her shit and...and...then we’d ruin Lola’s big day, and we can’t do that.”

  Sebastian quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t think we’d ruin anything. Felicia can deal.”

  “Felicia cares about Felicia and she’s been wanting to get your pants off since the cruise started. She told us. At the bachelorette party.”

  Sebastian felt like Gabriela could’ve knocked him over with a feather. “That’s news to me. She hates me.”

  “No, she doesn’t. Or maybe she does. Maybe she wants hate sex, I don’t know, but she wants you.”

  Sebastian felt absolutely nothing about this revelation. Felicia was...not someone he’d ever considered getting involved with again. She was volatile, immature and a walking headache.

  Gabriela squirmed beneath his gaze, looking intensely uncomfortable. Then the truth dawned on Sebastian like a load of bricks falling from the sky.

  “You’re embarrassed to be with me.”

  “No, I’m not,” Gabriela countered quickly. A lie. He could tell by the way she wouldn’t look him in the eye. Well, hell, that was a first. There’d been plenty of women who’d been angry with him, furious even, but embarrassed? “Look, I’d just rather not everybody know, okay? We had a good thing, and it was fun, but let’s just...you know, move on?”

  “Move on,” he repeated.

  “Yeah?” She looked hopeful. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was amazing. Truly.” She was slowly working her way up the stairs—away from him. “But, I mean, casual works better. Like, today if you don’t mind, maybe you won’t go on the snorkeling trip with everyone? I mean, just pretend you have a hangover or something.”

  “You don’t even want me on the boat?” Now things were getting personal. She wanted him to avoid her? She seriously had no interest in pursuing this further? She was going to light a fire in him and then just let it burn itself out? He couldn’t believe she didn’t feel the pull, the magnetism, between them. Then he got an idea. He hadn’t used all the tricks in his bag of goodies. Not yet. He could show her that what they had was real, with the other ninety-eight positions he hadn’t tried last night.

  “One more night,” he said.

  She stopped, hand on the rail. “What do you mean?”

  “Tonight. We’ve got two more nights on this ship, so give me just one more. Just one. Then, if you want to walk, walk.” He rubbed the back of her palm in gentle slow circles as he took a step up, so they were both standing on the same step. He saw her hesitate. Time to call this woman’s bluff. “Can you truly tell me you don’t want a repeat of last night?”

  She froze and said nothing, her pupils growing wide.

  Sebastian moved closer. He inhaled her scent: something light and citrus, probably from her recent shower. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her on the mouth. She froze at first, making him wonder if he’d been too bold, and then she began to kiss him back. Instan
tly his groin grew tight as he rubbed against the confines of his zipper. Her tongue found his and suddenly his whole body lit up with desire. How he wanted to know if this kiss was making her wet. He knew he wasn’t just imaging their chemistry. He was ready for another night now. But he knew he needed to wait. Bide his time. She was breathing heavily and so was he, and they both knew what their bodies wanted.

  “One more night,” he said, and he turned on his heel and left her, panting, in the stairwell.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ONE MORE NIGHT. Gabriela heard Sebastian’s words echo in her head as she sat on the deck of the excursion boat for the snorkeling trip the bride and bridesmaids had planned to take that morning. The sun glinted off the pristine blue water as Felicia, Liv, Lola and Veronica slathered on sunscreen as they positioned themselves on the lounging chairs at the bow of the boat.

  They all wore dark sunglasses, Lola bemoaning her hangover while she rubbed sunscreen on her shoulders. Veronica had a streak of thick bright white sunscreen on her nose. She was the only one wearing a cover-up. The other bridesmaids had quickly slipped out of their cut-off shorts and T-shirts, revealing brightly colored swimsuits.

  “You can’t be too careful,” she’d said as a defense. “I burn instantly. I never tan. It’s a whole thing in my family. Don’t ask me why they moved to Miami. We belong in upstate New York.”

  “I really shouldn’t have had all that tequila,” Lola groaned.

  “You should’ve had my hangover cure.” Felicia glanced over the top of her sunglasses.

  Lola shook her head. “No way am I drinking anything with a raw egg in it,” she countered.

  The conversation drifted right past Gabriela. She had a hangover but it didn’t have anything to do with alcohol. She could still feel Sebastian’s lips on hers, the way he’d promised her one more night. Dared her to have one, really. She felt her stomach tingle at the prospect. Would she? Then she thought about how he’d almost outed her at breakfast, and reconsidered. Could she risk it? Sure the sex had been...amazing. Better than she’d ever imagined. But she had to be realistic: what future could they possibly have? He was Swipe Left, for goodness’ sake. And when Felicia found out, she’d be livid.

  She saw at the other end of the bow that Marco, Theo, Bill and James were huddled there, talking about the snorkeling gear, while Sebastian was nowhere to be found. Thankfully. She didn’t want to have to worry he’d say something. A distant headache still throbbed in her temples, and she was regretting that last vodka soda the night before. Would she have ended up in Sebastian’s bed if she hadn’t drunk so much? She actually didn’t know the answer to that. Maybe she would have anyway. She had desperately been trying to prove something—to him, to herself. Hell, to Felicia? She didn’t know. Never in a million years had she imagined he’d want a relationship. Maybe she’d overdone it on trying to prove something.

  She pulled out her phone, scrolled through her Instagram, and snooped on Sebastian’s page. Picture after picture of him and some new girl, nearly every week. At bars all along South Beach. He said he wanted more than that, but his social media life told a different story. Yet she couldn’t forget the intensity in his hazel eyes, the way he’d looked at her on the stairs that morning as if he’d wanted to eat her for breakfast. And she almost wanted him to.

  The man had skills, and she was still reeling from his size. No wonder he had a new woman on his Instagram feed every week. She had to admit that one more night was tempting. More than tempting. She’d never come so much in a single night and she was half wondering if she could break that record with another round. The man’s body was like the best kind of amusement park. She wanted badly to take another ride.

  “Earth to Gabriela,” Lola said, waving her hand in front of Gabriela’s face. “Hello?”

  “W-what?” Gabriela brought herself back to the present, embarrassed to have been caught staring off into space thinking about Sebastian’s naked bits.

  “I was asking you if you were good to go for the rehearsal dinner tonight? If you want to invite your mystery man, he’s welcome.”

  Liv giggled and Felicia snorted.

  “N-no, that’s okay.” He’s already going to be there. Gabriela wondered how she’d gotten herself into this mess and then she remembered: vodka. It was all vodka’s fault. Vodka and the man’s damn fine self.

  “Speaking of hookups,” Liv said, sitting up. “I heard that Swipe Left got him some.”

  Gabriela stiffened. “How do you know?”

  “What?” Felicia was now sitting up, rigid as a board. Jealous, Gabriela thought. “How do you know, Liv? You better have not slept with him, so help me... I called dibs.”

  “You didn’t call dibs,” Liv clarified. “You know I wouldn’t go near that. And besides, I was the one who told you not to go near it, either.”

  “But how do you know he slept with someone?” Gabriela tried to sound nonchalant about it. Act like you don’t care.

  “Marco told her,” Lola said, taking off her sunglasses and wiping at them with the corner of her shirt. She held them up to the sun and seemed satisfied with the result as she put them back on. “He went out to get some bottled water last night and saw Sebastian taking someone into his room.”

  Gabriela felt a cold sweat break out on her back. “Did he see who?”

  Lola shrugged. “He didn’t say.”

  Gabriela tried to remember how they’d gotten to Sebastian’s room. Had they been loud? Had they kissed in the hall? Could Marco have seen her? But if so, why hadn’t he told Lola about it?

  Felicia studied her for a minute, the wheels seeming to be turning in her head. “Why do you care so much about Swipe Left’s love life all of a sudden?”

  “I don’t.” The sweat and sunscreen combined on her nose, forcing her sunglasses to slip. Gabriela pushed them back up onto the bridge of her nose. “I just don’t want...anyone’s antics to ruin Lola’s wedding.” Phew, nice recovery, Gabbie.

  “Well, thanks,” Lola said. “I do appreciate that. But, really, nothing Sebastian does will hurt the wedding. Everyone here is a grown-up, right?”

  “Are we?” Felicia joked, and everyone laughed. “Still, I feel sorry for her,” Felicia said.

  “Yeah, she has no idea what she’s in for.” Liv shaded her forehead from the sun, which was steadily rising in the sky behind them.

  “What do you mean?” Gabriela asked.

  “He comes on strong,” Felicia said. “He’s all, ‘you’re the one for me.’ All romantic. All hot and heavy.”

  Gabriela’s throat went dry. He’d been acting that way all morning with his one more night business.

  “Then something else bright and shiny comes along,” Liv explained, frowning.

  “And he drops you like a bad rash,” Felicia said.

  “Can you drop a rash?” Lola wondered aloud.

  “You know what I mean,” Felicia said, waving her hand. “I bet whoever he slept with has no idea he’s such a Swipe Left. But she’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Says the person who wanted to sleep with him twenty-four hours ago,” Liv pointed out.

  “Yeah, and that was before I was reminded just how toxic he is!”

  Gabriela thought of what Sebastian had told her about Felicia, about how she was so eager to lock him in. She wondered if that was true, but decided it was best not to bring it up. Not here. Not now. She just wanted a peaceful little snorkeling excursion—no Sebastian.

  The crew worked to untie the boat from the dock as party music drifted to them from oversize speakers hanging from the wheelhouse. A man wearing a cruise ship uniform walked by them, a clear look-alike for Thor, his blond hair worn longish behind his ears, his strong shoulders tanned from hours in the sun.

  “Whoa,” Lola said and grabbed Gabriela’s arm. “Is it just me or does he look like Chris Hemsworth?”

  “
Kind of,” Gabriela said, barely noticing the toned Viking in the muscle shirt and shorts as he moved to pull up the anchor. Something about him looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Perhaps it was because he did look like a celebrity?

  “You’re right,” Felicia said, watching the man as he worked. “Total Thor over there. Hot guy alert.”

  All the bridesmaids gawked as the Thor look-alike tugged on the rope holding the anchor, his already swollen arm muscles twitching with the effort.

  “Wait a minute,” Lola said, voice low so only Gabriela could hear. “Wait a second...that’s Carson.”

  “Who?” Gabriela asked, barely paying attention, as she thumbed through more of Sebastian’s Instagram photos on her phone. In one he was sandwiched between two bikini models. Seriously? Two?

  “Carson. The weekend in New York?” Lola squeezed Gabriela’s arm, suddenly on high alert.

  “Uh, what?” Lola now had Gabriela’s full attention.

  Carson was a guy Lola and Gabriela had met at a bar during one of her trips to New York. That was back when Lola was single. Gabriela had been the one to make out with Carson in the bar, though it hadn’t gone further than that. After all, Lola had been in town and Gabriela wasn’t going to spend all her time with a guy when her best friend from Miami had flown there to see her. Besides, Carson wasn’t the sharpest nail in the box. If Gabriela remembered right, he’d been the one who’d trailed his finger across the bar menu, moving his lips as he read. That was never going to amount to anything. Still, it had been a wild night with one make-out session that had completely changed Lola’s view of Gabriela.

  “Oh, no.” Gabriela shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for New York Gabbie to collide with Miami’s Gabriela. Best let those two different personas live in different cities. Except they sure hadn’t stayed apart in Sebastian’s bed. She shooed the thought away. No thinking about that now.