Stranded with the SEAL

by Elana Johnson

  The air left Justin’s lungs in a low hiss. He knew exactly what We’ll Weed That did. And he knew exactly why they’d suddenly decided they needed a top-of-the-line app from The Web Developer.

  Both Ben and Theo looked at him, extreme interest in their expressions. “What?” Ben asked, glancing at Theo. “What did I miss?”

  “I have no idea,” Theo said.

  But it wasn’t them who’d missed something. It was Justin. He didn’t need to get into all the details of his relationship with Iris. He was already twenty texts behind with his SEAL buddies, and none of them understood why he hadn’t gone up to the hotel room himself, why he couldn’t just call Iris.

  And now she’d made sure she could come to him.

  Warmth filled him, and he stood up. “Nothing,” he said in a very convincing voice. “I’ll talk to Reuben, and we’ll get started.”

  Apparently, there was a ton of groundwork to do before meeting with a client for a proposal and a presentation. Justin did that work, marveling at how Iris had stayed in business with her limping website and non-existent app.

  Rueben helped him every step of the way, but he also knew when to take his bearded self back to his own workstation and just let Justin do his thing. He enjoyed this new challenge, the new work he hadn’t known went into prepping for a client.

  And not just any client.

  Iris herself had called and talked to Reuben, and Justin had made sure his name stayed out of it.

  “She just called again,” Reuben said, arriving at Justin’s desk on Friday and setting down a paper bag. The scent of hamburgers and French fries met Justin’s nose, and he practically dove for the food

  “Who?”

  “Iris McLaughlin. She asked if you could be assigned to her project.” Reuben took a bite of his crispy chicken sandwich, his eyebrows asking too many questions.

  “When’s the meeting?”

  “Monday.”

  “I can’t,” Justin said, looking up at his project manager. “I’m going on the cruise on Monday.”

  “She won’t be happy about that.”

  Justin wasn’t entirely happy about it either. “What did you tell her?”

  “I didn’t answer, dude. She is relentless.”

  Rueben had no idea just how relentless, or what that even meant. A flash of the ocean waves battering the boat ran through Justin’s mind. Those were relentless.

  “Why can’t I just tell her you’re the team lead on this again?”

  “Because,” Justin said. “It’s just…complicated.”

  “You spent several days with her on an island. Is this an issue?” Reuben dug some fries out of his own bag.

  “No,” Justin said. “It’s not an issue. I just don’t want her to know until the meeting.” An idea formed in his mind. “You call her back and tell her I’m available for the project, but not for two weeks. See what she says. Promise you’ll put me on it if she agrees to wait.”

  Reuben shook his head. “I hate playing games.”

  Justin did too, but this one felt necessary. This one felt like Iris was trying to crash into his house without really thinking about what she wanted. “And if she asks you why she has to wait, tell her I’m taking a cruise and am unavailable.” He wasn’t sure why he was testing her like this, only that his heart felt barely able to beat.

  He flipped his phone over, almost expecting that green light to be there, indicating that she’d messaged. There wasn’t anything flashing there. He busied himself with the food. “I’ll keep picking up your dry cleaning, and hey, that new coffee place just introduced syrups.” Justin looked up at Reuben, a smile on his face.

  “Fine,” Reuben said. “I want coconut and caramel in my coffee.” He started to walk away from Justin’s desk.

  He called after him, “I’m gone for two weeks starting Monday.” So he could get his own coffee. And Justin would know if Iris was really desperate to see him, or just playing a game of her own.

  Monday morning, he packed again, this time taking care to fill Iris’s hip pack with anything he might need should he find himself once again stranded on a deserted island. He filled a backpack with protein bars, bags of beef jerky, dehydrated military rations he had left over from his time in the SEALs, a length of rope, a water bottle of significant size, water purification tables, a filtration system, a flashlight with fresh batteries, tons of emergency blankets, and three knives.

  If he was going overboard, he was not going to live on dragon fruit and barely filtered ocean water.

  “But you’re not going overboard,” he told himself, realizing he’d never pack the same way again.

  He arrived at Cruise Hawaii in the appointed amount of time, but he didn’t wait in the outside lobby with everyone else. The woman checked him in, and said, “Come with me, sir.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked, scanning the room for Iris’s blonde hair. Probably a stupid move, but Reuben had texted on Friday to say that Iris had agreed to the meeting in two weeks—which meant she knew Justin would be on this cruise.

  “You’re a VIP,” she said, smiling him through the door in the back. He entered the room there to find a suited man scrambling up from his desk.

  “Mister Brunner,” he said, striding forward. “We’re so happy to see you back with us.” He shook Justin’s hand, his nerves apparent. “I once again apologize for any inconvenience on your last encounter with Cruise Hawaii.”

  Embarrassment filled Justin. “It’s fine,” he muttered. The cruise line hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Whales were allowed to swim in the ocean.

  “Well, we’re just so glad you’re back with us.” He turned toward a wall of windows that looked out onto the staging area with the white tent and all the chairs. Justin had sat in the first row last time. “You’ll be skipping the orientation, and you can go right to your luxury suite right now, if you’d like.” He looked at Justin, the hint of a question in his gaze.

  “Sure,” Justin said. “No buddy system this time?”

  The man blinked, obviously a little stunned. “Your buddy is already here,” he said, putting his plastic smile back in place. “She said you’d be expecting her. I sent her ahead to her suite.”

  Justin frowned. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

  The man chuckled nervously. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

  “You and me both,” Justin said, not expecting to have to have another female buddy he needed to worry about.

  What if it’s Iris? he thought, and he was suddenly very keen to get to his suite. “It’s fine,” he said. “Do you have my suite number?”

  “Right here.” The man scampered over to his desk and picked up the folder of information. “I just know you’re going to love our cruise, Mister Brunner.”

  Justin smiled at him, hating how this guy was falling all over him. It was his fault he’d jumped off the boat, taking Iris with him. “Thank you.” He took the folder and went through the door in the back. He kept his steps even and measured, slow. But he scanned the ship in front of him for any sign of the blonde he’d hoped would come meet him here.

  He’d given her all the clues. Had she taken them?

  His suite sat at the top of the ship this time, and he wondered why he’d thought he’d gotten “preferential treatment” the first time. The room his keycard allowed him to enter was easily three times bigger than the one on the first level of the ship, and the bed would certainly accommodate the width of his shoulders just fine.

  He put his bags down and moved to the window in the suite. “Wow,” he said, realizing he got the best view on the ship too. He wasn’t sure if he should just wait in his suite, or go explore the ship. He’d already been around the ship a bit on his first cruise, and he didn’t really care to mingle.

  Unless Iris was here…

  That thought drew him from his room. There were only four rooms on this level, but he couldn’t go around banging on doors and demanding to know if she’d booked one of them. They wer
e probably way out of her price range, same as his.

  He didn’t encounter anyone on his way down to the pool level, and all too soon, the rest of the cruise-goers started boarding the vessel. He still hadn’t seen Iris, nor this mystery buddy of his. His hopes started to sink as quickly as he’d thought the last cruise ship was going to, and he turned away from the happy couples, the smiling families.

  This was definitely going to be two weeks of torture.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Iris dashed up the walkway to the cruise ship once more, this time no muscled, tattooed Navy SEAL to help her onto the boat. She made it herself, thanking her foresight for sending Callie down to pretend to be her.

  She’d brought her bags, gone through the ruse of arranging to be buddies with Justin Brunner. They’d both been given a suite on the top level of the ship, and while Iris hurried to get through a meeting, Callie had taken care of everything.

  All Iris had to do was get to the boat before it left.

  And she was once again the last one on the ship. The horn sounded, and the boat moved, and Iris drew in a deep breath. Last time, Justin had hung out near the bar, sipping red and orange smoothies while pretending not to watch her in the pool.

  To say the least, she’d been surprised to learn he was going on the cruise again. She supposed it was for his job, but still. A representative from Cruise Hawaii had offered her a replacement cruise as well, but Iris hadn’t called them yet.

  But on Friday afternoon, when she’d learned Justin would be on the next cruise out of port, she’d made the call. Booked the ticket. Made last-minute arrangements to be gone for two more weeks.

  Now she just needed to find the man and convince him that she didn’t blame him, wanted to be with him, and could possibly already be in love with him.

  “Have you been on a cruise before?” a man asked, and Iris spun toward him, a powerful sense of déjà vu hitting her square in the chest.

  Justin wore a pair of colorful board shorts and a tank top that showed all his glorious muscles and tattoos.

  She adjusted her sunglasses, so glad she’d dressed down for the meeting that morning. No more heels. No more pencil skirts. At least not when she was about to spend two incredibly romantic weeks with her boyfriend.

  Hopefully, she thought, her fingers trembling the slightest bit.

  “Not really,” she said, knowing that was how she’d answered last time. “And that is the truth this time.” She smiled at him, almost desperate to get the same gesture in return.

  “At least you’re dressed the part this time.” He scanned her, his eyes taking in every inch of her so very slowly, Iris felt hot from toetip to scalp. “Did you pack that same swimming suit?”

  “I threw everything away from last time,” she said, taking a step toward him as the boat swayed. She couldn’t help the pang of alarm that ran through her, and she scanned to make sure no one else was abandoning ship already. She gave a light laugh when her eyes returned to Justin’s. “I’m a little nervous.”

  “Me too,” he admitted, and Iris drew strength from the vulnerability he allowed himself to show to her.

  “Justin,” she said, deciding to take all the steps toward him. Touch him. Breathe in the scent of his skin. He received her right into his arms, just as he had last time. But he still hadn’t smiled, and she still had no idea how he kept all of his emotions behind such a perfectly crafted mask.

  “I miss you,” she said. “I didn’t mean any of those things I said in the hospital. Or before that, on the island. Or anything I might’ve said in the boat. I was delirious in the boat, so you can’t count that against me.” She remembered the way he’d commanded those men to get her off the boat and help her, and the memory sparked attraction through her all over again.

  She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “You smell like oranges and sunscreen,” she said stupidly.

  That smile drifted across his lips. Finally. “I don’t want to get burnt.”

  “I thought you were never eating fruit again.”

  “I’m not,” he said. “But I do like drinking it.”

  “Smoothies.”

  “They’re unlimited on this cruise. Did you know that?”

  Iris laughed, the feel of his hands along her waist as magical now as it had been the first time. “I just said that stuff to my family, because my sisters are nosy, nosy Nellies. I didn’t want to tell them about you.”

  “Are you embarrassed of me?” he whispered, his eyes so dark and so dangerous.

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why didn’t you want to tell them?”

  “Probably the same reason you snuck into my room early in the morning before anyone got there.” She gave him a cocked-eyebrow look. “The nurse told me you were there. You came to see me. Why didn’t you stay?”

  “Probably for the same reason you called me a meathead who made you jump.” The bite in his words sank into her soul.

  “My reason was because I wasn’t sure how you felt about me, and I didn’t want to set myself up to get hurt.” She had anyway. It had only been a week since Justin had removed himself from her life, but it felt like a lot longer.

  “That’s my reason too.”

  “Why wouldn’t you let me call you?” she asked.

  “Because, Iris.” He sighed, the frustration heavy in that sound. “I just…maybe I got my feelings hurt. Just because I act tough and look tough doesn’t mean I can’t feel.”

  “I know that.”

  “Maybe I’d already been doubting us. And feeling bad about hauling you off the boat. And to hear you say that about me…. I just thought maybe we’d had our little tryst and I could get over you.”

  Iris gazed up at him, so glad he’d been into her enough to have to get over her. “I’m really sorry,” she said. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you every way I know how since last week. Did Reuben Siddoway tell you I was your client?”

  A hint of playfulness entered Justin’s eyes, and Iris had her answer.

  “I miss you,” she repeated. “I’m sorry about what I said and did. That’s not how I feel about you.” She tipped up on her toes, glad Justin took the bulk of her weight and balanced her. “I don’t want to get over you, and I don’t want you to get over me. I just want us to be together.”

  She watched his eyes, though the pull to look at his mouth screamed through her. Seconds stretched between them, and the sun was starting to fry Iris’s skin.

  “Justin,” she said, maybe with the hint of a whine in her voice.

  “Oh, are you done?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She swatted playfully at his chest. “So, what do you think?”

  “I think I’m going to kiss you now.” He leaned down, wasting no time, and traced his lips across hers. Not really long enough for her to truly experience him. He chuckled, and matched his mouth to hers, finally kissing her like he meant it.

  Iris let her pulse accelerate and her fingers trace up the side of his face and into his hair. Kissing him was worth jumping into a lifeboat and only eating dragon fruit for a few days.

  Not that she wanted to do it again.

  Days later, she and Justin were still on the cruise, no whales in sight. She stuffed herself at every meal, and spent hours by the pool with Justin’s hand lazily in hers. They talked about his Navy buddies, and his family, his job. She told him about her sisters, her company, and her desire for a kitten.

  By the time they returned to Getaway Bay, Iris had definitely fallen all the way in love with Justin, and he seemed to like her just as much as he had that first time he’d kissed her.

  “Hey, so Heath said he’d bring pizza over tonight,” Justin said as they disembarked from their cruise. “Do you want to come over and meet him?”

  “Sure,” Iris said, though she needed a shower with proper water pressure and a chance to get another pedicure. The bottom of the pool had been murder on her toenails. “There’s my sister.”

  Justin glanced at t
he car where Ivy sat behind the wheel. “She really is your twin,” he said.

  “Good thing you didn’t ask her out through the app before we met.” Iris smiled at him, feeling luckier than she had in her whole life.

  “Yeah.” Justin leaned down and kissed her, a soft, slow union that reminded her of the lazy days they’d shared on the cruise. “See you in a couple of hours.” He walked to his truck, and all Iris could do was stare after him.

  A sigh leaked from her mouth, just as Ivy joined her on the sidewalk. “You’re hopeless.”

  Iris didn’t even try to deny it. “He invited me to meet his friends.”

  “Ooh, big deal.” Ivy heaved Iris’s bag into the back seat and went around the front of the car.

  “It is a big deal,” Iris said. “He has no family here. His crew are his friends and his family.” Sudden nerves struck her. What if his friends didn’t approve of her?

  “I’ll have you know that I started dating a guy while you’ve been gone.” Ivy held her chin a couple of inches too high, and Iris pulled herself out of vacation mode. Out of kissing Justin mode, and into twin sister mode.

  “You did? Who?”

  “He’s a great guy,” Ivy said, the way she qualified everything. “Brooks Dentin. He’s a paralegal for the city.”

  “Ooh,” Iris said, mimicking her sister from a moment ago. “A paralegal. Sounds fancy.”

  “He’s going back to law school.”

  Iris laughed and ran her hands through her hair. It definitely had too much sunscreen in it still. “I don’t care what he does for a living, Ivy.”

  “Dad does,” her twin said very quietly.

  Iris swung her attention toward her sister. “Really? He’s never said anything to me.”

  “That’s because you’re Miss Perfect,” Ivy said. “You own your own business. You don’t need a man to pay your bills.” She looked at Iris, and it was clear she wasn’t really upset with her. “But I apparently do.”