Aiden gave her an odd look, while Chantelle’s smile shriveled on her red lips. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she gave Keira a calculating stare.
“And you are?”
Aiden moved between them. “Sorry, how rude of me. This is my girlfriend. Keira, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. Chantelle knows just about everyone in Sunrise Beach and is always invited to the parties because she’s a lot of fun.”
Like a cat being shown a piece of string, Chantelle’s eyes lightened. “You better believe it. I’m the first on their list. Everyone likes a celebrity.”
Keira looked closely. No, she didn’t recognize the woman. “What would I know you from?”
Chantelle pursed her lips again. “I was in a show with Aiden’s sister-in-law, Mila Sullivan. You must know it, The Sunrise Beach Reality Show?”
“Wow. I loved that show. It was hilarious. Was your brother in it, Aiden?” she asked, still having no recollection of any character resembling Chantelle.
“No way. It was on long before Mitchell moved here and met Mila.”
Chantelle was growing impatient now that the conversation had skewed away from her own notoriety. “It was a shock to everyone when Mila settled down with Mitchell. No one knew him here. He was a nobody.”
Aiden stood a little taller as he defended his brother. “He wasn’t a nobody in New York. Mitch was king of Wall Street for a while. Then he chucked it all away to start his own clothing line, Sharpen Up.”
Keira couldn’t have been more surprised. “Wow! I’ve definitely heard of that line. You must be so proud of him.”
Chantelle pushed her way between them. “Hang on just a minute. I thought you were Aiden’s girlfriend. Seems to me you don’t know too much about him if that’s true.”
Keira had never been good at lying, but Chantelle’s possessive attitude helped the words slide out anyway. “We’ve only recently become an item, and you know how shy Aiden is about discussing his family.”
Chantelle took the bait. “Tell me about it. He won’t say a bad word against Mila, and we all know what a bitch she was. Anyway, I guess it’s time you got a girlfriend, Aiden. I’ve heard you haven’t been yourself lately, so I was hoping to help you with that.” She gave him a wink, and Keira had an urge to poke her in the other eye.
Aiden stepped in. “I wasn’t being myself before. This is the real me, and I’m a lot happier this way, as boring as that may seem to you.”
Chantelle nodded her agreement. “In that case, I better go look over the rest of the party for a suitable replacement. It’ll be a long night otherwise.”
They waited until she’d gone before turning to each other.
“Sorry—”
“Sorry—”
They both laughed.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue.” Aiden grinned.
“In retrospect, I think you could’ve handled her yourself.”
He shrugged, still grinning. “Maybe. Chantelle’s pretty persistent.”
She grimaced. “I can see she would be.”
“I’ve never asked for the attention,” he said, his eyebrows diving like two injured birds.
“I’m thinking you don’t always fight it.”
Aiden seemed to be giving that a lot of thought as he studied his white shoes. “In the past, it wasn’t worth the effort to try.”
She didn’t want to hear that he’d been… loose. Yet he sounded so troubled by his actions that the urge to run from the womanizer he might be.
“And now? Why the change of heart?” Keira wanted to bite back the words. Even to her, they sounded like she was jealous. Actually, if she was going to be honest with herself, her whole part of the conversation had been based on jealousy. Which was crazy, since they were definitely not an item, despite their inexplicable attraction.
Aiden looked out over the water. She thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he turned to her. “I guess it’s fair to say that, as a younger man, I enjoyed it.”
“I bet you did.” Keira had to smother a groan. What is wrong with me? She was usually far more reticent making observations out loud.
“How did you reach that conclusion?”
“Are you serious? You do know that how you look invites interest, right?” Keira waved her hand around him to emphasize the whole Top Gun ensemble. Clearly she’d swallowed a truth pill by mistake.
Aiden fussed with his cuffs as he gave it some thought. “I know a certain type of woman likes a certain type of man. And I concede that a uniform is somehow a major attraction, but that doesn’t mean I was invested in any of them, or that they were in me. No harm, no foul. It seemed like a win-win situation.”
“Incredible. If you were a woman, there would be all sorts of names bandied about. I guess as a man, it’s always been acceptable for you to be free with your affections?”
He snorted at her old-fashioned terminology. “Chantelle’s a woman. How is it that her morals aren’t in question?”
“Yes, she’s a woman, but I bet she has no female friends because of her behavior.”
Aiden sucked in a breath. “That’s a bit harsh. She’s harmless enough.”
“Is she? She didn’t care that you might have a girlfriend.”
Aiden frowned, and Keira wished she had let the subject drop.
“Hey, it’s no big deal to me. Luckily I’m not your girlfriend, so you can see whoever you want.”
His eyes widened, and that eyebrow rose and dropped several times. “You wouldn’t care if I spent the evening with Chantelle?”
“I… do you want to? She’s beautiful, and I didn’t mean to badmouth her.” Keira’s heart was beating a tattoo against her ribs; she fervently hoped he’d meant what he’d said earlier about changing his ways.
“She is attractive, but as I told you, I’m not interested in the Chantelles of this world anymore. Do you want to know who I am interested in?”
Keira held her breath as he took a step closer. He came no farther, but across the mere inches that separated them, she could feel his body. His heat slid around her like a comforting blanket, which she had to mentally fling off to get back to a sense of reason.
“I don’t think so.” Keira struggled to get the lie out of her mouth. She looked around anxiously and saw a lifeline. “The wedding party’s arrived. I have to go. They’ll be looking for me.”
His closeness held her to him like no arms ever had so that when he moved back, her relief was as palpable as the feeling of loss.
“In that case, I’ll let you get to work.”
As he walked away, Keira shivered. It was late afternoon, but it had felt like a sunrise standing beside him. Now all that bright light had gone behind a cloud. A cloud that was decidedly depressing, and of her own making. What was wrong with letting him say he wanted her? That’s what he was going to say, wasn’t it? If so, then she would’ve had to tell him that she felt the same way. If not, then who would he have been talking about while he was flirting with her?
This cat-and-mouse game they were embroiled in was going to tap her sanity to the max if she didn’t try harder to avoid Aiden.
Moving as fast as she dared in her heels, she welcomed the bride and her bridesmaids and took them to their room so they could get ready, the groom and his group already housed in another room at the other end of the ship. Then it was time to join the bride’s and groom’s parents as they welcomed the guests on board.
Most of them had gone all out to join in the festive spirit. Some of the costumes were slightly risqué, but the outfits lent themselves to the slightly overboard and eccentric Mardi Gras theme. And they went crazy over the table of extra adornments, grabbing handfuls of beads to add to the copious amounts already decorating cleavages and bright colored shirts. Hats of every conceivable type, including a few pirates, added to the mix.
Chloe came aboard just as the crew was about to cast off. She looked very sexy in a jester’s outfit and proved her value from the start. They’d talked for hours over the horrib
le coffee regarding each aspect of today, and Chloe’s shyness disappeared as she began to explain to several groups how the evening was going to look and what to expect from the entertainers Keira had hired.
Bead and mask swapping among the guests began in earnest, turning into a version of wrestling tag teams of epic proportions, but done in the best of humor. Keira had never before seen such a collection of fleurs-de-lis, white pearls and metallic beads, crawfish voodoo dolls, feather boas, sequined masks, and masks on sticks. She was delighted that it was going so smoothly, and by the time they cast off, she could see that the photographer was going to get some fantastic shots as the sun went down.
As long as the couple didn’t sabotage their own wedding. Things had been frosty, but when they’d seen the setup, they had both relaxed a little. Keira was sending positive vibes their way that this wedding wouldn’t be the wrong move for them.
Chapter Ten
As Aiden slipped Majestic from her berth and out onto the sparkling water, he had time to reflect on what was happening to him. He’d managed to focus on other things as long as he didn’t see Keira or know where she was. The moment he’d seen her in the sparkling green outfit, he’d felt his self-control not just slip for the hundredth time but actually crack in several places.
Chantelle’s attention and the subsequent jealousy he’d witnessed from Keira had solidified the idea that she wanted him. Was it as much as he wanted her?
Aiden had been put off by the hot-and-cold routine until he’d realized that he was doing the same thing. It was frustrating and yet seemingly impossible not to flirt with her. His professional veil melted and he completely lost his bearings whenever she looked at him with those big baby blue eyes.
He liked tall women—Keira was not. He liked casual—Keira didn’t, and had admitted to having very few partners. On the one hand, that made him ridiculously happy, but on the other, it worried him about what level of commitment she would need to be with him.
Permanent terrified him. Knowing that any other woman would have him heading for the hills, considering the fact that she was so different and had such a profound effect on him, he was incapable of walking away or at least ignoring his feelings.
He thought of her too often, at the expense of his business, which needed the attention he was squandering. Keira represented everything he had no need or use for, in a life where being on his own suited him just fine.
Most of the time.
What had changed to make him so unfocused? Nothing, except meeting Keira. Was it only twice? The hours they had spent together made him feel alive and happy. Really happy. He wanted her desperately and passionately, and the way she looked at him made him believe that she felt the same way. So what would be the harm in persuading her to spend time together away from work?
Aiden shook his head at his reasoning. He knew darn well what the harm was—he might fall in love. The thought had always filled him with fear, until he’d met her. Now he wasn’t so sure if he was capable of walking away. Which was scary for a man who had hardened himself against most of life’s toughest times. Aiden hadn’t been truly frightened of anyone or what they represented since his stepfather. Not even in war.
Okay, so leaving the marines had scared him, but in a different way on a different level. He’d lost his safe haven and been terrified that he wouldn’t be able to fit in anywhere else. And he couldn’t think of anything he wanted or was capable of doing.
That’s when his brother had stepped in. Mitchell had come to visit him at the veterans’ hospital and had seen him floundering with the realization that he was out of the military for good. Mitch offered him a home with him and Mila for as long as he needed it.
Mitchell even found him the job aboard Majestic and paid for him to complete his captain’s license. When the captain had decided to sell her, Mitchell scrounged up the money for a hefty deposit, no strings. Mitchell was his silent partner, and nothing that had happened in the last year led him to believe that his brother would want it any other way. Aiden had every intention of paying him back, plus interest; having a helping hand was one thing, but being in debt to anyone just didn’t feel right.
But how could he focus on all that while Keira haunted his dreams and every waking moment? He was going around in circles, and his head ached with the constant internal argument. He needed fresh air.
“Dylan, can you take the helm please?”
“Yes, sir.”
Aiden left the wheelhouse and went to the reception room where the guests were finishing their meal.
The bride and groom took the floor amidst claps and whistles. The couple had smiles that weren’t natural, but they made a decent job of their dance and stayed until the rest of the wedding party joined them. Keira had said she felt they weren’t a perfect match, and now he wondered if she hadn’t been insinuating that it was the two of them who were wrong for each other.
He’d lost sight of her, so he made his customary loop of all the decks. About to return to the wheelhouse, he came across a couple trying to get into a lifeboat. The guy was bigger than Aiden, dressed as a pirate, standing on a fixed bench and hoisting a weaving cat woman up and over the side of it.
Keira stood beneath them, calmly trying to reason with the man and get them to move on.
“Sorry, folks. As I said, the lifeboats are out-of-bounds for safety reasons. Please get down, ma’am.”
The woman giggled uncontrollably as her legs floundered in the air.
“Are you security?” The pirate guffawed at the notion.
“I do have the authority to ask you to get off that boat. Please.”
She exuded an air of no-nonsense, and she may have been deadly serious, but her ability to make the man see reason was zilch.
“Little darling, how about you just keep walking and ignore us. That way there won’t be any trouble.”
The man had climbed down, and now he towered over Keira, her small frame lost in his shadow.
“I can’t do that. Please get your friend down from there.”
Her voice was clear, strong, and to her credit, showed no fear. Dammit. As far as Aiden was concerned, she should’ve been afraid of the jerk.
“Mind your own business,” he growled.
When the man put his hand on Keira’s arm, Aiden saw red. Tough she might be, but Keira was no match for this guy, and in Aiden’s world, men didn’t use their strength in any way, shape, or form on a woman unless it was agreed to.
“You’d better get your hands off her right now if you know what’s good for you.”
The bully rounded on Aiden, pulling Keira with him. His face was red as he spat, “Or what?”
“Or I’ll have you locked in a cabin until we get ashore, where I’ll hand you over to the authorities.”
“Who the hell are you, Mr. Smart Mouth?”
Aiden took a step closer and bent his knees a fraction, ready if the bully decided to take him on. Though it wouldn’t be a fair fight because, despite the man’s size, Aiden happened to be very good at close combat. “I’m the captain. Let her go. Now.”
The pirate faltered, unsure whether to believe him, but sizing Aiden up, he began to appreciate the quiet threat. Bullies were only as tough as they could get away with. Aiden wasn’t going to give this guy an inch, and the realization finally sank into his drunken brain.
He pushed Keira at Aiden, sneering at both of them.
“If you want her, you can have her. Have them both for all I care. There’s plenty more fish in the sea.” He laughed raucously at his joke, then staggered off toward the stairs, leaving his girlfriend—if indeed that’s who she was—half in and half out of the lifeboat, squirming like a fish on a hook.
Aiden would deal with her in a minute.
“Are you okay, Keira?”
She rubbed her wrist. “I’m fine. I wish I’d listened to you about the theme. We definitely needed more security. There are people everywhere, doing goodness knows what in places that ought to be a darn sig
ht more private.”
“I won’t say I told you so.”
“Thanks.” She gave a short laugh. “We should get that poor girl somewhere more comfortable.”
“Agreed.” Aiden climbed up the side of the lifeboat and retrieved the young woman, who had passed out. He hefted her over his shoulder and, with Keira following, took her to a quiet salon on the top deck. Gently, he laid her on a divan.
“Let’s put her onto her side in case she’s sick.”
Keira was already tilting cat woman’s head, and with his help, they moved the prone figure into the safety position. Aiden located a wastebasket and placed it near the girl’s face, just in case.
“Do you think we can leave her here?” Keira was naturally worried.
“I’ll get one of the crew to sit with her.”
“Thank you.”
Aiden made a call to Ryan, requesting that anyone who was free should come look after the girl, and then they headed outside. Both of them stared down at the party. On the surface, it seemed under control, but there were couples everywhere, just as Keira had said.
“I guess after a few drinks and costumes, a lot of the guests are under the illusion that they have some sort of anonymity,” Keira said, rubbing her wrist.
Soft music filled the night, and he wanted to touch her.
“Let me see,” he said, gesturing to her arm.
She put them behind her back. “I’m fine. Thanks for being there. I must admit that I was intimidated.”
“Intimidated? You should’ve been running for the hills.” His voice was sharper than he’d meant it to be.
Keira tilted her head at his tone. “A little tricky, since we’re on a boat. Oops, I mean ship.”
He sighed. A natural peacemaker, she was trying to diffuse his anger, and it worked. How had that jerk of a fiancé let her go?
“That’s better. I think you’ve nearly got the hang of it.”
She grinned, showing her perfect white teeth, and he wanted to kiss her very severely. When Keira rubbed her wrist once more, Aiden took her arm. “Please, let me see.”
Against the Tide: High Seas Weddings Page 8