“It’s a mixer. We need to mix,” Avery said as if that explained everything.
It wasn’t long before a cocktail waiter took their order, delivered their drinks. There weren’t any real rules except one. Every time the bell rang, you moved to another person.
Lori started in front of Reed.
“You have a wild look in your eyes.”
She looked over to find Trina fidgeting while she spoke with a man twice her age who slid up beside her at the first bell.
“I do?” Lori didn’t meet his gaze.
Reed paused. “You’re worried about your friend.”
Lori watched for signs of distress on Trina’s face. “She’s, uhm . . .” Lori didn’t finish her sentence when the bell rang. Without another word, she rushed to cut off another guy walking Trina’s way.
“You okay?”
“This isn’t blending,” Trina pointed out.
Lori looked around, saw Shannon being hit on by a redhead. A single nod and Shannon got the hint. “It’s a twenty-minute meet and greet, and we’re done.” Lori made light of it and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Lori.”
Trina smiled. “I’m being silly.”
The bell rang, and Shannon took Lori’s place.
Lori found Reed in front of her again. “Do you always take care of your friends?”
“Don’t you?” she asked.
“You’re assuming I have friends.”
She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. The man had quite the poker face. “A man without friends . . .”
The bell rang.
Avery took Lori’s place, and Lori moved back to Trina.
“The men are going to think I’m a lesbian,” Trina said.
Lori glanced around them . . . “Are you ready to talk to a stranger?”
Trina placed both hands on her head. “This used to be easy.”
“Let them speak first, then switch languages if you don’t want to interact.”
“That’s a great idea,” Trina said with a strangled smile.
The bell rang and Lori turned to find a hard-bodied Spaniard grinning down at her. He said something in Spanish that she didn’t understand, but his grin and wink were enough. “Oh, you’re too much for me.” Lori looked at Avery, who was still talking to Reed. She pulled the other girl over in front of Mr. Spanish Charm. “Switch,” Lori said.
Reed was grinning. “So Avery you feed to the wolves, and Trina you protect.”
The bell rang again, and instead of moving, Lori reached for her drink. “This is exhausting.”
Lori rose the next morning to find a note attached to the daily itinerary slid under her door. The yoga class was circled in red with a note: Since you missed your Sunday ritual.
The man put a smile on her face. Maybe because she hadn’t taken the time to flirt or get to know a member of the opposite sex in several months. Not because she was opposed to the thought, but she’d burned out on the dance. At thirty-five, she’d dated plenty of men. Only half of whom were emotionally available. And of those, half of them only wanted sex. The rest couldn’t handle her success or she couldn’t handle their egos.
When she’d turned thirty, she’d decided that she never wanted to marry again. On some level, she knew that made her less emotionally available than the men who asked her out. Once the men found out what she did for a living, they assumed she was single by choice, which either turned them on or completely off.
Where did Reed fall?
Temporary.
If for no other reason than they were on a cruise ship.
Lori glanced at the clock and wondered if Reed would show up at her yoga class.
Only one way to find out.
“Good morning, Miss Lori.” She dressed, bolted out the door, and ran right into the resident butler.
“Morning, Datu. Can you tell my friends when you see them that I’ll meet them poolside at eleven?”
“Of course. Any other requests?”
“How about fruit and yogurt in my room around ten?”
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Yes, please.” Lori was all smiles as she walked away. A butler was something she could get used to.
The fitness center was lined with bikes, ellipticals, and treadmills, all facing a massive window looking out over the Mediterranean Sea. Since this was the only full day at sea, the place was packed with hard bodies and even a few soft ones trying to combat the opulent food on board.
She spied Trina lying on a mat in the far corner of the classroom. Lori removed a mat from a stack in the corner and took the spot next to her.
“Good morning,” she whispered over the calming music.
Trina opened her eyes and smiled. “Morning.”
The room was library quiet, with only a few mumbling students settling in.
“I didn’t know you liked yoga,” Lori told her.
“Been a while. But I thought it would help . . . you know.”
A wave of guilt crashed over Lori when she realized she’d been preoccupied with herself. Her job was these women. Especially Trina, since her world was falling apart.
Reed had stolen her attention the moment she’d laid eyes on the man.
Lori mentally kicked herself.
Refocus.
Thoughts of a temporary anything with Reed should not be dominating her head before reaching the twenty-fourth hour on the ship. Trina, Shannon . . . Avery, that’s what she was there for, not Reed and his sexy smile and cocky gambling techniques.
The instructor started to speak, and Lori took her place on the mat and pushed Reed out of her head.
Chapter Five
If Reed stood in the window to the yoga room much longer, someone was going to tell his voyeur ass to move along. He wasn’t surprised to see Lori bending and stretching in ways the body didn’t normally move, but the sight of her butt held tight by a pair of black yoga pants . . . that’s what snagged his attention and wouldn’t let go. He was half-willing to join a yoga class just so he wouldn’t be so obvious.
His eyes kept level with her ass as he walked by the glass doors. He snapped out of his trance and quickly looked around the gym. He decided to burn through a few miles of frustration with the free weights until the yoga class was over.
Reed worked through his daily routine in half his normal time, his eyes tracking on the yoga door.
A tall blonde wearing a purple sports bra and shorts that should be illegal anywhere other than by a swimming pool stopped in front of him. “Ar det tungt?”
“Excuse me?” He didn’t recognize the language, and with over forty different nationalities on board, he didn’t want to guess.
“American?” she asked, her smile full of flirt.
He nodded.
She pointed to her chest, which spilled from the sports bra. “Swedish.”
“I don’t speak Swedish.”
“I know English. Not perfect, but some.”
Any other time, she’d be fun. But just then the volume of voices in the room increased, and Reed noticed the yoga door opening and people spilling out.
“Maybe later,” he said with a wink before he stood and started toward the exit.
He lingered at the door, half an eye on the people leaving, the other half on his cell phone in an effort to not be obvious about his intentions.
“I think someone is following you,” he heard a woman say.
He looked up to see Lori and Trina walking toward him.
Moisture gathered on their skin. Does yoga make you sweat?
“No, he’s a gym rat.”
“A big one,” Trina said.
“Morning, ladies.”
Trina moved out of the way of the people moving through the door. “I’ll see you by the pool, Lori.” She glanced at him. “Bye, Reed.”
“I see you found my note,” he told Lori once Trina left.
“I did. Great suggestion.”
Something in her voice told him something had changed since the night before.
“And here I thought your line about yoga was a fabrication.”
“It was.”
Short answers with an edge to her voice. Her eyes kept moving past him. Yep, something had changed.
“By the way, how did you know what room I was in?” He couldn’t tell if the question was curious or accusatory.
He considered lying but didn’t. “When you signed for the bar bill.”
“Ahh.” She started to frown. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or creeped out.”
He thought of his sister and wondered how he would feel if someone had obtained her room number the way he had. “I’m harmless,” he lied, “but you might want to be more careful.”
She paused. “I will.”
Miss Swedish took that moment to walk past. She eyed Reed, then turned her attention to Lori. With a lift of her eyebrow, she parted with a swaying of her hips.
He caught Lori laughing under her breath. “Enjoy your day, Reed.”
Yep, something was definitely off. “You too, Lori.”
The conversation from the night before played in his head. Did he say something to put her off?
No. He’d flirted, she flirted back.
Time to switch things up. Avery was the party girl. Reed needed one of Lori’s crew on his side and he’d be where he wanted to be. He paused, wondering exactly what his goal was again.
There were many things to enjoy on a cruise ship. Sitting poolside with a fruity drink that’s sporting an umbrella before noon was only one of them.
Buried in a sea of bodies on the main pool deck with the sea breeze was better than being huddled in the exclusive pool on the Haven’s deck. Seemed as if more eyes were watching the four of them in their private “haven” than on the most populated area of the ship. It was probably all in her mind. Her concern for the women she’d taken under her wing on this trip was becoming a moving force in her brain. One she couldn’t ignore.
The ladies pulled up four lounge chairs, grabbed a few towels, and settled in.
“What did you think of Rogelio last night?” Avery asked after they’d lathered up with suntan lotion.
“The sexy Spaniard who didn’t speak a lick of English?” Shannon asked.
Avery smirked. “Yeah, that one.”
“He doesn’t speak English,” Shannon said as if that answered Avery’s question.
“That man drips with charisma,” Trina said from the sidelines.
Lori turned toward the woman she assumed was sexually dormant, surprised that she’d noticed Rogelio’s sex appeal.
“And he was into you last night,” said Trina.
“He doesn’t speak English!” Shannon didn’t want to let the language barrier go.
“It’s a cruise,” Trina reminded Shannon. “What happens in the bedroom doesn’t need words.”
“I’m starting to really like you,” Avery told Trina.
The two women clicked their umbrella-sporting drinks together.
“And what’s with you and Reed?” Avery asked Lori.
“The gambler?” Lori asked as if that defined him. Sexy man of chance . . . she dreamt of him the night before and woke frustrated.
“The hot guy from the casino, the nightclub, and the gym this morning,” Trina said.
She rested her sunglasses over her eyes and lay back. “Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing last night.”
“You see something in everything, Avery,” Lori reminded her.
“She has a point, Avery,” Trina agreed.
“That man is into you,” Avery said.
Lori tilted her sunglasses. “He snagged my room number from the bar bill.”
All three sets of eyes zeroed in on her.
After explaining what she meant, Lori turned her attention to the people bobbing in the pool. “Besides, I’m here for you three this week.”
After several quiet seconds, she turned to find all three of them staring.
“Last time I looked,” Shannon started, “we’re all adults. And while you may have brought us together, that doesn’t mean we’re your charges. You’re not Aunt Lori.”
“You’re not even our lawyer on this trip,” Trina said.
“I’m always your lawyer.” Lori whispered the last word and looked around as if she’d said a dirty word.
Avery pointed to her chest. “I’m not paying you five hundred dollars an hour this week . . . what about you, Trina?”
“Nope . . . you, Shannon?”
“My bill has been paid.”
Lori rolled her eyes.
“Guess that means you’re just one of the First Wives. No more or less than any of us.” To Avery, everything was that simple. Lori wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad. Was she right?
“We are here on behalf of Alliance. And I’m the ambassador. You’re my priority, not a hard-bodied, charming gambler.”
“Oh, please. When was the last time you got laid?” Avery asked.
A woman in a chair in front of them responded by taking her child by the hand and leading her away with a dirty look.
“I manage,” Lori said quietly.
“Nice diversion, Counselor,” Shannon said.
“I’m fine.”
Lori’s terse response halted the conversation for a few moments.
“I tell you what,” Avery broke the quiet.
Lori was almost afraid to ask. “What?”
“If two out of the three of us hook up, then you let your hair down.”
Lori lifted a hand to her ponytail, her eyes landing on Trina. Yeah, Trina wasn’t looking at her. Then there was Shannon. The chances of her letting loose were slim . . . and Avery? Yeah, Avery was a sure thing for hooking up. The woman was beyond ready. If two out of the three of them did manage to find some male companionship, then Lori’s idea for this weeklong trip would have been worth the effort.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
“I’m not a gambler, but I’ll take that bet.”
“I haven’t been pressured into going on a date by a woman since high school,” Shannon said.
Trina raised her hand. “College, and he was French.”
Avery giggled. “The one language you don’t speak.”
“There are a lot of languages I don’t speak.”
The women spoke of college and friendships as they soaked up the sun while Lori closed her eyes.
“Hola, ladies.”
Miguel and Rogelio from the dance club stood shirtless and smiling.
“Hello, boys.” Avery flirted without effort. She scooted her legs off her lounge chair. “Sit.” She patted the space next to her.
Rogelio took her offered spot, his eyes sweeping her skimpy bikini.
“We hoped to see you again,” Miguel said, sitting on the edge of Trina’s lounger.
Trina was smiling. Reserved, but smiling.
Miguel said something to Avery in his thick Spanish accent as he lifted her hand, kissing the back of it.
Shannon leaned over and whispered. “I hope you weren’t counting on winning your bet.”
Rogelio spouted off in Spanish, and Miguel spoke beside him as if finishing his sentences. “Do you think we can win the competition?”
“Really, both of you?” Trina asked Miguel.
“What?” Lori asked, missing some key words in the conversation.
“They’re entering the Mr. Epic contest,” Trina translated.
“What’s that?” Shannon asked.
“A male body pageant. They want us to join them,” Trina said.
“Join? As in parade onstage?” Lori saw that as a great way to be noticed when they were trying hard to blend.
Trina shook her head.
“I’ll be the oil girl,” Avery offered.
Miguel started laughing, and translated for Rogelio.
Rogelio leaned over Avery, rested a hand on her leg. There was heat between their eyes.
Oh, yeah . . . someone was getting lucky be
fore dinner.
“Sounds like fun,” Lori said.
Trina sat forward, grabbed her wrap. “What the hell. It’s like Vegas, right? What happens here stays here.”
“That’s right,” Shannon encouraged her.
“Let’s go, Miguel. Lead me to the oil.”
Miguel flashed a smile. “Would you like to join us?”
Lori didn’t get a chance to respond.
“Go, six is a crowd,” Shannon told him.
Trina and Avery wasted little time following Spanish Playboy Number One, and Spanish Playboy Number Two to the stage.
“Oh, boy,” Lori sighed.
“That’s what we’re here for, right? Reconnect with life?”
“It is,” Lori said.
“So what are you worried about?”
Lori lifted her sunglasses from her eyes. “I’m paid to worry.”
“Good thing you can afford Botox, then. You’re gonna need it.”
She rolled her eyes.
One of the rotating cocktail waiters covered them in shade. “Can I get you something?”
Shannon answered for both of them, “How about two of your specials.”
“Good choice.”
Lori watched him as he walked away. “My liver is going to need a good detox.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
Ten minutes later, sipping something that tasted of coconut and rum, Lori changed the conversation. “What’s your story?”
Shannon peeked from behind her glasses.
“You of all people know my story.”
“No, not the marriage . . . your life after the marriage? Has there been anyone? Anything?” It had been close to two years since Shannon and Paul had separated. A year and a half since their divorce. Her high profile world was littered with the paparazzi for months after their split.
“It’s easy.”
“Oh?”
Shannon sipped her drink and shrugged. “I fell in love with him.”
Lori’s smile fell with the last hope that she was wrong. She’d guessed that Shannon had fallen hard. So had Sam, but they never asked.
“I’m sorry.”
Shannon set her drink down, looked beyond those in the pool. “Not your fault. You cautioned me, Sam and Eliza pointed out Paul’s past. I should have been more guarded.”
There was a time when Lori and Sam hoped to hear that the first couple of California was going to stick the marriage out. Only like clockwork, the week their contract was up, Paul showed up in Lori’s office and asked to sign the papers to end his in-name-only marriage.
Fool Me Once (First Wives Series Book 1) Page 7