“I’m not.” Well, I was half, but this guy didn’t need all those details. “I just count in Italian when I’m nervous.”
He didn’t say anything to that, but I felt his eyes on me. I tried to ignore him and leaned my head back again, counting, silently this time.
Then he broke the silence. “You should put some sunscreen on. You’re on your way to resembling a cooked lobster.”
I glanced at my arms and legs. It was hard to tell how red they were out in the sun, but they were beginning to sting a bit.
“I must have dozed off,” I said as I stood up, trying to get a better look at my neighbor without seeming too conspicuous. Unfortunately, the sun was against that happening, so I just smiled. I didn’t see another person with him, and decided she or he must be inside.
“Excuse me,” I said and hurried inside to get a better look at my stinging skin.
I shrugged out of my dress and hung it up. I opened my suitcase and found a comfortable pair of white, lightweight palazzo pants and a white tank top. Oh my God, was everything I’d brought white or cream? I searched through the bag, hung some things in the closet, realizing that yes, most everything was white. It was supposed to be my honeymoon, after all, and I’d wanted everyone to know it. I huffed out a sigh of relief when I spied a pair of denim shorts. I quickly pulled them on along with the white tank top. Then I took off toward the main hotel for some suntan lotion and aloe gel and prayed I’d discover a little boutique shop to find something other than white to wear.
After finding several tropical-looking things in the small shop, along with a little black dress that had cost more than rent on my apartment that I no longer had, I hurried back to my bungalow, now starving since I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday during the dinner at the reception. Of which, I had hardly eaten anything at all, considering I’d been too excited to eat.
After a quick shower, I smoothed a heavy dose of aloe gel on over my burned limbs and then slipped into a pink and green flowery sundress I’d found in the tiny, overpriced store. It was a bit too tight and hugged my ass a little more than I would have liked, but hey, I wasn’t here to impress anyone. I didn’t know where I’d get the money to pay for everything I’d just purchased, but I decided not to think about it until I returned home. Then my phone buzzed with a text message. Thank God, for international roaming, which we’d had the sense to activate a few days ago in anticipation of needing some sort of communication with friends and relatives while we were away. I was thankful it worked, though, honestly, I didn’t want to converse with anyone. I picked up my phone and read the message from Oliver.
Grace, so glad you arrived safe and sound. Don’t worry about anything here. I’ve explained everything to your mother. She’s sad for you, but understands.
I replied back. What about the guests?
Don’t worry, I didn’t tell them everything. Just that you had a change of heart. I did relay my thoughts about Craig to his parents and made sure they knew just what kind of son they raised.
Now he had my interests piqued. What did they do?
They made him apologize to everyone after his father and I had words with him. Words I can’t repeat here in this message.
I smiled with a sigh of relief and texted him back. Oliver, you’re the best dad anyone could ever hope to have. Thank you. I love you dearly. I was just about to put down the phone when another text came through.
P.S. Use your credit card for anything you need. Craig’s parents feel horrible about what happened and wanted me to tell you they will pay for your entire trip and any expenses you incur. Have fun, baby girl. Love you.
I put the phone in the pocket of my dress and strolled to the restaurant with a newfound respect for Craig’s parents. The dining room was filled with people. The maître d’ led me to a small table against the wall. I was glad. The last thing I wanted was to be out in the center of the room, sitting at a table alone. I glanced around at all the happy-looking couples around me, holding hands, laughing with each other. That lonely feeling crept back up my spine, and I was beginning to think that maybe I’d made a mistake by not bringing Kristen like Oliver had suggested.
It was buffet-style dining. I made my way around the beautiful array of fish, salads, and meats, placing small amounts of as many things as I could fit on the plate without looking too much like a starving piglet.
“You just arrive today?”
I briefly glanced up at the man to my right then back down at the display of assorted salads and fish. My insides melted at the brief but delectable vision of eye candy standing so close to me. I glanced around to see whom he’d been speaking to then realized it was me. I wasn’t sure who he was, but I answered politely, “Yes.”
“I figured as much, considering the way you reacted when that barracuda jumped out of the water so close to your deck.”
Ah, must be my neighbor. I stole another glance, having not seen his face earlier. To my surprise, he smiled at me. A delicious smile, I might add. If I hadn’t just been dumped—correction, I’d dumped Craig—I’d find him charming…sexy even. But I was technically married. Married to a creep, sure, but still married. At least until I could get said marriage annulled. And really, it was too soon after what had just happened to be having thoughts about another man. Wasn’t it?
Especially one who wore a T-shirt with a Death Cab for Cutie logo that hugged his torso, showing off the curves of every muscle.
I struggled with a cherry tomato that insisted on slipping from the large serving fork they’d supplied. I decided against the tomato and moved on to the cheeses. My stomach growled uncontrollably, and I placed my hand over it, a bit embarrassed at how loud it was. When I looked at him, he was grinning at me. Averting my eyes, I glanced downward and noticed his feet in flip-flop sandals. He even had sexy toes.
I came upon the dessert section and eyed a delicious-looking dish filled with some sort of chocolate concoction that looked sinful. The sign above it read: Hot Fudge Pudding Cake. Chocolate being a weakness, anything having to do with hot fudge couldn’t be passed up. I stood, staring at it. I only had two hands, and my main plate was held with one of them. I scooped up a nice-sized portion and placed it on my plate next to the salad, taking up the one and only spot left, leaving no room for anything else nutritional.
“This chocolate stuff is to die for. I have a hard time passing it up, too,” he said as he also scooped some onto a separate dish, somehow managing to hold it in the same hand as the other plate. Maybe he was a waiter.
“Is this your first time here in Bora Bora?” he asked, intent on having a conversation with me. I glanced around, looking for a woman who might be with him, but I didn’t see anyone who wasn’t already with someone. His messy, dark hair fell over his forehead and rested at the top of his ears in a sexy, just got laid tuft. The glowing tan on his face, and the dark stubble on his chin and cheeks suggested that he’d been here a few days, unless he always kept it trimmed that length. His face had a nice sun-kissed glow to it. Damn, he was hot. I’d missed that this afternoon with the sun glowing behind his head, shadowing my view. I again searched the room for the equally tanned goddess who must be vacationing with him.
“Yes. And it’s so much more beautiful than the brochure,” I finally supplied. Small talk with strange, gorgeous men wasn’t something I had much experience with.
“You should take a hike up into the mountains. If you and your companion or companions enjoy hiking, that is. The view from the top of that ridge is quite remarkable.”
“Oh. I’m not here with anyone.” In my head, I thought that statement would make me sound experienced and independent. Worldly even. But after blurting it out, I only felt foolish.
His eyebrows rose slightly, then the corner of his mouth twitched up, revealing a deep, lickable dimple, as he scooped several pieces of raw fish onto his plate.
“Yellowtail?” he asked, holding a couple of pieces of the fish out on a spatula, gesturing toward me.
I looked down at my full plate. “Um…”
“Ah. Yeah. I see.” He smiled at my overstuffed plate and put four pieces of the fish onto his. “Not to be nosy, but what brings a beautiful woman to a vacation resort in Bora Bora alone?”
He called me beautiful. The thick texture of those words reverberated deep within me—smooth, like whipped cream.
“Well…” I swallowed. The idea of explaining my solo travels to a stranger seemed rather embarrassing. I chuckled slightly to try and make my reason for being there alone sound humorous instead of pitiful. “I’m supposed…” Then I stopped. Not sure what to say. I hadn’t thought about what to say when asked—if asked. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was supposed to be on my honeymoon but had left my husband at home after finding said groom humping my maid of honor during the wedding reception. “I’m on vacation,” I settled with and decided it sounded silly. Of course, I was on vacation. Wasn’t everyone who came here on vacation?
“How about you?” I added quickly before he asked me to elaborate on why I was there alone. “Is this your first time here?” I boldly asked.
“Third.” He smiled again, giving me that delicious smile with those bright teeth, full, luscious lips and sinful dimple. I thought how lucky his girlfriend—wife?—was to have come to Bora Bora three times with him. “I’m here for research. I’m a marine biologist.”
He was here for work? That explained the tan. So much for the waiter I’d originally pegged him as.
“Wow, it must be nice to travel around the world, studying life in different parts of the ocean? I bet…” I quickly glanced at his left hand and noticed there was no ring. “Your girlfriend must love these trips.”
“No girlfriend.” I tried not to grin, but I knew my lips twitched up, revealing my thoughts. “And it has its perks,” he continued. “I mostly stay at home, but the particular jellyfish I’m studying doesn’t have a habitat near where I live, which requires me to travel.”
Both of our plates were full, and I needed to go sit down and eat some of this food before I passed out from malnourishment. The way my stomach rumbled, I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to do it in any sort of delicate way, so the quicker I returned to my seat and got away from this gorgeous man, the better. “I guess we’re at the end. Nice talking to you.” I gave him a smile and turned toward my table.
“Listen, it’s not often I find a beautiful woman on her own at a place like this, and I hate to eat alone,” he said. “Do you mind if I join you?”
There he went, calling me beautiful again. So much for making a quick getaway. “Um…” I hesitated.
“How else will I share this yellowtail with you?”
I laughed. “Okay. I suppose that would be nice.”
“Great. I’ll follow you.” He waved his hand out in front of him, giving me the lead. I felt his eyes on my ass the entire way across the room, and I wished I’d worn something other than this short, snug sundress.
“My name is Leo, by the way,” he said as he pulled out the chair for me to sit down on.
“Leo?”
He grinned. “Like the lion.”
When I just stood there giving him a puzzled look, he added, “You know, the zodiac sign?”
“Oh. Yes. Leo the lion. I’m Gr-Grace,” I stuttered, still trying to process the beautiful woman phrase, as it currently stuck to the front lobes of my brain. “Grace Can…um, nice to meet you.” I’d been using Craig’s last name on this trip since the hotel room was in the name of Canavan and I’d gotten sort of used to it, even though I secretly cringed every time someone called me “Mrs. Canavan.” So I decided to just leave last names out of it for now. Leo smiled and walked around the table to sit opposite me.
After sitting, no sooner had I taken my first bite than the dreaded follow-up question came—all too quickly, and just as I had a forkful of lettuce in my mouth.
“So, Grace, is this your first time vacationing alone?”
What did I tell him? Well, the truth is always a good place to start, Grace. But did I want people knowing I’d married a cad who couldn’t keep his wad in his pants longer than three hours after getting hitched? After all, I was sure there were plenty of women who traveled alone and didn’t need the company of a friend to make them feel secure.
Just then the waiter came to the table, holding two decanters, saving me from answering. One bottle held white wine, and the other, red. “May I interest you two in some of our house wine?”
“I’ll have the red.” Leo glanced at me. “It’s actually not bad for house wine.”
“And madame?” the waiter asked.
“Okay. Sure. I’ll try the red also. Thank you.”
We waited silently while the server poured the wine, then we each picked up our glasses, and Leo clinked his lightly against mine.
“Here’s to a new adventure, and hopefully, a very interesting week.” He smiled then sipped his wine, his eyes gazing into mine. I sort of melted a little. No one had looked at me that way. Ever. Not even Craig.
I sipped my wine and let the smooth texture coat my tongue. I’d been so hungry a few moments ago, but now, for some reason, food was the last thing on my mind. I started in on my salad, but halfway through, I realized how nervous this guy made me, and I decided I’d had enough of the salad and needed something that would provide a lot more satisfaction. I eyed the mound of chocolate on my plate. So what if this dress was too tight already. It was one size below what I normally wore. My butt wasn’t fat; it was just crammed into a too-small dress. I slid my fork into the chocolate pudding cake and scooped up a nice-sized portion, sliding the creamy mound of fudgy decadence over my lips and into my mouth. My taste buds exploded, and I moaned a bit too loudly.
I glanced up to see Leo smiling. So I swallowed the yummy, creamy dessert. “I may have a small weakness for chocolate fudge,” I admitted.
“Me, too.” He laughed, stabbing his fork into the creamy, dark stuff and sticking it into his mouth with a soft “mmmm” sound similar to mine.
Then his eyes turned from the sparkle they’d had to something more serious. “You never answered my question.”
“What question was that?”
“Is this your first time vacationing alone?”
I settled for the lie, considering I’d probably never see this guy again.
“I, uh…yes. I don’t usually vacation alone. My friend, the one who was supposed to come with me, suddenly came down with the flu.” I was always a quick thinker under pressure. “There was no point in wasting the non-refundable trip completely, so I came alone.” I only wished Craig would have been plagued with the flu, a real nasty strain with lots of vomiting and diarrhea. He deserved it.
“Do you always eat dessert first?”
I shrugged, looking at another forkful of chocolate. “Sometimes it’s just a necessary evil.” I glanced around the room. “Unfamiliar surroundings make me nervous. Though I doubt I’ll fit back into this dress again after tonight.”
“Do I make you nervous?” He grinned.
Shit. Why had I said that? “No. Not you,” I lied. “I mean…being here alone, among strangers. The whole situation. I didn’t account for the awkwardness of being on vacation without my friend when I decided to come by myself.”
“We can rectify the stranger part. And for the record, I don’t think that dress is too tight.” His lips twitched up in a sexy I-want-to-see-what’s-under-that-dress grin.
My cheeks heated, and I stuffed another bite of the chocolaty concoction into my mouth.
His eyebrows rose. “And chocolate is a great aphrodisiac.”
“It’s also a great comfort food for those of us in need.”
He took a sip of his wine. “I can help with that, too.” He had no idea how much I wanted to take him up on that offer. If Craig could have sex with my best friend, why couldn’t I with this hot, sexy stranger who’d just happened to show up here in paradise the same week I did? Simple: one, I didn’t screw around with strangers, and
two, I would only be doing it for revenge to get back at Craig.
“How long will you be here, in Bora Bora?” he asked.
“Eight days. But I’ll be moving to a beach cottage in a few.”
“Don’t care much for the barracudas?” He grinned.
“No. No. Nothing like that.” I laughed when I noticed the disbelieving smirk on his face. “Well, they are rather daunting. We took the bungalow over the water for Cra…Kristen’s benefit. My friend. We were originally splitting the time half over the water, the other half on the beach, but since she’s not here, I asked for a beach cottage as soon as they had one available. They said they’d have one in a few days and would move me then.”
“The water around here is pretty calm. You don’t have anything to worry about.” He picked up a slice of the yellowtail with his chopsticks and held it out for me.
I shook my head. “No, thanks. Somehow, the thought of that after the chocolate doesn’t sit well with me.”
It didn’t seem to bother him though as he shrugged and plopped the fish into his mouth. He took a sip of his wine, eyeing me over the rim of his glass.
“Have you ever been diving?”
“You mean like deep-sea diving?”
He nodded and popped another piece of raw fish into his mouth.
“No, I don’t think I’d like it much. I’m not crazy about confined spaces and that just sounds like a ticket for a panic attack.”
“You’d be surprised. Seeing what’s under the surface gives you an entirely different outlook with all the different colors and life forms that inhabit the ocean. It really is amazing. Of course, that’s coming from a marine biologist. What about snorkeling? You can stay on the surface for that.”
“I’ve never been. I know Cr…Kristen wanted to do that. I’m not so sure I’d like to embark on that adventure all on my own.”
“You can go with me.”
“Oh, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that.” As attractive as he was—and the idea of spending some time with him excited me a bit—I wasn’t so sure I wanted to don some silly apparatus and go floating around looking at fish, especially large fish that flew up in the air, scaring the shit out of me.
Broken Wide Open: A Stand-Alone Romance Page 3