“Gabriela, wait.” Sebastian reached out and touched her arm. His hand felt warm there. “Where are you going?”
“Let her go,” Felicia demanded. “We’ll have more fun without her.”
She and Liv cackled with laughter then. Gabriela thought she was long done with getting kicked around by them, but part of her felt like that awkward fourteen-year-old again.
Gabriela put down her drink and snatched her clipboard off the bar. She walked to Lola, even as behind her, Felicia and Liv closed the gap, pinning Sebastian against the bar. Good, she thought. Less for her to have to deal with.
Lola saw her coming and a small frown line appeared between her eyebrows. “What’s wrong?” she asked, pulling her attention away from her groom-to-be.
“Nothing,” Gabriela said. “But, uh, maybe we should go? We’ve got activities.” Gabriela thumped the sheet on her clipboard.
“No! Don’t go,” Marco cried, throwing his arms around his bride in an exaggerated effort to keep her in place. “You just got here!”
“Yes, but it’s your bachelor party. We’re crashing it,” Lola pointed out.
“I want you to crash it.” Marco pulled her closer and nuzzled her neck. She giggled. “Stay longer!”
“But don’t you need a guys’ night?” Gabriela asked, hopeful. “It’s tradition, right?”
“I don’t care about tradition,” Marco said. “I want to be with my bride.” He hugged her closer and Gabriela’s heart sank. Lola sent her a minuscule shrug that said, what can I do?
“What the groom wants, the groom gets,” Sebastian said, appearing beside Gabriela.
Was he going to follow her around this party? In high school, she’d have to set herself on fire to get his attention, and now she couldn’t get rid of him. What the hell? She hugged the clipboard closer to her chest and considered her escape, eyes darting to the two exits. Could she conceivably hide in the bathroom? God, that would be prom all over again. She cringed.
“Why not ditch the clipboard?” Sebastian asked, tapping the silver clip at the top. “You taking attendance? Keeping track of tequila shots?”
“Just trying to keep organized,” Gabriela said. “How else am I going to keep the party on schedule?”
“There’s a schedule?” Sebastian laughed.
“There is a schedule and this little excursion is ruining it.” She hugged the clipboard tighter, hoping it would act as a shield against Sebastian’s knowing eyes.
“I’d say if your party had a schedule then it was already ruined.” Sebastian shook his head. “Good thing you guys came to us or this bachelorette party would be DOA.”
“Excuse me?” Anger pulsed in her veins. Was he implying she couldn’t throw a party? That she wasn’t any fun? “We were having plenty of fun without you.”
“Not as much fun as you’d have with us. Anyway, we’re staying as long as the bride and groom want us to stay. It’s their weekend, right?” Sebastian flicked a look toward the groom, who had his arm draped around Lola’s shoulders. The two looked blissfully happy, and that was what this weekend was all about.
Suddenly the lights in the bar went dark and Gabriela heard a loud shriek from Felicia. What was happening? The bartender turned up a thumping bass and, before Gabriela could blink, two men and a woman suddenly appeared: all wearing hardly any clothes. Each of them jumped on top of a separate table and began dancing.
What on earth? Who organized this? Then, in a split second, as Gabriela glanced at Sebastian with a big grin on his face, she immediately knew. This was his doing.
CHAPTER FOUR
WELL, THIS IS A SURPRISE, Sebastian thought as he watched the two men and one woman dance together on top of three conjoined tables. Granted, he could do without the oiled-up men, but, hey, this technically wasn’t his party. He glanced over and saw the other men from the bachelor party looking stunned. He doubted Bill had ever been to a party like this in his life. Or, hell, even a strip club. He didn’t seem the adventurous type.
“That’s it, put on a show!” cried Felicia as one of the men unbuttoned his shirt. In that moment he knew she’d done this. It had Felicia written all over it: from the excessive spray tans to the sparkling Speedos the men wore. Sebastian threw back his head and laughed as Felicia jumped up on the table next to the tall, blond stripper and began dancing right next to him. He’d considered bringing in strippers, but the cruise line had balked, and he hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for Marco. Felicia, however, seemed to have somehow gotten around the rules—per usual.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Gabriela demanded at his shoulder. “Get rid of these people right now before we get in trouble—”
“Me? Why do you think I hired them?” Sebastian studied her. He still absolutely could not get over how gorgeous she’d become. How on earth had he missed this beauty in high school? She had the most adorable heart-shaped face and warm brown eyes. Had she always had such amazing skin? he wondered. Like toasted caramel. He had the sudden urge to run his fingers down the nape of her exposed neck. Find out if it was as soft as it looked.
“Of course you brought them here. I want you to get rid of them.”
“Look, if I had hired them, they wouldn’t be keeping their swimsuits on,” he said, nodding at the dancers. “And there’d be more women up there. Not that I have an issue with men—everyone has their thing—but my thing is not men. Also, I’m not the one groping them right now.”
He flicked a finger toward the dancers and Gabriela’s eyes widened in new understanding as she saw Felicia shimmying next to one of the shirtless men.
Gabriela let out an exhausting sounding sigh. “Felicia.”
“Exactly.” Sebastian glanced at Gabriela’s nearly empty glass. “Want another?”
“I want these strippers out of here. The cruise ship has rules.” Gabriela gripped her clipboard tighter. She was clearly still a person who hated rule breakers.
He still couldn’t believe this was Gabriela Cruz. She’d been the one at parties who was always telling them to stop drinking so much, to keep the music down. She’d been an awkward braces-wearing girl from what he remembered. Smart, too, but not on his radar in terms of a girl he wanted to date. Did that make him a bad person? No, he decided. Just shortsighted. Goodness but she had an amazing ass. When had that appeared? Had it been there all along? He barely remembered Gabriela Cruz, but if she’d looked like this in high school, he would’ve made it his business to remember.
Of course, he’d just gone and insulted her clipboard. He’d have to work doubly hard now.
But if he thought about it, Gabriela was exactly the kind of woman he’d want to settle down with: whip-smart, opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind. Not that he’d really pursue anything this trip. He did bet Marco he’d be celibate.
He glanced at Gabriela.
“I don’t think the bartender cares about the rules,” Sebastian said, nodding toward the man behind the bar who was clapping and enjoying himself. Sebastian noticed, too, that the busboys had closed the bar doors and had most likely placed a private party sign outside. Felicia had paid them all off, clearly.
“I care about the rules.”
“I seem to remember that,” Sebastian said.
“Really?” Gabriela’s dark eyes flashed with doubt. God, the flush of those perfect cheeks. He almost wanted to keep pushing her buttons.
“How could I forget you yelling at me to put pants on when we were skinny dipping in Felicia’s pool?”
“That wasn’t Felicia’s pool. That was her neighbor’s pool, and I was trying to make sure nobody got arrested.” Gabriela lifted her chin in defiance.
“We weren’t arrested.”
“Because I got us out of there before the neighbors got home!” Gabriela glared at him. Felicia was now grinding against the blond dancer on top of the table. Gabriela glanced over
and groaned. “I’ve got to stop this before somebody gets hurt.”
“Felicia has a pretty solid hold on the dancer, so it might be too late.” Sebastian sipped his drink and watched as Gabriela ignored him and marched up to the dancers balancing precariously on the tops of the tables.
“Felicia!” she called, clapping her hands like a middle school gym teacher. “Come on. Get down.”
Felicia ignored her, putting her hands on the man’s now-bare shoulders. He grabbed her lower back and the two of them put the dirty in dirty dancing. Sebastian had to bark a laugh. Felicia might not be the kindest woman but the girl knew how to party.
“Seriously, guys! Come on. We’re going to get kicked out.”
“Of the cruise ship?” Liv said doubtfully. “Come on. Let them dance.”
The other male dancer and the female dancer then jumped down off the table and moved over to the bride and groom. Lola’s eyes grew wide as the male dancer, whose ample chest muscles shone with a thick layer of oil, took her hand and led her around in a little waltz. The female dancer, tall and thin with strawberry-blond hair, grabbed Marco’s hand and all four of them danced together in a little circle.
Gabriela noticed the couple seemed to be having a good time, but soon enough, as the music switched to a new song, one with a slower beat, the groom and bride disengaged from the dancers and found each other once more.
That was true love, Sebastian thought. Everyone in the room could tell the couple only had eyes for one another. That’s what I want. The desire rose up in him, surprisingly strong. That’s exactly what’s missing from my life. A partner I can truly share it with. Or, hell, a woman who’d hold more than a five-minute conversation with me.
He glanced at Gabriela, who was still trying in vain to get Felicia off that table. Hell, that was not happening now that Felicia had found her spotlight. If it was one thing she hated, it was sharing attention.
Gabriela had abandoned her vodka soda on the bar, Sebastian noticed. Well, the least he could do was take it to her. Judging by the scene unfolding before them, she’d need a stiff drink and soon.
“Felicia! Get down.” Gabriela stomped her foot on the carpeted floor of the bar. Felicia was now making out with the dancer in full view of everyone. Nice touch.
“Seriously, Gab. Come on. Ignore them. Have this drink.” Sebastian tried to hand her the vodka soda she’d abandoned.
“I’m not going to let this party get so far out of hand,” she snapped.
“You mean, you’re not going to let people have fun?” Sebastian said dryly.
“Fun isn’t grinding on strangers on a tabletop.” Gabriela’s dark eyes were fire and ice all at once. He wondered if she were as passionate in the bedroom as she was about enforcing party rules. She’d probably make a hell of a dominatrix.
“It isn’t?”
“You’re impossible,” Gabriela cried, looking like she was about to pull her hair out. Sebastian wondered what her thick hair would feel like in his hands.
“And you haven’t had enough to drink.” He rattled her glass and the ice cubes clinked together.
Gabriela glanced at the drink. “Fine,” she growled and swiped it out of his hand, sloshing a bit onto the carpet. She downed it in one big gulp and slammed the glass on the countertop, unfazed.
Holy hell that was sexy.
When did she learn to drink like that? And, look, the drink wasn’t affecting her at all. Could she actually keep up with him?
He glanced up and noticed that Felicia was sticking her hands down the front of the dancer’s Speedo.
Whoa. Okay, that was off bounds. Sebastian had to admit it was getting a little hot. Probably too hot for this audience. Bill, for one, was about to have an aneurysm. His eyes were so wide they seemed about to pop out of his head. Sebastian didn’t know if he disapproved of Felicia’s antics or very much approved of her short skirt. Veronica was staring, transfixed. The entire bar swayed slightly as the ocean liner cruised through the Atlantic, the low lights flickering across Felicia’s face. Her eyes were already bloodshot. Too much tequila, Sebastian guessed.
She got even more aggressive with the dancer and Sebastian saw Lola notice the commotion from across the way and frown. Okay, maybe Gabriela was right. Maybe Felicia was hijacking the party. He couldn’t have the bride upset, after all.
“Hey, Felicia,” Sebastian called. “You might want to tone it down. Take him to your room if that’s what you want to do, but we don’t all need to see it.”
Felicia broke free of her embrace with the dancer for a second. “Why? Jealous?”
“Hardly. But you’re making a scene.” Even the dancer seemed to agree, looking like a deer caught in headlights...or really, being caught with Felicia’s hand down his underwear.
He glanced around the bar and everyone was looking at them, everyone except Gabriela, who had her nose in her glass at the bar, her back to Felicia.
“Rich, coming from you,” Felicia snarled, but she released the dancer from her groping. “There? Happy now? I’ll keep my hands up where you can see them.”
“Look, Felicia, just stop before you get into real trouble. This is Lola and Marco’s party, okay?”
“I’m not ruining any-sthing,” Felicia slurred, swaying uncertainly on her feet. “You’re ruining it.”
“Ah, the whole ‘I know you are, but what am I’ defense. Okay, got me.” Sebastian sighed. He hated dealing with women who’d had too much to drink, but it was a scene replayed a little too often lately, he thought. “Let’s go, though. Come on down off that table before you fall down.” He offered a steadying hand.
“I’m not going to fall. You’re going to fall.” Felicia stumbled a little as she grabbed his hand and wobbled onto the chair and then the floor. But suddenly Felicia was gripping him. She felt like an octopus, and the more Sebastian tried to get away, the tighter she held him. He didn’t want to throw the woman off him, but being gentle was becoming harder and harder as she wrapped her bony arms around him. The woman smelled like tequila and stale perfume. She grabbed his face and planted a huge kiss on him, right there in front of the entire party. He tasted margaritas and cigarettes as she unceremoniously thrust her tongue into his mouth. He almost gagged as he pushed her away.
That’s when Sebastian glanced up to find Gabriela watching, disapproval stamped all over her face. And something more...disappointment?
CHAPTER FIVE
WELL, OF COURSE Sebastian was making out with Felicia in the middle of Lola’s bachelorette party. This night was going from awful to unbearable. It was day one of the cruise and this was where they’d landed. She felt like she was right back in high school again, the “cool” kids doing their own thing, Gabriela forced to watch.
Felicia grabbed Sebastian by the hand and began dancing with him.
“Hey, you okay?” Lola was by her side, light blue eyes concerned as she held her elbow softly. Gabriela shimmied up on a bar stool, and Lola followed.
“What? Me? Fine.” She could care less about who Sebastian lip-locked or danced with, right?
The music swelled again with some upbeat song and Felicia gyrated in front of Sebastian, making sure he focused on her hips. Why did Felicia always have to hog the spotlight? Why did she always have to make everything about her? It wasn’t fair to anyone else here, most of all Lola.
Lola glanced at Gabriela a bit too long. “Hey, I know you didn’t want her to get involved with Sebastian, but really, it’s no big deal if they... I mean, I don’t care... She’s wild and single and...free. It’s the time to have fun, you know? Before things change...” Lola let her sentence trail off as they watched Felicia twerk up against Sebastian. She studied her friend. “But it really does bother you, doesn’t it?”
Gabriela shook her head yet somehow she knew it did. But she didn’t want to think more about it. She wasn’t that lovelorn girl who drew hea
rts around Sebastian’s name on her notebook.
“You know, if you wanted to go jump on that fine man, I wouldn’t stop you.”
“You know I’d never do that... Not on your wedding weekend.” Gabriela grimaced. “I don’t like her making a scene. I think she’s stealing the spotlight from you.”
“I’m fine, though. Really. I don’t mind sharing the spotlight.” That much was true. Lola was the most generous person on the planet. She’d give you the sweater off her back if you needed it. Lola gave her friend a warm side-hug. “It’s okay. I know you want to look after me, but I’m fine. I am!” She looked over at Marco, a slight frown creasing her brow. “You guys should have the time of your life. We’re only young once. We only get one shot. Better use it before you settle down. Have all that fun, all that excitement.”
Gabriela took a sip of her vodka soda.
“You don’t really miss dating, do you?”
Lola hesitated then shrugged. She suddenly seemed a bit down.
“Are you okay?” Gabriela had known her friend forever. She knew her better than anyone.
“I think I’m getting a headache, is all. Maybe too much tequila.” Lola shook her glass, now filled only with ice. Sebastian joined them then, a glisten of sweat on his brow. Somehow it only made the man look sexier, dammit. So did the flush of exertion.
“How did you manage to escape Felicia?” Lola teased Sebastian.
“I tossed some red meat doused in body spray out on the balcony and then ran.”
Gabriela couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Really? Seemed like you two were having quite a reunion. With your faces,” Gabriela said dryly as she put her glass down on the bar.
“That was assault, pure and simple. I did not consent to that.” The look of distaste that came across his features made the coil in Gabriela’s stomach relax a bit.
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