The shock on Colin’s face was unmistakable. She didn’t smile at him as she slowly approached the table, but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off his, either. She couldn’t help wondering what he thought about her transformation. Immediately on the heels of that internal question came a reprimand for even caring. She’d done this for herself, not for him.
Colin knew the moment one of the others saw her. It was Tate Savard. Colin heard his sharp intake of breath and the stunned oath that followed. It drew the attention of everyone else at the table, which in turn brought all their focus to Claire. The silence lasted until she reached the table and moved to her chair. She finally dropped her gaze from Colin as she swung it in an arc to include everyone else.
“Good evening, everyone.”
As if her voice broke some kind of dam, two or three people started speaking at once. Colin saw Tate try to scoot his chair back, but it got caught up in the carpeting. Garret had no such difficulty. He was on his feet and at her side with remarkable speed. She shot him a startled look as he pulled out her chair for her. Then she schooled her features into a polite smile as she murmured her thanks. Garret seated her, then returned to his own chair. It was Cathy who finally drowned out the other chatter.
“My God, Claire, you don’t even look like yourself.”
There was genuine shock in her voice, but more as well. Colin heard a thread of jealousy and understood it completely. Cathy was attractive, but it wasn’t any sort of natural beauty. She worked at it, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Most women worked at it to some degree or another. Next to Claire, though, Cathy suddenly looked a little too artificial. Too much makeup, too much hairspray, and too much practiced grace. Claire was, as she had always been, a natural.
Claire thanked Cathy as if she’d paid her a compliment, then gave her attention to the waiter as he arrived to take her drink order. The guy was about to fall all over himself in his effort to serve her. His gaze dropped to the front of her dress, and Colin felt his jaw clench. Dinner finally got going, though it wasn’t anything close to what he’d come to think of as normal. Every man at the table, including himself, only had eyes for Claire. The women each reacted to the addition of a new rival in predictable ways. Cathy was clearly unhappy about it, though she was never anything but civil. Janine made a conscious effort to flatter Claire without going overboard since she was smart enough to know how unhappy Cathy was, and the two of them had struck up a friendship. Angela Hamilton simply accepted that Claire was the most attractive woman at the table. He worried how Claire would handle all the attention, but by the time dessert was served he’d realized that she was a lot stronger than he’d given her credit for.
She was fielding Cathy’s slightly acidic comments with ease while dividing her attention around the table with practiced skill. Colin eventually realized she was handling them all just like a teacher might take on a class of hyper children. His admiration for her went up another few notches. She still hadn’t said much to him, though she wasn’t ignoring him completely. He’d seen her gaze slide to him a few times, and he knew she was aware of him watching her. There wasn’t anything he could say to her in front of everyone else, though, and he wasn’t sure what he’d say if he had her alone.
She laid her napkin on the table, and Colin started to push his chair back. Garret got to his feet first. He moved around the table and pulled out her chair as she rose. Colin watched as Garret asked if he could walk her to her room. He saw her nod and felt something ugly rear its head inside him. When she rested her hand in the crook of Garret’s arm, Colin had to clench his jaw to keep from protesting. He watched them walk away and excused himself as soon as they were out of sight. He couldn’t take the thought of her alone with Garret. He knew what the other man was, what he was capable of and God help him, he knew he’d never be able to allow Claire to become another notch on his bedpost.
Claire was feeling recklessly euphoric. She’d done it. She’d made it all the way through dinner without panicking once. And now she was walking on Garret’s arm. She knew there wasn’t anything particularly special about that. Garret was very free with his attentions. But it wasn’t some other woman on his arm, tonight, it was her. Claire Abernathy. The stodgy, plain schoolmarm had snagged the attention of a man who never paid attention to any woman who wasn’t attractive. She supposed that was why she’d accepted his invitation to walk her to her room. She certainly had no intention of letting it go any further than that. For this moment, though, she wanted to revel in her triumph.
Garret took the long way to her room, leading her out onto the deck where they paused to take in the endless sky overhead. They talked about nothing in particular until they finally reached her room. There he paused and gave her that charming look she’d come to recognize over the past week and a half.
“I’d like to spend some time with you tomorrow. We’re docking. Maybe we could go ashore together?”
Claire shook her head. “I don’t think so, Garret.”
He frowned. “Why?”
She was as honest with him as she had always been with Colin. “I’m not your kind of woman. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve seen your habits, and I’m just not the one-night-stand sort.”
He looked a little startled for a moment, then that charming smile was back. “Okay, you got me. I like women. Beautiful women. And I like you. But I respect your standards. I’d still like to spend some time with you.” He held up his hand in the three fingered salute made famous by the Boy Scouts. “Nothing funny, I swear. Just friends.”
She arched a brow at him. She had serious doubts that Garret Palmer was capable of being “just friends” with any woman. Still, it would be nice to get off the ship for a few hours, and she’d feel more comfortable going ashore with someone she knew. At least Garret wouldn’t pretend to be something he wasn’t. That was more than she could say for Colin Montgomery. The thought of him almost made her frown, so she shoved it away as she finally nodded to Garret.
“Okay, we’ll go ashore together tomorrow, but just as friends. I mean it, Garret, nothing more.”
He nodded. “Friends.”
He offered her his hand, and she laughed as she took it. Before she realized what he intended he’d turned it and lifted it to his mouth. He kissed her knuckles lightly, then winked at her as he let go of her hand.
“I’ll drop by about nine in the morning. We can have breakfast before we go ashore.”
He turned around and walked away without waiting for her to agree. Just like the self-assured man he was, he simply assumed she wouldn’t argue. It almost made her want to stand him up, just to make a point. But she’d already accepted him for what he was. She could put up with it for a while. She turned and unlocked her door, then stepped into the room with a smile on her face.
Colin watched Garret go by from his vantage point in a linen closet. He’d ducked into it while Garret and Claire still had their backs to him. He hadn’t been able to hear what they were saying when they were standing in front of her door, but he’d seen Garret kiss her hand, and he’d heard what he said as he backed away from her. They were going to have breakfast, then go ashore together. He stepped out of the closet and stared at Claire’s closed door. He wanted to go to her and tell her to stay away from Garret. He wanted to do whatever it took to keep her from getting hurt by him. But he couldn’t. She’d want to know why he was so interested, and he couldn’t give her any kind of answer that would make any sense short of the truth, which was definitely not an option. He was left with only one choice. He was going to have to follow them around tomorrow, while trying to keep his own emotions from getting in the way of his job. It was the first time that had ever been a problem for him, and he didn’t like the feel of it at all.
Claire was pleasantly surprised to find that Garret truly appeared to make an effort to keep things strictly platonic between them. After that kiss to her hand the night before, she’d been afraid he was just taking her warning as a chal
lenge. But he was a perfect gentleman all day. He escorted her around the marketplace in the island village without once “accidentally” brushing against her. He helped her haggle over the price of a large colorful scarf she fell in love with at first sight, then paid for it before she could get her money out. He ignored every one of her attempts to refuse the gift, insisting that it was well worth the price if he got to see her wearing it. She finally accepted it with a promise that she’d wear it to dinner that night. It was large enough to be worn as a sarong style skirt or dress, which was why she’d bought it. The shopkeeper had arranged one on a mannequin and she instantly wanted to try wearing it the same way. She had a blue, knit top she’d bought the day before that perfectly matched the blue in the scarf’s flowered print. With a pair of sandals it would be a perfect casual outfit.
She picked up some souvenirs for her mother and sister, choosing to buy each of them a necklace made of tiny shells and scarves similar to the one she’d purchased. Hers had a thick fringe along the edge and the ones she bought for them didn’t. It was her way of making sure there would never be any doubt about which scarf belonged to whom. She knew both her mother and sister would love the blue floral print, but it was hers and she didn’t intend to let either of them try to lay claim to it. She bought a straw hat more for practical reasons than out of any appreciation for the style. The sun was very warm and the hat gave her just enough shade to keep her comfortable. She’d left her hair lose around her shoulders, though she was starting to wish she’d braided it or at least pulled it back into a pony tail. It was a little warm to have it down on her neck. Still, the day was lovely, and she hated to see it end.
Garret dropped her at her room with a promise that he’d be back to escort her down to dinner. She took a shower, then blow-dried her hair the way Tom had shown her so that the ends of her hair would curl under. She pulled the sides back and secured them with a clip, then spent half an hour working on fitting the scarf around her hips correctly. It took several tries to get it right, but she finally appraised herself in the mirror and was satisfied with her work. The scarf was a perfect match for the blue top. The fringe brushed her ankles and rose up her leg to her hip where the front folded over. She was just applying her lipstick when someone knocked on the door. She gave her hair a final smoothing stroke, then hurried to the door. She had a smile on her face and was about to praise Garret for being early when she realized it wasn’t Garret who’d knocked.
Colin had seen her admiring the scarf. He knew Garret had bought it for her. There was a part of him that hated it because he knew who’d bought it, but even that part couldn’t deny that it looked spectacular draped around her hips. The blue in the scarf and the top she wore brought out the blue in her eyes. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to enjoy the sight of her smile for long. It faded the moment her gaze met his.
“Colin. What are you going here?”
“I thought I’d walk you to dinner.”
He saw something in her gaze, but he couldn’t decipher its meaning. She shook her head. “Sorry, I’ve already told Garret I’d go down with him. He ought to be here any minute.”
So she’d been expecting Garret when she opened the door. That brilliant smile and those sparking blue eyes were for him. Colin had to clench his hand into a fist to keep from giving in to the irritation that thought spawned.
“No problem. I guess I’ll see you at dinner, then.”
She nodded, then practically closed the door in his face. He stared at it for a few seconds in impotent anger. Didn’t she see what Garret was? Surely she hadn’t decided that she wanted to be one of his bimbos. Claire was too smart for that. Or maybe she was just naïve enough to actually buy Garret’s act. Colin didn’t want to believe she was that gullible, but the fact was she was new to the kind of attention Garret was paying her. Who knew what all that flattery would do to her? He forced himself to walk away from her room. He couldn’t interfere. He couldn’t jeopardize the job.
Claire frowned at the closed door. It annoyed her that Colin evidently thought she wasn’t intelligent enough to know his sudden desire to escort her to dinner stemmed from jealousy over the attention Garret was showing her. She’d seen the way he looked at her when she accepted Garret’s invitation to walk her to her room the night before. She knew better than to imagine it had anything to do with her, with the woman she was beneath all the new glamour and polish. Colin had insisted he was interested in her before she so dramatically changed her appearance. He probably thought she’d had the makeover for him. And clearly he was still interested. He wouldn’t have come to her door if he wasn’t. She shook her head. He had to be an idiot to think she’d had a makeover as a way of letting him know she’d changed her mind about sharing his bed. Well, sharing her body at least, since he’d made it clear that he didn’t require a bed to get what he wanted from her. She felt her irritation with him grow. He really must think she was pathetic. She was determined to show him just how wrong he was.
Colin suffered through another dinner watching Claire settle more firmly into her new appearance. He followed her and Garret back to her room again and hid in the same closet until he saw Garret drop her off at her door. He watched them from a distance while they played shuffleboard, of all things, the next morning. He had to scramble to rent a boat when he learned that Garret had signed up to take out one of the jet skis. Watching Claire laugh and scream while Garret drove it across the waves had nearly driven him nuts. She was wearing a one-piece swimsuit that was hardly daring, but it showed off enough skin to make his mouth water. Seeing her arms wrapped around Garret’s waist was enough to make Colin want to take out his gun and shoot the other man on the spot.
That night at dinner, Claire’s skin had born the slightly red glow that was evidence of her day in the sun. Already her pale skin was starting to darken to a more healthy looking tan. Again, Garret walked her to her room and Colin followed them. Again, she said goodnight to him at her door without so much as a kiss. Colin felt a small measure of satisfaction as he considered just how frustrated Garret must be. He wasn’t accustomed to having to work to get a woman. He was used to having them just fall into his bed at the slightest hint of invitation. But Claire wasn’t that easy. Maybe he’d underestimated her again.
The next day Claire had breakfast alone. Not that she couldn’t have had company if she’d wanted it. Colin, watching from a discrete distance, had seen two different men trying to draw her attention. She ignored all their efforts as if she didn’t even see them. And maybe she didn’t. She wasn’t experienced at being pursued by men. It was possible that she didn’t even realize how much attention she was drawing. He watched her savor a bite of her fruit topped French toast, then finally gave in to his own desire to be near her. She glanced up at him when he stopped at her table.
“Mind if I join you?”
She looked like she was thinking about saying no, but she finally shrugged. “If you like.”
It wasn’t exactly an invitation, but it would do. He pulled out a chair and dropped into it. She didn’t say anything and neither did he. He was too busy focusing on her tongue as it darted out to lick at a tiny drop of strawberry syrup that clung to her lower lip. He noticed her go still and jerked his eyes up to hers. She was watching him warily.
“Did you just want to watch me eat?”
He cleared his throat and nodded toward her plate. “Sorry. I was just thinking that looks really good.” He motioned for one of the waiters and ordered the same thing she was having. He wasn’t hungry, but he’d look like an idiot if he didn’t follow through on his excuse for staring at her. Once the waiter was gone, he refocused on her without the intensity this time.
“I’m guessing that you’re finally enjoying your vacation more than you were a few days ago.”
She shrugged. “I decided to take your advice.”
He frowned. “Which part?”
“It’s too beautiful here to be unhappy. Besides which, I was achingly tired of it. So I dec
ided an attitude change was in order.”
“Along with some physical ones as well.”
She dropped her gaze from his. “Yes. I figured it would be easier to affect the one if I started with the other.”
“You certainly succeeded. I didn’t recognize you the first time I saw you. It took me a few seconds to realize who you were.”
“Like you said, a little makeup and some decent clothes can go a long way.”
He leaned forward in his seat. “I said you weren’t ugly, and I meant it.”
When her eyes met his he saw the mistrust in her gaze. “Did you?”
“You know I did, Claire.”
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know anything of the sort. I mean, you told me you were attracted to me. You went through the trouble of pointing out some of those attributes you so admired. It was the kind of thing a man would do for a woman he felt something for. But then you made it very clear that you don’t have those kinds of feelings about women. You don’t feel anything that goes beyond physical gratification, right?”
She was blushing, but she kept her eyes locked with his, and there was no way he could tell her she was wrong. She held his gaze for a few more seconds, then shrugged.
“I suppose I should thank you for making me face the truth about myself and about you. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling particularly charitable at the moment.”
He should never have approached her. There was nothing that he could say to make her trust him at this point. He shook his head.
“I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Why did you?”
“Because I couldn’t stop myself.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I see. That need for physical gratification must really be a strong one. Maybe you could find the woman you were with that night at the casino. I’m certain she’d be happy to accommodate you again.”
Her First Vacation Page 9