The dress had been pretty enough on the mannequin. On Mercedes… It made her incandescent. The stylist had done her hair in loose cascading waves that caressed her bare shoulders, just brushing the tops of the copper silk gathers that swooped off her shoulders. A matching copper-hued detail dipped at the waist, enhancing the curve of her hips as the rose chiffon skimmed her body, swooping in near her knees before flaring again. They’d even managed to find jewelry that was 100 percent Mercedes and still complemented the dress.
She toyed with the hammered copper necklace as she met his gaze. “Hi.”
He strode over, took her fingers from the metal, and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “There isn’t a princess—alive or dead—who can compare to you tonight. You look amazing.”
Her lips twitched as if hunting for a smile. “I feel like an impostor.”
He tucked her arm in the crook of his. “Well then it’s time you start listening to me and stop listening to that silly inner voice of yours. It obviously doesn’t know how incredible and beautiful you are.”
She laughed and let him lead her toward the doors. “It knows you’re a silver-tongued devil.”
“Call me that again and we’ll have to see just what I can do with this tongue later, because I’m pretty sure the last time I used it on you, you were screaming God’s name like you were at a revival service.”
“Blasphemer.” She sounded aghast but ducked her head to hide a smile as she said it.
“Oh please, Little Miss Sin-on-Legs, I have figured out at least one word you use a lot, and I’m pretty sure taking the Lord’s name in vain counts when you say it in Spanish, too.” She opened her mouth and he pressed a finger to her lips. “And, if you’re about to claim those exclamations were prayers in disguise, then I’m still going to argue that my tongue just encourages you to pray more.”
Laughing again, she nipped at his finger. “Okay, fine. You’re my new priest. Happy now?”
“Hell no. The celibacy thing totally doesn’t work for me, especially not with you around.”
“So what are you then?” she asked as she pointedly avoided looking at the people already milling around the club.
“I’m the guy who wants to make all your dreams come true.” He tipped up her chin and immediately got lost in her eyes. She brushed a tender kiss over his lips, breaking the spell, and he yearned to deepen it into something that wouldn’t raise her charity a single cent but would make him a very happy man. How was he ever going to get enough of her? Did he really even want to? He cleared his throat and tried to chase away the thought. Fund-raiser first, and then he’d deal with the future. “Which means for right now, my sole job is to help you get through the craziness of tonight.”
She bit her lip, fidgeting with her jewelry again until he captured her hands. “I’d like to know how exactly you plan to manage that, since I’m pretty sure I’m going to puke soon.”
He reached up and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, his fingers lingering until her eyes met his at last. “By making you have such a fantastic time you forget all about how much money people have. By showing you off so you know damn well when people look at you, it’s with admiration and appreciation. By letting you know I’m with you every step of the way. If you stumble, I’ll catch you.”
He steered her onto the dance floor and spun her into his arms. She stumbled as if she hadn’t expected the move. “And if you trip me?” She laughed. “What then?”
“Then I’ll fall first so you know you have a soft place to land.”
…
Dios. Could the man let her catch her breath for one stinking minute before throwing yet another declaration at her? She’d barely come to grips with the possibility he truly felt something and what it might mean beyond the next few hours, and here he was tossing out “a soft place to land.”
Sure, he likely had no idea how desperately she’d always wanted someone like that—someone who would always be there—or how much she feared he’d run screaming if he knew too much about her. Still, if he was in this for more than a fling on the cruise, she had to come clean about her life.
For now though, he promised to get her through tonight, and that was enough.
He twirled her across the dance floor so effortlessly she felt as if she was gliding. Pinks and purples from the lights swirled around her until she felt lost in some magical realm.
Damn it. She actually did feel like a princess, just as Lucas had promised. And for a few minutes, she managed to forget that princesses had greater duties than dancing and looking pretty.
Then the band stopped playing and Lucas winked at her. “Showtime.”
Had an hour passed already?
The happy thoughts fled from her body as she stared at the microphone on the stage. Lucas was waving her toward it and she moved, floating like she didn’t even have feet. This was the moment that was going to ruin everything. She had to talk to these people, beg them for money like a panhandler on a damn corner. Which would be fine, since she’d done it before, only…never in a room like this.
It didn’t matter that the dress she wore probably cost more than her first car or that she’d been pampered all day or that one of the richest men in the country had her back. She was just a girl from Queens who made it through her days on snark and caffeine. Sure, she could run bake sales and coat drives in the neighborhood and collect nickels and dimes for their projects, but this wasn’t pocket change.
And she wasn’t ready.
Two steps from the stage, she spun on one gleaming stiletto, ready to bolt, and came face-to-face with the man who challenged her at every turn. His fingers combed through her hair, arranging it over her shoulders. “No backing down. It’s time for you to make a leap of faith.”
Her lips twitched, thinking back to her last one. “That’s so much easier when there’s clear money just for taking the jump. There’s no guarantee here. I could get up on that stage and be an embarrassment. People would go right back dancing and it would all be for nothing.”
He nodded like he was agreeing with her. Great. Even Lucas thought she’d make a fool of herself if she went up there.
As she tried to dart past him, he caught her arm. “Sorry, I was just doing some math. Since you need something more than my promise it won’t happen that way, how does this sound? You go up there and do this, and I’ll round up my donation to ten times our original bet. That’s ten grand, guaranteed.”
She opened her mouth to retort that it was only five thousand more than he’d given already and then snapped it shut again. What was she turning into? Just a few days ago, she’d have done cartwheels on the captain’s table for five grand. Now she’d actually considered complaining?
Lucas Bellamy was rubbing off on her and suddenly she wasn’t so sure it was a good thing. Time for her to remember who Mercedes Vega was deep inside—the girl who didn’t back down from anyone. She looked around the room at the money displayed there. This was another game, just like the one she’d been playing the last few days. All she had to do was jump in. Just like Lucas had said.
“Okay, amado.” She strode up to the stage, lifting the skirt of her dress to step up.
And promptly caught her heel on the wires lining the edge of the wooden platform.
She barely had time to drop the chiffon, much less do anything else to break her fall. But she never hit the floor. Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upright again. Light twinkled in Lucas’s eyes when she looked at him. “One favor though? Try to keep the stumbling thing to a minimum when I can’t be right next to you.”
Mercedes chuckled the rest of the way to the mic. Then, her arms spread wide, she gave a deep bow. “Where I’m from, people believe in making an entrance. Of course, that wasn’t really the one I’d intended.”
Laughter erupted from those on the dance floor and the ones crowded to the railing on the second level. So many people watching her and listening. On the heels of her terror, a different thought screamed for at
tention. If all of them made a donation, even fifty dollars each, it would total a little more than Lucas had promised. Considering the cost of T-shirts on board, that kind of donation wasn’t out of reach by a long shot. Twenty thousand from a free cruise. Putting on a dog-and-pony show for that kind of money was well worth it.
She grinned at the crowd, refusing to screw this up. “Welcome to a little ‘Under the Sea’ on the high seas, everyone. The Little Mermaid is a tale of love and transformation with some whozits and whatzits thrown in for good measure.” She waved toward a nearby table with one of the prettier centerpieces. “Back home in Queens, there is a group of people known as Better Todays—teens and adults working together to transform their world by spreading hope and love throughout the community. They’ve come to realize that it’s hard to find a better tomorrow unless we start working on it today. It’s my sincere wish, before the night is out, you too will look into your hearts and decide it’s a message worth supporting. And that perhaps you’ll aid us in our work by pledging whatever amount you can manage and send those kids a little love and magic tonight…”
She dove into stories about what the charity did, the kids they’d helped, and the projects they wanted to give life to.
And with every word, her voice grew stronger, held up by the adoration in a pair of brown eyes shining from the edge of the stage.
Chapter Twelve
“This can’t be right.” Mercedes’s voice stirred Lucas from sleep. He didn’t mind; with Mercedes in his bed, reality was so much better than anything his imagination could conjure.
He patted the mattress next to him. Not there. Where?
Mercedes strode in from the living room, already dressed in a fitted purple tank top and crisp black walking shorts. As always, she looked amazing—except for the frown line forming between her brows as she stared at the paper in her hand.
“What? Are we in port already?” He rubbed his eyes, staring through the glass wall at the expanse of clear blue water outside.
She waved at the window with her free hand. “Land’s on the other side of the ship. A crew member slid the pledge sheet under my door last night. Something’s wrong.”
“You mean other than I didn’t put mine on there officially since I knew where to send the money already?” Groaning, he sat up. He hurt in places he hadn’t known existed, and he worked out every day when he was home. The woman was going to be the death of him, and he was going to enjoy every step on the way to the grave and go out with a smile.
“No.” She perched on the edge of the bed, still staring at the damn thing like it would change if she looked long enough.
He waved for the paper. A lot of smaller donations ranging from ten to a hundred dollars and then a jump to some larger sums. He eyed the total and sighed; he’d really hoped she’d snagged more than that. No wonder she was disappointed.
“I know it isn’t what you expected—”
“Are you kidding? It’s sixty thousand dollars! Someone has to have made a clerical error and like doubled or tripled the pledges. There’s no way people gave us that much money.” She bounced on the bed like a little kid who’d found buried treasure—incredibly excited but afraid she’d have to give it back.
Her joy spread to him through the mattress and Lucas pulled her in for a searing kiss. “Trust me when I say that’s the real total. Now, there is a chance some people will flake out and not send in their pledges, but you’ll see most of it within the next week or two and some might even send more once they’ve had a chance to check out the charity.”
Still trembling, she kneeled next to him and shook her head. “That’s more than we made in the last three months! Kelsey and I share a place and work out of it to keep costs down, and a couple hours last night brought in more money than any other single thing we’ve ever done.”
“Good reason to do it again,” Lucas said as he rolled out of bed and headed toward the bathroom.
“What do you mean?”
Toothbrush in hand, he poked his head out the door. “I mean, plan another trip for next year with the intent of having an event like this. If you schedule it far enough in advance, you could do a lot of different things that would potentially pull in even more money.”
“More?” She blinked slowly, like the possibility stunned her. “But putting up the cost of the trip and whatnot without a guarantee…”
“No reward without risk, my dear.” Lucas shook his head and started brushing his teeth. When Mercedes hadn’t responded by the time he rinsed and dried his face, he stepped into the doorway again, leaning against the opening. “Tell you what. If this Kelsey chick is freaked by the cost of another trip, tell her that’s what my donation is for—to fund you doing things like this. Hell, I’ll earmark the rest of the donation with that noted on it.”
“But…”
“But nothing. Now I’m going to take a shower and you’re going to play tour guide in Cozumel like you promised the day we met. Do me a favor and order some breakfast so we don’t have to fight the crowds in the dining room.”
“For the man who single-handedly saved our playground dreams?” She bounced off the bed and kissed him, resting her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “For that guy, I’d do anything.”
She bounded out of the room before he had the chance to say a word. And really, what was he supposed to say? That he totally supported the playground as long as it was somewhere other than the land he wanted for Rosie’s school? Somehow he didn’t think that would go over so well.
Stepping under the shower spray, he considered the money she’d raised on the trip. Including his donations, roughly seventy thousand added to whatever they had in their coffers already. Given the timeline Mercedes had mentioned, he doubted they even had enough to buy the property, at least not without some sizable grants. He still wouldn’t try to get in their way, but he wasn’t going to stop his people either. The zoning board would come through any time, and his school would keep the land from becoming another warehouse. He’d tell her soon enough. In the meantime, he wasn’t going to feel guilty about snapping up something Better Todays couldn’t afford in the first place.
He had his own promises to keep.
…
After trekking through the ruins of Tulum, they stopped for lunch and shopping in the marketplace. Unsurprisingly, Lucas spent most of his time at the higher-end stores, but when it came to her part of the shopping excursion, Mercedes dragged him to smaller places selling more affordable souvenirs. After the third comment running along the lines of “That’s a great shirt, but isn’t it a little small for you?” when she picked something up, Mercedes laughed.
“They aren’t for me, amado. I’m buying gifts for the kids that work with Better Todays.” She picked up a necklace with a piece of very blue turquoise embedded in it. The shade almost perfectly matched Kelsey’s eyes, and she had to buy her friend something for insisting she take this trip.
“What do you mean work with you?”
“Just what I said. The kids know what we’re doing and they help get the word out to schools and parents. Strange as it might sound, they’re more effective at getting our foot in the door than either Kelsey or me. Too many fake charities trying to scam people out of their money these days. People want proof we’re working to keep their kids safe and off drugs and out of gangs.”
Lucas picked up trinket after trinket, turning them over and putting them back without seeming to even look at them. “And adults? How many of those do you have?”
Mercedes shrugged and handed the vendor the items she’d chosen along with some cash. “There are a few teachers and others who help on occasion, but full time it’s only me and Kels. And possibly her sister Eva soon enough if she can’t find a decent job after graduation.”
As they walked further into the marketplace, Lucas frowned. “Why didn’t you haggle with that vendor? I thought bargaining was supposed to be part of the fun of shopping here.”
“If I thought he was ripping
me off, I might have, but I saw the three skinny little kids run through the place while we were shopping and he gave them each an apple. I’m not going to bargain down someone who does that.” She felt his eyes on her as she walked away and turned to catch him staring, his brow furrowed. “What now?”
“I don’t quite understand you.”
“Don’t pretend you want to.”
“But I do—if you haven’t noticed.” He caught her in an embrace, giving her a sweet kiss that still tasted slightly of cinnamon from the churros he’d ordered after lunch.
Earnestness that hadn’t been there before gave depth to his brown eyes, so much so that Mercedes swallowed hard and turned away before responding. “Not now.”
“Tonight?”
“Sí. Tonight after dinner we each get three questions.”
“Sounds like a party.”
No it didn’t. She hadn’t put any limits on the questions, and he could ask her anything, make her reveal her deepest, darkest secrets before she was ready. So very much not a party. It sounded like hell on the high seas but she wasn’t about to tell him so. For the moment though, the Cozumel marketplace felt a lot less warm and sunny than it had just a little while before, the dark cloud of her mood eclipsing the sun.
…
They sat in the Jacuzzi on his deck, a bottle of merlot and two glasses within easy reach. But instead of drinking, Mercedes rubbed at her biceps under the water like she couldn’t quite get warm. Lucas eased closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“We don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to. Getting to know each other is supposed to be part of the fun, remember?”
“If this is your idea of fun, you didn’t have a very entertaining adolescence, did you?”
He laughed and toyed with her hair, wrapping the wet strands around his fingers. “Is that your first question?”
Seducing Her Rival Page 13