Ryan had heard of the shows, but didn’t know enough about them to recognize the characters or know how big the parts were. Nevertheless, he nodded sagely. “Tell me more.”
At first Juanita was hesitant, but as he listened attentively she grew more enthusiastic. She was recounting the plot of South Pacific when they reached the end of the corridor. He opened an unremarkable door that led to a short passage. “They call this a secret balcony. You have to know where it is to find it. Most people don’t, so it’s usually pretty quiet.” He shoved open the heavy outer door and followed her through it.
“This is great!” Juanita exclaimed. She hurried forward. The balcony stretched across the front of the ship. Below them the point of the bow extended forward. Juanita leaned on the chest-high solid railing and pointed. “Can we go down there?”
“Unfortunately, no. Employees only. But look.” Ryan led her to the far side, where a section of the balcony extended past the ship’s side. “We’re right on top of the bridge. I came out here and watched us tie up this morning.” He pointed to where, far below, dockworkers were unhooking heavy cables from the bollards lining the pier. “I’m always impressed that such a huge ship needs such simple equipment to dock. Just some ropes and a few good solid places to attach them.”
Juanita watched, absorbed, as a cable went slack, the workers lifted the looped end over the wide top of the short, bulbous post, and the machinery within the ship drew the cable back inside. Ryan watched, too, but he kept sneaking glances at Juanita, enjoying the way she gave her full attention to the object of her interest, holding nothing back.
Soon the last cables holding the ship in place fell away. A subtle vibration traveled from the deck into Ryan’s feet. Water churned in the widening gap between ship and dock. Juanita hung so far over the railing his stomach clenched. The ship edged away until it was well clear, then the engines reversed and it ponderously changed directions.
Juanita grabbed Ryan’s hand and hurried back toward the center of the balcony, towing him along. The strengthening wind whipped her hair. She pushed the errant strands out of her eyes and raised her voice to be heard over the rush. “We’re on our way! I can hardly believe it. I’m going home!”
Ryan’s throat tightened. He put one arm around Juanita and hugged her. “Yes, you are.”
Her eyes were shining. “I can’t thank you enough for taking such a huge risk to help me. I owe you so much. And Carmen, too. I’m sorry I was such a chicken. Both of you were absolutely right. I should have listened when you told me they wouldn’t notice that it wasn’t my picture—”
Beyond Juanita, a door opened. A woman emerged, followed by a man and two children. The kids scampered toward the railing, the adults hurrying close behind.
Juanita kept talking. “—on Carmen’s—”
Fear surged through Ryan. How much had the strangers heard? He had to silence Juanita fast, before she could blurt out more. In his panic, he could only think of one way.
He dropped his mouth onto hers, smothering the incriminating words.
Juanita froze. Ryan started to pull away, but before he could, her arms wrapped around his neck and her mouth opened. Her tongue met Ryan’s, tentative at first, then more confident. His pulse hammered in his ears. He drew her against him as they explored each other, oblivious to everything but her mouth moving against his and the vibrant length of her body pressed into him.
An embarrassed cough slammed him back to awareness. He broke away. Juanita regarded him with a dreamy smile. “What was—”
He jerked his head at the couple herding their kids down the railing. She glanced over her shoulder, stiffening when she saw them. “Oh.” Her face reddened.
Ryan dropped his arms and stepped back. He kept his voice low. “They were about to overhear what you were saying. I had to stop you. I’m sorry.”
Juanita shrugged. “Don’t be. That was quick thinking. I should have known better. From now on I’ll keep my mouth shut.” She turned and propped her forearms on the railing, clasping her hands. “You’re a good actor. They certainly don’t seem to realize it wasn’t real.”
Ryan glanced at the family. The children were oblivious, chattering and pointing at the water and receding shore. Their parents responded while carefully avoiding looking in Ryan and Juanita’s direction.
He wanted to protest. Maybe the kiss hadn’t been real when it started, but it had swiftly ceased to be an act. At least for him. He’d thought for her, too. But clearly he’d been wrong.
She went on, her tone flat, all her eagerness gone as she stared out at the coast of Cozumel flowing past. “We agreed to put on a show. Anytime you think it’s necessary, go ahead. I’ll play along.”
“Okay.” Ryan hated what his thoughtless impulse had done to her. He could easily have interrupted her with a remark or a gesture instead of a kiss. And even if the couple had heard, so what? They wouldn’t have understood or cared. He didn’t need to be paranoid. They’d attract a lot more attention if people suspected he was forcing unwanted attention on Juanita than if they simply overheard a few injudicious remarks. From now on he was going to be a lot more circumspect. They could pull this off just fine without acting like ill-mannered idiots who couldn’t keep their hands off each other.
For a while they were silent, staring out over the water as the ship progressed down the coast. Ryan was trying to think of something innocuous to say when Juanita caught her breath and pointed. “Was that a dolphin?”
“Where?” Ryan scanned the water in the direction she was indicating. “I saw several when we were leaving Galveston. They like to—” A smooth gray back broke the surface, followed by a broad tail. “There!”
“I saw.” Juanita breathlessly stared at the spot where the dolphin had disappeared, all the earlier eagerness back in her face and taut body. “Look, another!”
Dolphin after dolphin broke the surface. Ryan and Juanita took turns pointing them out to each other. Soon the family down the railing was pointing and calling as well. One leapt completely out of the water, drawing gasps from all of them. Another blew a blast of spray. Several times the small backs of calves surfaced beside their mothers.
Eventually, as Cozumel receded behind them, the dolphins quit appearing. Juanita leaned her head on Ryan’s shoulder. “That was amazing.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He desperately wanted to put his arm around her waist, but he refrained. No more stealing touches under the guise of acting. He respected her more than that.
Juanita glanced over at the family without lifting her head. She dropped her voice to a murmur he could barely hear above the wind. “Think we should give them a little more reason to believe we’re so crazy for each other we don’t care how rude we’re being?”
Ryan’s heart stuttered. He tried to keep his voice casual. “If you think so.”
If his words sounded as strained to Juanita as they did to him, she gave no sign. Her voice was playful. “It couldn’t hurt.”
Not their cover, perhaps. But Ryan wasn’t at all sure more feigned intimacy wouldn’t end up hurting Juanita or him or both of them. That didn’t mean he was going to refuse if she suggested it, though. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
She grinned at him and twined her arms around his neck. Her breasts pressed into his chest. She reached for his mouth and he lowered his head to meet her.
This time he tried to hold back and keep things less intense. But her lips moved and her tongue teased until he had to respond. Before long they were right where they’d left off, both deep into the shared space created by his mouth and hers. Ryan quit thinking and let instinct take over. His hands roamed her back. Hers caressed his neck. She paused, and he reluctantly prepared to release her, but she only snatched a breath and returned for more.
Finally, when Ryan was drunk on sensation, Juanita pulled away with a sigh. She looked over his shoulder, then laid her head on his chest. “We scared them away.”
Ryan glanced aro
und. Sure enough, the family was gone. He forced a laugh. “Guess we don’t have to pretend anymore.”
“No.” But Juanita made no move to break their embrace.
Silently Ryan groaned. What the hell was he doing? And what did Juanita want? Was this some kind of game for her? Was it just a distraction from her fears or an outlet for her tension? Or were the same sort of alarming feelings stirring in her as were becoming increasingly difficult for him to deny?
And either way, how much further would she want to take it?
It was up to him to cool things off. They hadn’t even known each other for a full day yet. Not even twelve hours. It was much, much too early to be thinking the things that were trying to worm into his brain.
He had no right to ever think those things. She trusted him to take care of her. He wasn’t going to let lust and perhaps infatuation make him lose sight of his responsibility. That’s all this was. He wasn’t going to allow the fact that his body responded to hers fool him into believing there was anything more to it. And he wasn’t going to let her make that mistake, either.
Gently, he disengaged. A glance at his watch gave him an excuse. “It’s after seven. We need to get moving if we don’t want to be late for dinner. Our dining room is all the way aft.”
She sighed and brushed at her windswept hair. “Do we need to dress up?”
“Not tonight. There are only a couple of formal nights—last night was, and there will be another later. But today’s casual. What we’re wearing will be fine.”
“All right. But I’d like to stop by the room to fix my hair.”
Her hair looked glorious, wild and tousled and messy in a way that made him ache to run his fingers through its springy waves. But he couldn’t tell her that. Besides, she wouldn’t believe him. Women didn’t understand how appealing that sort of thing was to men. Or to him, at least. “Sure. It’s on the way. I could use to run a comb through mine, too.”
The way her eyes lingered made him wonder if she was having similar thoughts. But she only nodded and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the door. “Let’s get going, then. I’m starving.”
CHAPTER 6
Despite Ryan’s reassurance, Juanita was nervous as they rode the elevator down to the third floor where the main entrance to their dining room was located. There was another in the middle of the ship, but they were assigned to the one in the stern. She scanned the other occupants of the elevator, trying not to be too obvious. They were mostly in shorts or jeans, with one other casual sundress and one pair of slacks besides Ryan’s.
She frowned at the mirror lining the wall and smoothed a strand of hair back into the bun she’d twisted up too quickly to get as neat as she liked. Ryan’s sand-colored hair looked as perfect as if he’d just come from a salon. She liked it, although she’d liked it ruffled by the wind just as much. She had a feeling she’d like it however it looked, even mashed down and sticking out all over from a night pressed against his pillow. She might get a chance to see it in that state tomorrow morning, if she caught a glimpse before he had a chance to neaten it.
Before she could think further about them waking up in the same room, the elevator stopped, the doors slid open, and they all piled out. A survey of the crowds shuffling into the dining room, along with those already seated, confirmed her observations. She and Ryan were among the more nicely dressed of the relaxed, cheerful passengers. They didn’t stand out at all. Juanita breathed a sigh of relief as they followed a waiter between the tables.
Their assigned place was all the way in the back. Windows revealed the ship’s wake receding into the distance, although the dimming light outside and the bright illumination within created reflections that obscured most of the view.
The waiter led them to a table for four. Another couple was already seated there, perusing menus. Ryan extended his hand to the man. “Hi, I’m Ryan Hertz, and this is Carmen Gomez. Nice to meet you.”
The man accepted Ryan’s hand and shook it. “I’m Dave Jackson, and this is my wife Nancy. Welcome, have a seat.”
The woman smiled at Juanita. “I’m so glad you’ve joined us. We were starting to think we’d be eating alone the whole cruise.”
Juanita shook her hand and Dave’s. They both looked to be in their late forties or early fifties. Dave had on a bright tropical shirt and khaki shorts. Nancy was wearing a blue blouse and white slacks. They both looked relaxed and comfortable and very much at home. Juanita smiled at them, trying to hide her nervousness. “Thank you.”
Ryan pulled out the chair next to Nancy and nodded for Juanita to take a seat. “We’ve been eating at the buffet, but we keep hearing the food here is better, so I persuaded Carmen to give it a try.”
“Much better,” Nancy told them as Ryan seated himself beside Dave. She smiled at Juanita. “Is this your first cruise, dear?”
“Yes, actually.” Juanita picked up her menu and opened it to give herself an excuse to look down.
“I’ve been on a couple,” Ryan contributed. “Never on Festival before, though. What about y’all?”
“We’ve been taking one every November for around ten years now,” Dave said.
“The first was to celebrate our twentieth anniversary, and we enjoyed it so much we keep coming back,” Nancy said. “Where are you from?”
“Houston,” Ryan told her. “And you?”
“Dallas. Dave is a tax accountant and I teach fifth grade. What about you?”
“I’m a civil engineer and Carmen is an occupational therapist.” Ryan opened his menu. “So what do you recommend?”
“You have to try the escargot, especially if you’ve never had it before. Cruises are the perfect opportunity to sample new things.” Nancy gave them both a motherly smile.
“If you can’t decide between two, order them both,” Dave advised. “They don’t mind. I’m getting the escargot and the caesar salad. And the prime rib for my entree.”
Juanita nodded and focused on her menu while Ryan continued chatting with their tablemates. There were six appetizers to choose from, and six entrees. Plus a few special selections for an additional charge, although everything on the normal list sounded so delicious she didn’t understand why anyone would want to pay extra.
Despite Nancy’s advice, she wasn’t about to eat snails, even under a fancy French name. And she wasn’t going to be greedy and demand more than one item. Even so, it was a hard choice. Finally she settled on cream of mushroom soup for her appetizer and grilled tilapia with mango salsa for her entree.
Their waiter arrived, introduced himself as Emil, and took their orders. He brought them a basket of rolls, so Juanita had something to occupy her hands while everyone chatted. Carmen had advised her to stick to sharing her own background as much as possible, instead of trying to talk about Carmen’s life as if it were her own. She was less likely to get her story mixed up that way. So she told Dave and Nancy the truth about the career she’d pursued until two months ago, the neighborhood where she’d lived, and the activities she’d enjoyed. If things continued to go as well as they had so far, maybe at least some of those things would be true again soon.
“So how did you two meet?” Dave asked.
Juanita tensed, but Ryan stayed as calm as if the question were completely innocuous. “Carmen’s sister works in my department. She introduced us. We hit it off right away, and we’ve been dating ever since.”
Juanita had to disguise a laugh with a cough. True enough, as far as it went.
“Are you all right?” Nancy asked, concerned. When Juanita assured her she was, she gave them both a teasing smile. “Any long term plans?”
“Um…” Juanita’s face got hot. She looked down at the roll she was buttering.
“We’ll see,” Ryan said easily. “It hasn’t been that long, actually. We’re still getting to know each other.”
“Long enough to take a cruise together,” Nancy said, a shade of tart disapproval in her tone. But her expression softened. “Although I suppose it does
offer a good opportunity to grow closer. You get to spend lots of time together doing fun things, without stress or worry.”
“Take it from me,” Dave added. “It never hurts to give your relationship a little attention, no matter how long you’ve been together.” He reached across the table and took Nancy’s hand. “It’s awfully easy to start taking each other for granted, until before you know it you’re practically strangers again.”
Nancy gave him a ruefully tender look, so intimate Juanita felt like a voyeur. “A week at sea has saved our marriage more than once.”
“And made it stronger than ever.” Dave held her gaze for a moment before turning back to Ryan and Juanita with a careless wave. “But I doubt these two want to hear about the trials and tribulations of an old married couple when they’re young and in love.”
Juanita blushed and looked away. When she glanced back, Ryan was regarding her with nearly the same rueful tenderness as had been on Nancy’s face a moment before. “Not at all,” he said. If Juanita hadn’t known better, she would have thought his words were meant for her as much as for Dave. “It’s good advice. We’d do well to listen. Who knows? If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll be cruising again thirty years from now, passing on your wisdom to another generation of youngsters.”
Nancy and Dave both chuckled, but Ryan held Juanita’s gaze for a moment before joining them. Juanita laughed too, although she didn’t feel like it. She knew Ryan was only joking. He certainly couldn’t be serious, when they’d just met that morning. But somehow the idea of them being together many years in the future didn’t seem ridiculous, or even particularly unlikely. She already felt like she knew him better than any man she’d ever dated.
Which was ridiculous. What did she know about him, after all, other than a few superficial details? Most of what he’d related about his life to Dave and Nancy was as new to Juanita as it was to them. She was only slightly better acquainted with Ryan than they were.
Well, that wasn’t quite true. She knew he was kind and generous. She knew he was willing to go out of his way to help a stranger in need. She knew he was able to provide emotional support to someone freaking out in terror. She knew she liked being in his company. She knew she was looking forward to the next few days with far more anticipation than she could possibly have imagined this morning.
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