Stella in Stilettos

by Romes, Jan

An affectionate smile filled Red’s face. “Great name. By the way, I’m Bertha.” She followed with a quick snort. “See why I go by RedHairedHoney?”

  The name was a little old-fashioned, but it had a powerful sound to it, which matched Red’s personality. And it most likely meant something special to her parents, so Stella smiled.

  “Bathroom break,” Trish said.

  Trish scurried off and Stella got up the nerve to ask the burning question. “Did Mr. Right come?”

  Red’s eyes sparkled with animation. “Yes,” she whispered. “And he’s…” She spelled the rest of it, “…G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. He’s so yummy the women are crawling all over him like ants on a picnic basket.”

  Stella tried to act casual, inside she was fidgeting. So his name fit him. Her gaze skimmed the room.

  “Crap. I have to go. One of the guy’s that came with the catamaran is waving his fool hand off. I guess I should go see what he wants.” Red held up the margarita. “Thank you so much, Blonde1.” She quickly corrected. “I mean Stella.”

  Trish returned with a sly grin. “Some of these people are whacked. A guy asked me if I was into buggy whips and handcuffs.”

  Stud4U. Stella made a face. “What did you say?”

  “I told him my boyfriend was going to beat the snot out of him.”

  “Good answer.” Stella guzzled the frozen drink so fast she got brain freeze. “Red says he’s here, Trish, and he’s probably covered with ants.”

  “What?”

  Stella waved it off. “Never mind.”

  Trish pinched Stella on the arm.

  “Ouch. What was that for?”

  “The goon stood you up but you’re still foaming at the mouth to meet him.

  “I’m not foaming.” Stella put her hand to her mouth to make sure. No foam. But there was potential for foam. After all, the man rocked her world with words alone. If he was as incredible in person as he was on the computer, there’d be an announcement over the loud speaker – ‘foam cleanup, lower level’. “Even if I don’t talk to him, Trish, I have to see what he looks like.”

  “Alrighty then.” Trish animatedly put her hand above her brow like she was scouting the place. “Let’s see … tall, dark, and handsome, with a swarm of bees around him.” Again, that weird smile from earlier.

  Stella yanked her hand down. “Could you be any more obvious? And they’re ants, not bees.”

  That sounded ridiculous and they both laughed.

  Stella spied a Toronto Maple Leaf’s jersey and assumed it belonged to TorontoTim.

  Beyond the jersey were two girls, Goth to the hilt. Stella cocked her head to study their midnight-black hair, dark clothes and exaggerated makeup. She liked it in a weird sort of way.

  “What do you see?” Trish asked.

  Stella nodded in fascination to the girls.

  Trish was about to spout something, when a grin tipped the corners of her mouth. “I just saw Steve!”

  Stella snatched Trish’s margarita from her mitts. “You need to ease up on these.” The lower level was suddenly crammed with people wanting drinks.

  Trish pointed to a spot beyond the Goth’s. “It was just a glimpse.”

  “It’s the alcohol.”

  Trish continued to hawk the crowd. “Maybe.”

  Stella’s curiosity had been roused. “You didn’t give him any information about the trip, right?”

  “Not even a hint.” There was a curious nuance to Trish’s voice that matched her weird smile.

  “Well, there you go. It’s probably your guilt playing mind games.”

  Trish stretched to see past some of the folks milling about. “There he is.” She pointed toward a set of windows. “Yellow tank top and camouflage shorts at three-o’clock. I can’t see his face.”

  “Three o’clock? What are you, a sniper?” Stella squinted for a better look. Same hair color and build as Steve. “Does Steve wear camo?”

  “People wear stuff on vacation they wouldn’t wear anywhere else.” Trish latched onto Stella, and zigzagged them through the maze of people.

  Stella was first to spot the red, slushy drink in the guys’ hand. “Steve’s a beer-man. Isn’t he?”

  “Yes, but…”

  The object of their scrutiny turned around and smiled like he just got the answer to his prayers.

  Trish’s sigh sounded like a balloon loosing air. “Darn.”

  The man’s smile fell.

  “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Trish grabbed a hold of Stella again and dragged her to the other side of the boat.

  Stella tried to sound peeved, but laughter gurgled up. “And you think I’m the one losing it.” Through a break in the crowd, Stella thought she saw…Alex. “Ack! Someone must’ve slipped us something.”

  Trish scooted next to her.

  Stella’s voice thickened. “Alex.”

  Trish started laughing. “Maybe we had the tequila with the worm in it. I hear it gives you visions.”

  “I’m no alcohol-expert, but I think mescal has the worm in it.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “No idea.” Stella took another look. The mirage had vanished. She sighed and chalked it up to plain old, unadulterated guilt kicking in, prompted by alcohol.

  * * * *

  Alex handed Steve another beer and looked at his watch. “How much longer?”

  “I’ll never understand you, man. You’ve had a ton of women vying for your attention and you’re bored.”

  “Bored stiff. Besides, I’m not going to hook up with any of them so leading them on is pointless.”

  Steve nursed his beer like it was nectar of the gods. “Hate to tell ya, but we have two more hours on the boat. We should mingle.”

  Alex mumbled a handful of cuss words, ripped off his nametag and stuck it in a fern. He was happy that he didn’t have to meet Blonde1; well, mostly happy. There’d been an attraction between them but something sidelined it. Or rather, someone sidelined it. For him, it was Stella. He wondered who it was for Blonde1.

  One of the giggling females that tried to snag his attention on the top deck followed them to the bar. She latched onto the name tag that Alex cast aside and plastered it between her breasts.

  “Nice place for a name tag,” Steve hooted.

  Alex gave him and the woman an annoyed look. The woman left, Steve didn’t.

  “You drag me to the Gulf of Mexico and then act like a bear with a sore ass.”

  The comment put Alex in his place. Steve was right. He had been making life difficult since they boarded. He’d made a mess of things with Stella then walked away from it. Technically, he was sailing away from it, and he was taking his frustration out on just about everybody. “Sorry.”

  “I’ve never known a woman to get under your skin like this; not even Sharrie.”

  Alex scowled at the memory of his ex. “Sharrie and me never really connected. Stella’s a different story. We connected on all sorts of levels.”

  “Why’d you screw it up then?”

  The question pissed him off, but it made him dig deep. “Because of a damned job.”

  “Again with the job. I’m going to puke if I hear that word again. Marc and Jett wanted you, not her. You both have to get over it.”

  Irritating or not, Steve had a knack for laying things out straight out. Alex repeated Steve’s words in his head. Alex realized he screwed up the best relationship he ever had for a job, one he said no to. Everything he’d been struggling with for the last couple of weeks crystallized in the span of a millisecond. There’d be other jobs – like the one his dad offered on a continuous basis – but there wouldn’t be another Stella. Steve told him the same thing awhile back, but it didn’t sink in…until now.

  Steve gulped the last of his drink. “I need another beer.”

  “Yeah. Me too.” They took off toward the bar, but stopped dead in their tracks when a mop of curly hair filled their line of vision. “Son of a …”

  Chapter Twenty-Three
>
  Stella had all the alcohol and mirages she could handle for awhile. “Let’s go up on deck. I need some air.”

  Trish shoved another drink in her hand.

  “Seriously, Trish, no more alcohol.”

  “We’re on vacation,” Trish whined.

  “My liver isn’t,” Stella countered.

  Trish scoffed and ordered another margarita; heavy on the salt, with a wedge of lime and an umbrella.

  The bartender turned on some background music and right away Stella thought about Maggie’s comment in the job interview. She’d said Stella was background music. Pfft. Why say something so incredible and a couple of weeks later revoke it? It was baffling. Something else hit her from out of the blue – the elusive Mr. Right needed to stay elusive. Someone calling himself Mr. Right and allowing himself to be covered in ants wasn’t worth her time and energy. He might be fun for awhile, but he wasn’t the one for her. Her thoughts went back to Alex. She’d been kicking herself in the head for hooking up with him, and she’d been blamed him for everything that went wrong. The fault wasn’t entirely his. She pursued him as much as he pursued her. She’d willingly fallen into bed with him…and in love with him

  A vise-like grip squeezed her upper-arm. “Ouch!” Stella turned to rip into Trish. Her gaze slammed into angry violet eyes instead of hazel ones. Inwardly, she collapsed.

  Anger roared from Alex. “What are you doing here?”

  Steve seconded the question to Trish, but in a much-less grouchy tone.

  Stella tried to speak, her words locked in her throat.

  Despite the noisy room, there were a few moments of heavy silence between all four of them.

  The pain of having the circulation cut off in her arm, made her cut into the silence with a woeful sound. She yanked her arm free.

  Alex grabbed it again and held it tighter.

  Stella squinted hard and tried to tug loose, which only made him tighten his hold.

  His inflexible gaze made her knees buckle slightly. “What are you two doing on this boat?” He asked.

  “I know,” Trish grinned. Steve shook his head.

  Stella could barely get her voice to work. “W-we’re on vacation.”

  “No kidding,” he replied sarcastically.

  Trish shrugged from Steve’s tough stare to protect Stella. “Unhand her you big lug.”

  Alex ignored Trish and continued to hold Stella. “No wonder you kept your plans secret. You’re on the prowl.”

  Stella jerked back. She wasn’t on the prowl and the accusation ticked her off. With deceptive calmness, she leaned toward him. Her mousy voice took a back seat and she blasted him with bold assertion. “I’m not on the prowl. But if I was skulking around for men, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”

  A muscle clenched in his jaw. “You’re at a freaking chat Meet and Greet.”

  He was totally out of line, and his fury was unjustified. “Let me point out the obvious, so…are…you,” she replied with just as much conviction.

  Alex didn’t as much as blink.

  It was unnerving having him not react. Stella thrust her chin upward and waited for some sort of rebuttal.

  Steve stepped between them. “Enough you two.” He exhaled dramatically. “Alex, stop being a hard ass and tell her what’s really going on.”

  Alex drew his eyes away from Stella long enough to give Steve a murderous look. “Stay out of this.”

  “Umm…no.” Steve winked at Stella. “Since he won’t tell you the truth, I will.”

  “Steve,” Alex threatened.

  “He’s insanely jealous,” Steve spouted.

  Steve’s words floated around her but she was in some sort of thick Alex-fog because she couldn’t comprehend them.

  “The hell I am,” Alex spat angrily.

  Steve’s gaze dropped to Stella’s name tag and a lazy smile took over. “So you’re the infamous Blonde1.”

  Alex’s tight jaw went slack. The disclosure made his eyes hurry to her name tag. He started to look up at her, but he went back to the name tag. When his eyes drifted back up his brows were knit tightly together. He released her arm and ran a hand over his chin like he was sifting the information through a mental sieve.

  Stella sought his name tag, he wasn’t wearing one. She drew her eyes to Steve’s amused ones and with precise assurance she answered him. “I am.”

  Steve chuckled when he read Trish’s tag. “You go by Trish?”

  Trish swatted him on the arm. “It’s my name, pinhead. I don’t chat. I’m Stella’s guest.”

  Stella sent her a black look.

  “But I totally talked her into this.”

  Steve toyed with them. “You’re not here to pick up guys?”

  Trish volleyed back with a playful answer. “Bite me.”

  The blond, blue-eyed funny man roared with laughter.

  While Trish and Steve tussled, Alex kept his eyes glued to Stella, and she felt herself wither under his scrutiny. His voice softened a little. “Blonde1, huh?”

  Emotion barreled at Stella faster than she could process it. She threw her hands in the air. “Okay. I’m on the prowl. Are you satisfied? I’m here to find the one guy who actually gets me.” She told the truth. It wasn’t as liberating as she’d hoped.

  The anger visibly ebbed from Alex, which made her heart start a weird beating in her chest.

  When he spoke, there was an unusual mix of shock and gentleness to his tone. “You don’t have to go looking for affection on a stupid boat.” He pulled her against him.

  The trauma of his embrace confused her even more. She didn’t know whether to faint, scream, or cry. “I’m not looking for affection.”

  “Yes you are.”

  A single tear slid from the corner of her eye and Alex brushed it away with his thumb.

  “What I’m doing here has nothing to do with you.” Her heart pounded harder than it had ever done before.

  Alex clutched her tenderly and the tight lines of his mouth gave way to a warm smile. “It has everything to do with me…and you.”

  None of this made sense. None of it. Stella looked away to balance her out-of-control thoughts and emotions.

  Gently, Alex brought her face back to his. “I’m sorry I didn’t meet you at nine o’clock.”

  His words made her brain creak with confusion. “What?” It took a few seconds for awareness to dawn, when it did, she almost crumbled to the floor.

  “Easy now,” he whispered, and held her steady.

  Blood pounded not only her in chest, but also at her temples. “Y-you’re Mr. Right?”

  Alex wrenched her tighter. “Alexander…Wright…Clay. I used my middle name as my nickname.”

  Stella stared at him with wonder. Standing before her was the guy who had so much power over her. He could make her heart and soul sing with just a glance, make her body react with just a touch and now he was the guy who could draw those same responses with a few lines of text. “I didn’t know.”

  Alex ran a finger across her name tag. “I was furious when I saw you here.”

  “I don’t understand why.”

  “I think you do.” His voice was gentle with indictment.

  Her hopeful heart didn’t want to reach the wrong conclusion. “I need for you to tell me.”

  “I was ready to throttle whoever it was you came to see, because…you’re mine. You’re my woman, Stella.”

  Stella’s cautious heart did an arabesque. His woman. It had a sweet ring. She wanted to be his woman, but…

  “Stop thinking, Stella,” Trish advised. “Let it happen.”

  Stella continued to stare at Alex. She wanted to rip into him because he deserved it. At the same time, she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and plant a deep, soulful kiss on his mouth.

  Trish gave her a gentle nudge. “Life’s going to pass you by while you’re thinking about it.”

  Stella allowed a slow smile to tug at the corners of her mouth. “Maybe.”

  Trish g
ave her another push.

  Stella chuckled at Trish. But she wasn’t laughing when she stepped on her tip-toes and grazed Alex’s mouth with a kiss. “Mr. Right.” Then she dove to his mouth for another kiss.

  Alex separated them ever so slightly and his eyes dipped to her name tag again. “Blonde1.” He shook his head from side to side as though he was thoroughly amazed.

  “I’m so glad you’re here, Alex.” Stella took a deep breath and stormed him with information. “I’m sorry I was bullheaded. I should’ve forgiven you when you asked me to. I don’t know why I didn’t. As soon as I got on the boat, I wanted to get back off so I could tell you how I felt. I flat out panicked when it came to meeting Mr. Right, because I didn’t want him. I wanted you.” She exhaled loudly. “I was a crazy woman. Ask Trish.”

  Trish nodded animatedly.

  “Stella.” Alex nuzzled her neck. “Don’t ask Steve how I behaved.”

  Steve gave him a toothy-smile. “You were a prick.”

  Alex glared, and then laughed.

  Stella blinked up at him. “I’m so relieved he’s you. I mean, you’re you. And I’ve been dying to tell you…”

  Alex smoothed a curly lock from her forehead. “To tell me what?”

  There were no primitive impulses to stop her. “That I’m in love with you.” She expected his mouth to drop open and his hands to fall to his side.

  Neither happened.

  The eyes that had drilled her with anger a minute ago now sparkled with a gentler emotion. “I love you, too, Stella.” Alex traced her lips with his thumb before skimming them with a soft kiss.

  “Let’s take this freak-show elsewhere,” Steve urged.

  Alex beamed a smile at Stella.

  RedHairedHoney popped out of the crowd. “I see you’ve found him.” She raised her penciled brows.

  Stella put her hand on Alex’s chest. “Actually, he found me.”

  Red wrapped her arms around both of them. “I love it when things work out.”

  Alex intertwined their fingers. Then he plied Trish with a grin. “Any chance you could share a room with Steve tonight?”

  “Duh. I had plans on kicking your weenie butt out the second I saw him.”

  Alex smiled at Stella. “Looks like you have a new roomie for the night.”