Zander hung his head.
“Aw, man,” he said. “I was just getting going. This was going to be my entertainment for the day.”
“No more talk or everyone will find out the true story behind you and Andi,” she said. “Besides, you owe it to me for my interventions on your behalf with her.”
Pippa looked around, finally noticing a missing person.
“Where’s Topher?” she said. “Did he go back to sleep?”
Sebastian shrugged. “He was irritated earlier. Finally got up and collected his snorkeling gear and dove in.”
“How long ago was that?”
The three of them looked at each other, and Sebastian shrugged, thrusting out his lower lip. “Maybe an hour? I seem to have lost track of time what with all this intimate talk.” He gave Pippa a joking shove on the shoulder.
“I’m going in after him,” she said, pulling off her cover-up, which led to some catcalls from Zander.
“Pippa’s the man with the plan,” he said, clapping and whistling.
“Look, Pips,” Clem said. “Maybe give Toph a chance to breathe. He was stressed out. I’m sure it’s good for him to blow off some steam in the water. He’ll come back, and all will be fine.”
She pulled out a bottle of champagne from the fridge.
“In the meantime, mimosas, anyone?”
Chapter Seventeen
TOPHER loved the ocean. So much so that it felt like an extension of his very being. And if he had to get away and escape his worries, there was no better place for him to do so than submerged in pristine azure waters, taking in the extraordinary scenery, feeling almost a part of that underwater world. Somehow clarity prevailed for him under the sea.
And today, he sure needed some clarity.
As he wove between reefs and along rock outcroppings, he thought about all that had happened. He couldn’t help but dwell on just about everything to do with Pippa, but especially last night. At the time, he was afraid he’d completely drop the ball, he was so excited to finally get Pippa right where he wanted her. That would’ve been all he’d needed: to finish before he started. But once he finally persuaded her to join in the fun, man, did they have a good time of it. Just imagining her standing in front of him once that bikini top dropped, he thought he’d lose it right then and there all over again. Is that possible in the ocean? Or are there laws of physics that would prevent that? He was glad the seagoing creatures wouldn’t notice the burgeoning bulge in his swim trunks.
Despite his obvious horniness at the mere thought of Pippa, he knew he had to approach this situation with a clear head. And while they had chemistry to spare, things clearly weren’t clicking the way they needed to. Each time they were together, something disastrous happened, which inevitably involved his family, precisely the thing he was trying to avoid by being an ocean away from them. So if bringing Pippa into his world was going to invite all that other nonsense in, then logic would hold that she and Topher weren’t going to work out.
He knew she’d be so upset about this, especially since she’d only finally come around herself. But upon further reflection, Topher was finally recognizing that Pippa had been right all along in trying to nip this thing in the bud. It was sheer folly to have these heated and passionate couplings and then have to deal with the backlash that resulted from them. Hanging from the hatch... Seriously, who needed that grief? As soon as he got back to the boat, he’d break the news to her.
~*~
Too bad it didn’t seem like the right time to break it to her.
“You ready to pull up anchor and head over to Peter Island?” Sebastian said when he climbed aboard the sailboat.
“Huh?”
“I thought it would be nice to go over to the resort. Maybe we’ll swim with some sea turtles. We can grab lunch, and the ladies can see if there’s space available at the spa,” Sebastian said. “After all, we need to show them the best the BVI has to offer.”
“What about my brother?” Toph asked. “Is he part of the crew now?”
“You don’t want to get rid of me, do you?” Zander said.
“What do you think?” Toph said.
“Ouch,” his brother said. “In that case, you’re in luck. Branson’s got a sailboat coming for me. We’ll meet at Peter Island later today.”
Topher would be happy to get rid of Zander. He loved his brother, but he was going to be waiting all day with bated breath for the teasing to begin. And the last thing he needed in his tropical paradise was to have Zander taint it with all that mockery he so remembered from his growing-up years. Funny how you can love your family but hate to be near them sometimes. In the meantime, he was going to be preoccupied with getting the boat under sail, so at least he’d have some distractions.
Sebastian began barking orders to everyone so that they could get going as soon as possible.
“Pippa, be sure any towels, bathing suits, or wet clothing hanging on the lifelines on the side of the boat are secured so they don’t blow away. Clementine, close up cabinets below deck and make certain all dishes are put away so we don’t have things flying everywhere below deck.”
Zander was tasked with helping to weigh anchor without incident while Topher took care of checking the lines and hoisting the sails and Sebastian remained at the helm.
The cat was soon under sail, and Topher remained busy with the mainsheet and shouting orders to the others to work the jib sheet and mainsail whenever the boat tacked. All of which gave Topher a grace period in which he didn’t need to lower the Pippa boom quite yet.
They arrived at Peter Island and dropped anchor in Dead Man’s Bay near a stunning 130-foot yacht in royal blue with gold tooling.
“And here I thought this is what you’d be out sailing on,” Pippa said to Topher. “Little did I know you’d opt for the tiny little toy boat by comparison.”
“Sure, I could do it in style if I wanted to mooch the royal yacht, but the whole idea is I’m out here on my own,” he said. “No handouts from the family, and better still, no grief from them either.” He gave a nod toward his brother, who was helping to be sure the anchor had indeed anchored.
“But we’re past that now, right?” Pippa said, reaching for his hand. Topher was being elusive, however, and the more she fished for mindless chitchat to assure her all was okay, the more he bristled at having to make conversation under the circumstances.
“Let’s talk later,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to do right now.”
He set about tying up the sails once they were lowered and making sure the rigging and ropes were secured.
Once the sailboat was taken care of, Topher slathered on some more sunscreen and gathered up his snorkeling gear.
“I’m going in if anyone wants to join me,” he said, although he’d have been happy to have the water to himself.
Pippa donned her mask, snorkel, and flippers and followed him in. The water was about twenty feet deep but clear enough to see grasses shifting with the water flow along the sandy bottom. Occasionally a fish or two would swim by, but it wasn’t quite like swimming around the reefs, where there was always something happening somewhere if you watched closely.
But then a beautiful turtle drifted by, its flipper feet stroking through the water. Its cheery-looking head poked through the opening in the beautiful amber scalloped carapace.
Pippa came up for air and started yelling for the rest of the group to get in the water to see the turtle. Finally she and Topher went beneath the surface where several more turtles were milling about, swimming slowly toward their unknown destination.
She tapped Topher on the back, motioning for him to see the turtles. But he didn’t need to have them pointed out to him. Sea turtles had become his Zen, and he could commune with them underwater for hours, at peace with the world. The minute he spotted them, his breathing and heart rate settled down significantly.
The two of them remained suspended in the water, barely moving but to keep up with the tortoises. It could have been a m
agical moment if Topher wasn’t focused on what he had to do.
After about thirty minutes, the turtles had scattered and were no longer near enough to watch. Pippa surfaced and removed her mask just as Topher did.
“Oh, my God! That was incredible,” she said with a squeal. “I can’t believe we hung out in the water with them with their cute little turtle flippers and those little tails and their faces! They look like old men! I felt like a turtle whisperer. I think they liked me! What do you think?”
Topher grinned. “I’m sure they loved you, Pips,” he said. “I mean, what’s not to love.” Even though he was going to have to focus on that very thing if he was going to shake her from his life as planned.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed hard. Which was pure torture for poor Toph, feeling her body in that tiny bikini pressed up against him like that. And naturally his body was going to betray him by being involuntarily most receptive to her nearness. No way would Pippa not notice the rise in his swim trunks.
He knew he had to totally sever the cord before he succumbed to ill-advised temptation.
“Hey, Pips, let’s go grab lunch on shore,” he said. “There’s a nice restaurant on the beach here. We can order some painkillers and enjoy some fresh fish. Sound good?”
She squinted her eyes at him. He knew his tone of voice didn’t evoke much warmth. And he was sure she was wise to his not acting on her proximity and at least giving her a kiss. It is time to cut the cord, he repeated to himself. And no better place than in front of a restaurant full of people to avoid a scene.
Chapter Eighteen
“HAVE you noticed Topher acting distant all day?” Pippa said to Clementine as she dried off and grabbed a sarong from her duffle in her cabin.
Her friend shrugged. “He’s probably a little distracted,” she said. “It’s a lot of responsibility to sail a boat, especially with guests on it. Plus he’s probably super tired.”
“Huh,” she said. “I suppose that’s possible.”
Only she knew from past relationships that even if a guy was exhausted, he’d snap at the chance for physical interaction, especially in the early days of a romance. And no question about it, Topher didn’t reciprocate one bit when she wrapped her arms around him. Sure she felt that hard-on creeping up, but hell, most guys could get an erection watching a commercial for underarm deodorant, so that meant nothing. If anything, his body betraying him like that and him showing no signs whatsoever of participation was not a good sign. She did not feel like she was in the driver’s seat, and it didn’t thrill her.
“It was a weird night,” Clem said. “Give him a chance. I’m sure everything’s fine. I mean look, we are in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. It’s practically a recipe for romance. I’m sure once Topher gets some food in him and a drink to loosen him up, he’ll be great.”
Since when did a guy need a drink to get horny? Pippa wondered. But she kept quiet, hoping for the best.
Topher was waiting in the dinghy to motor to shore. The others had decided to give the couple some space so stayed back on the boat to eat sandwiches and nap. Once they got to the sand, they beached the dinghy off to the side far from sunbathers and walked a hundred yards past guests lazily swinging in hammocks and others tooling around with tiny Sunfish sailboats. Still others were sound asleep on lounge chairs, books pressed to their chest. It was a quiet resort where you could be amongst plenty of people but still feel secluded.
The beach bar was tucked away just off the stretch of sugar sand, separated by discreet bushes but with a great view of the ocean. The hostess led them to a private table tucked away from others who were dining.
“Nice and private,” Pippa said. “I like it.”
Soon a waitress took their orders and delivered the promised Painkiller tiki drinks, which Pippa was about to need more than she even knew.
“Look, Toph,” Pippa said. “I know things went a little haywire last night—”
“Haywire,” he said, pausing. “Yes. That is quite true.”
“But I hope that didn’t scare you off,” she said. “You’ve seemed a bit, well, tense today. And I’m hoping it’s not that you’ve gotten cold feet or anything. Or that maybe I wasn’t good or something?”
Topher shook his head, waving his hand. “Oh, gosh, no. You were perfectly fine,” he said.
“Perfectly fine?” she said. “That seems like the way you’d describe a meal you ate at a fast food restaurant, not sex with someone who thought the sex was extraordinary.”
Topher started stammering and blinking as if that could erase what he’d said and start again. “I didn’t mean it wasn’t great. I mean, it was fantastic. Really, it was.”
“But—”
“Yes, but,” he said with a sigh.
“There’s always a but, isn’t there?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid there is, Pippa. You see, I’m like those little turtles who take off for the big bad world and leave their family behind,” he said. “I’m off in the world, on my own. And I think I’m much better off not having to deal with all that family baggage. It only gets in the way of my life, Pippa. I’m better off drifting alone. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, but I’m not family baggage,” she said, scrunching her brows as the waitress delivered her tuna steak. “I’m not even family. And I’d like to think I’m not baggage. But to tell you the truth, if you think I am, well, that’s not exactly the most flattering description I’ve ever had attributed to me.”
“No, no, no. I don’t mean you’re baggage,” he said, averting her gaze, digging into his mahi as if his life depended on it. “I mean all the family stuff. I’m totally over it. I don’t want it to cast a shadow on my adult life. And I’m afraid that there’s a danger of that happening forever if you and I continue down the path we’ve started on.”
Pippa squinted at him. “You’re serious? We had the best night imaginable last night—well, until it became the worst night imaginable, but even that you kind of have to laugh at. Instead once again you’re choosing to let your past define you. I don’t get it.”
Topher gave a feeble nod, chowing down on his fish with a ferocity it didn’t deserve.
“You hungry?” she said. “Because you look like you’re substituting inhaling that fish for having sex with me, you’re so fervent with it.”
He put his fork down. “Look, Pippa. I’m sorry. I’m not good at this stuff. I don’t know what else to say. We had a lot of fun. But it’s simply not gonna work out. It’s not you. It’s me.”
Pippa was pissed. He took her to this romantic little beach bar to blow her off? Seriously? Why couldn’t he have been man enough to just dump her while they were on the boat at least? So that she could then dump him right off the side of the thing.
“You know what, Topher?” she said, taking a deep breath. “You suck. You’re being a coward and a complete child, worrying about what your brothers might say or do. But hey, that’s okay. I’d rather know now that you can’t handle it, so I guess I should thank you for showing me your true colors before I got in too deep. It’s been real, but I have to go.”
With that, she got up from the table and stormed away toward the beach. She didn’t even wait for him to take her back to the boat by dinghy. Rather, she simply walked into that calm, clear-teal, turtle-loving water until she had no choice but to swim and freestyled her way back to the boat. The last thing Pippa Grimaldi would ever do was stick around where she wasn’t wanted. She’d had enough experience being unwanted in a house with parents who had far more important things to deal with than her.
Chapter Nineteen
THE others were nowhere to be found when she boarded the vessel. She called out their names to no reply. But when she started walking down the steps, she heard the unmistakable sound of two people going at it coming from her friend’s cabin.
“Et tu, Clementine?” Pippa muttered. “I can’t even escape this place with a hint of dignity now, dammit.”
> She had no idea where Zander was hidden away but took a chance he was in Topher’s berth and knocked hard, practically expecting to find him just as she’d found Topher all those years ago. It would, after all, only be fitting. But if it happened, she’d probably clobber the man.
“Enter!” Zander said.
She found him curled up on the bed with a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.
“Honestly, the world is coming to an end,” she said, shaking her head. “First your brother loses his shit, and now you’re reading this two-bit, purple-prosed porn? What has gotten into you people? Show some respect, man!”
“Now, now,” he said. “What makes you think I’m enjoying it?”
“That creepy grin on your face, maybe.”
“I was curious to see what all the hoopla was about. Picked it up at the airport to read on the plane. It’s kind of stupid, actually. Andi thought it was hilarious that I was reading it.”
“Please, promise me you aren’t going to impose icky bondage things on her now,” Pippa said. “Or maybe you already have. I mean who knows? I thought I knew you, but you’re being so strange, and your brother’s even worse. I totally need to get out of here. Take me with you. But first, I really need a drink.”
“Aww, Pips. Don’t tell me Toph petered out on you?” he said. “Forgive the pun.”
“Yeah, his peter is out. Officially so. But frankly, he can have his damned peter. I don’t need the thing. Though it sure did stand out in a crowd.”
Zander burst out laughing. “Is this an ode to Topher’s dick you’re reciting right now? Should I turn on my phone and record this for posterity?”
“Do so and I’ll kill you,” she said. “I’m serious, Zander. I’m coming with you when that sailboat arrives. I have to get out of here and fast.”
Zander stuck out his lower lip as he mulled the proposition over. “I don’t see why not,” he said. “I was really only planning to spend time at his resort just to find an excuse to come to the BVI to make up with Toph. I’ve done that now. And I couldn’t bring Andi along, since that would have been awkward, so I have no one to hang out with.”
Love is in the Heir Page 9