His Island Bride

by Shadonna Richards

  He gave a generous tip to the porter who dropped his case in the hotel room. What a breathtaking view of the Caribbean Sea with its blueness and soothing whooshing sounds of the water’s waves. Serene. Calm. He could hear the steel drums playing in the background, the sound of laughter in the distance and reggae music playing. The open window blew in the gentle sea breeze caressing the Grandim Resort and Spa.

  God, he loved Jamaica. The island oozed sunshine and passion. No matter what struggles its people went through everything was “irie.” You could only see happiness on many of their faces. Montego Bay, Jamaica was brimming with the richness of resorts lining the coastline and overlooking the green sparkling sea with its sandy white beaches.

  “Thank you, sir,” the porter said. “And the manager will look about the availability of the room upstairs so that you can get a better view. It’s also quieter for you as you requested.”

  “Thank you. I won’t get too comfortable yet. I promise not to touch anything in the room.”

  He shoved his suitcase in the closet and took a sip of bottled water as he leaned on the balcony rail of his room gazing at the beauty of the sandy white beach below and the awesome blueness of the water. Breathtaking. This was the break he needed. He just hoped he could hide away here for a while. For a good while. No opportunist women, no cut throat enemies, no family politics. Just himself and nature and the beautiful red sunsets of the island. Anonymous. Content. He could live there forever. Maybe he should consider it.

  Just then his Blackberry rang. “Hello.”

  “Hey, cuz! What’s up?”

  “Dane, I was just thinking about you.”

  “Yeah, that can’t be good.” His cousin teased. “How’s the trip going so far? Met any hotties in string bikinis.”

  “Do you really think that’s what I’m here for?”

  “Well, if you’re not, I’d be happy to take your trip for you. Let’s switch places.”

  “Dane, that’s not going to happen.” He loved his cousin’s business savvy but there was no doubt Dane also had a wild side. James could barely keep up with him.

  “Anyway, you let me know what’s up so that we can let the staff know about the changes in positions in the company, okay.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And Jimmy, boy.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t be all work and no play, now. Or I’m gonna have to come down there and teach you how to have a good time. You can’t be in Jamaica and not soak up all the fun.”

  “Well, we’ll see about that. I’d rather be locked away and take a break from people, thanks.”

  ***

  Jessica finished packing her bags. Her flight would leave in three hours.

  “I think you’re a little overweight.”

  “What?”

  “Your luggage, hun,” her best friend Gina clarified.

  “Oh, right. I should get a scale.”

  “What happened to your old one?”

  “Threw it out when it started going up in numbers every time I stood on it.”

  “Honey, you’re not really overweight. You’re just a little…”

  “What? Heavy?” she said, raising a brow. “Anyway, I’ve booked into this really nice quiet resort where I can just sit in the sun all day and read on my Kindle.”

  “Oh, and you’ve got your Columbo DVD’s right?”

  “Well, of course. And my Kindle,” she said, blushing.

  “Well, gonna miss you for the next two weeks. Just be careful out there and don’t forget to change the chip in your phone. If you use your cell from up here…girl, you will rack up hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of roaming charges and it is not funny, honey!”

  “I hear ya!”

  Later Gina dropped Jessica off at Terminal 3 at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and got checked in. She’d called her mother before switching off her cell and turned on her Kindle oblivious to everyone around her.

  Finally, time alone. As much as she tried, she still couldn’t get the thought out of her mind. She may be getting married to a stranger this year.

  Crazy.

  But this was a decision she had to think carefully about. If only she could meet and fall in love with someone on her own—a good person, for once. If only. If she had, her parents wouldn’t be so desperate to marry her off. She sighed and leaned back in the lounge area chair waiting to board her flight.

  ***

  Montego Bay, Jamaica

  The flight was uneventful and only four hours long. Jessica was grateful she’d taken a direct flight from Toronto to Montego Bay. She switched on her Blackberry just to let her mom and Gina know that she’d arrived safely and would call from the hotel. Then she’d switched off her cell and plopped it deep into her bag to never use again until she changed the chip or got back to Toronto.

  The warmth of the sun kissed her skin as she rode on the shuttle bus from the airport in Montego Bay to the Grandim Resort, enjoying the greenery of the tall trees breezing by on the ride. She inhaled the sweet island scents of coconut trees and palm trees and the freshness of the ocean. She gently held her sunhat as the cool island breeze swirled around her.

  When Jessica arrived at the hotel she checked in at the lobby and was given her swipe key card. The porter brought her baggage up and she gave him a generous tip for which he was grateful.

  “Jamaica, Jamaica. Here I am!” she whispered to herself with an appreciative grin as she entered her suite. She couldn’t believe she’d finally made it. Jessica had saved up for ages to afford the trip. She’d won a raffle prize for airfare to Jamaica but had to save up for the actual hotel stay since she didn’t know anyone on the island that she could stay with.

  The room had a fresh sea scent to it. The sun beamed brightly as it welcomed her in but she noticed that the balcony door was already open. The mild island breeze blew in gently as the blinds cackled against each other. She thought it was odd that the door was open but didn’t think anything more of it.

  She had been soaked from earlier when she perspired while sitting on the mini bus which did not have the air conditioner running. Jessica was all too glad to unzip her red suitcase and pull out the summer dress she would wear later. She undressed, turned on the gold-plated faucet in the tub and got into the shower. Jessica couldn’t help herself and started singing, or more like yodeling, not caring what she sounded like since nobody in the world would hear her voice. She admitted she sounded more like a wannabe singer trying out for American Idol.

  When she got out of the shower and dried her skin, she opened the door of the bathroom and entered her suite and almost jumped out of her skin!

  A man stood by the window, arms folded across his chest, shaking his head.

  Her heart raced in a mad panic. There she was, dripping with moisture and half naked to see a deliciously gorgeous tall stranger in her room. He looked like a male model but with a great workout physique. Oh, he was breathtaking but…

  “Who are you?” she shrieked, hoping he was a surprise masseur who had come to give her a nice massage compliments of the hotel. Well, he’d better be, or else.

  She carefully wrapped the white towel tighter around her midsection to cover up her womanly valuables.

  “What are you doing in my room?” She looked around for something to defend herself—anything. She picked up her boxed set of Columbo DVDs ready to smack him—not that it would have much effect judging by his physique.

  “Whoa there, lady. I should be asking you the same thing. This is my suite.” He carefully unfolded the document in his hand and slowly reached it over to her to show her the hotel bill.

  Her heart thudded like thunder in her chest. This could not be possible. She saw a sparkle in his dark, grey eyes. He had the longest lashes she’d ever seen on a man.

  “But…but…this is my room. Where are your things?”

  He opened up the closet door and showed her his suitcase.

  Jessica didn’t even look into the closet. She could not b
elieve it.

  “I didn’t want to make a mess because I was about to move rooms. So I went upstairs to check out the other suite but they told me they were completely booked up after all,” he continued, his gaze holding hers. “Seems like they have some glitches with their new room-booking software, according to the manager.” Perhaps he could give them assistance in that area, or they should hire a tech.

  Booked up? His room? This could not be happening. No way could she be stranded without a room and in a foreign land. Jessica thought she was going to pass out.

  3

  Grabbing the towel around her tightly she moved over to the phone, her hair dripping wet. She glanced at her bill and hotel receipt too. They both compared notes. “But how could this be? Suite 704 North Building.” Jessica shook her head in a daze as the tall, dark and handsome stranger folded his arms across his chest again. He seemed perturbed but out of the corner of her brown eyes, she could see his eyes tracing her silhouette as if he could see what was underneath the towel. His lips curled into a delicious smile. And for some reason, Jessica’s body was reacting to him. But this annoyed her even more. This was no place or time to be reacting positively to a strange man in her room.

  “This is absurd! I’m going to call the concierge desk.” She tried to dismiss her body’s heated attraction to this gorgeous god in her room who obviously was booked there first. She picked up the phone on the desk and pressed 0 to dial the concierge desk.

  After a long conversation with the hotel manager, she felt just as deflated. They informed her that they were doing everything in their power to get her another room but they would be happy to book her into another hotel under the same company on the other end of the island. Jessica promptly refused. No way was she driving half way across the island to a hotel she was not familiar with. Alone.

  ***

  James could not help grinning at the prissy little thing in front of him. He was used to women falling at his feet and begging for one night stands to get with the likes of him. The wrong type to bring home to his family for approval. But there was something different about Jessica, the name he observed on the bill since she was obviously too peeved to introduced herself. Not that he could blame her really. She was different. Not only was she gorgeously proportioned not like the anorexic-looking model types who counted their calories. She was a healthy looking curvaceous woman. As his eyes slid down the silhouette of her body, a heat of expectancy surged inside him. He really wanted this woman. Maybe his partying cousin, Dane, had a point. He was clearly attracted to her and could tell that she felt something when she first saw him and blushed ten shades of rouge. Maybe a summer fling would be a great way to ease the tension and relax the both of them. If she was up to it.

  Damn that cousin of his. James was supposed to be the head strong one in the business but it seemed as if this woman was stirring up something inside him. What, he did not know. It couldn’t be love at first sight because he didn’t believe in it.

  While she talked again on the phone to another customer service manager he took the liberty to walk over to the table by the bathroom where a block of Columbo DVDs lay. Was she really going to swipe him with these? Still it really intrigued him. He was totally obsessed with the Columbo TV series. You don’t meet women these days who were into old-time detective shows and Columbo was one of the best back in the day. This delighted him. They actually had something in common. He brought his collection from home to watch, too. She had seasons four and five and he had the very first season box set. Hmm.

  “Excuse me, those are mine,” Jessica called out after finishing her phone conversation.

  “I gathered that, by the way you held them tightly as a weapon to use against me. What were you planning to do? Solve me to death using Columbo’s techniques?” He cocked a brow with a grin on his face.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “By the way, what did the other manager say?” It seemed as if he really didn’t mind if they stayed together in the King suite but it looked as if she would.

  Perfect. She was a true lady.

  She sighed heavily and sat down on the plush sofa in the room. “They’re still looking into it but they are fully booked up. Everywhere.”

  “Oh, dear. Sorry to hear. I guess that really messes up your vacation doesn’t it?”

  She glared at him. Was he being sarcastic or genuine?

  “You know having been captured and locked away by the beast can’t be much fun. Well my beauty, no worries, you’ll be rescued soon.”

  “Very funny. You’re not making this easy for any of us. You don’t seem to get it. I wanted a quiet vacation to think and sit on the balcony alone watching the waves and reading on my kindle.”

  “Hmm. Sounds pretty much what I had in mind, too.”

  “Yeah right. Alone.”

  “Ever heard that commercial love means doing things alone, together.”

  She wrinkled her brow.

  “Anyway, I’m James by the way but I’m sure you checked that out by the bill I showed you.”

  She sighed, “Jessica.”

  “So what do you want to do now?”

  “Well, first, I’m going to get dressed and … well, hopefully the manager will call back soon with a solution.”

  “Of course. Listen can I get you something to eat? It’s on me.”

  “That’s sweet of you really,” she said with tiredness creeping into her voice. “But I’m good.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yes…no….” Her stomach rumbled so hard she knew he must have heard it or thought a thunder storm was brewing outside despite the clear blue sky.

  “Okay, you can order lunch, I guess.”

  “What would you like?”

  Wearily she replied, “Anything. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

  “Fine. It’s done. Actually, they have a really nice buffet downstairs by the pool it’s a gorgeous view, the least we could do is enjoy it and listen to the sea waves.”

  “Sure. Why not?” She really didn’t have any more energy to argue at this point. What could she do? He was booked in first even though the hotel was at fault, she was the last one booked in. He could kick her out and have her stay in the lobby till they found a suite for her which didn’t look like it was happening any time soon.

  4

  James was right, the open buffet near the pool was spectacular. The laughter of the patrons and the sound of reggae music playing softly in the background was enticing. The sound of water splashing in the pool nearby was inviting. But it was the delicious aroma of jerk chicken, curried goat, dumplings and other tasty entrees that really got her senses going.

  “Thank you,” Jessica said as James seated her at the table.

  “No problem, mon!” James teased her in his fake Jamaican accent.

  She grinned and shook her head. What was with her all of a sudden? Was she enjoying this man’s company? She couldn’t remember when was the last time she had felt this way. But still she had to keep her guard up. She really knew little about him but she really wanted to know more. Her senses were heightened in his presence. Like the pool and the sea, he was like a breath of fresh air. There was just something about him that connected with her magnetically. It was surreal. Magic.

  The waiter brought tall drinks to the table that James had ordered a minute ago. Pineapple Cola with a slice of lemon and a tall straw.

  When they went to the buffet table, Jessica started picking her foods first. And when she looked around, she was stunned that James was picking the same exact foods in the same proportions, a spoon full of rice, a dab of curried goat and some oxtail on the side with rice and peas to sample. “Are you trying to be funny?”