Sweet Promise

by Ginna Gray

  "It's lovely, isn't it?"

  Blinking, Joanna turned her head to find Susan leaning on the rail beside her. She smiled and returned her gaze to the sea. "Yes. Yes, it is."

  They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, soaking in the beauty of the morning. "I didn't expect to see you up so early," Susan said finally. "When you didn't show up for dinner last night I was worried that maybe you weren't feeling well."

  "No, I'm fine. I just decided to have an early night, so I ordered a light dinner in my suite." Actually, it had been the prospect of facing Sean again that had kept Joanna in her cabin, but she wasn't about to admit that to Susan. "How about you? What are you doing up so early?"

  "I wanted to get a look at Antigua while Lori was still asleep," Susan sighed. "Since I won't be going ashore, that's about all I can do."

  "Oh, but you shouldn't miss Antigua. It has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world."

  "I know. But we really can't take Lori. We tried it yesterday in St. Thomas, and she got so fussy after a few hours we were all miserable." Susan gave a fatalistic little shrug and grimaced forlornly. "Bill and I decided to take turns going ashore."

  Joanna hesitated a moment, then placed her hand on Susan's arm. "Look, I have a better idea. Why don't I keep Lori while both of you go ashore?"

  "Oh, Joanna! We couldn't do that—"

  "Of course you can," Joanna insisted, cutting off Susan's flustered protest. "I was planning to stay on board today anyway. Besides, I've seen Antigua. So there's no reason why you shouldn't go. Unless, of course, you're worried about leaving Lori with me."

  "Oh, no! I'm sure—"

  "Good. Then that settles it. I'll have a quick breakfast on deck, then I'll go find a steward and have a crib set up in my suite. When you're ready to leave just bring Lori to me there." Before Susan could object further, Joanna hurried away.

  * * *

  An hour and a half later Bill and Susan arrived at Joanna's suite loaded down with two diaper bags full of supplies and babbling their thanks. Interspersed among them was a list of last minute instructions.

  Lori whimpered when she realized that her parents were about to leave her, which set off another round of doubts and protestations, but Joanna finally managed to shoo the grateful couple out, with orders that they weren't to return until it was time for the ship to saiL-

  When the door closed behind them Lori really started to howl. Dismayed, Joanna watched the tiny bottom lip curl pathetically and tears spill from the big blue eyes, and for the first time she began to wonder if maybe she hadn't been just a bit hasty.

  "Now, now sweetheart, don't cry," she crooned. "Your mommy and daddy will be back. And you and I are going to have a wonderful day together, you'll see."

  Lori's cries rose two decibels. Joanna paced the floor and bounced the child on her arm. "Come on, sweetheart. Don't cry. Please don't cry. Look! Here's one of your play pretties." She grabbed a stuffed toy from the top of one of the bags and shook it in front of Lori's face. "See, Lori? See? Isn't this nice?" Joanna squeezed the terry cloth rabbit, and it made a shrill little squeak. Lori looked away and shrieked.

  The child's nose ran profusely, and her cheeks were slick with tears. As her cries took on a hysterical note her face turned a brilliant shade, somewhere between red and purple.

  "Oh, baby, please, don't do that. Please don't cry."

  Joanna may as well have been talking to the wall, for all the good her pleas did. She made a desperate sound in her throat and bounced harder.

  Could she hurt herself, crying like that? Joanna wondered frantically. It seemed likely. At the very least she was going to make herself sick if she kept it up. Oh, you idiot! Why on earth did you offer to baby-sit? What you know about babies would fit into a thimble, for Pete's sake. Lori screamed harder, right in Joanna's ear. She winced and sent up a silent prayer and continued to pace.

  It took a moment for the sound to penetrate Lori's shrieks but finally Joanna realized that someone was knocking on the door. She rushed to open it, reacting to the summons like a drowning man who had been thrown a lifeline. To her it meant only one thing: help had arrived.

  Her hopeful expression turned to dismay when she threw open the door. "What are you doing here?" she demanded.

  Ignoring her question, Sean plucked Lori from her arms, stepped inside, forcing Joanna to take a hasty step backward, and closed the door behind him. "Hey, cutie. What's all the noise about, huh? If you don't knock it off they're gonna put us off the ship, did you know that?" He hoisted the baby in the crook of his arm and tickled her tummy with his other hand. Lori's cries quietened to sharp little snubs, and she stared at him solemnly with wide, tear-drenched eyes.

  "That's my girl. You don't really want to be making all that racket, do you, sweetheart?" Very gently, Sean brushed the tears from her cheeks, and to Joanna's astonishment, Lori let out a shuddering sigh, stuck her thumb in her mouth, and laid her head on his shoulder, as docile as a lamb.

  "How did you do that?" Joanna demanded, wide-eyed.

  Sean absently massaged the baby's back, his big hand covering her from shoulder to waist. He fixed his intent gaze on Joanna, and once more ignored her question. "The Adamsons told us at breakfast that you'd volunteered to keep Lori today. I thought maybe I'd better give you a hand."

  She bristled instantly, forgetting her desperation of only a moment ago. "And just what makes you think I need help?"

  "Have you had any experience with babies?"

  Joanna hesitated, some of the fire going out of her. "Well, no," she admitted reluctantly. The look she gave him was part disparaging, part hopeful. "And you have, I suppose."

  "I have four brothers and three sisters, all of whom are married and have large and growing families. At last count I have twenty-one nieces and nephews between the ages of two months and eighteen years," he stated calmly as he moved past her to investigate the contents of one of the bags. "I learned to pin op a diaper before I was seven."

  Joanna watched him with something akin to awe as he held the limp baby on his shoulder and plucked a disposable diaper and a canister of premoistened wipes from the bag. Eight? He was one of eight children? The very thought was mind-boggling. As an only child, she couldn't even conceive of growing up in a family that size.

  "Which, I'd say, is the first order of business now," Sean continued. "Part of Lori's problem is she's uncomfortable." Sitting sideways on the sofa, he laid the baby on the cushion next to him. He gave her tummy another tickle, and Lori kicked her legs and gurgled. "All that crying turned on the waterworks in more ways than one, didn't it cutie?"

  With a nonchalance and expertise Joanna couldn't help but admire, within a matter of minutes, Sean had the baby stripped of the sodden diaper, cleaned and swaddled in a fresh one, and her ruffled sunsuit re-snapped.

  "There now, how does that feel, little one?" he said as he picked up the docile child and turned to Joanna.

  Amusement twinkled in his eyes when he met her astonished stare and the corners of his mouth twitched suspiciously. "There are three things you've got to remember when taking care of babies," he drawled with just the slightest hint of superiority in his voice. "Keep 'em dry, keep 'em fed and keep 'em entertained."

  Joanna sighed. "The first two I can manage. I think. But how do I do the third?"

  "Go get your swimsuit on. We'll take her to the pool. Afterward we'll give her a bath and feed her. By the time we're through she should be ready for a nap."

  Joanna hesitated. Accepting the plan meant accepting Sean's help, which would mean spending the day in his company. It was an appealing idea, and very tempting, but every self-protective instinct she possessed warned against it. It would be far better if she could stay angry with him, keep him at a distance. This attraction she felt for Sean was hopeless and idiotic, and the only way she was ever going to get over it was to stay away from him. It was foolish and self-destructive to even consider his offer.

  Still, she reminded herself, th
e alternative was to cope on her own. The memory of Lori's inconsolable crying jag flashed through her mind and sent panic skittering up her spine.

  Within minutes Joanna was in her bedroom, rummaging through the dresser for a swimsuit.

  When she walked back into the sitting room a short while later wearing a yellow maillot and her white lace cover-up Sean's black eyes narrowed and flickered slowly over her. Joanna shifted restlessly under the silent scrutiny. "I, uh... I'm ready," she said needlessly.

  Sean didn't hurry his inspection. The lacy top did little to obstruct his view, and his gaze slid down over her breasts and hips and the long curving length of her legs to her sandaled feet. Just as slowly, just as intently, he retraced the path. When their eyes met he smiled and tipped his head, rolling slowly to his feet.

  "Why don't you gather the towels we'll need and slap a coat of sunscreen on Lori while I go change into my suit."

  Lori was sitting on the floor, playing contentedly with a ring of plastic keys, but when Sean stood she looked up and grinned, flashing four tiny white teeth and crinkling her button nose. He bent and chucked her under her chin. "Behave yourself while I'm gone, princess."

  Lori gurgled and shook the keys violently, whacking the floor and her chubby legs.

  When he left she gave a little whine of protest. Joanna's troubled gaze went from the closed door to the wide-eyed infant, and she smiled sadly. "I know, sweetheart. He's devastating, isn't he. Even to females of your tender age."

  Joanna was tense and jumpy when Sean returned, a condition that wasn't helped by the fact that he wore only a pair of rubber thongs and a tiny wine-red bathing suit that left little doubt of his masculinity. To Joanna's acute embarrassment and horror, she had difficulty keeping her eyes off his broad chest and lean, muscle-ridged belly.

  With a short, "Here, you carry her," she thrust Lori into his arms, snatched up her beach bag and hustled them out the door. All the way to the pool she gritted her teeth and kept her gaze determinedly averted. Even so, from the corner of her eye, she could see his long muscular legs striding along beside her, feel the warmth that radiated from him, and she silently cursed and ground her teeth.

  As soon as they arrived at the pool Joanna sat down on the end of a lounge to smooth on sunscreen. When she had finished with her legs and arms and reached around to apply the lotion to her back, Sean plopped Lori in her lap and took the bottle out of her hand.

  "Here, I'll do that," he said, sitting down behind her.

  The feel of his hands on her back was so shockingly pleasurable Joanna caught her breath. His palms were slightly rough and very warm. They moved over her skin in a slow, smooth glide, his fingers massaging lightly, sending shivers of delight skittering through her, making her heart race crazily. Joanna was drowning in sensations, awash with sheer bliss.

  Closing her eyes, Joanna tilted her head forward until her chin rested against the wisp of blond curls at Lori's crown. She felt as though every bone in her body were dissolving. The coconut scent of the tanning lotion swirled around her, mixing with the smells of sweet baby and healthy, virile male. Vaguely, she heard the lap of the water, the hum of voices and occasional bursts of laughter, the vibrating tones of the steel drum band playing in the distance. The gentle heat of the Caribbean sun poured over her, but it was the tender abrasion of those hands on her back that made her burn.

  How many times had she dreamed of Sean touching her like this? Dreamed of being with him, being the recipient of those warm looks and murmured endearments? With only a word, a glance from those dark drowsy eyes, a simple touch, Sean could make a woman feel special, cherished. It was heaven to relax and savor the feel of his hands smoothing over her back.

  But the dreamy pleasure lasted only a moment before she remembered that he had performed the same service for Gloria, and with just as much care. And that the woman's face had reflected the exact emotions Joanna was feeling now.

  Pain, jealousy and anger ripped through her, and she jerked away from his hands and stood up. "Thank you, but that wasn't really necessary. I'm perfectly capable of applying tanning lotion myself," she said in a sharp voice.

  As she walked to the edge of the pool she felt Sean's eyes on her back but she didn't turnaround. Holding the child against her chest, Joanna stepped off into the shallow end.

  After a moment Sean joined them, and soon, thanks to Lori's boisterous antics, the awkwardness passed.

  They splashed and laughed and cavorted with the baby for a couple of hours. Now and then they bumped into each other, or Sean would casually touch her shoulder or the small of her back as they stood close together playing with Lori. Every time, the casual contact stole Joanna's breath away, but Sean didn't seem at all affected. Disgusted, she told herself to stop acting like an idiot and kept up a determinedly blase front. Once, when he took the baby from her, his hand accidentally brushed her breast, and Joanna felt briefly as though her whole body had burst into flame. She was appalled by the reaction but helpless to do anything about it.

  Ambivalent feelings tore at Joanna. A part of her treasured this rare time of closeness with Sean and wanted it to go on and on, while another part of her longed for the sensual torment to end. That it could get worse didn't occur to her until Sean announced that it was time to get Lori out of the sun, and they headed back to Joanna's suite.

  "While you bathe our gal I'll get her lunch ready," Sean said the moment they stepped through the door. He went straight to the two diaper bags and began to rummage through them. "It'll probably be easiest and quickest if you just take her into the shower with you," he added over his shoulder, pulling out a warming dish and two small jars of food.

  Joanna stared at the rippling muscles in Sean's back as he leaned over the small dining table and used the curved baby spoon to scoop the contents of the jars into the dish. "A shower?" she said in a small, strained voice. She hadn't planned on that. The very idea of taking a shower while Sean occupied her sitting room, wearing nothing but a tiny strip of cloth, conjured up unsettling, wildly erotic—and admittedly exciting—images in her mind, which in turn brought a tide of color surging into her face.

  But what choice did she have? It hadn't occurred to her before, but she doubted that she could bathe the baby in that tiny sink. Joanna cleared her throat and, holding Lori tightly against her chest, picked up one of the bags and began to back toward the bedroom. "Uh .. yes. Okay, I, uh... I'll go do that."

  The next half hour proved to be so difficult and so frantic Joanna found she didn't have time for erotic thoughts. Holding a slick, squirming little body while struggling to get both of them scrubbed, shampooed and rinsed, with only the use of one hand, was an almost impossible feat, and several times Joanna wondered suspiciously if Sean had known that when he'd made the suggestion. Holding onto Lori was like trying to hold a watermelon seed with greased fingers; Joanna was terrified that any moment the baby would squirt right out of her grasp. But finally, after much gnashing of teeth and contorting, the job was done. When Joanna emerged from the bedroom carrying her small charge on her hip, they were both dressed in loose sun shifts and smelling of baby powder.

  Joanna stepped into the sitting room and looked cautiously around, only to discover that it was empty. She stood in the middle of the room, her face registering surprise, feeling both relieved and absurdly disappointed. "Obviously, he's decided he's helped enough," she muttered under her breath as she stalked over to the dining table.

  The nauseating mess in Lori's dish was warm. Beside it was a bib, a wet washcloth and a baby bottle filled with milk. At the sight of the food Lori set up a demanding babble and began to bounce excitedly in Joanna's arms. "Well, sweetie, it looks like lunch is ready to be served," Joanna murmured as she set the baby in a chair and struggled to snap the bib around her neck.

  Joanna felt guilty feeding such awful looking stuff to the child, but Lori ate it hungrily, at least, that portion that didn't end up on the bib or smeared all over her face. Every so often she would turn
her head away and refuse the bite Joanna offered, then stretch her chubby arms out toward the bottle and demand a drink.

  They were almost through with the meal when there was a light tap on the door. Before Joanna could respond, it was pushed open and Sean stepped inside. "Hi. I see you're managing all right."

  At the sound of his voice Lori jerked her head around, and the bite Joanna was giving her smeared from the corner of her mouth to her ear. "Oh, just terrific," Joanna said in an aggrieved tone as she grabbed for the washcloth. "It would have helped though if you had waited until we were through to make your entrance."

  Sean wore faded jeans, a red short sleeved cotton shirt and sneakers. His black hair was slicked into place, but it was still wet from his shower, and a heavy curl tumbled across his forehead as he sauntered toward them. His darkly tanned skin bore just a touch of color from its recent exposure to the sun, and as he drew near, Joanna caught a whiff of soap and woodsy cologne, and clean male. Suddenly it was difficult to breathe.

  Sean hunkered down beside Lori's chair. "Hey, cu-tie, you're supposed to eat your food, not wear it," he said, tickling the sole of her bare foot. With a squeal, Lori curled her toes and gave his face an enthusiastic pat.

  It was a struggle, but Joanna managed to shovel the last few bites into the child's mouth. Lori polished off the rest of the milk, and when Joanna had wiped her face clean Sean reached for her. "I'll go put her down for her nap while you take care of the dishes."