A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity

by Lieske, Victorine E.

  He was right. It was weird, but not impossible. She was on Grand Cayman vacationing. It wasn’t a huge island, but it did seem a bit odd. At least she wasn’t insisting on joining them at their table. Maybe she hadn’t seen them. Dani pulled out her sunglasses from her purse and put them on in the hopes that would further hide them. “I take it you don’t want to see her again?”

  He frowned. “Not really.”

  Dani studied him. “Why not? Was it a bad breakup?”

  “No, it was more like a painful relationship from the start. I didn’t even really like her. But she’s the kind of person who doesn’t take no for an answer.”

  Ah, yes. She knew that kind of person well. “I get it.”

  They sat for a while in a strained silence before Dani decided she needed to say something else to keep the conversation going. Anything. “So, I guess you don’t live at the Billionaire Club, since you’re not the maintenance man.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “How long will you be here?”

  “Another week.”

  “Oh.” She took another sip of her drink. One week. And then what? She’d be on her own. Her father didn’t look like he was going to give in anytime soon. Where was she going to stay? How would she save enough money to get home?

  Austin must have read her mind, because his expression softened. “Why don’t you fly back to LA with me? I’ll pay for your ticket.”

  She stared at him, her emotions rising in her. Of course he would offer that. Because he’s a nice guy. Or, at least, pretending to be a nice guy. But what would happen if she took him up on it? She’d have to quit her job. Her father wouldn’t like that. Would he kick her out of his house? Would it be better or worse to get stranded in LA, rather than stranded in the Cayman Islands? At least here she had a job. And maybe just a tiny bit of dignity.

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t let you do that.”

  “Why not? You know I can afford it. And you don’t want to stay here, right?” He picked up his soda and stirred the ice around.

  “I don’t want to quit my job.”

  “You can get a job in LA.”

  “Or, I could keep my job here, and work until I have enough to go home on my own, like my father wants.”

  He paused, his gaze traveling over her. “Where will you stay?”

  She squared her shoulders. “I’ll find something.”

  “Are you sure?”

  No, she wasn’t. But what else could she do? Go crawling back to her father and beg for him to give her back her credit cards? She didn’t want to do that. She wanted to prove to him that she didn’t need his money. She swallowed down the doubt she was feeling and nodded. “Yes.”

  He sighed. “Okay.”

  Irritation rose in her. “What? You keep telling me I’m capable. Yet, you don’t seem to believe it. I really can do this on my own.”

  “I believe you. It’s just expensive here. And I want you to be safe.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She turned to face the water, effectively cutting off the conversation. Fine was probably not the word she would use to describe her situation, but what else could she do? She wasn’t going to use Austin’s money to get back home.

  The ship began to move and everyone stood to wave at the people on the shore. Dani joined Austin at the railing beside their table. As the yacht turned, she stumbled a little into Austin’s side. He put his arm around her, steadying her. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to. When she regained her balance, he removed his arm. The absence of it made her cold.

  And of course there was a couple next to them, snuggling with each other. Sheesh. Dani tried to ignore them, but it was difficult with the woman giggling and tickling the man’s three-day stubble. He pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips.

  She bit the inside of her cheek and wondered if she had been stupid to tell Austin she wasn’t ready to have a relationship right now. He was kind-hearted, and a complete gentleman. If she were being honest with herself, he was exactly the kind of man she could fall in love with. He was real. Everyone else in her life had been fake. Plastic.

  Why had she closed that door between them? At this moment, she regretted it.

  Chapter 20

  The light smell of Dani’s shampoo, or whatever it was, wafted up and Austin had a hard time ignoring the warmth of her skin just centimeters away from him. He had steadied her, which was a mistake. Just the slight brush against her soft skin had sent his heart into overdrive. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stand next to her and not touch her.

  Stupid. Why was he even thinking such things? He scooted over a few inches, hoping he wasn’t being obvious. Of course, that put him closer to the couple making out next to them. Gross. He tried to ignore the kissing noises, but it was almost impossible. And of course all he could now think about was kissing Dani. Geesh. He needed a hobby.

  Someone bumped into him, causing him to grip the railing. How rude. Did the person not even see him standing there? He turned to see none other than Claire squeezing in beside him. She glanced at him, then smiled. “Austin! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Something about the way she said it irked him. He didn’t believe her. What had she done, waited until they left the resort and then followed him and Dani to the docks? What was wrong with her?

  He wanted to accuse her of following them, but decided it was best to just be polite and then get away from her. “Claire,” he said with a slight nod. “Nice to see you.” He shifted away from her, which, unfortunately, put him closer to Dani.

  Claire put her hand on his arm. “Come here. I want to show you something.”

  Before he could object, she was tugging him away from the railing. Dani turned and shot him a look, but he didn’t have time to interpret it before Claire dragged him around the corner. She continued to tug him down the deck until they came to the aft of the ship. She stopped, then turned to him. “Remember that night, when we snuck out and went to the super late show at the theater?”

  “Claire—”

  “Remember how you were scared you’d get caught, so you climbed up the lattice on the side of your house, but it wasn’t that sturdy and you fell?” She laughed and snuggled up to him. She reeked of overpowering perfume and stale desperation.

  This was the Claire he remembered from high school. The one that wouldn’t listen. The one that was pushy and obnoxious. He gritted his teeth and pulled away from her. “What was it you wanted to show me?”

  “Oh, that. I just wanted to catch up. We didn’t get to the other night, with that girl in the way.” She batted her eyes at him. “I miss you.” She trailed a finger down his chest.

  “Claire,” he said, trying not to make his voice sound strained. He was done being nice. He needed to be blunt now. “I’m with Dani.”

  “No, you’re just friends,” Claire said, her eyes widening. “Right?”

  Time for a white lie. He had to get Claire off his back. “I want to make it something more. I really like her.” Okay, maybe not so much of a lie. He did like Dani. And he would love to have something more going on with her.

  “I can’t leave her standing alone on the deck…” He let his voice trail off when he realized what he had said.

  “Like you did to me?” Claire folded her arms. “At the golf place?”

  Heat rushed to his cheeks. “I was concerned for Dani. I had to make sure she was okay.”

  “You shouldn’t trust her, you know. She’s a manipulator.”

  He couldn’t help but think of that childish saying about rubber and glue. If Dani was a manipulator, then Claire was a master at it. “She’s not what you think.”

  Claire’s jaw worked and she pressed her lips together. “She’s a drunk and a liar. You should let her go mooch off someone else.”

  Austin cocked his head to the side as he assessed what Claire had just said. “Wait, how do you—”

  “Everyone knows she’s penniless, and has wormed her way into yo
ur life. It was on the news.” Claire folded her arms as if saying that made it a fact.

  “Gossip channel, you mean?” He took a step back from her. What was he doing? This whole conversation was pointless. He wasn’t going to leave Dani to spend the day with the likes of Claire Sullivan. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. Just let me go back to Dani.”

  Claire smiled, although it kind of looked like a snarl. “Sure. Go. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “You didn’t offend me.” He just wasn’t at all interested in getting back together with her, but he kept that part to himself. She wouldn’t listen anyway.

  Her features softened. “All right. Go. Have fun with her. I hope you find happiness.” Claire took a step toward him and before he could react, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He jerked back. She ignored the fact that he practically shoved her away and patted his chest. “Have fun with your little girlfriend. You’ll regret it when she makes a fool out of you.”

  She turned and walked off, leaving him stunned. Had that just happened? Had she really kissed him? Of all the…he didn’t even know how to finish that thought. He was so done with her. At least she was gone.

  He hurried back to the forward part of the deck where he’d left Dani. She was sitting at the table, her drink in her hand. He couldn’t tell if she was mad or not. He sat down across from her and picked up his Pepsi. “I’m sorry, that was rude of her to drag me off. But I think that’s the last we’ll see of Claire.”

  Dani raised her eyebrows. “Oh? What happened?”

  “I told her we were—” He stopped short. He hadn’t meant to tell Dani what he’d said. Now he didn’t know how to finish that sentence. “Uh…”

  A look flitted onto Dani’s face. It was a cross between curiosity and skepticism. “You told her we were what?”

  Great. Now he had to say it. Why couldn’t he keep his big mouth shut? “T-together,” he stuttered and more heat assaulted his face. This was not going well. He needed to shut up.

  Surprise registered on her face. “Together? Us?”

  He nodded, deciding that non-verbal communication would be best.

  “What did she say to that?” She studied his face.

  He shrugged. Never in a million years would he actually tell Dani what Claire had said. It would hurt her. Claire was a vicious woman and her words could die on the wind.

  He stuck his straw in his mouth and gulped down the rest of his soda, hoping it would cool him. It didn’t work. He tipped the glass to get a piece of ice, but they all came at once, crashing onto his lips. Man, he couldn’t catch a break. Now he looked like a clumsy idiot.

  “I hate when that happens to me,” Dani said, obviously trying to lessen his embarrassment.

  He wiped at his lips. “Yeah.”

  “Listen, I don’t mean to change the subject, but I was wondering…” Dani pulled the pineapple slice off her glass and took a bite. “Can I ask you something personal?”

  Anything to take the subject off Claire. Austin nodded. “Go ahead.”

  “Do you have a stutter?” Her dark brown eyes held a softness to them, and her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sorry if that’s a stupid question. I just noticed it a few times. Please don’t take offense.”

  Oh, fantastic. He’d rather jump overboard than talk about his speech impediment. And here he was hoping to get away from talking about embarrassing things. He took his straw and stabbed at his ice. Maybe that would make it melt faster. He suddenly needed a drink of water.

  Dani reached out and put her hand on his knee. “I’ve upset you. I’m sorry. Ignore that. You don’t have to answer.”

  Austin sighed and set his glass down. He stared out at the waves. It was stupid not to admit he’d grown up with a stutter. She’d already heard him. Refusing to admit it wouldn’t make it go away. He met her gaze. “Yes, I have a stutter. It was much more pronounced when I was a child. Through speech therapy I was able to drop it most of the time.”

  “It worked. You rarely stutter anymore.”

  “Thanks.” He tipped his glass, but only one drop of Pepsi-flavored water hit his tongue. He set his glass down. “I was teased quite a bit in grade school for it. It’s a bit of a sore subject for me, so I apologize for making you feel like you upset me. You didn’t. It’s just not something I like to talk about.”

  “No. Don’t apologize. It’s my fault for asking. I shouldn’t have.” Dani hugged her arms, drawing into herself.

  A man walked to the railing on the deck above them and picked up a microphone. “Welcome to our day cruise, everyone! If you’ve read the itinerary, you know that we’re going to have some live music on this deck for the next hour. Feel free to show off your dance skills. Give it up for Disciples of the Beach!”

  Austin joined in the smattering of applause from the crowd. A couple of guitar players and a man with a keyboard started playing music. A few of the couples stood and danced in the open space of the deck.

  “Maybe we picked a bad place to chat,” he said.

  “Then let’s not chat. Let’s dance.” Dani shot up out of her seat and grabbed his hand. “Come on.”

  Austin wasn’t a dancer, but it was hard to say no to Dani, especially when he’d soured the mood just a moment before. She was happy, at least it looked like it, so he joined her on the dance floor.

  The band was playing a lively rendition of an old ’80s song he’d heard on the radio but couldn’t quite remember the name. It was an easy song to dance to, and Austin let go of his inhibitions and let his body move. Dani grinned at him. “Look at you. I had no idea you could dance.”

  He chuckled. “I can’t. I’m just having fun.”

  “It looks like dancing to me. You’re pretty good.”

  The conversation waned as they enjoyed the music and the light breeze. After two fast songs, a slow song started and couples came together. Feeling a bit emboldened by the way Dani complemented him on his dance moves, he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

  It wasn’t the first time he’d held Dani, but in this setting it somehow felt more intimate. He took her hand and began swaying to the tune of “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx. The feel of Dani’s soft skin made his heart beat faster.

  She peered up at him. “I should have known you were a football player.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re so buff.” Her mouth popped open and she stammered. “I mean…I guess…what I meant was…” Her neck turned red. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  He tried to hide a chuckle, but wasn’t sure he succeeded. “What?”

  “Never mind.”

  He could tell she embarrassed herself, so he just shook his head and pretended he hadn’t heard. “I’m not even sure what I should never mind.”

  Dani smiled, her fingers resting on his shoulder. “Good.”

  He breathed in the scent of her and it did funny things to his stomach. Why did he feel like he was a teenager again when he was close to Dani? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her lips, and how they would feel against his? She’d made it clear she didn’t want a relationship with him. He needed to get those thoughts out of his mind.

  Chapter 21

  Austin closed his eyes, reveling in the sensations coursing through him. Tingles from touching Dani’s skin. Warmth from being so close to her. And another sensation he couldn’t quite put his finger on. It was one that made him kind of weak in the knees, and yet gave him energy. Maybe it was simply infatuation. He had a massive crush on Dani.

  She was a good dancer. She followed his movements with grace and ease as he stepped in time with the music. The sway of the ship added to the euphoric feeling of dancing with her, giving him butterflies in his stomach.

  How had he ended up at this place? It was strange. He was with someone he thought was a spoiled princess just a few days before, but now saw her as a completely different person. She was a lot stronger than he had thought. She had tenacity and spunk, and yet she’d shown how
much of a kind-hearted person she was.

  Even though he knew she wasn’t into him, he couldn’t help but like her. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. How had he fallen for Danica Jordan? He couldn’t like her. It wouldn’t ever work. She hated the limelight, and he was now smack-dab in the middle of it. Heck, he’d probably already stirred up rumors about them just having been photographed together at the resort. It wouldn’t take a detective to figure out they’d been sharing a room. Who was going to believe their relationship was platonic?

  “I’m sorry about earlier,” Dani said suddenly, forcing him away from his thoughts. “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.”

  Guilt surged in him for making her feel like she shouldn’t have asked about his stutter. He didn’t mean to make her feel bad. “No, you were fine. I shouldn’t be so sensitive about it.”

  Dani glanced out at the ocean. “You have a right to keep things private.”

  It wasn’t that he wanted to keep it private. It was just embarrassing, and he wasn’t used to talking about it. All of his growing up years were laced with memories of being mercilessly teased because of his speech impediment. He knew what he wanted to say, but for some reason, it got stuck coming out. The kids his age didn’t understand he couldn’t help it.

  It was a hard time in his life he’d much rather forget than talk about, but for some reason, he wanted Dani to know that part of him. It was painful, but he wanted to tell her. He took in a breath and let it out.

  “When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Donovan Michaels, the running back for the Demons. I wanted his jersey so badly, but it was expensive and my mom worked two jobs just to pay our bills. Extra money was unheard of. We barely had enough to survive.

  “But as a young child, I was still convinced that Christmas was magic and Santa would bring me what I really wanted. I must have written him a dozen letters, begging for that jersey. Had I known it was my mother reading those messages, I never would have done it. I knew we had no money. But I had total faith in Santa. So I kept writing, and my mother kept mailing them for me.”