style="font-size:15px;"> Angelina’s hand fluttered to her chest, and she took a deep breath. Was he looking at her? She glanced to each side. On one there was a family of five still looking toward the shoreline; on the other was a group of teenagers making a lively ruckus. She turned back. It must be her. She felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach and had to stop herself from turning away and fleeing.
He was leaning on the railing with his foot cocked up on one of the lounge chairs in self-assured ease. His elbows rested at his sides atop the rail, and like everything about his pose, his cool confidence suggested that he was out of her league.
He had on a short-sleeved white Oxford shirt that was tucked into pleated blue slacks. The breeze fluttered his shirt along his firm arms up to his broad shoulders, and his top buttons opened to a peek at his hard chest. He was talking with his friends, but all the while he was looking her way.
The brashness of his scrutiny sent shivers through Angelina’s body, and her insides buzzed with nervous energy. As self-conscious as she was under his open gaze, something in those eyes made her pulse skip. She had never had such a visceral reaction to anyone before and hoped that it couldn’t be read in her features. She pressed her palm against her midriff to calm herself but had to look away.
Angelina had been called her sister’s name all afternoon. Now, on an impulse, she decided to be a little like her baby sis. She took a breath and turned back to the simmering brown eyes and met their gaze, deliberately staring back with an audacious smile on her lips.
She was startled that she was being so brazen.
He seemed to hold her gaze, just as he did before, but nothing else changed. Then, when one of his friends said something, he turned toward the speaker and laughed, breaking his link with her. She certainly couldn’t pull it off the way Safire could. So much for the attempt.
Angelina shifted the load on her shoulder and stepped from the railing. Unfortunately, her laptop bag had gotten wedged between the rungs of the railing and toppled her back. She unhooked the bag and launched herself from the banister. No, she certainly couldn’t pull off what Safire could.
Had he seen her fumble? Embarrassed, she looked toward the warm brown eyes, but the face that held them was directed elsewhere. Well, she was no Safire. She didn’t know what had gotten into her in the first place.
She walked to the elevator, pulled out her key and went to find her cabin.
Angelina’s stateroom had everything she would have expected and more, including a balcony on the water. And luckily, she wasn’t sharing; she had an oasis all to herself. The first thing on her list was unpacking before dinner, and her suitcase had been delivered so she had only to plop it on the footrest to begin.
The pieces she’d added were on top, so she pulled out a couple of capris, a couple of skirts, a few blouses, a dress and some light tops to go over whatever nonsense Safire had packed for herself. And thank goodness. Safire’s clothes were much as she expected.
There were several cocktail dresses, all low-cut and thigh-high. Angelina couldn’t imagine herself strutting around in them. The shorts were okay, but Safire had packed skimpy tank tops and racerback T-shirts to go with them. The skirts were all mini and the tops were off-the-shoulder blouses or camisoles. Even the nightclothes she’d packed were sheer, midthigh numbers.
No wonder the case was only half-full when Safire brought it. Everything in it was tiny—just as she’d expected. The last piece of clothing she pulled out was Safire’s swimsuit. Such a pity she hadn’t remembered her own. She could ball up Safire’s bikini and make it disappear inside her fist.
Angelina stood in front of the closet taking inventory. She didn’t have enough of her own stuff, so she would have to make do with Safire’s pieces. She might have to get another swimsuit on the ship and perhaps a couple of oversize T-shirts to sleep in.
She hadn’t budgeted for extra clothes—at least not at what they would cost in floating boutiques. The light cover-ups she’d brought would supplement the dresses and tank tops, and she didn’t plan to go to many events, so she should be okay. After all, it was a cruise. She could be a little like her sister for a little while. She probably wouldn’t see anyone here again in life.
This made her think again of those warm brown eyes. What had she been thinking trying to send a signal from across the deck? He probably thought she was a loon. No, he probably wasn’t giving her a second thought at all. He could have been looking at the horizon the whole time. In any case, there were several thousand people on the ship. Chances of running into him again didn’t seem great, a fact that made her feel both disappointed and relieved.
Angelina turned to the rest of the suitcase and her carry-on—her work. She set up her laptop on the table and piled around it the books and papers she’d brought. She also pulled out all the cruise information: the docking schedule, the brochure for singles, coupons for the tours and a spa day, a separate booklet describing the ship’s amenities, pamphlets for events and movies.
The next thing to do was to find a place for dinner; she didn’t want to change, so nothing fancy. She found a café-style restaurant and had a sandwich. Then she went back to her room and called to check in at home. Safire was there, and all was well. She started to tell her sister a thing or two about packing such outrageous clothing, but she gave it a second thought. Safire wasn’t actually packing for her when she’d made those selections, so it didn’t make sense to accuse her of anything willful.
The rest of the evening she was going to lounge on the balcony and read. That, however, didn’t last long. She started Ellory Patterman’s history of the involvement of Black women in the World War I effort, and enjoying the book as she was, she drifted into sleep. Angelina woke up a couple of hours later to find her book on the floor and her neck stretched precariously to one side.
She got up and went into her room to change for bed but had only Safire’s short, silky nightgowns. There was nothing to be done about it right then, so she put one on and crawled into bed. For a few minutes, she watched the cruise ship’s information station on television, but before long, she clicked the television off. It was a little early, but she was tired; she’d been tired for some time, and the luxury of the space let her give in to what she needed most—rest.
If nothing else, she would get to relax a bit over the next nine days. She might even be able to take her sister’s advice and let loose a little. There could be a little Safire in her yet.
She curled up in bed, letting herself sink into the cool, crisp sheets. Perhaps it was the enchantment of being aboard a ship on the way to the Caribbean, or perhaps it was the sumptuous feel of the gown she had on, but she drifted off thinking of a warm pair of brown eyes.
Chapter 2
Jeremy Bell had noticed her before she’d even stepped onto the gangway. She was behind his group in the line to board the ship, and she was gorgeous. He could hardly keep from staring at her and hoped that she was one of the members of the singles cruise. She seemed to be. She didn’t seem to be with any of the people around her.
She had on a casual yellow sundress and strappy sandals with low wooden heels. The dress was simple enough, but it didn’t fully hide the voluptuous curves of her body. When the ocean breeze caught it, he could see the succulent shape of her buttock and the heavy sway of her ripe breasts.
There was something hesitant about her stance, an ongoing inquiry in her expression. She had probably never been on a cruise before. The uncertainty gave her a vulnerable quality that drew his gaze to her even
