Max pasted on his patented, never-fail charming smile and looked as if he was going to work his magic on her. But at the last minute, the smile fled and he changed direction, heading for the keg instead.
“Who’s that woman?” Reece asked, nodding toward the quiet brunette.
“Jane. She lives on the boat next door to ours.”
“The one with the violent husband?” he asked with some alarm. The day he and his cousins had arrived in Port Clara, Max had made the mistake of flirting with someone named Jane whose husband had taken exception and punched him in the face.
“Not to worry. The husband is soon to be an ex. The divorce is almost final.”
“And are you trying to play matchmaker? ’Cause Max always steers clear of single moms.”
“Really? Why is that? He doesn’t like kids?”
“It’s more that he’s uncomfortable around them. He dated a woman once who had a little boy, and every time they went out, they had a three-foot chaperone. Left a bad taste in his mouth.”
“Ah. Well, that’s a shame. They look nice together.”
Jane’s eyes followed Max to the beer, and Reece suspected some mutual chemistry at work. “Best not to encourage it,” he said. “Max is a great guy, but he plays the field. If Jane is smarting from a divorce, she doesn’t need games.”
“She’s not about to get serious, either,” Allie said. “If she and Max could have a little fun without everything getting heavy, I think it would be a good thing.”
Reece didn’t argue further, because he made it a policy never to dabble in other people’s relationships.
“Hey, you stole my date!” Sara was right at his elbow, grinning.
“You can have him back. He’s wearing me out. Thanks for the dance, Reece.” Allie stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek again, then drifted off.
Sara leaned on Reece’s shoulder. “How ’bout it, sailor? Wanna dance?”
Not really. What had seemed a harmless, low-pressure activity with Allie was altogether different with Sara. He couldn’t hold both her hands as he’d done with Allie-that was far too brotherly. But if he took her in his arms like he wanted to, he would be expected to actually dance.
Sara solved the problem by hooking her arms around his neck and placing her bare feet on top of his shoes.
Deciding to go with the flow, he slid his arms around Sara, holding her close, and moved to the music, which was thankfully a slower song, an Elvis ballad.
She looked up at him, eyes bright. “Are you having fun?”
“I am now.”
“I love parties. Don’t you?”
“Not so much.”
“Really?” She seemed shocked that anyone wouldn’t enjoy something she clearly thrived on. “How come?”
He could have told her he was a classic introvert, that he preferred the company of a few close friends-or even solitude-to a big crowd, or that being surrounded by loud noise and confusion frazzled his nerves.
Instead he said, “Because I don’t want to share you.”
That made her smile. “Well, okay then.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and let her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck.
Time stood still as he held her so close they moved as one, inhaling the vanilla scent of her hair, feeling her breasts rise and fall as she softly breathed.
But the song ended and someone had the gall to follow the ballad with hip-hop, something with a rowdy beat and nasty lyrics.
Sara stepped off his feet and looked up at him. “Thank you, that was lovely.”
Reece thought quickly. How could he hold on to the mood?
He grabbed her hand. “Come with me.”
She nodded, picked up her purse and her drink, and followed without hesitation, which said something about her level of trust. Or maybe it just said she thought he was harmless.
Hand in hand, they walked up the beach, still heading north, until the party sounds became muffled.
“Sorry if I’m taking you away from all the fun,” he said, pausing to look out over the water. A ship, all lit up, was heading north, also, probably toward Galveston or Houston.
“As far as I’m concerned, the fun’s here. I take it with me wherever I go. Hey, that’s a cruise ship. Have you ever been on a cruise?”
“Me? God, no. I get seasick, remember?”
“I’ve never been on a cruise, either, but I’ve applied for jobs with all the major cruise lines. I could see more of the world that way.”
The thought of her hopping a cruise ship troubled him. She would be completely inaccessible then. It was the one place he couldn’t follow her.
Follow her? Where had that come from? He had a life back home. It was all planned out. He had a damn fine salary, a home, his family, a history. Was he thinking he would chuck it all and go knocking about the world with Sara, living on love? That sort of fantasy was for fools.
“Have you done much traveling?” Sara asked.
“Not much. I went on vacations with my parents when I was a kid-mostly to golf resorts.” His dad-and later, Bret-would play golf all day; his mother would spend hours at the spa; Reece would be entertained by a babysitter. When he went to Hawaii, he saw nothing but the inside of the hotel and the swimming pool.
“I’ve never stayed at a resort. Is it nice?”
He shrugged. “It’s okay. The best part was ordering room service. I could get exactly what I wanted.”
“Hamburgers and French fries for every meal?”
He laughed. “Pretty much.”
Once the cruise ship slipped from view they started walking again. The beach petered out, turning from sand to rocks, so they headed inland toward the dunes.
“Let’s look for shooting stars,” she said.
Reece eyed the nearest sand dune dubiously. His clothes were still damp, and if he sat in the sand he would be coated in the gritty stuff.
But Sara had that covered. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small ball of wadded-up fabric. To his amazement, when she shook it out it was the size of a blanket.
“So we don’t get sand all over us.”
He helped her spread the fabric at the edge of the dune. It was as thin as tissue paper. “What is this?”
“It’s from India-isn’t it wonderful? Batik silk. I never go anywhere without it because it comes in so handy.”
“You’ve been to India?” he asked as they settled onto the cloth. He leaned back against the dune and looked up at the stars.
“Once. It’s an amazing place, both beautiful and harsh. Tracy and I have talked about going back. She wants to do an intensive yoga study there.” She sighed. “But there’s not enough money right now.”
Reece had never had even a fleeting desire to visit India-or even an Indian restaurant. But hearing the wistfulness in her voice, he wished he could take her there.
That was the kind of guy Sara needed-someone who would take off for India on a whim.
They both lay back against the dune, gazing up at the crystal clear sky. No wonder Remington Charters’ stargazer cruises were so popular. The stars here were amazing.
But the woman next to him was even more so. As her eyes scanned the heavens for her much-hoped-for shooting star, Reece’s eyes scanned her. She was so beautiful, it made his heart ache and other parts of him misbehave.
He wanted to kiss her again. But a woman like Sara-so open with her affections-probably had trouble with guys pushing themselves on her, when maybe all she wanted was to share a nice view of the ocean. If he weren’t a decent guy, she could be in big trouble right now.
“There’s one!” she cried excitedly, pointing toward the sky. “Did you see it?”
