Nothing was going right. Why couldn’t anything ever go according to plan? She followed Noah to the stateroom silently, still trying to process what had just happened. Everything had been planned so perfectly. Every detail down to the dress she’d wear. A gorgeous dress that made her look like sin, but not like a hooker—not a cheap hooker, anyway. And the new shoes. Ones that would normally be far too tall for her, but she’d learned to walk in them. Practiced. So she’d be perfect.
She let out a loud groan and threw herself face first on the bed the second the door clicked shut behind them. Noah didn’t say anything, but she could hear him moving around, taking off his jacket.
“That was such a disaster,” she finally managed. “But thank goodness you came when you did.” She pushed herself onto her elbows and glanced over her shoulder. He’d tossed his jacket on the small couch. “Thank you.”
He didn’t reply for a few seconds, as if searching for the right thing to say. “He’s an ass.”
“Most people like Brent.”
“Most people are idiots.” Yep, he was definitely still snippy about something.
“That’s a bright and shiny outlook you have there.” She grabbed one of the pillows and tossed it at him. He caught it with ease. “I mean it. Thank you. You saved me out there.”
He shrugged and looked away, tossing the pillow onto the couch. “When we have a minute, we need to get our stories straight.”
“We’ve been dating a few months. You worship the ground I walk on.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Do I?”
“Oh, yes. I was quite the catch for you.” Forcing herself off the bed, she rummaged through her suitcase and finally found it. The dress. The one she’d hoped to wear to knock Brent’s socks off—make him appreciate what he’d lost. She couldn’t regain the moment, but she might still be able to pull off some sort of good revenge.
Noah searched through his bag, too, his back to her as he bent over the couch to peer inside. His muscles were hard, just as hard as she’d imagined, and backing into him had been like backing into a brick wall. If the wall happened to smell like nothing she’d ever smelled before. Something spicy and raw. Masculine.
Noah Thorpe needed no cologne.
Not to mention the strength in those hands. She couldn’t see them as he sorted, but the muscles in his back pressed against his shirt, and his wide shoulders were smooth and strong. Her breath quickened at the memory of him at her back, his skin only a shirt away from sliding against hers. His arms practically wrapped around her. And the strange feelings that washed over her when he was near. Aroused, sure. But more than that. Safe. Happy.
As if sensing her thoughts, Noah stiffened and turned to face her. Her mouth went dry at the sight of that intense gaze. She licked her lips, and his eyes followed the motion.
She glanced away. She wasn’t making a play for him, right? No. Not going to happen. He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested, and she was just as certain as he was that this should be kept friendly, but not too friendly. “So what did you and Brent talk about after Kristen dragged me away?”
The tension broke like a bubble bursting, and he tugged a shirt from his bag. “He was fishing for information. Trying to figure out how long we’d been seeing each other. How serious we are.”
Her hand stilled over her makeup bag. “And were you convincing?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe.”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to be convincing when we see them at dinner.”
“I guess we will.”
She looked back and arched an eyebrow at him. “I thought you weren’t one hundred percent behind this whole idea.”
“That was before I met the ass. I don’t understand how someone like you could be with a guy like him,” he said.
Her stomach dropped and she turned away. “Like I said, most people like him.” And she’d liked him, once upon a time. She’d loved him and had mentally planned a life with him. Those emotions and thoughts had come so readily to her only several months ago. Yet now, as she shared a boat with Brent, she couldn’t summon even a ghost of the emotion she’d once felt.
She took a haggard breath. “Look, I know you don’t know me that well, and you probably don’t approve of this…farce. But I’d really appreciate it if you’d keep helping me. Please.”
Noah didn’t reply, so she ducked into the bathroom to do her makeup and hair. When she emerged, he was ironing his shirt, and she noticed her dress had been pressed.
“Thanks.” Was it possible he knew how much she loathed ironing?
“Sure.” He didn’t look up from his shirt.
She rushed through the rest of her preparations and noted Noah looked even more handsome in the black dress shirt he donned than the plain white polo shirt he’d worn to the ship. He was striking enough, in the simple outfit, to make her breath catch in her throat.
“You ready?”
She nodded. “Before we go, I should probably prepare you for my mother.”
“Your mother? The same mother I spent the afternoon playing miniature golf with?”
“She was pretty tame during golf. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea about her. She can come across as a bit of a…flirt. But at her core, she’s a romantic. She and my dad—well, they were sort of a fairy tale couple.” How did she explain without making her mother sound nuts? Who was she kidding—her mom was a little nuts. But she was also a strong, wonderful woman who loved her family dearly. “He’s been gone for a really long time. She gets lonely.”
“I understand,” Noah said.
He couldn’t—not really. But then, he wouldn’t really grasp the loving insanity of her mother until he spent some time with her. But Alice appreciated his words. “All right, then. Let’s go eat.”
Sconces on the walls and small lights designed to look like candles set on the tables lit the room, and a quiet hum of classical music made the place feel relaxing and a bit romantic.
Most of their party was already there. Cindy’s soon-to-be husband, Robert, and his cousin were laughing loudly and jovially as only the best of friends could. Cindy sat glowing between Robert and her mother. Edna’s escort was in attendance, and as Cindy had dished earlier in the week, he was far too young. Edna was pushing sixty, and the man on her left couldn’t be a day over forty. Only three seats remained, two right across from Edna and her escort, with the last on one end of the table.
Alice glanced sharply at her sister and Cindy shrugged. They exchanged greetings. Noah pulled out her chair for her, and she gave him a small smile before turning to face her mother.
“Brent said Kristen isn’t feeling well, so they moved us to a smaller table,” Edna said as Alice’s hand closed over her cloth napkin. “He’ll be along later.”
She nodded politely, when she really wanted to point out that she hadn’t asked, nor did she care, where Brent was. She didn’t.
“Funny,” Noah said, waving the waiter over, “she looked fine when we saw her a less than an hour ago.” The waiter arrived and Noah ordered something that sounded suspiciously French, but she didn’t catch the exact wording.
“Oh,” Edna said, leaning over the table to peer at Noah. “You’ve met Brent, then?”
Noah opened his mouth, no doubt to give her mother an education both of his opinion of Brent and knowledge of swear words, but Alice cut him off. “Mother, you haven’t introduced us to your friend.”
“I’m sorry, dear. This is Jake. Jake, say hello to my daughter and her friend.”
Jake nodded politely. The man was handsome; she’d give her mother that. He had hazel eyes, and the lines around his mouth suggested he always wore a smile. A fun guy, then. Just what Edna preferred.
“Boyfriend,” Noah corrected. Cindy choked on her wine, turning wide eyes to her sister.
“Boyfriend?” Edna asked, enunciating the word just so, to make sure she’d heard right. “I knew you wanted to add a friend to the group, but I didn’t realize it was someone you were seeing.” Edna laughed. “To be honest Noah, I had expected you to be a girl.”
Noah didn’t reply vocally, but jerked his head in a quick nod.
Alice closed her eyes. You can do this. It’s a tiny lie.
Crap. This wasn’t fair. A little ruse to fool Brent was justifiable, deserved even. But lying to her mother? She’d planned to call Noah a friend—sort of true—and let her always-hopeful mom fill in the details of that friendship. That way it wouldn’t be such a lie.
And she wouldn’t be such a liar.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a boyfriend?” Edna asked.
“I—”
“She didn’t want to steal Robert and Cindy’s thunder,” Noah replied smoothly.
She shot him a thankful glance.
“You should know your sister wouldn’t mind.” She picked up her wine glass and waved a hand over it at one of the waiters. The man, dressed in a suit, regally refilled her glass and even returned her wink with a small grin.
“You know Alice. Far too considerate for her own good,” Noah said.
Edna grinned at Noah. Alice’s throat tightened painfully, and she nudged her plate toward the center of the table. No way was she going to be able to eat now. It wasn’t Noah’s fault. How could he know how hard her mother had been pushing her to date since she’d left Brent?
“Oh, honey,” Edna said, “You’re so right about her. Why, I didn’t realize how well you knew her already. But you really get her, don’t you?”
Noah’s head jerked back and he stared at her mom for a moment, silver tongue finally lacking a smooth reply.
“Let’s not make a big deal about this, Mom,” Alice pleaded. She shot her sister a meaningful look. “This is Cindy’s week. Come on, let’s all drink some wine to Cindy and Robert.”
