The Unexpected Honeymoon (10 page)

Carlos shot her a look that said
See?
“What is the problem?”

Jorge learned close and spoke in low, rapid Spanish.

Larissa caught the words right before Carlos grimaced.

“I'm going to have to handle this right away,” he said, his eyes apologetic. “Do you mind taking the launch back on your own?”

She smiled so he wouldn't see her disappointment. Foolish, but she'd hoped...

She didn't know what she hoped. That goodbye might be more? Summoning a bright smile, she pretended the dismissal didn't sting. “Of course not. I've already taken up way too much of your time as it is. I'm sure there are many guests that need your attention now.”

It took some effort, but she managed to slip her bag from his grip without brushing his fingers. “Thank you for a fantastic afternoon, Señor Chavez. I appreciate your attention.”

She turned away before he could respond.

* * *

Later, as she sat on her terrace nursing another twenty-dollar cola, she wondered if she reacted too dramatically. After all, Carlos had done his best to be honest. Any unspoken words were because she cut him off. Maybe the kiss didn't have the same effect on him. It was entirely possible her reaction had more to do with his skill than any kind of connection.

What she should be pondering was how easily Tom had slipped from her mind. Six weeks ago, she'd been prepared to walk down the aisle and now here she was, kissing another man. Were her feelings for her ex so anemic they could be displaced that easily?

As far as comparisons went, the two men were like night and day. Carlos might look sleek and confident, but beneath the surface lay a sadness she'd yet to fully measure. One moment he made her pulse race; the next she wanted to hold him in her arms and tell him everything would be all right.

On the other hand Tom...Tom wanted to marry her. Oh, sure, he was a nice guy—intelligent, kind and successful—but mainly, he wanted her, and Larissa considered herself darn lucky to be wanted. Not once, though, did his kisses leave her insides trembling the way today's kiss did. At best, his kisses were like the man himself: nice.

She sighed. Much as she hated to admit, Tom did her a favor breaking the engagement. The two of them were far from soul mates. Carlos's kiss proved as much.

Listen to yourself. Sitting here acting like kissing Carlos was more than a bit of rebound entertainment.
Larissa shook her head. Who knows what Carlos was to her? She didn't even know if she'd see him again the rest of the trip. His kiss, however... His kiss would stay with her a long, long time.

On the other side the lagoon, the egrets had begun bedding down for the evening. Pairs and trios swooped into the foliage, their feathers dotting the canopy white. They called out to each other, other birds joining in until the entire lagoon was alive with squawking. Her own personal nighttime serenade, Larissa thought with a sleepy smile. Swimming had taken more out of her than she thought, and she could feel her eyes growing heavy. Closing them, she let the birds' song float her away. Carlos was wrong. Flaws or not, Mexico was paradise. If she could, Larissa would never leave.

Seemed like only seconds later when she opened her eyes to dark gray and quiet. Falling asleep on the divan was becoming way too easy. Yawning, she padded her way inside to the darkening living room. From the look out her oceanside window, the sun had only recently set. Red and orange closed on the horizon line, the colors making a bright line between the black water and gray sky.

As if answering a call only it could hear, her attention moved to the walkway and the figure standing below her window. Larissa's pulse quickened.
Carlos.
He stood in the shadows, but it didn't matter; she knew what he wanted. She walked downstairs and opened the door.

“Hey,” she greeted, her voice barely audible over the surf. “Crisis averted?”

“A guest thought someone stole some jewelry. Turns out she simply misplaced the items.”

“So, there was a happy ending after all.”

Carlos smile flashed white in the darkening sky. “For now.”

He wasn't going to give an inch on the issue, was he? At the moment, Larissa wasn't in the mood to argue the point. Soon as she saw him, a twisting longing had begun spiraling through her erasing any and all of the very logical self-arguments she'd given herself earlier. “That mean your duties are done for the evening?”

“I don't know,” he replied. “Are they?”

Smiling, Larissa opened the door wider and let him inside.

* * *

“Mind if I join you?”

The sight of Linda Stevas holding a plate of scrambled eggs and fruit wasn't what Larissa hoped to see when she decided to take coffee on the terrace. She'd been scanning the walkway below for a familiar black suit, hoping to catch Carlos on his morning property check. To ask him how he slept, she thought, smiling to herself.

There were times when she thought the past two nights were dreams. Her body remembered, however. Granted, she didn't have a long list of lovers for comparison, but being with Carlos made her feel alive in a way she didn't know was possible. Like his kisses, his lovemaking left her breathless and unsteady. She couldn't get enough. Neither could he. Both nights passed in a haze of lovemaking and pillow talk that lasted until gray seeped through the cracks in the mangroves, and Larissa couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Then morning would arrive, and she'd wake up alone, the only sign she'd had company the rumpled sheets and love bites marking the back of her shoulder. She thought of asking him to stay, but fearing his answer, decided to accept what he could give.

It was, she told herself, a vacation fling in its truest form. Hadn't both she and Carlos assured one another neither was looking for more?

Why, then, did she have this nagging feeling the rules had changed, at least where she was concerned? With each kiss, each whispered word of intimacy, she found herself hoping this would be the time she looked in Carlos's eyes and found their depths no longer shuttered.

“Larissa?” Linda looked at her expectantly. “I'm not disturbing you, am I?”

“Not at all.” Swallowing her disappointment, Larissa smiled and gestured for the woman to take a seat.

“Are you sure? I thought maybe you were waiting for Señor Chavez.”

Truer words... “Carlos is working. I'll see him later.” She tried to contain the thrill the thought gave her, and failed. “Speaking of eating companions, however, where's your other half?” She thought the couple inseparable.

“I convinced him to take a run on the beach. We spent yesterday at the local hospital, and he's a little stressed out from the experience.”

“The hospital? Is everything okay? It wasn't anything serious, was it?”

“I was having some trouble catching my breath, but everything's fine now. No big deal.”

Was it really no big deal? While the young woman certainly looked fine, the way she suddenly focused on her plate made Larissa wonder. It would be a shame if, after so much effort, Linda got sick and couldn't enjoy her recommitment ceremony. It would explain why the young woman was downplaying yesterday's emergency.

“Anyway,” she said, taking a bite of pineapple, “I figured he should mellow out a little before our parents arrive.”

“You must be getting excited.”

“You have no idea.” The woman's eyes sparkled. “I found the perfect dress while in town yesterday. White with flowers hand-stitched around the neckline. It fits, too. I was so afraid I'd end up looking like I was wearing an oversize sack.”

Larissa understood. Growing up, she'd heard customers uttering the same lament too many times to count, and given Linda's obscenely thin figure, she could imagine the challenge.

“I feel a little bad about how much it cost,” Linda was saying, “but Paul told me not to worry.”

“Listen to your husband. He clearly wants you to be happy.”

“Yeah, Paul's great that way. He keeps telling me he wants me to have the wedding of my dreams this time around. I'm so lucky to have him,” she said, eyes growing damp.

The Stevases' devotion to one another was enviable. Too bad Carlos wasn't here to see the love on Linda's face. Maybe it might change his cynical view to see two happy people.

“I bet if I ask, he'll say he's lucky to have you, as well.”

“I hope so. I hated to think he's doing all this simply out of... Never mind.” The young woman shook off whatever she was about to say. “Tomorrow is going to be absolutely perfect. You're still coming, right?”

“Absolutely. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm kind of excited to see what the shaman will do.” After a bit of negotiation, Carlos convinced the man to compromise on his cleansing ritual, enabling the Stevas› to have the full traditional ceremony. And the man claimed he wasn't romantic.

“Me, too,” Linda replied. She started to take a bite of food, only to drop the fork and rush to the other side of the table. “I'm sorry,” she said, pulling Larissa into a hug. “I'm so happy, I can't help myself. You and Señor Chavez have no idea how much this ceremony means to both Paul and me.”

“No, but I think I can guess,” Larissa said, patting her back. Hard not to want to help the couple, what with the way they seemed so in love.

“I hope I'm not interrupting a female bonding session?”

Carlos? Larissa entangled herself from the embrace to see him striding toward their table. His black suit crisp as ever, his hair perfectly in place, he looked nothing like the lover who kept her up all night. That is, until his eyes dropped to her lips, and the flash of familiar possessive hunger she saw sent heat curling around the base of her spine.

He might as well have kissed her consider the onslaught of shyness attacking her. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she turned away with a smile. “I thought you made your morning rounds this hour.”

“Actually I was on my way to call Señora Stevas's room when I spotted her on the terrace.”

“You were looking for me?”

Larissa's heart started to sink, and she kicked herself. She had absolutely no reason to feel disappointed. Did she think he was the only guest at the resort Carlos thought about?

No, just the only one he was sleeping with.

“I wanted to let you know we were able to book a moonlight lagoon cruise for you and your husband Friday night.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And I've directed the launch driver to take you to the outmost point of the lagoon so your anniversary can be celebrated in private. The chef will call you later today regarding the menu.”

“Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited. I'm going up to the room and see if Paul's back from his run. He's going to be so excited.” Jumping up from the table, the young woman drew Carlos into a hug, which, Larissa noted with a smile, he awkwardly returned.

“She's very...exuberant,” he remarked after Linda had bustled off.

“Can you blame her?” Larissa asked. “You know, for a man who claims to detest romance, you went out of your way to create a very romantic evening. Directing the launch operator to sail to a remote location?”

“We direct all the operators to sail to remote locations,” he replied, taking the seat Linda vacated. “Telling the guests lets them feel special. Those special touches are what lead to good reviews.”

And goodness knows reviews were important to him. “Well, I'm sure Paul and Linda will sing the resort's praises to everyone under the sun.”

“Let us hope so.”

Judging from Linda's enthusiasm, Larissa was pretty sure she could guarantee it. She smiled over the rim of her coffee. “You look tired this morning.” Dark smudges marked his bronze skin.

“I'm afraid I didn't get much sleep last night. Seems there was a rather high-maintenance guest who required my attention.”

“Is that so? What a shame. Perhaps she'll be less demanding tonight so you can sleep.”

A gleam appeared in his eye. “I certainly hope not. Her ‘demands' have been the best part of my week.”

Larissa flushed from head to toe. He'd purposely dropped his voice to a husky timbre, making her mouth run dry. “Then she'll definitely demand more.”

“Good.” The air stilled around them. Feeling bold, Larissa slid her leg forward until the inside of her sandal pressed against his wingtip. To anyone walking by, the position looked benign, but for them, the touch held unspoken promise. To Larissa's pleasure, Carlos actually smiled.

“Señora Stevas wasn't the only person I was heading to see,” he said.

“Really?” Her stomach gave another one of those flutters. “Did you want something?”

“It appears one of our guests canceled their dinner cruise reservation for this evening. I was wondering if you would be interested in joining me.”

“You want to take me on a moonlight cruise?”

He shrugged, as though the offer was no big deal. “I remembered you mentioning to the Stevases how much you'd been looking forward to going, and how disappointed you were to have to cancel your own. I thought I'd offer you the opportunity to indulge in another one of your itinerary items. But if you don't wish to—”

“I didn't say I wasn't interested.”

Next to the wedding ceremony, the moonlight lagoon cruise had been the one item she'd most looked forward to. So much so, she actually contemplated having the dinner by herself. Having dinner with Carlos, however, sounded much more inviting.

He arched his brow. “But?”

“But...” She paused, wondering how to phrase her question. Going on a dinner cruise, was very much like a public date. “Your staff will see us together.”

“You have a problem with them seeing us together?”

“I don't.” But a man who made a point of hightailing it from her room at dawn might. “I assumed when it came to your personal life, you preferred to maintain a low profile around your staff.”