What Janie Wants (4 page)

Oh, now that would be fun, but kind of awkward alone. Still, who would know? It would be like eating out or going to a movie solo. No big deal. As of last week, she was officially forty. Surely she could swing a little one-on-one time with some dolphins.

All Inclusive Catamaran to Isla Mujeres.

Well, that sounded lovely. Wind, food, and drink. Probably peaceful, too. Hard to fit half a resort full of college age kids on a catamaran.

“
Not a fan of the
Animal House
crowd, huh?”

Oh, boy. Zade. She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to come face to face with him again during her trip. Sort of. The dirty thoughts her mind had put front and center last night didn’t count.

She flipped the catamaran brochure over, kept her back to him, and scrambled for an exit strategy. “What makes you think that?”

“
Well, after you circled the pool a few times, I figured it wasn’t too likely you’d come in for a landing.”

Damn. So much for looking blasé about the whole thing.

“
You know, every suite has a
palapa
reserved on the beach,” he said.

“
I thought I’d work my way up to the beach.”

“
Ah. Clothing optional. I forgot.” The way he chuckled at the last little bit said he hadn’t, but thought it was cute. He motioned at the tall brochure stand. “I can recommend a few, if you want. Or better yet, take you on a custom one.”

“
I appreciate the offer, but I’m sure you have better things to do with your day than cart an out of place woman around Mexico.”

“
Actually, you’re not the one out of place. Arlo usually pulls in crowds over thirty, but he thought he’d try a few August specials on college campuses. Between the noise complaints and the room damage, I’m pretty sure he’ll never do that again.” He paused and shifted directly into her line of sight. “You know, the
palapa
for your room is more isolated than the rest. Why don’t you let me show you where it is? I’ll run interference if we come across any skin-loving free spirits on the way.”

For a man close to Thomas’ age, they sure talked differently. Everything out of Thomas’ mouth tended to end with a goofy ha-ha or snort. Zade sounded…well, older.

She chanced a peek up from her brochure.

Yep, bare chested again. Black board shorts and barefoot. She didn’t dare look into those blue eyes of his again. They’d kept her up long enough last night as it was.

Ugh. Divorced three months, and she was already turning into a pervy old woman.

“
Come on.” He dipped his knees until he was in her line of sight, which only emphasized how tall he was compared to her. “What’s the worst that could happen? You’re a grown woman on a quiet vacation in paradise. Live a little.”

Her ex, Gerald, had certainly lived a little. So what, if she let a handsome man almost half her age keep her company? There couldn’t be more than fifty rooms total in this resort, and half of them were filled with people who wouldn’t so much as register her existence, let alone rush home to alert the media.

She tucked her brochures in her bag and lifted her chin. “You’re absolutely right.” Reassess and Revise. “It’s not like I’ve never seen a naked body before, and a run-in might make for a good story when I get home.”

“
That’s the spirit.” His eyes twinkled with way too much knowledge and a punch of mischief that stole her breath. He turned her with a hand at her elbow and guided her down the hallway toward her suite. “So, tell me what brings you to Gypsy Cove.”

Surely he wasn’t expecting to go to her room. “Um, my sister Emmy. The trip was a gift.”

“
Nice gift. Has she been here before?”

“
I have no idea.” Though she intended to get the details from her sister as soon as she could set up a Skype session this afternoon. Talking to Emmy before noon was a bad idea all around. “She acted like it was the perfect place for me to figure things out, so my guess is yes. Though with Emmy, there’s no telling.”

“
What is it you need to figure out?”

Oops. Probably not the best line of conversation for a young guy with a devilish gleam in his eye. Where were they headed? “Just next steps. Life choices.”

“
Sounds mysterious.” He paced beside her, their steps drawing them closer and closer to her room. He had such a breathtaking build. Not overly muscular, but not lanky either. His blond hair reached his jawline in a kind of man-bob, short enough to be respectable, long enough to be rebellious. “You know, my mom says when the universe wants you in a particular place, or to learn a particular lesson, it keeps after you until you learn what it needs you to see. The best you can do is delay the learning, not put it off entirely.”

The end of the hallway loomed with nothing but suite entrances on every side. “Your mom sounds very wise.”

“
She’s one of the most amazing women on the planet.” He stopped beside her door and held out his hand for the key. “Something tells me you’re pretty amazing too.”

Zade fought like hell not to laugh at the terrified expression on Janie’s face. She zigzagged her attention between him and the door so many times it was a wonder she didn’t strain her neck.

He waggled his fingers as a reminder he was waiting for the key. “Relax, Janie. It’s just a shortcut to your
palapa
.”

“
Oh.” Blinking, she blushed as prettily as she had yesterday, and rummaged in her bag. “You threw me for a second.”

“
Not to worry. I’m not out to ravage you.” He took the key, opened the door, and winked over his shoulder. “Yet.”

Man, this woman was priceless. Effortlessly beautiful and full of expression. He’d love to have an hour alone with her and a camera. To capture the way she quirked her mouth, that sweet blush, and the way she looked as she lowered her eyelids over an expression heavy with need.

Splaying his hand at the small of her back, he urged her forward, and barely stifled the need to palm the curve of her ass. “From your patio, the
palapa
isn’t far.”

She hurried forward and glanced back at the point of contact. “You said you normally visit your uncle in winter,” she said, more breathless than before. “Why the change?”

Hell, if she had any idea how active his imagination was at the moment, she’d sprint straight out the sliding glass door and all the way to Isla Mujera. He ushered her outside and across the open patio. “Ah, so you’re not willing to share your secrets, but you want mine.”

Janie’s eyes popped wide. “I didn’t mean to pry.”

He motioned toward the circular thatched shelters near the beach, pocketed his hands in his board shorts, and trailed behind her. It was either that, or cup the back of her neck and see if her skin was as smooth as it looked. “I’ve got no problem sharing. I made a bad business call and I can’t figure out how to fix it. The whole thing’s got me off center, so I came here to regroup.”

She stopped at the closest
palapa
and stared with the same slack-jawed wonder everyone else got with their first look at Gypsy Cove. Still aqua water and pristine, powder-white sand. The one peaceful taste of heaven on Playa del Carmen’s otherwise buffeted shores. And at this time of day, most guests were more interested in food than sun, so the cove was pretty deserted.

Zade ambled closer, grateful for the time to openly appreciate the far more appealing view Janie created while she studied the beach. “This one’s yours. You want sun or shade?”

Janie craned her neck toward the sun and shielded her eyes. “It’s probably a horrid idea with my skin, but I think I’d like to try to get some sun.”

“
Can’t have you go home without a tan.” Zade pulled one of the two cushioned loungers out of the shade and angled it so she’d get an even tan. He tugged the second one alongside it. “You mind if I hang with you for a bit? All the noise at the pool rakes at me after awhile. Plus, I figure having someone around to fight off the streakers might not be a bad plan. At least, until you decide you’re ready for commando.”

She placed her bag and book on the small table, and grinned up at him. “That’s not happening. Not here. Not ever. I’m too old for that.”

“
We’ll see.” He stretched out and closed his eyes.

Janie’s room key jingled and clanked against something plastic as she rummaged through her bag. “So, what’s the bad business decision?”

He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck to ease the quick pressure spike at the base of his neck. Every time the topic came up, it reminded him of how gullible he’d been, and it rankled deep. Still, Janie was talking. And if she was talking, then they had a chance of moving on to other, more interesting topics. Or doing. Doing would be good. “I sold my business to some people who said they’d do one thing with it and ended up doing something else.”

Janie settled on the lounger beside him. “You sold a business?”

He pried open one eye and twisted his head for a better view of her.

She popped the lid on a neon orange bottle of sport-strength suntan lotion and shook out a palmfull. “I can’t even get my son to think about work, let alone have a business to consider selling.”

“
How old’s your son?”

“
Twenty-one.”

“
God, is he even out of college yet?”

“
No, but I’d like him to think about being self-supporting one of these days. He’s only got a year before graduation, and I’m not convinced he knows what he’s going to do after.”

“
Maybe he doesn’t.”

“
Sounds like you did.”

Hell, yes, he did. With a camera, he could capture things other people missed. Making women the central focus of his lens was a perk. He closed his eyes. Alternative music drifted over from the pool, but it was quiet enough not to drown out the surf. The cove was always peaceful, but something about Janie’s presence made it more so. “I loved what I did.”

“
Why’d you sell it, then?”

“
Stupid.” The burn that billowed up every time he thought about what he’d done cranked into high gear, and he rubbed his chest above his heart. “They offered me a sweet deal on a buyout, and promised me they’d stick to the same plan and principle I’d started it on.”

The steady swish as Janie rubbed lotion into her legs sounded next to him. A coconut scent carried right behind it. “You said you’re a photographer, right?”

That made two details she’d remembered about him. Either she had an exceptional memory, or Ms. McAlister had given him a thought or two since yesterday. “Yep.”

“
So, how could they screw that up?”

Well, this would be interesting. He sat up, planted his feet in the sand, and rested his elbows on his knees. “Because I had a specialty business. One that catered to women. One I busted my balls to make sure came across as tasteful and made them feel good about themselves.”

“
What kind of specialty?”

He smiled, poised to catch her reaction as if he had his camera. “Boudoir shots.”

Janie’s hand froze mid forearm and she snapped her head around so hard, a strand of auburn hair tumbled over one eye. “Boudoir?”

“
Nothing trashy,” he said. “All tasteful and meant to draw out a woman’s beauty. Usually with the help of their partner or husband.”

She licked her lip and started back up with the lotion, moving up to her shoulders in slower, deeper strokes. Shifting to face front, she focused on her toes and acted like they were chatting up the weather. In a tone a notch lower, she said, “And they screwed it up how?”

“
You familiar with Glamour Shots?”

Her sharp laugh rang out across the cove and ricocheted back to them. Her easy smile stretched ear-to-ear, all the awkwardness of seconds ago obliterated. “Oh, Lord. Please tell me they didn’t gaudy up something good?”

“
Double gaudy. Cheesy corsets, stilettos, and Photoshop. Everything that flies in the face of what I wanted to give them.”