Who Wants to Marry a Billionaire? (14 page)

       Nina
wasn’t sure what was more horrifying: how ugly the bikini was, or how tiny.  It
consisted of three lime green triangles each of which was about the size of a
Dorito.  In the center of each triangle was a strategically placed white star.  Then
there were some shoestrings, ostensibly to hold the triangles on.  She was
afraid to look at what the backside of the bottom piece had going on—but her
surmise was that it was one of those shoestrings.  How could that possibly be
comfortable?

       “Are you
out of your mind?”

       “What? 
You’d look great in that.”

       Nina
scrunched up her mouth as she tried and then failed to prevent the next words
from escaping her lips, “I’d look
naked
in that.”        

       Daniel
lifted an eyebrow, “And the problem with that is…?”

       Ignoring his
remark, Nina continued, “For starters, it’s about three sizes too small.”  
Nina made a vague gesture with her hand, “And, umm….” She used the royal ‘we’
to distance herself from the fact that she was probably sharing too much
information, but she wanted to make herself
very
clear.  “We’re not
really landscaped for that kind of suit.”

       Daniel
blinked stupidly for a moment and then recognition dawned on his face. 
Hastily, he hung it back up on the rack.  “Then what kind of bikini would you
pick out?”

       “
I
would
not pick out a bikini,
I
would have the nice, practical, one-piece suit
that I am currently wearing.”

       Sighing
with exasperation, Daniel countered, “No one is going to believe that my fiancé
would ever wear such a travesty.”

       “Tr—Travesty? 
You just called my taste in swimsuits a
travesty
?”  Nina’s fists were on
her hips, and she looked ready to clobber Daniel with one. She gave him a
scathing look. “My swimsuit is tasteful.”

       “Your
swimsuit is boring.”  Daniel started digging his heels in, unwilling to lose
the battle.  “Come on Nina, don’t make me order you to do this.  Pick out
something that you like, but something that’s fun.”

       “So your
idea of fun is getting naked?”  Nina replayed the tape in her head of what
she’s just said and wanted to scream.

       “Isn’t
everybody’s?”  Daniel said mischievously.

       Nina
stamped her foot—which didn’t have quite the desired effect since she was
wearing flip-flops. “That’s not what I meant!”

       He pulled
the green Doritos suit back off the rack and shook it in her face, “You pick a
suit, or it’s this and a Brazilian.  Up to you.”

       Aggressive
deforestation wasn’t merely an ecological issue; the thought of a Brazilian made
Nina rigid—and she
was
half Brazilian.

       Fuming,
Nina leafed through the suits.  “No, no, no, no, nope, no way, no.”  She moved
to another rack that had suits that at least seemed to have been made with more
fabric than a necktie.  “Hmm, yechh, maybe, not on your life, oh…my…god.”  Drawing
in a big breath, Nina pulled the bathing suit from the rack and held it up in
front of her.  Daniel nodded enthusiastically.  Nina had stumbled upon the holy
grail of two-piece bathing suits. 

       It was a
retro-styled bikini, candy red with white polka dots.  The top was a bow-tie
halter with wide straps that could actually support Nina’s voluptuousness.  The
waist of the bottom half would sit just below the navel, it had full coverage
in the back, and the front had an adorable short, shirred, swim skirt. 

       Nina
worried from the look on Daniel’s face that he was already imagining her as a
Bettie Page type pin-up girl from the 1950s, but he could forget her putting on
high-heels.  Maybe the suit
wasn’t
such a good idea. 

       “What are
you waiting for?  Go get changed!  And here, add these to your outfit.”  He
dangled a pair of patent leather, espadrille wedges in bright red from his
fingers.  “They’re your size, I checked.” 

       Snatching
the shoes out of his hand, Nina wondered how she was ever supposed to walk down
the beach in something with an inch and a half platform in the front and a
four-inch wedge at the back.  She growled at Daniel as she pushed past him to
go to the dressing room.

       “Use your
words Nina,” Daniel teased.

        When
Nina stepped out of the dressing room, she looked…like a Bettie Page type
pin-up girl from the 1950s.  Her dark curls—which the humidity had made even
curlier—cascaded around her shoulders.  The wedges made her legs look long and
elegant, and the suit left something to the imagination, which only served to
make it even sexier.  Nina pulled at a strap, adjusting it.

       “Va va va
voom.”  Daniel waggled his eyebrows at her.

       “Use your
words Daniel,” Nina quipped. 

       The young
woman working in the store held up another hanger, “I have the same suit in
navy blue with little white anchors.”

       Daniel
flashed the black AMEX without even taking his eyes from Nina, “We’ll take that
one too… the white sarong, and the giant beach towel with the shark on it.”

       Down on
the beach, Daniel flapped out their giant beach towel made for two.  Nina
studied it, “I think you should turn it the other way, otherwise the shark is
going to look like it’s biting your ass.”

       “Good
point.”  Daniel reversed the direction and scuffed out of his flip-flops.  Nina
had already been carrying her new shoes in her hand, so she dropped them.  
Daniel took off for the water, “Last one in is a big hairy crab.”

       Nina
chased after him, and they dived into the water.  When Nina popped up, she
said, “I think you mean a big hermit crab.”

       “No, there’s
such a thing as hairy crabs.”

       “Are you
sure?”  Nina treaded water. She noticed another couple swimming near them who
looked like American tourists.  They were whispering, and she was sure they had
recognized Daniel just as he blurted in a rather loud voice, “I definitely know
about crabs.”  Nina watched as they gave Daniel a disgusted look and started
swimming in the other direction.  She started laughing.  “You’re as bad as me.”

       Daniel
swam closer, “Bad as you, how?”

       “Oh,
blurting out stuff that sounds terrible when that’s not what you mean.”  Bobbing
in the waves Daniel looked angelic, Nina thought, innocent.  Hardly the hardcore
playboy everyone made him out to be.  But she reminded herself that looks could
be deceiving.  After all, a few new clothes, and everyone thought she was
Daniel’s fiancé.

       Reaching
out a hand to push Nina’s curls back from her face, Daniel’s expression
softened, “Don’t be so certain you always know what I mean.  Sometimes, I’m not
even sure.”

       A big
wave caught them, jostling Nina so that she bumped against Daniel.  She felt
his arm snake around her waist and pull her close. “Just in case someone is
watching,” Daniel said, “I really think that you should give me a kiss.”  Before
Nina could say or do anything, Daniel’s arm tightened around her, and his other
hand cupped her face as his mouth assertively found hers.  His lips felt soft,
sensual, and Nina closed her eyes and relaxed, her mouth responding in turn. 
Surely it was okay to enjoy a fake kiss?  Another wave crashed over them, and
they resurfaced breathless, but Daniel still hung on to Nina’s hand. 

Chapter Twenty Three

       A flock
of parrots flew over them, and Nina pointed up at them, her eyes wide, “Did you
see that? Wow!”

       “They’re
beautiful aren’t they?” Daniel smiled.  “There are all kinds of tropical birds
up here.  Birders, actually, are a great target market for the resort.”

       They
strolled down a little stone walkway that meandered through orchids and bromeliads,
ginger flowers and birds of paradise.  Their cabaña was nestled in a grove of
mango trees, with a terrace that looked out at the cloud-veiled mountains.  
Pink bougainvillea climbed the side of the little cottage, and yellow frangipani
grew everywhere. 

       “Did you
know that Arturo wasn’t going to be here?” Nina couldn’t help but reach out to
touch the biggest orchid she’d ever seen. 

       Daniel
poked her, “How was I supposed to know when his grandson was being born? But
he’ll be back in two or three days.  That gives us time to strategize, right?”

       “Yeah, I
guess.”  Nina wasn’t feeling motivated to do much besides enjoy the fresh
mountain air and the intoxicating smell of everything blooming.  “It’s really
nice to be away from everyone and everything, you know.”

       “Yes, I
do know.  There’s nothing wrong with us just enjoying ourselves.  You should
experience the resort like any other guest.”

       Daniel
slipped the key into the door of their cabaña and pushed it open.  There was a
nice sized sitting area and a little kitchenette.  Nina stepped in and looked
around, “This is really nice.”

       “And the
electricity and hot water are all solar-powered, cool, huh?”  Daniel tossed the
keys on a table.  “There’s more, too.”  He pushed a door open to reveal a very
nice bathroom, and then another that led to the bedroom.  “Oh look, they’ve
already put our bags in here.”

       Nina went
to look.  There was a lovely king-sized bed with a mosquito net artfully draped
over it.  She looked around the rest of the cabaña; the sitting area only had a
small wicker love seat and several cushioned chairs,  “Where am I going to
sleep?”

       Rolling
his eyes, Daniel said with exasperation, “Really Nina?  You’re going to make an
issue about being in paradise?  I’d need a roadmap to find you in that bed,
it’s so big.”

       “No, no, you’re
right.”   But it wasn’t Daniel that she was worried about roaming in the bed.

       Not
wanting things to get sour, Daniel tried to lighten the mood.  “Put your
sneakers and some long pants on and we’ll go for a canopy walk.  If you want to
see parrots—that’s the place to go.”

       Nina
brightened, “That sounds great!”

       While
Nina changed, Daniel made a telephone call to let the concierge know their
plans.  He hung up.  “We can drive ourselves to the start point since we have
our own jeep, it’s maybe twenty minutes or so.  They’ll let them know we’re on
our way.”

       “Okay,
let’s go!”

       Daniel
tossed her a stainless steel water bottle, “Fill up before we go.  No plastic
water bottles in Eco-Resort Calderon.”  

       “You like
traveling, don’t you?” Daniel asked Nina as they wound their way around the
side of the mountain on a small dirt road.

       “Yeah, so
far, I mean, India and here, that’s the sum total of my international travel
experience.”

       Daniel
nodded thoughtfully.  “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want
to go?”

       Nina
mulled over his question.  “I guess that I’d want to go some place where I feel
completely myself.” Ruminating for another moment she added, “Someplace where I
feel loved for just being me.”

       Unsure
how to respond, Daniel simply nodded and said nothing.

       They
pulled up by a small sign that said “Canopy” with an arrow pointing to a narrow
path.  Nina grabbed her little knapsack, and the two set off, hiking up the
path. 
            “So this is like one of those bridge walks, right?  Where they have
the bridges that go from tree to tree?”

       “Not
exactly,” Daniel offered noncommittally.

       “What do
you mean, ‘not exactly?’  Either there is a bridge or there isn’t.”

       They
popped out of some trees, and Nina realized that they were very high up, and in
front of them was a little platform, and a cable line at least a couple of
hundred yards long stretching out over the valley.

       “Oh no,
no, no.”  Nina shook her head and started backing away.  Daniel caught her.

“You’re going to
love it.  It’s completely safe.”

       “You do
understand the concept of gravity? Tiny person up here—big planet down there,
guess who loses?”

       “That’s
why you have an extra safety line in addition to your harness.”  Before Nina
knew what was happening, the zip line attendant and Daniel had snapped and
buckled and instructed. 

       “No way,
you go first.”

       Daniel
shook his head, “If I go first, you’ll never do it.  There’s a person waiting for
you on the next platform.  I’ll be right behind you.  I swear, if you’ll just
relax, and look at the scenery, you’re going to love it.” 

       “What
makes you so sure?”

       “Trust
me,” and with that, Daniel pushed Nina off the platform and she went whizzing
out above the rainforest with a blood-curdling scream.  Daniel glanced at his
watch, and murmured under his breath, “Five, four, three, two…” and then he
could hear peals of laughter coming from Nina.

       A few
minutes later, he joined Nina at the next platform.  She was pumped with
adrenaline.  “Wow!  That’s like the most amazing thing ever!  Can we do it
again?”

       “Actually,
you’re going to do it ten more times before we finish.  Now on this next one,
make sure to look to your right, and you’ll be able to see the volcano.”

       “Volcano? 
Cool!”  And with that, Nina jumped.

       Nina was
in a happy daze as they drove back to the resort, “I’m so glad you made me do
that.  I would have totally chickened out.”

       “Well,
sometimes, you just have to trust people.”  Daniel reached out and put his hand
on Nina’s knee for a moment.  His hand started to wander and he retrieved it
before he did anything rash.  In his heart, though, Daniel wanted more than
anything for Nina to trust him.  Of all the women with whom he’d been, Daniel
realized that Nina, more than anyone, helped him to be himself.   Sometimes,
with Nina, he could forget that he was a DeVere and just be Daniel.   He was
admitting to himself, too, that everything about Nina appealed to him: her
spunkiness, her compassion, her intelligence, and the fact that she had no
pretensions.  All that, and she didn’t seem to know that she was beautiful.  He
had no idea any more whether he was grateful to their arrangement for giving
him the chance to get to know her, or hating it because all the lines were
blurred between fantasy and reality.