She spotted two wrapped truffles from that high-end chocolate shop downstairs, and snatched one off her pillow. “So tell the captain I’m sick. You know damn well he only wants to—”
“Take your shower. You’ll feel better.”
“—get me all hyped up to dance with him, and then he won’t—”
Aric’s single raised eyebrow said don’t make me take you to that bathroom myself, lady.
With a loud sigh, Lola unwrapped her candy, smoothing its foil when she saw a message printed inside.
You’re about to meet a wild, wonderful lover!
“Yeah, right,” she muttered. “In my dreams.”
She popped the truffle into her mouth and then paused, letting the sweet mocha filling ooze over her tongue while her teeth tested the dark chocolate that surrounded it. Her toes curled into the plush carpet.
My God, this is fabulous. Good thing I breezed into that candy shop and breezed right back out when I saw the price tags on these things. I can already feel my ass getting fatter.
Cabana Boy, who was staring right at it, didn’t seem to notice. So she wadded up her robe and threw it at him, for spite. She padded toward the bathroom, aware he was watching her every move.
“Do you know how many women on this ship would give their right legs to dance with Captain Skandalis?” he shot at her bare back.
Lola stopped, tonguing the chocolate off her teeth as she thought about that. “Not if they really intended to dance with him, they wouldn’t,” she teased.
“OK, I’ve got it now! You don’t know how to dance!”
She slammed the shower door on that remark, twisting the faucet handle with a vengeance. What did a girl have to do to get a little peace and quiet? So much lip that kid was giving her! Another Yes Man for the captain, just like Rio DeSilva.
Closing her eyes as the warm water pulsed against her chest, Lola let herself relax against the glass wall. Let her head fall forward to catch the water. This was the best thing to happen to her all damn day!
But why? What’s so tough about playing along with Captain Skandalis and your cabana boy? In the end, you go home a free woman! Your credit gets fixed, and it’ll be business as usual.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it? She’d planned to go home married.
While she prided herself on being independent and savvy, Lola Wright still believed, deep down, that once you had that MRS in front of your name, life had direction. You had a road map to maturity, and a more secure future—and your family and friends would stop speculating about whether you were too impossible for any man to put up with. Or…girly, that way.
And once you got past the Big Three-O, the biological time bomb ticked like a grandfather’s clock marking time in a funeral parlor. Even though she’d been running a successful business for years, she felt lacking as a woman because she didn’t have a family of her own.
What ever happened to that woman who’d believed she could have it all, and do it all? And why couldn’t you just order the perfect guy online and get a set of smart, adorable kids to go with him?
Sighing, Lola lathered her hair and then scrubbed herself all over with her net scrubbie and the gel on the shower shelf. Scents of eucalyptus and green tea wafted around her in the steam, refreshing her more than she anticipated. The chocolate and sugar and caffeine from the truffle kicked in, revving her pulse.
Maybe there was hope for this evening, after all. Maybe she could give the captain an eyeful of woman he couldn’t possibly refuse—or at least get a kick out of showing herself off.
When Lola opened the door, the cloud of herbal mist filled the bathroom with a heady sense of wealth and well-being, as though a woman of mystery—a goddess!—was emerging to rule this night like the moon!
“And here I am!” she whispered, raising the back-scrubber like a scepter. “The High Priestess, stepping from her Gilded Tarot deck to dance divinely above the waters of insight and illumination!”
A low laugh came from the doorway. “Bet the captain’s never heard that one!”
Aric appeared in the mist then, holding out the thickest, fluffiest towel she’d ever seen.
“Thank you, dear,” she murmured. Despite his smart-ass remark, she maintained her regal tone and posture. “Never forget who you’re dealing with here. A Priestess has powers and secrets no mortal man can fully comprehend. Captain Scandalous doesn’t stand a chance!”
It was a head game, a pretense to get her through the night. But what could it hurt? It beat whining and feeling sorry for herself—and being told she was.
So Lola lotioned—no, she anointed—herself. Then she ate the fabulous lobster stir-fry Aric had ordered up from the galley, while he dried and arranged her hair in a sleek topknot with a riot of ringlets springing out of it. Not a style she’d ever consider in the real world, and yet…there was something very goddesslike about appearing younger and more spontaneous and—
“Very sophisticated. Yet playful.” Aric circled her, studying the overall effect of his efforts in the vanity mirror.
“That’s what you tell all the captain’s girls, right?” Lola eyed the lanky young man with a thoughtful eye, trying to figure out if his talents in cosmetology meant anything. Like, about his sexual preferences.
“So how’d you get into doing hair?” she fished as she tested the spring in those ringlets. “Or did you just write ‘miracle worker’ on your job app, so Skandalis hired you?”
There was that secretive grin again, as he peered at her from beneath his own tousled curls.
“I’m not done yet, Priestess,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. “Sit still, or Cinderella’s gonna be late for the ball.”
He worked the same sort of magic with her makeup, using the cosmetics she’d brought from home. He made her eyes grow greener and more feline with a flick of the eyeliner. Gave her a polished, classy glow she’d never achieved on her own.
Lola could only stare into the mirror, wondering who that woman was; believing the Priestess had emerged for real, and could make men kneel at her feet. A goddess like that could make the captain beg for it!
“Whatever’s on your mind right now, hold that thought!” her warden murmured. “Now let’s get you downstairs for an evening gown—”
“And what’s wrong with mine? I’ve got a black strapless number that—”
His raised eyebrow shut her up again. The kid was way too good at that move—and Lola was feeling way too good to jinx this new mood he’d created with face paints and hair spray.
By God, she’d show Captain Scandalous who he was dealing with! She’d play by his rules, all right—but this time she’d win!
Why wasn’t she surprised that Clive Kingsley, the courtly concierge, awaited them in the boutique Aric escorted her to? These guys on the Aphrodite must take as much time conferring on their walkie-talkies as teenage girls spent on their cell phones.
She didn’t complain, however. The dapper Brit had set aside three of the most exquisite dresses she’d ever seen, in colors that called out to her. And all of them were her size.
Lola tried not to gape like a clueless schoolgirl as she admired each of the gowns. “But how did you know—”
“You’re not the only one who has a practiced eye at…sizing things up,” he replied with a smug smile. “And sometimes, others have a different impression of us because they have a fresh focus. I’ve chosen colors and designs you might not try on your own, assuming they just wouldn’t be you.”
Oh,