The sound of low voices from somewhere on the deck above had her craning her head. If she had a great view from here, theirs must be amazing.
‘Looks like loads of single women down there. Half are here for flings; the other half hope to find a husband. It’s the same every cruise.’
‘Your job is to pamper those women, not judge them.’
‘Easy for you to say, buddy. If they see an unattached guy they’re like piranhas circling their next meal.’
Despite her intentions to ignore the conversation, this harsh judgment captured Lana’s attention, and realisation dawned as she looked up. Standing above her, silhouetted against the bridge, stood the stranger who’d saved her from falling earlier.
He wore a crisp white uniform that accentuated his tan—a larger than life Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman—and she swallowed, disconcerted by how she’d compared him to two of her favourite movie stars in under an hour.
Deep furrows marred his brow as his gaze swept the crowd, and she shrank back, hoping she was hidden. She didn’t want to be scrutinised by that disconcerting stare—not when she’d been eavesdropping, albeit unintentionally.
Mr Nautical’s generalisations about women had her bristling enough to barge up there and give him a verbal spray, but if she had the guts to do that she’d be winging her way to Egypt right now, as the museum’s spokesperson, not cowering under a deck hoping she wouldn’t be spotted.
He was entitled to his opinion, and she to hers. And right now, as she darted a quick glance overhead, taking in those broad shoulders, deep blue eyes and the mop of unruly dark curls, her opinion screamed Neanderthal.
The band starting up drowned out the rest of his conversation, and she stood still for several minutes, waiting for the men above to move so she could make her escape without being seen. After a few extra minutes of shuffling her feet to kill time, she sidled along the deck, taking a few steps back towards an open door.
‘Watch out!’
The owner of the low voice stood so close his warm breath caressed her ear, and she jumped and whirled around, her heart pounding as she stared into those familiar indigo eyes barely inches from her face.
‘You startled me.’ She glared, desperately trying to hide her embarrassment at being caught eavesdropping.
‘Sorry. Maybe if you watched where you were going we’d stop bumping into each other like this? By the way—Zac McCoy.’
He stuck out his hand, seemingly unaware she’d heard every word of his damning conversation. She’d wanted to keep it that way, so couldn’t be as rude as her first instinct prompted her to be.
‘Lana Walker.’
She placed her hand in his, unprepared for the jolt that shot up her arm as his fingers closed over hers. She yanked back, flustered by the residual tingle buzzing from her fingertips to her shoulder.
His eyes widened as he stared down at her hand. Great. Now he thought she was bad-mannered as well as clumsy. Way to go with the first impressions. Not that she had any intention of impressing him after what she’d just heard—and as if she’d even contemplate impressing him if she hadn’t, she thought derisively. Old clothes, minimal makeup and boring brown hair weren’t exactly designed to impress any guy, let alone someone in Mr Tall, Dark and Nautical’s league.
‘I need to finish unpacking, so if you’ll excuse me?’
As she pushed past him her bare arm brushed his. The strange buzzing was back with a vengeance, spreading upwards and outwards and confusing the heck out of her. She had no idea why her body was behaving like this.
Okay, so that was a lie. Jax the Jackass might have been her only boyfriend, the only guy she’d ever slept with, but once he’d dumped her and she’d fled to Sydney she’d had two less than memorable dates with co-workers. She still recognized that buzz.
Hormones. Her reaction to sailor boy had to be purely physical—no doubt intensified due to the fact she hadn’t been this close to a guy in over three years.
‘I’ll leave you to it. Nice meeting you.’
She mumbled a non-committal answer and sent him a half-hearted wave, glancing over her shoulder as he walked away, her curious gaze lingering on parts it had no right scoping out.
She had a thing for guys in uniform. Always had. Starting way back, when a young sailor had given her a flower after she’d dropped an ice cream cone and cried. A clumsy five-year-old who’d never forgotten her first crush. Her mum’s warning at the time, to steer clear of men like that, hadn’t meant much, considering she hadn’t known what ‘that’ meant back then.
Now, seeing the white cotton outlining Zac McCoy’s butt as he strode away, she knew exactly what that was, and it sent her scurrying for her cabin.
Banishing the encounter from her thoughts, she showered and dressed for dinner. Beth had crammed her case with designer dresses and shoes, but Lana would never have the self-confidence to wear half the sexy stuff her cousin did, so she settled for her one good dress: a plain black coat dress, cinched at the waist, set off with her cousin’s sparkly jet Manolos.
Beth had pestered Lana to allow a complete makeover, but the thought of a radical haircut and new wardrobe was way too intimidating for a girl who equated the latest fashion with the occasional update of her tortoiseshell spectacle frames.
She’d settled for a sedate trim to her blah-brown hair and contacts. Beth had settled for giving her enough shoe castoffs to make the Sex and the City girls sit up and take notice.
As for the rest of Beth’s advice on how to boost her self-confidence? She’d take it one step at a time in these damn uncomfortable shoes.
She entered the Coral Dining Room and barely had time to notice the giant chandelier, the string quartet and the silver service place settings before the maître d’ whisked her to a table where two seats remained vacant.
Sliding into one of them, she let the other occupants introduce themselves—a couple in their forties and two other women—hoping they wouldn’t expect her to make small talk. She was lousy in social situations like this, preferring to sit and listen than participate in idle chit-chat.
She listened to their friendly banter while perusing the extensive menu. As the empty chair on her right was drawn back, her skin prickled disturbingly. A sensation she associated with the hives she’d been unfortunate enough to bear several times when a strawberry came within a whiff of her.
However, this prickle had nothing to do with fruit. This time something far more dangerous to her health—well, to her peace of mind—caused her skin to flush and tingle.
‘Hi, everyone. I’m Zac McCoy, Public Relations Manager. I’m delighted you’ll be joining me for meals at my table. On behalf of the ship’s company, the Captain and the crew, we hope you enjoy your cruise.’
Fate liked to play jokes on her. Maybe she should take out a lottery ticket and be done with it.
Resisting the urge to surreptitiously scratch the flushed skin behind her ears, she tried to ignore her erratic pulse which had shifted into overdrive the minute he sat down. She toyed with the cutlery, pleated her napkin, and successfully avoided looking at him until the table introductions reached her.
‘How are you, Lana?’
He flashed that killer smile, blue eyes glinting with amusement.
‘Fine, thanks.’
That’s it. Slay him with scintillating conversation. For a professional who gave presentations weekly—as painful as it was, speaking in front of her peers—she was doing a marvellous