Karen and Janae had a little while longer to hang out before it was time for Janae to meet Terrence, so they sat in on a question-and-answer session with a jazz artist.
“Is Terrence doing a Q & A, too?”
“Yes. The show is Wednesday night, and he’ll do the Q & A and autograph signing the following afternoon. Knowing Terrence, he’ll probably sing a couple of songs, too. We’re going to do a little sightseeing when we get to Nassau earlier in the day, then get back in time for the session.”
“You guys aren’t getting off in Grand Turks tomorrow and Jamaica on Wednesday?”
“No. He doesn’t want to be too tired for the concert, so we’ll hang out in the room. But he promised we’d take a trip to Jamaica soon.”
Karen chuckled. “Locked in an exquisite suite aboard a luxury cruise with his new bride, yeah, I’m sure he’ll be well rested.”
“I’ll go easy on him,” Janae said with a laugh. “Are you coming?”
“Of course I’m coming to the show.”
“Hmm. You might be otherwise preoccupied,” she said with a smirk.
“I don’t think so. If we happen to hit it off, he’s welcome to join me, but I’m not missing that show. And you tell Terrence...well, Monte, I’d better get my autographed CD.”
Janae laughed. “I’ll make sure to pass the message along. It’s really good.”
“Wait. You’ve already heard it?” At Janae’s grin, she frowned and folded her arms. “See, you just ain’t right. I thought I was your BFF.”
“You are. Gotta go find my hubby, before he comes looking for me.” She gave a little wave and started off.
Karen stared with her mouth hanging open. “I am so going to get you, you little traitor!” she called after Janae. “You weren’t even a big fan of his until I dragged you to that concert.”
Janae just laughed and kept going.
Karen shook her head and headed for her own room.
* * *
Once the ship reached Grand Turks the following day, Karen disembarked only long enough to take a picture in front of the welcome sign and pick up a souvenir. Back in her room, she pulled out her novel and read on the balcony until it was time to leave for dinner. Knowing she wouldn’t have time to change between dinner and the concert, she toyed with putting on something else.
Standing in front of the mirror, Karen glanced at her profile and decided against it. The turquoise halter dress was similar to the red one she’d worn the day before and made her look and feel sexy. She smoothed down her hair and touched up her makeup. Satisfied with her appearance, she picked up her small black leather cross-body purse with a braided jewel and leather strap and left.
Devin had insisted she have dinner with him and Donovan, so she wouldn’t have to eat alone. Tonight, Janae’s oldest brother and his wife, along with two of Terrence’s other friends, joined them. During dinner, she laughed and conversed, but her thoughts were never far from Damian. Sure, the man gave new meaning to good-looking, but she hadn’t come on this ship for some meaningless fling. Her goals were clear: see her best friend get married and refocus on her career. However, if that were truly the case, why had she agreed to meet him tonight? Because I’m drawn to him in a way I can’t explain.
Nervousness took hold, and she took a huge gulp of her wine. By the time dinner concluded, she had downed two glasses, hoping they would calm the marbles rolling around in her belly. They didn’t. She stood to excuse herself and had to endure Devin’s inquisition. She used to think Janae was kidding about his overprotectiveness. Now she knew better. After assuring him she didn’t need him to check out her date, Karen made a quick getaway.
A crowd had already gathered by the time Karen arrived at the theater. How in the world would she find Damian? She had no clue where to begin. She scanned the left side, squinting in the jam-packed space. Taking a step farther into the room, she leaned forward to see if he was sitting on one of the lower levels. A warm hand circled her waist, and she turned to give the offender a blistering retort, but froze when she heard the seductively familiar voice.
“Looking for someone?”
She turned slowly. Good grief. Every time she saw the man he looked better and better. Tonight he wore tailored dark trousers and a silk pullover that emphasized his well-defined arms, chest and abs. “Hey. I didn’t see you.” The heat from his body pressed against her ignited a slow burn. A shiver passed through her. She eased out of his embrace before she was tempted to do something crazy, like reach up and run her hands all over him to see if those muscles felt as firm as they looked. “Where are we sitting?”
Damian cupped her elbow and gently steered her to where he had seats saved near the front.
“Wow. How did you get such great seats?”
He chuckled softly. “It’s our first date. I wanted to impress you, so I got here early.”
First? The tone of his voice and the intensity of his gaze suggested there would be more than one date if he had anything to say about it. “Well, consider me impressed.” The lounge had a mixture of theater chairs, semicircular booths for six or eight, tables with chairs and love seats for two. Of course, he had chosen the love seat. If it unnerved her how close he stood, she had no idea how she would manage to get through one or two hours with him sitting so near.
Damian gestured her to the seat, then sat next to her. He turned and reached for her hand. “Karen, I want to thank you for agreeing to come tonight.” He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on the back.
Karen stifled a moan at the feeling of his warm lips against her skin and melted into the seat. “Um. Thank you for asking.” She imagined those same lips trailing a path up her arm, over her shoulders...
Get it together, girl, an inner voice snapped, shattering the vision.
“And I’m really glad you have on another dress like that red one you were wearing yesterday. You look absolutely stunning.”
“It’s one of my favorites.”
“Now it’s one of mine.”
Typically, she had no problem engaging in a little harmless flirtation with men, but Damian was messing with her equilibrium. Even with the lights low, she saw the fire in his eyes, and the flirty comeback poised on her tongue died a swift death. Earlier he had mentioned being out of practice with women. If he defined this as “out of practice,” what would he be like with practice?
He leaned over to say something else, but before he could open his mouth, the lights went down in the theater, Marcus Johnson came up on the stage and the music began. Thank goodness. She needed a minute. If she had any doubts that he had more than a passing interest in her, the look in his eyes cleared it up. He was definitely interested. Just some casual fun, someone to pass the time with—that was what she told herself. She hadn’t planned on this. She hadn’t planned on him. And Lord help her, she was interested in him, too.
She glanced down at his long fingers tapping out the song’s rhythm on his thigh. He had large hands, making her speculate about the size of certain other parts. Her pulse jumped. Karen Lynette Morris, you stop it right now! she chastised herself. Get your mind out of the gutter. Karen reached up and discreetly wiped the moisture gathering on her forehead. She needed to get a grip. She was sitting here fantasizing about a man she’d met two days ago, or actually yesterday. Whenever. The point was, she had no business thinking about him in those terms. She pushed the sensual thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on the music, letting the smooth piano jazz sounds take over.