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Reuben turned to face her, his fingertips coming into contact with the sliver of bare skin at her waistline. ‘James Bond again?’
She shook her head. ‘Unfortunately not.’
‘Then what?’
She shook her head again. ‘Nothing.’
‘Come on, tell, it’s half the fun.’
She put her hand over his and started to walk back towards the boat. ‘Believe me, my imagination has nothing on theirs.’
‘Now, that sounds really interesting.’
She tapped her finger on his chest and gave him a wink. ‘Just as well I don’t kiss and tell.’
She walked across the gangplank back on board as he stared down at his phone. Two photos had been taken in rapid succession. One showed them posing and smiling a little awkwardly, and another showed him with his arm around her waist and her hand touching his chest. They were looking at each other with the beautiful backdrop of Marseille behind them. This one had no pose about it. It was entirely natural. Their smiles were genuine and the chemistry reached out to grab him.
He gulped and pushed the phone deep down into his pocket.
There were a million pictures of him with glamorous women on the internet. But one thing was for sure—none of them looked like that.
* * *
Two hours later they were back on the cruise ship, lying next to the pool. Lara had changed into her pink bikini and sarong and was trying her best to read the latest bestseller.
Sunglasses were a godsend. She could hold the book in her lap while she secretly spent the whole time sneaking glances at the guy next to her on the sun lounger.
She’d had a few views of Reuben’s bare chest before. His muscles were well defined, there was a definite hint of a tan and a fair sprinkling of dark hairs. But couple that with the dark hairs on his defined calves and she was seeing a whole lot more than she normally did.
She gave a little smile as an Italian guy at the other side of pool dived in wearing barely-there white Speedos.
Reuben groaned and rolled over onto his belly. ‘Don’t tell me you’re watching the guy on parade.’
She leaned forward. ‘What if I am?’
‘Should I have pulled my Speedos out of my bag? Is that what it takes to get some attention around here?’
She laughed and put her book down. ‘All it takes to get some attention around here is the promise of a cocktail over at the bar.’
Reuben stretched his arms above his head. It was so easy when her eyes were hidden to have a quick glance at the dark curling hairs on his abdomen leading in one direction.
He sat back up and reached out his hand. ‘Done. A cocktail it is.’ He nodded his head towards the pool. ‘I can’t take the competition here anyway.’
They walked over to the nearby bar and sat down. Lara picked up the menu and started to peruse it as the bartender approached. ‘What will it be?’ He smiled.
Reuben gave her shoulder a nudge. ‘What takes your fancy?’
She shook her head at the obvious innuendo. ‘Speedos,’ she whispered under her breath.
He groaned and turned to the bartender. ‘I’ll have a beer.’
The bartender nodded. ‘And for the lady?’
She sighed and put the menu down again. ‘I’m not sure. What do you recommend? I prefer cocktails with rum.’
He pointed to one on the menu. ‘How about this one? The sunset cruiser? It has rum, peach, melon, a dash of lime and some Angostura Bitters.’
She grinned. ‘Sounds tempting. Count me in.’
Reuben leaned his arm against the bar and raised his eyebrows at her. ‘Are you going to taunt me all day?’
She gave a little nod. ‘I think you deserve it.’
The sun was shining brightly above them, warming their backs and making her feel more relaxed. ‘You should try and catch me,’ she teased. ‘I’m probably on the rebound.’
The bartender placed their drinks down and Reuben picked them up and carried them over to a table shaded by a parasol, his lips set in a firm line.
She sat down in the shade and took a sip of her cocktail. Gorgeous. It hit the right spot.
Reuben was chewing his lip but his dark eyes were fixed firmly on her.
‘What if I don’t want you on the rebound?’
‘You don’t seem to want me at all.’
She could almost feel the temperature around them plummet and it was nothing to do with the shade.
‘I guess I’m not good enough.’ Her stomach curled as she said the words. ‘But I don’t really want to be a vacant blonde, hanging on to your arm in a designer dress, like all the others.’
His back straightened and she could see him bristle. He was mad, but trying to control it. He took a swig of his beer. His jaw tightened. ‘I like you,’ was all that came out.
&n
bsp; ‘Just not that much,’ she said swiftly, as she took another sip.
This wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as it should be. The ship had just set sail again. There really was no escape for either of them. She was confused about last night. Surely she hadn’t read things wrong? Their chemistry had practically lit up the whole of Monte Carlo.
And it was kind of amusing to see Reuben Tyler struggle to find words.
A cool breeze swept over her skin. Maybe he was just trying to be kind, when what he really wanted to say was that he just wasn’t attracted to her at all. Now, that really did make her stomach lurch in all the wrong ways.
She was already feeling exposed—and sitting in her bikini and sarong didn’t exactly help. She took another sip of the cocktail, hoping the rum would calm her nerves.
She could see a little tic in Reuben’s jaw.
He took another swig of his beer. Did he need Dutch courage too? He sighed and set the bottle down with a clunk. ‘I like the fact you’re not a vacant blonde.’
She licked her lips. ‘Really?’
He shifted in his seat. ‘I like being around you.’
It was like getting blood out of a stone. It seemed that when it came to the emotional stuff Reuben was hard work.
‘I like being around you too,’ she replied.
He wasn’t looking at her any more. He’d fixed his eyes on the horizon. ‘But it’s awkward.’
‘Awkward how?’ This didn’t seem to be going so well.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair. ‘I’m not good at relationships.’
‘Is that what this is? A relationship? I wasn’t sure we’d got that far.’ She started playing with the straw in her drink. Nothing like talking about feelings to make you feel like an awkward teenager again.
He lifted his hands up and let out a huge sigh. ‘I don’t really know how to do this.’
She almost laughed out loud. ‘What do you normally do, Reuben? See a girl, ask her out? Date once, and that’s it?’
‘Usually.’
‘Haven’t you ever had a proper girlfriend? Lived with someone before? Had someone you would introduce to the family?’
