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ChapterSix
Against her better judgment, Lana had fallen under Zac’s spell.
He’d flirted with her all through dinner, flattering her, teasing her, making her laugh. By the time she finished a divine lime tart smothered in lashings of double cream, her sides and her cheeks ached from smiling, and he’d well and truly slipped under her guard despite logic telling her he was playing a game.
“Fancy having a coffee in one of the lounges?” He leaned toward her, immediately creating an intimacy that set her pulse racing, throwing her off balance quicker than the two metre swells buffeting the ship.
“Only if you ease up with the compliments.”
“Why?” His eyes darkened like storm clouds scudding across a midnight sky.
“It’s overkill.”
“But all true.”
She raised an eyebrow and sent a pointed look at her unadorned navy shift dress. “You think I look good in this?”
His gaze dipped to her dress, then lifted to focus on her lips, before his curved into a roguish smile. “What you wear is irrelevant. You’re beautiful.”
She exhaled on a soft sigh, wishing for one incredible moment she could be seduced into believing him by his low voice, his hypnotic eyes, his sincere expression. But she wasn’t beautiful, far from it, and falling under a suave sailor’s spell was beyond foolish.
“Now that you’ve exercised your smooth lines for the evening, maybe I will have that coffee. I’m in need of a caffeine hit to wake me from the stupor you’ve got me in after all that BS you’re shovelling.”
He laughed. “It’s a date. Just let me drop by the office to check on a fax and I’ll meet you in the Crow’s Nest Lounge in ten minutes?”
“Make it five.”
“Can’t bear to be away from me for long?”
“Actually, I was thinking more of the fact that I need to be up early for my first official aerobics class so don’t want to be out too late.”
“Spoil sport. I thought you might be pumping up my ego for a delusional moment there.”
“Like you need it.” Tapping her watch face, she shot him a saccharine-sweet smile. “Four minutes and counting. If you want that coffee you better get a move on.”
He held up three fingers. “Bet I beat you there.”
“You’re on.”
She made a dash for the bathroom on the way, unable to resist touching up her lipstick. Woeful behavior for a girl who rarely wore anything but a slick of gloss back home, but considering Zac kept studying her like she was a priceless painting she had no choice. That sort of scrutiny put a girl under pressure, especially one who didn’t feel beautiful let alone believed she deserved compliments, and she needed all the help she could get.
As she strolled into the Crow’s Nest with ten seconds to spare, her stomach somersaulted as she caught sight of Zac at a cozy table for two in the farthest corner, beckoning her over with a smug smile.
“What did you do? Sprint the whole way?”
He pulled out a seat for her and she sank into it before her knees gave their telltale wobble whenever he got too close.
“I ducked into the office and the fax hadn’t arrived, so I headed straight here. What about you? Have a quick dip overboard before you joined me?”
She tilted her nose in the air, her stare withering as she feigned indignation. “First I’m beautiful, now I look like a drowned rat. You need to work on your charm.”
“That’s what you’re here for.” He trailed a fingertip down her forearm and her breath caught. “I need the practice. Now, fancy a coffee? A drink?”
“Make mine a double,” she muttered, snatching her arm away, her disapproving glare doing little to curb his sexy smile.
“Really?”
She waved him away. “No, just order me something sweet and yummy.”
