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Raj’s eyebrows shot heavenward. “She doesn’t know your true profession?”
“No. You know secrecy’s been paramount to give me access to the proof I’ll need to convict our spy. And I only met her a week ago.”
“For a woman you only met a week ago, you’re sure doing a lot of soul searching.”
Zac picked up his beer and slugged the rest, desperate to ease the dryness in his throat. “Crazy, isn’t it? Happily single for years, then I take one look at this quirky, captivating woman and can’t get her out of my mind.”
“If she cares for you, she’ll forgive you. Besides, it’s only a little white lie. You do work on ships as a public relations manager. You also happen to manage the entire fleet.” Raj chuckled, doing little to soothe Zac’s nerves.
“I’m glad you find this situation amusing.”
“You’re really in a bind, aren’t you?”
Zac rolled his eyes. “I feel so much better after talking with you.”
“Sarcasm won’t help, my friend. I suggest you go back to your beloved ship and think long and hard about your dilemma of the heart.”
“Very poetic,” Zac muttered, knowing all the soul-searching in the world wouldn’t get him out of this quandary. The way he saw it, there was only one solution: tell Lana the truth and pray she’d be interested in continuing their fledgling relationship.
Though he’d never been a fan of long distance relationships, had seen them consistently fall apart over the many years he’d worked on ships, the thought of keeping in touch with her until he returned to Sydney, maybe seeing her on the odd flying visit, sent a thrill of hope through him.
“You know, between you and Sujit, you two old reprobates could start your own relationship counselling service.”
Raj laughed, picked up the car keys, and slapped him on the back. “Come on, I’ll drop you off. Everything will work out for the best.”
Zac grunted in response and hoped his friend was right.
* * *
Lana finishedher aerobics class under duress despite rave reviews from the participants. How could she keep her mind on the job when flashes of her afternoon with Zac kept popping into her mind at the most inopportune moments?
Take the rowing machine, for example: it reminded her of boats, which reminded her of water, which reminded her of beaches and ultimately Zac.
The treadmill wasn’t much better: it reminded her of walking, hand in hand, to the pristine lagoon, with Zac.
As for her towel slung casually over a set of free weights, she wouldn’t even go there, considering her skin tingled at the memory of his hands stroking her back while she’d been lying on her towel.
Thankfully, she made it back to her cabin without any more flashbacks, though once she set foot in the small space and closed the door, she slumped against it.
Of all the fish in the sea, she had to get hooked by a sailor.
She smiled at the pun, though there was nothing remotely funny about her situation.
She was falling for Zac.
There was only so much protesting a girl could do and with his non-stop charm chipping away at her defences almost twenty-four-seven, what hope did she have?
Considering he was a sailor and she was a landlubber, they had little hope of making a relationship work. Especially the type of relationship she wanted: husband, kids, noisy Sunday afternoons in the backyard rolling in autumn leaves with her brood, face-painting, playing tag, scoffing sticky toffee apples. The kind of childhood she never had. The kind of childhood she’d yearned for.
Beth understood. Her cousin wanted the same thing. They’d role-played happy families countless times as lonely six year olds when their moms had died in the same car crash.
Beth had found her happily ever-after and while Lana was pleased for her cousin, there wasn’t a day that passed when she secretly craved the same for herself.
Winning this cruise and taking it had been a first. And it had been filled with firsts ever since: the first time she’d met a guy who saw beneath her prissy veneer, the first time she trusted a guy enough to get to know him better, the first time she’d felt real passion if his kisses were anything to go by, and she knew, without a doubt, that if the last of her defences totally crumbled, it would be the first time she fell in love.
A knock on the door made her jump and she opened it to find the man intruding her thoughts filling the doorway, looking incredible as usual in full uniform, the gold embroidery on his epaulettes catching the hall light.
“Hey, there,” he said, his lopsided smile making her heart buck.
