Bidding on Brooks: The Winslow Brothers #1 (9 page)

A man as large as Brooks would barely fit into one of the tiny guest bunks and she couldn’t imagine he’d get a very good night’s sleep.

When he’d given her a tour of the boat on Wednesday evening, she’d paid close attention to their sleeping arrangements, and she had to admit she felt a little guilty that it was Brooks’ boat and he’d be consigned to such a tight, uncomfortable room. It didn’t seem fair, but there was no other option unless she allowed him to have the other, wider berth in
her
room that would be otherwise empty.

Share a bedroom.

Platonically, of course, but…

Share a bedroom.

Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea.

The condom on her pillow practically giggled at her, and she grimaced, fishing the deck plans of the Cutter out from under her Captain’s log. Because she was the Skipper of his boat, she would assign their quarters tomorrow morning when they loaded their gear on board, and because Brooks respected the conventional and time-honored tradition that a skipper was in total control of a maritime vessel, he wouldn’t argue with her decision.

Even if he shares the aft cabin with me, it’s not like we would be sharing a bed
, she reasoned
, just a room…and just at night.
Brooks could change his clothes in the head or in one of the other tiny cabins. But at least he’d get a good night’s sleep. With a crew of two, they would require good sleep every night, and how could he be expected to sleep with his body barely fitting on one of the tiny guest berths?

She was so deep in thought, the sound of her phone ringing made her jump a foot. She reached for it, pressing “Talk” without looking at the screen.

“Hello?”

“Skye?” said a crackly voice. “Skye? Can you hear me?”

“Pat?” she asked, her heart thumping with a sudden adrenaline rush. “Is that you?”

“Yeah! It’s me.”

“Oh, my gosh! Where are you?”

“Coast of Costa Rica.”

“Pat, that’s amazing!” she said, picturing Pat and his Cat bobbing on the blue of the Pacific. “You’re on Ocean number two!”

“Yeah, I made it.”

“I bet it’s
gorgeous
.” She sighed enviously, never having sailed the Pacific.

“It’s beautiful, Skye.”

“Wow,” she said softly, feeling happy to hear his voice, but a little sad that she was in Maryland and he was so far away in Costa Rica when they were originally supposed to go together.

“Saw the article in
Celeb!
,” he said.

So had Skye. And she’d rolled her eyes at the sensationalized phrase “newly-minted lovebirds.”

“It was silly, Pat.”

“Didn’t look silly. Looked like you were all dressed up and dancing with Brooks Winslow.”

“Well, I was. But it’s an act. It’s just publicity…for his sister’s cause.”

“Modern art,” said Pat, scoffing.

“It’s nothing. Really,” she said, her cheeks hot as her heart called her a liar.

“Do I have anything to worry about, Skye?”

She winced, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and feeling a rush of guilt for her kiss with Brooks and her non-stop thoughts of him since last Saturday. But she couldn’t help her thoughts…and she’d been clear with Brooks: her choice was Patrick.

“Of course not. I’m with you.”

“Are you?”

Her eyes burned and she blinked quickly. “Yes! Pat, I-I’m just…it’s hard being away for so long. I miss you.”

“We’ll be together in Mexico soon, babe.”

“I know…I just…this is a really long time be away from—”

She wasn’t positive, but she could swear she heard the tinkling laugh of a woman in the background. Her eyes narrowed.

“Are you ashore?”

“Huh? No. No, I’m about a mile off-shore.”

She paused a second, listening intently, but didn’t hear anything and wondered if she’d just been imagining things.

“Oh.”

“That’s how we got a signal.”

Wait. We?
Then she heard it again. A woman’s laugh. No doubt this time.

“Pat? Who’s with you?”

“What? No one. Just me and the Cat.” A pause. Then, he whispered, “Shhh. Come on. Stop. She can hear you.” Skye’s mouth dropped open. Did he think he was covering the mouthpiece of the phone? Well, he wasn’t. His voice was louder when he asked, “Uh, Skye? Babe? Can you hear me?”

“Yeah. And I can hear her, too,” she said, steel in her tone. “Who’s with you?”

He cleared his throat. “Skye…It’s no big deal. Inga and Helmut got into a fight and I’m just giving Inga a lift to San Salvador.”

“Giving her a lift?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing. She’s going to fly home once we get there.”

Skye nodded dumbly, the breath knocked out of her lungs. Patrick had been so resolute about her not joining him—
I just feel like this dream started before I met you. I can’t shake the feeling that this is just an adventure I’m meant to enjoy alone
.
I think it’s my destiny
—and yet Inga was on the Cat, hanging out with him, having an adventure with him, while she was home alone.

“Babe,” he cajoled. “What was I supposed to do? Leave her stranded in Panama City? She came to my room after midnight with her backpack, crying, telling me that Helmut had—”

“I have to go,” said Skye, furious, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Skye…don’t be mad. It doesn’t mean anything. She’s just…I mean,
you’re
going on a cruise with Brooks. Aren’t you sort of a hypocrite for pulling the ‘indignant girlfriend’ card?”

Yes. Yes. I guess I am.

“Well, that stops now, Pat…because if
you’re
entertaining Inga, you can bet your ass
I’ll
be entertaining Brooks.”

“Wait! Skye—”

No, no more waiting! She was so sick of staying still and swallowing her hurt feelings so she didn’t rock the boat with Pat. She was sick of taking the higher road and being the understanding girlfriend so that Pat could fulfill his stupid, selfish destiny. He was clearly having an on-board fling with his flavor-of-the-moment. Great. Fine. Terrific. But two could play that game.

“No! You’re right. I’ll take a card from
your
deck instead. You enjoy your time with your… your Swedish slut, Pat, and I’ll—”

“Skye, I’m not fucking her,” he said softly, an edge of warning creeping into his voice. “Don’t… just don’t do anything you’re going to regret, okay?”

Hurt feelings made her voice low and bitter. “I
won’t
regret anything.”

“Come on, Skye—”

“I gotta go,” she said, pulling her phone from her ear and pressing the End button before he could say another word then throwing her phone down on the bed.

He was cheating on her.

He was cheating and she knew it. She could tell. She could hear it in his voice.

And it hurt. It hurt a lot more than she would have expected.

She thought back to Inga’s pretty, tanned face, flirting with Helmut before kissing him passionately in front of a stranger on a webcam. That’s what Inga was comfortable doing on a webcam in front of a stranger, and Skye’s best guess was that she and Pat had been at sea for at least a week. Like hell they weren’t fucking.

Which suddenly made her guilt over that single, solitary kiss last Saturday seem utterly ridiculous. Reaching across her bed, she picked up the black nylon case and without detaching the condom, she shoved it into her duffel bag with a huff of satisfaction.

“How about a kiss on Brooks’ cheek, Skye?” asked Guy Hunter, snapping away with his camera while a small group of well-wishers, including Jessica and Alex, Preston, Cameron, and Skye’s father, Jack, stood uncomfortably on the dock waiting to wave goodbye. Well, uncomfortable except for Jessica, who raised her eyebrows and nodded enthusiastically behind Guy, miming a kiss.

Brooks looked down at Skye who flushed pink, then shrugged, and Brooks dropped his lips to her cheek in a chaste kiss as the camera snapped again. Her cheek was soft and warm under his lips and a faint hint of coconut made his nuts tighten uncomfortably. He ignored it. He was going to have to ignore it a lot this week, and while that might make the next few days a little painful, he had no other options.

“Nice!” praised Guy. “How ‘bout another? Skye? How about you kiss Brooks?”

Brooks drew back from her, telegraphing “I’m sorry” with his eyes as she grinned dryly at him. He leaned his head down, closing his eyes as her soft pink lips brushed his cheek.

“Thatagirl!” said Guy as they held the pose for several seconds.

Think about something else, Brooks, or you’re going to embarrass yourself
, he thought, feeling his dick flinch inside khaki shorts.

When Brooks arrived with his entourage at seven o’clock, Skye and her father were already on the Cutter and from the looks of things they’d been prepping her for hours. The deck had been hosed down, the sails raised loosely and the lines re-cleated. He had grinned at Skye in appreciation, respecting a skipper who took her duties seriously. He had no doubt that her gear was already stowed, she’d established a Captain’s log with their course, and if he peeked in the Chart Room, it would undoubtedly have a clean chart of the Chesapeake under the Plexiglas of the rectangular table.

Brooks still needed to stow his bags, then all that remained was a couple more pictures, and their farewells before they pulled up anchor. They were just about ready to go.

“Brooks,” asked Guy, “what have you decided to christen your new boat? How about
The Skye
?”

Brooks stepped away from Skye giving Guy a forced grin. “She’s already named
Zephyr
.”

“Hey Skye, are
you
as fast as a zephyr?” Guy asked suggestively.

Brooks fisted his hands, taking a step toward Guy.

“Guy,” said Jessica, quickly, stepping between her brother and the cheeky reporter, “Can we get you anything else before you go?”

“How about a couple shots of you and your fiancé?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows. “Hard for the world to believe that Alex English has actually been reformed. I’d love to take some photos to prove it!”

Brooks watched Alex’s posture stiffen and gave his sister a look that asked,
How do
you
like it?

Jessica slid her hand down Alex’s arm, and the tension in his body seemed to ease, but he still looked at Guy Hunter with disgust.

“Sure,” said Jessica. “Can we just say goodbye to my brother first? So he can get underway?”

“No problem,” said Guy, flicking his eyes at Brooks’ shorts. “I’ll just take a few
Bone
Voyage shots, huh?”

Guy elbowed his way around Preston and Cameron who were doing a good job of glowering at him, and Jessica took Skye’s hands, pulling her aside.

***

“I hope you have a great time,” said Brooks’ sister, her lovely green eyes sparkling and kind as she squeezed Skye’s hands in hers.

“We will,” said Skye, glancing at the Cutter. She was unaccustomed to holding hands with other women and uncomfortable with so much attention focused on her. More than anything, she just wanted to get going. “I love this boat.”

“I love my brother,” said Jessica evenly, leaning forward to press a kiss on Skye’s cheek. She whispered in Skye’s ear, “You can trust him, you know.”

“Can I?” murmured Skye, the words reflexive, not sanctioned.

Jessica drew back, catching Skye’s eyes and smiling. “Yes. I think you can. He’s good at taking care of people. He’s been taking care of me forever.”

But you’re his sister
, thought Skye, instinctively knowing that the enormous love Brooks clearly had for his sister probably didn’t extend to any other woman in his life.

“Have fun,” said Jessica, squeezing her hands again before turning to Brooks, who was chatting with his brothers.

Alex English, who’d been introduced to Skye quickly when the Winslows arrived, grinned at her as they both watched the Winslows engage in a gregarious group hug.

“They’re a great family,” said Alex, who only had eyes for Jessica.

Skye, who’d never had any family but her father and a few cousins, looked on with envy, her eyes pulled magnetically to Brooks, who was grinning at something his brother Cameron was saying. “Seems like that.”

“I heard Brooks is letting you skipper.”

“Yep,” said Skye, looking at the
Zephyr
’s sparkling decks with pride and pleasure.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve known Brooks since I was a little kid, and he’s not the type to let just anyone skipper his boat.”