Forever (Time for Love Book 1) (7 page)

Ooh. Sarah wasn't happy.

"Yeah, we kissed," she answered.

Sarah sighed deeply. "Shouldn't you go slow with this? I hate the fact that you're making yourself too available for him."

"Remember our New Year's resolution?" Rebecca challenged. "We said we'll make time for love and we won't let any excuse get in the way of making the first move on hot men."

"Hot men who are not afraid of commitment," Sarah contended. "I seriously doubt Zach fits the bill, considering the reason why you split up in the first place."

"As long as he's still interested in me I want to follow it through," she said in a tone that indicated she meant business.

"Okay," Sarah said, her voice softer. "I'd just hate for you to get hurt by the same guy, Bec. At least take this one step at a time. Don't go around kissing him again until you're clearer about his intentions. And for heaven's sake, don't even think about sleeping with him."

Rebecca shifted in her seat, avoiding her friend's intent gaze.

"Rebecca?" Sarah said in a suspicious tone.

"Erm, I... uh... already slept with him."

"You're kidding me!" Sarah said, clapping her hands on her thighs in frustration.

"I want another chance with him, Sarah."

Sarah shook her head as she slumped back in her seat. "Well, it's your heart, not mine."

"I'll kick myself more if I don't give it another try," Rebecca said quietly.

Sarah stared at her for a long moment. "Okay, honey. I get it. So what are you gonna do next?"

"Anything I can to win him back for good."

*****

R
ebecca stared at the book she was reading, stuck on the same page for long minutes. She glanced around the busy pool area, hoping against hope that Zach had decided to go for a swim in this particular pool.

But of course he wasn't around. He must be working in his suite, so she better accept the fact that she was unlikely to see him until tonight. That was, if he decided to have dinner at the same place she and Sarah had planned to go to.

She'd been restless all day, wondering when she'd see Zach again, or if he'd call her for a chat, or dinner, or... sex. Well, if she didn't hear from him today, she'd promised herself she'd take the initiative tomorrow. No more shy, scared Rebecca. She was on a mission.

She shifted on the deck chair she'd been lounging in for the last hour, trying to take her mind away from the needy sensation between her legs. Damn Zachary Carmichael. He always did this to her. Just thinking about him always made her want him, especially when her brain seemed to enjoy playing back their hot sex last night.

"Hello, Becky. Would you like a drink?"

Rebecca glanced up at the man who hovered above her. It was Alix, the cute and funny Greek guy who'd introduced himself at the restaurant earlier during lunch. He'd taken to calling her Becky, a nickname she didn't like, but when Alix said it with that lovely accent of his, she didn't mind.

"No, thank you, Alix. I'm fine," she said with a polite smile.

"Well, I'm afraid it's too late," Alix said, holding out a glass to her. "I've already ordered you another glass of cranberry juice. I think it's your favourite, yes?"

"I've had three glasses so far today," she said with a laugh. "Maybe I shouldn't drink any more."

"Just this last one?" Alix asked, extending the drink further toward her.

"Okay, thank you." She took the glass and Alix settled himself on the deck chair next to her.

"Where is your friend?"

"In the water," she answered, tilting her chin toward the pool. She looked for Sarah and found her chatting with a man—a good-looking one. Hmm.

"I didn't ask you earlier, but is it just you and your friend having your holiday?"

"Actually, we're here as someone's private nurses. But our client doesn't need us with her at all times, so we're lucky enough to have lots of free time to ourselves."

"Is that right?" Alix asked in surprise. "My mother and my two sisters are nurses. I grew up in a family of nurses."

"Really?"

As Alix chatted about his family, his work, and his experiences travelling solo every year, Rebecca found herself enjoying their conversation. Alix was an entertaining storyteller with a great sense of humour. And if he were to be believed, he'd done some pretty awesome, crazy and hair-raising stuff during his travels.

She was chuckling at something Alix was relaying when Sarah approached, followed by the guy she had been talking to in the pool, whom Sarah introduced as Ron, another Aussie.

"What's so funny, guys?" Sarah asked.

"Alix was just talking about his adventures in Peru," Rebecca answered.

Before long, the four of them were engaged in animated conversation, exchanging funny stories and having a good time.

"Why don't we all have dinner tonight?" Alix suggested as Rebecca and Sarah readied to go back to their room.

"Great idea," Ron said.

"That'll be good," Sarah said readily, looking at Rebecca with questioning eyebrows.

"I'm not sure if I could join you," Rebecca said hesitantly. "I, uh, might have to join our client tonight." What she really wanted was to have dinner with Zach, but she didn't even know what his plans were.

"Oh, it would be less fun without you," Alix said with a cute, exaggerated pout.

"You might still be able to join us," Rebecca said with a knowing look. "You just have to check with Magda."

"I'll do that."

*****

"H
as Zach told you what he's doing tonight?" Sarah asked as they made their way back to their room.

"No," Rebecca answered, trying to sound nonchalant. Didn't Zach say they'd talk again soon? When was soon?

"You're not just going to sit around and wait for him, are you?" Sarah asked with a hint of disapproval.

"You're right," she agreed. "I'll give him a call."

"That's not what I mean! What I meant was if he couldn't be bothered asking you to spend more time with him after he had his way with you last night, you shouldn't sit around and wait for him. Join us for dinner."

"I think he's busy. You know how busy he gets," she said, defending Zach.

"Sure, sure," Sarah said dismissively. "Join us for dinner, Bec."

Rebecca sighed, still set on spending the night with Zach. She knew she was being impatient. Zach could have hundreds of valid reasons why he hadn't called her yet. Just because she was practically on holiday mode didn't mean Zach was. He was a very busy man.

She believed that last night meant something to Zach, too. His questions, his expressions and his lovemaking suggested he still cared. She wasn't going to waste another opportunity with him. But she must stop being such a needy, impatient girlfr— err, woman. And heck, she must remember that one night of sex didn't mean they were back together, no matter how good the sex was.

"Okay. I'll join you," she said to Sarah as they entered their room. "But would it be super rude if I pull out if Zach wants to have dinner with me?"

Sarah sighed impatiently. "Yes, it would be super rude. But since I'm your best friend who understands how super crazy you are with the guy, I won't mind. We could always tell the other guys Magda called you at the last minute."

"Great! Thank you, Sarah." She gave her friend a big bear hug before retrieving her phone.

*

R
ebecca stared at Zach's text message with disappointment.

*Sorry. Too busy. Maybe another time.*

"I can join you for dinner, Sarah," Rebecca called out, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Oh? What's Zach doing?"

"He said he's too busy."

"Good. It'll be more fun with you there."

"So do you like Ron?" she asked as she watched Sarah fuss with her makeup.

"He's all right. Nice guy. I think Alix is more interesting, though. But he's interested in you, not me."

"Probably because Alix thinks you like Ron. What if you show Alix some fluttering eyelashes?"

Sarah snickered. "Not with Ron there. It would be insensitive." Sarah finished with her lipstick and turned to face her. "Don't you feel like being on this ship makes you throw caution to the wind and forget about your personal rules on land? I mean, if I end up in bed with either of those two, I don't think I'd mind."

"Are you serious?!" Rebecca couldn't believe her ears. Like her, Sarah had never had a one-night stand in her life. And now here she was, contemplating it with not one but two guys.

"I don't know, Bec. I just feel like I'm not in my normal world, so my normal rules don't apply."

"So if either Ron or Alix invites you to his room, you'd go?"

Sarah shrugged. "I'll play it by ear. Anyway, don't give me that 'I'm shocked' look. You slept with an ex-boyfriend last night—the one you said didn't mean anything to you anymore. Of course, I've always known you were lying."

Rebecca giggled. "You're right. I think being on this ship does weird things to our self-control." And hell, yeah. She'd love to lose her self-control again with Zach. When would she see him again?

Z
ach shook his head exasperatedly, already regretting the answer he'd given Rebecca.

Damn. He wouldn't get that report from Jeff for another two weeks. Now he was faced with a huge problem—he didn't know if he could stay away from Rebecca for that long. After last night, his world was rocked out of its axis. He was back again to thinking about Rebecca constantly. Here he was, torn between obeying either his heart and body, or his brain and common sense.

Funny how he could have any luxury he wanted, but not the luxury of simply going with the flow to see where something would take him—which was what he was itching to do with Rebecca. How he would love to just have dinner with her, make love to her, make her forget about any other man—especially the one who'd given her the apartment.

The thought made him hard despite his misgivings. Damn his cock. Always over-eager for Rebecca.

And that was his biggest problem. Every time Rebecca was in his arms, he'd believed anything she said. If she said that the sky was yellow and not blue while she took him to wonderland with her body, it wouldn't surprise him if he blurted out that she was absolutely right. He could now understand why some great men in history had lost battles because of a woman.

So whether he liked it or not, he must find a way to stay away from Rebecca until Jeff came back to him with info about the guy she was with. He couldn't afford to let his dick lead him with this.

His phone rang and he went to pick it up, grateful for the distraction.

"Hello, Gran."

"Hello, dear. I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight?"

"With everyone else?" And Rebecca?

"No. Just you and me. I've already spent all day with my friends. Now I'd just love to have a quiet time with you."

"Okay, sure. I'll pick you up from your suite in half an hour?"

"That would be wonderful, dear."

*****

Z
ach and Magda were escorted by a server to a table for two in one of the ship's specialty restaurants. It had been a while since Zach had been out alone with his grandmother, and he was glad they had this time together. Magda was one very special person and Zach knew he didn't do enough to let her know how much he appreciated her love, guidance and support.

"I'm glad I have a very beautiful woman for a date tonight, Gran," he said with a grin.

Magda chuckled. "Thank you, Zach. Now, if you could keep your eyes open for single men around my age that I could enjoy some bingo and dancing with, I'd appreciate it. There must be at least one or two around here, you would think."

"Well, before any of them can even escort you anywhere, I must give my seal of approval first," Zach warned jokingly.

"Oh, don't ruin my holiday. It's not as if I'm looking to get married again. I just want to have some fun like everyone on this ship is having. And for old people like me, some bingo and interesting conversation will do."

"Okay, then. I'll hunt them out for you."

"Good. My eyesight is not the best anymore. Better you look around for them than me."

Zach laughed. And just because he did want to find his grandmother a companion while on the trip, he looked around the restaurant, looking for silver-haired men without women by their sides.

His heart skipped a beat when he spotted a group of four sitting a few tables away from them. Rebecca and Sarah were with two men, and from the looks of it, they were having a wonderful time. Sarah was talking, but the dark-haired man next to Rebecca wasn't paying attention to Sarah. His eyes were on Rebecca, smiling as he watched her expression.

Heat rose up to his face. It was less than an hour ago that Rebecca had texted him to ask if he wanted to have dinner with her. Obviously, she had a back-up plan.

"Zach? What's wrong?" Magda asked, snapping him out of his jealous bubble.

"Uh, nothing. Just remembered a problem at work."

"Zachary," Magda said in a gently chiding tone. "You should learn how to relax, dear. I don't want you to end up sad and burnt out at such a young age. I had this argument with your grandfather many, many times when he was still alive. It was only when he was in his late sixties that he'd learned to let go. Please find time to enjoy yourself this month. This is why I want you here. You take your CEO responsibilities far too seriously."

Zach smiled fondly at his grandmother. "Thanks, Gran. I love you, too."

Magda beamed. "And while we're on this topic, why don't you take Vicky to the theatre tomorrow night? She's very interested in you."

He raised his eyebrows at his grandmother. "Did she tell you that?"

"Yes. She said you're one very special man."

"One very special man?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes! I think the two of you would suit each other very well."

"I thought you said you wanted Rebecca for me?"

"You were the one who said you're not interested in Rebecca. Besides, I think it would be nice if you do go for Vicky. Her grandmother is one of my oldest and closest friends."