Her First Vacation (23 page)

Colin followed Garret and witnessed him making the drop of
the small package he carried. The handoff was done one on one, which made
tagging the guy doing the pickup a little more difficult. Colin had to wait
until Garret had moved away to make his move. Fortunately, they were back in
the middle of the still raucous festival. Most of the revelers appeared to be
three sheets to the wind. Colin slipped his arm around a spinning woman and
laughed with her as he guided her in a direct line toward the guy who’d just
made the pickup. The collision was plenty hard enough to knock the guy on his
ass. The package he carried hadn’t been tucked away yet, and it hit the ground
at his side. Colin gave the man an apologetic smile and slurred his speech as
he bent to grab the package in his left hand while he grabbed the man’s arm in
the right.

“Sorry, buddy.
Didn’t see you.”

He hauled the man to his feet, holding out the package as
he did so. The guy snatched it, gave him a black glare, and muttered a curse
before turning to continue on his way. Just like that, the package had been
tagged. Wherever it went, they’d know, even if whoever was following it somehow
lost it. Colin wrapped his arms around the woman and danced her back into the
crowd. A few minutes later he managed to “accidentally” bump into Garret. He’d
sucked down a drink right before making the contact, so Garret would have no
trouble believing he’d spent the past hour and a half partying along with all
the rest of the people dancing in the streets. He gave Garret a sly smile as he
asked how his meeting had gone, and Garret returned the smile in answer. Colin
laughed and watched as Garret found his own woman to dance with. It went as
smooth as glass, and Colin’s smile was entirely genuine as he and Garret
stumbled onto the launch that would take them back to the ship.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The final day.
Claire couldn’t
seem to help feeling a little sad about that. This cruise had been painful and
beautiful and certainly enlightening. She’d accomplished some incredible things
over the past three weeks. She’d learned to live with herself, to see herself
clearly for the first time in her life. She knew she’d carry that ability with
her forever, now that she’d learned how to do it. She actually felt a bit
nervous about going home tomorrow. She’d leave the ship and go straight to the
airport where she’d catch her flight home. Her car would be waiting for her at the
small commuter airport in her small town. And when she got home, she knew her
mother and sister would be waiting for her. They’d be there, ready to say “I
told you so” when she came dragging in the door. Only she had no intention of
giving them what they expected. In fact, she’d decided that it was long past
time that she put both of them in their place a bit.

She could almost imagine their shock when they got their
first look at her. She’d decided to wear the scarf Garret had bought for her.
After the things he’d said yesterday, she’d almost considered throwing it away.
But it was too beautiful to be tossed just because the man who’d insisted on
buying it for her was a jerk. She’d have bought it herself if he’d let her. So
she’d wear the scarf and the blue top that matched it, along with the
impractical, heeled sandals that made her legs look like they went on forever.
By the time she got home her feet would probably be killing her, but at least
she’d feel attractive when she walked in the door of her mother’s house. They’d
both be struck speechless for the first few seconds, which would give Claire
the chance to speak her mind right off the bat. Before she was finished with
them, they’d both know that she was finished being their object of derision.
Finally, she was taking charge of her own life, and either they could adjust,
or they could stay out of her way.

Colin watched Claire as she leaned against the railing.
She’d braided her hair this morning, but the wind had already worked several
tendrils free. They snaked around her face, and she absently pushed them behind
her ears every few minutes. She was so beautiful it made his chest ache. He
expected to see her face marred with worry or sadness, but it wasn’t. If
anything, her features seemed to reveal a measure of peace that he couldn’t
begin to understand. After all she’d been through, all he’d done to
her,
she ought to be feeling sorry for herself. Yet, there
she stood, her gaze roaming over the endless horizon, a small half smile on her
lips that suggested she was perfectly content. And it finally hit him why he
was so drawn to her. It wasn’t just that she was beautiful and intelligent and
strong. It was her ability to find peace even in the midst of turmoil. She was
like a safe harbor in the middle of a raging storm, and every fiber of his
being wanted to go to her to seek that peace.

He shook his head. He was an utter fool. He’d gotten too
close to her, too fast. He’d started off curious,
then
become something close to obsessed. And now he was in love with her. With the
woman he’d taken to bed then walked out on. And she was going to survive it all
just fine. She should have been destroyed by such callousness, but she wasn’t.
Not Claire. She would go on. She’d put what he’d done behind her and keep going.
Not automatically or resolutely, but eagerly. She might hate him for using her,
but she wasn’t going to let it rob her of her future. She’d changed from a
staid caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly, and like that metamorphosis,
there was no going back. Day before yesterday, he’d sat there when Garret tried
to hurt her, and he’d thought she would curl up and lock herself deep into the
same shell she’d been hiding inside when he’d first met her. She wasn’t going
to hide, though. Not anymore. She was going to spread her wings and fly, and he
would be left behind because he was long past the point where he could make the
kinds of changes she had made. He wasn’t a butterfly in
waiting,
he was just a caterpillar, a worm. And never, to coin a phrase, the twain shall
meet.

He watched as she finally turned away from the rail and
headed back into the interior of the ship. She’d go have breakfast now,
then
she’d find something to occupy her time for the rest of
the day. He wondered if he’d see her for dinner, then found himself half hoping
he wouldn’t. He wasn’t sure he could take sitting at that table with her,
knowing he couldn’t touch her, couldn’t even talk to her without risking
letting his feelings seep into his eyes and voice. She was far too observant,
too wise. She’d see it and she’d know, then she’d demand that he let her love
him. She’d force him to explain who and what he really was, and that would be
the final straw that pushed her over the edge into hating him. She’d never
forgive him for the lies and the manipulations, and he couldn’t blame her. He
didn’t deserve her forgiveness. He sure as hell didn’t deserve her love. As she
disappeared from view he felt something inside him silently pray that he
wouldn’t see her again. It would be easier on them both, that way.

Claire dressed carefully for dinner that night. It was the
final night on the ship, the final dinner. Garret would be there, as would
Colin and all the others. Some small, weak part of her kept whispering that she
ought to just stay in her room. She could order room service. The ship would
dock tomorrow morning, and she could leave without ever having to face either
Garret or Colin again. But that would be the coward’s way out, and she’d had
more than enough practice at taking that route in the past. She wasn’t going to
run from either one of them. She was stronger than that, and ultimately, she
knew she wasn’t the one who had anything to be ashamed about. So she was going
to dinner, and she was dressing to the nines for this final night on the ship.

She’d gone to the salon and had Tom put her hair up into an
elaborate style similar to the one he’d given her the day she had the makeover.
Then she went back to her room and pulled out the little black dress she’d let
them talk her into buying even though she’d sworn to herself that she’d never
wear it. Everything she’d bought in that little salon had been outside the
realm of her personal experience. This dress was the furthest from her comfort
zone. It was cut low and high, revealing far too much of her breasts and
virtually the entire length of her legs. She had black sling back sandals to go
with it and a black choker that only emphasized how much skin was showing on
her chest. It was an outfit made for seduction, designed to make a man’s mouth
water. Tonight, she would wear it for herself. Because it was the most risqué
thing she owned, and she wanted to prove to herself, as well as to Colin and
Garret, that she wasn’t intimidated by anything any longer.

Colin was sitting at the table watching Garret flirt with
Cathy when Claire walked into the room. He felt the breath rush out of his
lungs on a harsh sigh. His eyes swept from the top of her head down her body
and then back up again. By the time they reached her face he realized she’d
spotted him, and their eyes met. Colin felt the impact all the way to his toes.
The defiance in her gaze would have set him back on his heels if he hadn’t been
sitting down. And the amount of skin she was showing tonight would have sent
him to his knees. He felt his pulse rate kick into overdrive as she began to
walk toward him. She finally shifted her gaze off him, but he couldn’t take his
eyes off her. Nothing in the world could have made him turn away. Not even
Garret’s muffled curse broke the spell she’d cast on him.

She reached the table and gave everyone a smile that was
only slightly strained. Peripherally, Colin saw Tate and Paul shoot to their
feet like they’d been jerked upright by an invisible string. Tate did an
admirable job of keeping his eyes off the creamy expanse of skin revealed by
the low V of the dress. Paul couldn’t quite manage to keep his eyes from dropping
there. Tate reached her chair first, and she thanked him as he seated her. The
waiter damn near ran over him in his effort to take her drink order. Everyone
else at the table was utterly silent as they stared at her. What was there to
say, anyway? She was stunning. The most incredibly beautiful woman he’d ever
seen. And she was dressed for seduction. There was no other reason for her to
wear a dress like that. Which left Colin wondering who she’d come there to
seduce.

Garret finally broke the silence as the waiter walked away.

“You’re looking particularly inviting tonight, Claire.”

She turned her blue-gray eyes on him. “Enjoy the view while
you can. It’s all you’ll ever get from me.”

Colin sensed the fury that ripped through Garret. Every eye
at the table was locked onto him, which was probably the only thing that
stopped him from saying or doing something truly vulgar. He might not be playing
any role for Claire, but he still wasn’t ready to let his true nature out for
the entire world to see. The waiter returned with their drinks, and some of the
tension faded a bit. Or maybe everyone just made an effort to pretend it was
gone. Claire smiled and laughed as she talked with everyone at the table.
Everyone except Garret and Colin.
She didn’t look at either
of them again through the entire meal.
Which left Colin to
watch Garret watching her.

There was going to be trouble. She’d put Garret in his place
in no uncertain terms, but she’d done it in front of witnesses. He wouldn’t
forget that. Nor would he be likely to just let it go. So Colin watched him
closely, ready to intervene if Garret got out of hand.

By the time they were finishing their dessert, Colin was
starting to wonder if Garret was going to prove him wrong. He hadn’t said a
word to Claire.
Hadn’t so much as hinted that he intended to
say anything.
And when Claire got to her feet, Garret just watched her
silently. She told everyone how much she’d enjoyed meeting them.
Excluding Colin and Garret once more.
Tate offered to walk
her to her room, but she declined. She told everyone good night and good bye,
then walked out of the room without once looking back. Colin watched her go,
knowing it was the last time he’d ever see her. She’d made sure he wouldn’t
forget his last sight of her, too. That dress would play a starring role in his
fantasies for a long time to come. And maybe that had been her intention. Maybe
she wanted him to get a good look at what he was throwing away. If so, she’d
certainly succeeded.

He turned around and realized Garret was watching him, and
the look in his eyes wasn’t particularly pleasant. Colin gave him a smile.
“She’s a piece of work, huh?”

Garret nodded slowly.
“Yeah.
I
think I’ll go find me someone a little less sharp around the edges, though.”

Colin watched him go,
then
followed him just to make sure he kept true to his word. Sure enough he made
swift work of locating a woman that didn’t mind sharing his bed, and the two of
them disappeared into Garret’s room a short while later, already tugging at
each other’s clothes. Colin went to his own room and monitored the surveillance
equipment for a few minutes, then turned it down before they got too deeply
into it. He’d let Garret have his fun tonight. It would be the last time he’d
enjoy the company of a woman for the rest of his miserable life. Bright and
early the next morning, Colin would be reading him his rights while he locked
his arms behind his back. Colin would go just before dawn, when Garret was dead
to the world. Garret wouldn’t even know what had hit him.

Claire peeled off her clothes and carefully packed the
dress along with all the other new clothes she’d bought on this trip. She
wanted to be ready to go as soon as the ship docked in the morning. And she was
ready, except for the small bag of toiletries in the bathroom and the
nightclothes she changed into tonight. She stood in the bathroom, studying her
hair for a few moments before reaching up to begin freeing it from all the pins
Tom had used to keep it up. She’d watched him carefully today and thought that
she just might be able to manage a reasonable copy of the style on her own. Not
that she could imagine any occasion that would call for it. But who knew? Maybe
she’d finally take her co-workers up on their invitations to holiday parties
this year. Now that she knew how to dress and had proved to herself that she
could stand up to just about anything.