Island Fantasy

Or a solitary vacation.

Pushing the thought aside, Shayna turned, seeing for the first time that there was a massive terrace on the far left side of the lobby. Happy people sat at tables outside, drinking and enjoying the view. Perhaps that would be a good place to get a bite to eat and read her novel, with the beach and Caribbean Sea as the idyllic backdrop.

Hearing a sudden burst of laughter, she turned and saw a group of people entering the lobby from a hallway near the front steps. It was an extended family by the looks of it, with at least a few women, two men and handful of kids. They were nicely dressed, as though they were heading to an early dinner. One of the men was holding a young girl who had fallen asleep.

Shayna had told her sister that if she never saw another man it would be too soon, but the one carrying the girl was quite something to look at. In fact, she couldn’t tear her eyes from him as he strolled across the lobby. He was tall, a little over six feet, with wide shoulders and muscular biceps. Shayna loved football, and this guy had the build of a wide receiver.

The man must have sensed Shayna was staring, because his gaze suddenly turned from his happy family and found hers. His brown eyes sent a jolt of electricity right through her.

Shayna immediately glanced away, uncomfortable. Her heart was beating a little bit faster and she couldn’t help wondering why. Guilt that she’d been caught staring?

Or something else?

The man was certainly attractive. He had skin the color of milk chocolate; a strong, chiseled jaw and a seriously nice body evident even beneath the loose white shirt that hung over his black pants. But he was carrying his daughter and was obviously married.

After a few seconds, knowing the man and his family must have passed her by now, she turned to steal another glimpse of him.

Ooh, Lord. What a behind. And those muscular thighs…He was just as attractive from behind.

The man angled his head over his shoulder in her direction, almost as if he sensed her staring again. Her face flaming, Shayna quickly turned her attention back toward the front desk, embarrassed that he would think she’d been checking him out.

But she had been checking him out. The realization startled her.

How long had it been since she’d fled the altar? Barely over twenty-four hours. Shayna didn’t think she’d be checking anyone out for many months, maybe even years.

As her pulse returned to normal, she cut herself some slack. As the saying went, she wasn’t dead. It wasn’t a crime to check out a sexy brother, even if she didn’t plan to date ever again.

And there was one reason she’d allowed herself to shamelessly ogle the sexy stranger.

He was safe territory. He was married.

Ten minutes later, Shayna was checked in and had her room key and room number, which the woman at the front desk had told her a bellman would help her find. The same bellman she’d spoken to earlier smiled warmly when she approached him again.

“What room, lovely lady?”

“18326,” Shayna said, frowning. The building certainly wasn’t eighteen stories high. “You can just direct me, and I’ll be fine.”

“No worries, mon. I’ll take you.”

Shayna decided not to argue. There was no point coming across as uptight when the man was only offering help.

The walk to the room went on and on. Every time she thought they were reaching the end, they simply rounded a corner and another corridor came into view. Shayna passed rooms that began with fourteen, fifteen, sixteen—and wondered if they’d reach her room before sunset. The walk seemed to take hours.

But finally, the bellman slowed when he got to the end of what turned out to be the absolute last hallway. “It’s a long walk,” he explained. “But you have the best view.”

The man opened the door for her, inserted the electronic key into a slot on the wall, and flicked on the lights. “When you’re in this room, you need to keep this key in the slot to get the lights and air-conditioning working.”

The room was warm, but the balcony door was open, sending in some fresh air. It smelled of the sea and also a slightly spicy scent that Shayna figured came from the flowers.

“If the balcony door is open, the air-conditioning shuts off immediately,” the man continued.

The room was beautiful. In the middle was a four-poster king-size bed. A dresser was on the opposite wall, beside which was a minifridge. There was a sofa near the balcony window. Across from the sofa was a small round table—upon which was a carafe with a bottle of champagne.

Shayna’s heart fluttered. Honeymoon. Of course.

“You also have the best balcony. It’s on the corner, so it’s much larger than the rooms beside you. They usually give this room to honeymooners.”

Shayna’s pulse began to race. This was the room where she and Vince were supposed to spend the next seven days and nights in wedded bliss.

Instead…

She stopped the thought before it could finish and reached into her purse. She pulled a few bills out of her wallet and passed them to the man. “Thanks for your help.”

He caught her hand as he accepted the money. Caught and held it. Shayna looked at him in surprise.

“You really are a lovely lady,” he said softly. “Where’s your husband?”

Shayna pulled her hand free, thinking suddenly of her family’s concern about her going on this trip alone. She hoped this man wasn’t going to be a problem.

“Thanks again for your help,” she said in a firm tone, the kind that said she wasn’t interested in any more small talk.

The man nodded and headed to the door. “Have a good vacation, pretty lady.”

Before he left, Shayna made note of his name. His tag read “Garth.” She would file the information away, but she hoped he knew she wasn’t interested. If he showed up at her door unannounced, she would be able to tell the front desk who he was.

Shayna closed and locked the door, then slowly strolled through the room. She made her way onto the balcony, which was, as Garth had said, huge. There was a round plastic table in its center, with two plastic chairs. It would be a nice place to eat breakfast in the morning.

The woman at the front desk had explained that Shayna’s room was three stories high, even though the third level was directly accessible from the lobby level. Here, the room was at a nice height to see everything around her. Moving forward to the railing, she looked out at the incredible view below. Garth had been right. The walk had been long but worth it. Shayna had never seen water so many shades of blue. To the left there was a large bay populated with sunseekers along the beach and in the water. A number of people were a good fifty yards into the sea, and yet the water only reached to their waists. Clearly, that was a very shallow beach.

Directly below her was a green building. A restaurant, perhaps? Beside that was another building beside a marina where people in bathing suits were eating at plastic tables. That had to be one of the resort’s casual eateries.

Shayna’s gaze wandered to the right. There she saw a rocky inlet with a smaller beach, at the end of which was a gazebo. No doubt it was a spot where the resort’s weddings were held.

In fact, there were people down there now. Some children, some adults.

Wait a minute, Shayna thought, her gaze narrowing. The next instant, she felt a jolt of shock.

The sexy stranger. He was in the gazebo along with his family.

No wonder they’d been nicely dressed. They’d been heading to the gazebo for a wedding.

And when the man turned, Shayna felt another jolt. Out of all the rooms in the hotel, had his gaze landed on her?

She quickly hurried into her room, away from the man’s gaze. And then she felt stupid.

What was she going to do—run every time she saw him? Stay in her hotel room the entire week to avoid crossing his path?

“It’s not like you’re about to try and steal another woman’s husband,” she said to herself. “It’s okay to look.”