The Baby Arrangement

She giggled again. “That’s silly.” She picked up her empty coconut shell and considered it. “Did someone drink all of this?”

“You could say that.” He grinned automatically and caught her hand in his. She smiled and didn’t pull away, a dreamy look on her face with her eyes shuttered to mere slits.

“You know, you’re not half-bad,” she said. “I’m starting to get used to you.”

“Gee, thanks.” He laughed at her backhanded compliment. “You’re not so bad, either.” He meant the words. Once she’d given in and let herself enjoy her surroundings—live in the moment—she was fun to hang out with.

He wondered what it was about her that had made him think she was so vulnerable. Now he only saw her as damned attractive and overtly sexy. Not that he was looking to hook up, no matter what his cousin thought he should do.

So what if she had a slender body with just enough curves to make his own body react. And so what if her long, medium-brown hair had shades of gold that sparkled when light hit them. Just because the long layers rested against those delicately toned, bare upper arms didn’t mean he wanted to kiss every inch of them.

The sudden urge to run his fingers through her silky locks that she liked to toss made his fingers curl into tight fists, and he reined himself in.

“No, really,” she said. “When we first met I thought you were pretty bossy and a know-it-all. But you actually seem like a pretty nice guy.”

He grinned, blaming it on the sweet mixed drinks she’d been downing. He’d consumed more alcohol than he normally did and he was beginning to feel it. He suspected she didn’t imbibe this much very often, either. She presented herself as always in control—of both herself and situations.

A short while ago, her friends had mysteriously disappeared after excusing themselves, one by one, to go to the bathroom. Nick checked his watch. The last woman had left nearly ten minutes ago. Either there was an emergency in the ladies’ room or Bree’s friends had deliberately abandoned her.

He chose the second option as having a higher probability. As protective of her as they seemed to be, he supposed this meant he had their approval as a chaperone. Of course, it wasn’t like they’d been left alone in the woods. There were plenty of people still enjoying the tropical night.

“You have the nicest smile,” Bree told him. “Thank you for catching me earlier. Have I thanked you already?”

“Yes, you have.” He’d been absently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the caller ID, not surprised when he read it. “Excuse me a minute.” He rose, touching Bree’s bare shoulder and speaking close to her ear. “Promise you’ll be here when I get back?” The citrus smell of her hair was nearly his undoing.

She nodded, held up three fingers in a mock salute and said, “I promise.”

Damn. She was nearly irresistible.

“Hey, Pete,” Nick greeted his cousin on the other end when he found a quieter spot to talk. “I’ve been trying to reach you. What happened to you earlier? I thought you were meeting me at the bar. After all, this weekend getaway was your idea.”

“There was a problem on the boat and it’s taking longer than expected.” Nick and Pete had flown to San Juan, Puerto Rico, using Pete’s airline miles. Then Pete had borrowed a friend’s boat for them to come to Isla de la Blanca. Nick probably wouldn’t have let himself be talked into coming if most of the trip hadn’t been free.

“You need me to come back to the marina?” Pete had told Nick to go to the lodge without him so he could take a quick shower first.

“No, I’ve got it,” Pete said. “There’s a guy here who’s helping me out. Shouldn’t be too long now.”

“Get here as soon as you can. You’ll be happy to know that I met a group of really fun women.”

“Excellent. Be there soon.”

By the time he made it back to the table, he was second-guessing what he’d told Pete. The other three women were still nowhere in sight. Bree was alone—her head was on her folded arms and her eyes shut.

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_5ad50da7-12e0-548f-accc-b2439e6fd08e)

BREE LIFTED HER HEAD when she heard Nick move his chair as he returned from taking his phone call. She was tired and would have preferred to go to bed, but she’d promised the girls that she’d let her hair down while they were on vacation. She didn’t think she’d had that much to drink. After all, how much alcohol could there be in those sweet drinks? Still, she felt a little wobbly when she stood up.

“Maybe some fresh air is a good idea,” she told Nick. Afterward, she could go to bed with a clearer head.

“Let’s go.” He offered her his arm and she didn’t refuse.

They stepped through the automatic doors and Bree drew in a deep breath, trying to counter the effects of the alcohol.

The air was humid, but the continuous breeze off the ocean was refreshing.

They followed a masonry walkway that led to a narrow boardwalk, and from there they walked down the few steps onto the sandy beach.

“Hold on a sec,” Bree said, stopping abruptly. “I need to take my shoes off if we’re going to walk on the sand.”

They both slipped off their shoes and left them next to the stairs before heading to the water’s edge.

The sky was clear and Bree saw more stars than she could count, wondering what constellations she was admiring.

“That’s Orion, the Hunter,” Nick said as if reading her mind. “Those three stars together make up his belt.” He pointed to another cluster of stars and took a step to the side as if trying to keep his balance. So she wasn’t the only one who was feeling the alcohol. “And that’s Cassiopeia,” he added.

He’d taken her hand somewhere between the lounge and the beach, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she kind of liked it. She decided to blame her nonchalant attitude on too many sweet drinks.

“You’re probably making that up to impress me,” she teased.

“Is it working?” Nick chuckled, a pleasant sound that made Bree smile. “I promise, those are definitely Orion and Cassiopeia.” He spoke as he looked toward the sky, wavering slightly. “Legend has it that Orion had women trouble. When he wooed Merope, the daughter of King Oenopion, she rebuffed him. One day he drank too much wine and tried to take Merope by force, so the king had Orion blinded and banished.”

“Imagine if today’s sex offenders met the same fate.” Bree was fascinated by the tale. “So this guy, Orion, was blind forever?”

“No, eventually he regained his sight with the help of Hephaestus, the god of the forge. Not sure how a blacksmith can restore sight, but that’s what I learned.”

“What are you, an astronomer or something?” She knew very little about him aside from his skill at rescuing falling women.

“Nope. Just an Eagle Scout.”

“Eagle Scout, very impressive. I’m sure your parents are very proud.”

“They were,” he told her in a more subdued tone.

“You make it sound like past tense.” Bree cocked her head, waiting for his explanation.

“Sorry. My mother still brags about me.” He paused. “My father died almost two years ago.”

“I’m sorry.” Her own father had been absent so much of her life that it sometimes felt like he was deceased. And he lived only a half hour away from her.

He shrugged off her condolence. “It was very sudden and there are times I still can’t believe he’s gone. He actually taught me how to navigate with the stars, and he did all the venture camping trips with me.”

She tried to lighten his mood. “So I don’t have to worry about getting lost, and you’ll protect me from bears?”

That made him laugh, an enjoyable male sound. “I doubt we’ll come across any bears on the beach, and as long as we stick next to the shore I’m pretty sure I can get us back to the main lodge.”

Her head had cleared a bit and she didn’t feel quite as out of control in the fresh air. At some point during the evening, she had stopped resenting Nick’s intrusion on her girls’ working vacation and begun having fun. He hadn’t made a good first impression, but she had been willing to rethink her initial opinion of him.