chapter FOUR
Laney felt very out of place with Nick in the jewelry store. She wished he had let her see to this task by herself. The entire situation was unnerving. He all but dragged her into the store. The sales girls virtually devoured him with their eyes but Nick paid no mind to their shameless flirtation.
“I need a ring,” he muttered as he scanned the displays.
The cute little brunette tilted her head back. “For yourself?”
“No, for her.” He pointed in the general direction of Laney who until now remained close to the entrance. “Laney, tell me what you think of this one.”
Nick was so absorbed in his search he completely missed the look of shock that covered the woman"s face. Laney couldn"t quite describe the look, but she knew it wasn"t one of joy.
He pulled her hand toward him and pointed down into the glass.
“What about that one?”
“No.”
He looked at her. “Why not?”
“It"s a teardrop.”
“What does that mean?”
She sighed. “It means no woman would want to be caught dead with that thing on her finger.”
“It looks fine to me,” he argued.
Laney looked over his shoulder and pointed to a modest-looking ring.
“How about that?”
“No, not big enough.”
The saleswoman finally awoke from shock. “Ah, how sweet. You"re a very lucky woman.”
Laney didn"t know how to respond to that comment. She knew just about as much about Nicolas Sinclair as the saleswoman did.
“How long have you two been together?”
“One year,” Nick offered without looking at her. “Let us see that one.”
“Nick, I don"t care for that one too much.”
Nick waited for the saleswoman to disappear before responding. “It"s not like this is for real. Why do you care what it looks like?”
“Why the hell did you ask my opinion in the first place?” she snapped. “I could have just given you my ring size and stayed in the room.”
“Okay, fine.” He sighed. The salesgirl returned with a piece of velvet cloth.
“We"ve changed our minds. Please get my … uh … wife whatever she wants.”
“Oh! You two are already married?” There was a questioning look in her eyes that Laney felt almost compelled to answer since Nick was doing such a poor job.
“You"ll have to forgive him.” Laney smiled. “He lost my ring down the drain. I"ve barely spoken to him in days so he"s anxious to undo his mistake.” She winked at the girl secretively. “You know what I mean?”
The girl smiled knowingly. “I understand. What are you interested in?”
Half an hour later Laney was wearing an unbelievable wedding ring and band, and Nick was sliding an astronomical receipt into his wallet.
Laney could hardly believe someone would spend so much money on such a little thing. It all seemed so pointless yet she could not keep her eyes off the ring. She was also frightfully wealthy Nick was. He didn"t bat an eyelash when she selected the Schlumberger Bud Ring, a beautiful round, brilliant diamond center complemented by pavé-set diamonds throughout the band. She was in love. Even if Nick drove her crazy at least she could calm herself by staring into the perfection of her ring. Nick purchased a simple platinum band for himself and the same for her. She glanced at his for only a minute or two before falling back under the trance of her rings.
So this is what it felt like to wear a wedding ring?
Even though she didn"t care for Mr. Sinclair, she couldn"t resist the heady feeling slowly
taking her over. “I see you like your ring.”
She smiled shyly feeling guilty for being caught staring it. “I"ve never worn a wedding ring. I feel a little giddy.”
“Don"t get too comfortable, Laney.”
“I won"t. Don"t worry.”
“So are you holding out sex on me?”
“What?” Laney smiled but could not meet his stare. “W--what?”
Nick grinned. “Back there in the shop. You hinted that you were holding out sex on me, right?”
“Oh, that.” She felt her cheeks flush. “It"s not every day a man demands a ring and doesn"t care about the cost. It"s a bit suspicious. I had to give her a plausible reason.”
“You think that"s plausible?”
“What?”
“That you could put a man under a spell like that?”
She finally dared herself to look at him. He was playing with her.
That breathtaking smile of his was proof enough. “If that were true, I wouldn"t be on this cruise ship alone.” She looked away. The reminder of Rob made her heart sink.
* * * *
On the way back to the room they practiced holding hands, an awkward task to say the least. They got a small taste of what marriage life together would be like for the next few days. Everywhere they looked there was a swimsuit-clad body. Several times Laney caught him making eyes at other women. However, she couldn"t blame him. Even she noticed a few yummy male physiques. Laney was happy to discover her luggage had been delivered. She eagerly slipped out of her heels and dug through her bags to find her tennis shoes.
“We set sail at five this evening,” Nick informed her as he scanned the vessel itinerary.
“The captain"s dinner is at seven. We"re joining the Zelmans.
Do you have a black dress?”
“Yes. I brought two just in case.”
Nick checked his watch. “It"s only ten o"clock, I think we should scope out the ship. Maybe we"ll run into the Zelmans.”
“Do you have anything in particular in mind?” She looked over her shoulder at him, watching him stare out the balcony windows.
“The weather is perfect for a game of golf. Let"s start there.”
Laney frowned but said nothing.
“What?” Nick picked up on her look of dread. “Don"t you like golf?”
“No.”
He looked at her in disbelief. “Come on, Laney. Golf is the game of legends.”
“Let me guess, you like baseball, too.”
“Yes. Why?”
She laughed to herself. “This may surprise you but I don"t care for golf. Not even a little bit.”
“Have you ever played?”
“I"ve never desired to.”
“You don"t know what you"re missing. Golf is nature"s version of chess. It"s a game of skill and strategy.” She could hear the excitement build in his voice. “Once you try it, I promise you"ll love it.”
That could be said about a lot of things, she thought, including him.
Did he really think she was going to enjoy enduring a boring game of golf?
The man was delusional. Laney Parks was not a golfer, but she reminded herself that she had agreed to follow the “script” while posing as his wife for the next ten days. If he wanted a club-swinging companion, she would try to oblige him if she didn"t die from sheer boredom first.
Nick offered her the privacy of the bathroom to change. She collected several items before disappearing. After a quick shower she worried herself sick trying to decide
what to wear. How was she supposed to know what to wear to play golf?
Finally, she chose a sleeveless white button-down shirt and khaki shorts and scrutinized herself in the mirror. She hadn"t planned on spending her vacation with her boss. She"d packed specifically for a romantic retreat with Rob. Her clothing selection was evident. Though the shirt was plain enough, the shorts were a bit short. She"d bought them to show as much leg as possible, hoping to seduce Rob every chance she got.
They weren"t risqué shorts by any means, but under the radiant blue eyes of Mr. Sinclair, she was nervous. She swept her hair up into a clip while mentally preparing herself for his response.
Nick was beginning to get frustrated. There was absolutely no reason for Laney to take so long in the bathroom. They weren"t going to the prom.
She"d been in there for almost an hour! How much longer was she going to take? Just when he was about to completely lose his patience, the bathroom door opened. What he saw was totally unexpected … and well worth the wait.
The blouse she wore fit her every curve, emphasizing her generous yet perky breasts. As spellbound as her breasts may have been, he knew with determination he could force himself to ignore his urges. However, her shorts were another issue. They were short, too short for him to ignore. All he saw was luscious golden skin. Her legs were perfect. Well formed.
Toned but soft. They had a natural curve to them that gave him no choice but to stare. When he"d first laid eyes on her in line, he had been intrigued by her classic look.
She had a cute heart-shaped face, enticing lips and warm brown eyes.
She was pretty but that was the end of it. His sexual preferences were known to vary but never toward black women. In any case, when he saw Vivian Zelman he could not have cared less what the Parks woman looked like so long as she agreed to play the part. He was really that desperate. He hadn"t spared her physical attributes a second thought after making up his mind to employ her services. Now, with Laney standing in front of him wearing those damn hot pants, he couldn"t help but appreciate her beauty.
Laney groaned. She could tell he was at a complete loss for words.
Did she really look that horrible in her shorts? Perhaps she should have exercised more during the weeks approaching her vacation? She tugged nervously at the hem of her shorts. “I didn"t know what was proper golf apparel. I can change if you like.”
He swallowed but seemed unable to tear his gaze away from her legs.
“It"s fine. We need to be leaving.”
She hesitated for a second then shrugged and picked up her tennis shoes. When she bent over to stuff her feet into her sneakers she heard Nick groan roughly. She looked over her shoulder at him, but his reaction was quicker. He turned his back on her and headed for the door, mumbling that he would be waiting outside.
Laney feared when she leaned over something offensive showed. She froze to brush her hands along the back of her shorts. Nothing. For added security she squeezed her bottom to ensure that a flabby piece of flesh hadn"t reared its ugly head. No, everything was firm back there. But now she felt self-conscious. She considered changing but quickly assured herself that Mr. Sinclair would have told her if she looked awful.
He didn"t ease her fears anytime soon. When she joined him in the hall he purposely avoided looking at her. He hastily grabbed her hand and headed for the deck. They arrived at an area of the ship known as the Princess Links, a nine-hole putting green. It would seem that golfing was on a lot of guys" minds, Laney being among the few females present. Her
„husband" picked her club and talked her through the basic concept of the game. Though she tried to not appear miserable, she had to admit her acting skills could use a little fine-tuning. By the third hole she was annoyed and Mr. Sinclair"s silent treatment wasn"t helping.
Nick paid little attention to Laney"s shameful game. She was hitting the ball everywhere but in the right direction and it was taking her three times longer than anyone present to sink the ball. By now she was frowning fiercely with every terrible swing. They had begun keeping score but he had long since given up. There was no point. Laney had absolutely no hand-eye coordination. He would have corrected her several swings ago but found himself enjoying watching her bend over and treat him to a charitable view of the supple skin just below her buttocks. Apparently he was not alone in admiring her ample curves. None of the guys behind them muttered any smartass remarks when they had to wait for Laney. In fact they, like him, watched her in quiet adoration. Though Nick found it damn irritating to watch her with an audience, he couldn"t blame them. Whether Laney knew it or not, she was quite captivating.
When Nick saw one of the guys press a little closer for a better look at Laney, his growing infatuation with Laney disappeared. He planted a frustrated look on his face as he advanced upon her. Placing his hand on her arm, he stopped her from exercising another bad swing.
“You"re doing it wrong.” He sighed.
She frowned at him. “I"ve been doing it wrong for a long time but you haven"t offered any help.”
“I was hoping you would learn from your mistakes.”
“Well, I haven"t,” she snapped. “Now what?”
Nick rolled his eyes and showed her how she should hold the club.
“No, move your thumb over. Not like that. Move it--stand straighter. Don"t slouch. You shouldn"t hang your head like that. You"ll never get a good swing.”
Laney tried to improve, but no matter what he told her she couldn"t seem to get it right. Finally, out of real frustration, he wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands over hers. He positioned her hands into the right spot and pressed his chest against her back to straighten her posture. “Like that. You get it?”
Nick knew instantly he was in trouble. His body temperature had seemingly gone up several degrees, leaving him uncomfortably hot. He looked down at her and noticed she had blushed a darker shade of peach.
He was almost certain it had little to do with his lecturing her and everything to do with his groin nestled firmly against her buttocks. And with every passing second it grew harder against her.
Nick coughed and stepped away from her. “Just like that. Do you think you can do it?”
She nodded, avoiding eye contact. This time when she swung, the ball went in a more direct path. However, it wasn"t in the direction of the hole. She struggled with the remainder of the game, barely improving. By the time they had finished, both Laney and Nick were frustrated with the game and relieved to be done with it.
“I didn"t think it was possible,” Nick muttered as he guided them through the crowd. “But I think I could go without playing golf for awhile.”
“Sinclair.”
Nick groaned when he saw Cooper Wright headed their way. He and Nick had always shared a mutual respect and dislike for each other. They"d both inherited family businesses, attended the same prep schools and partied with the same friends. It was a wonder they hadn"t slept with the same women, and even that Nick wouldn"t bet his money on. Each headed San Francisco marketing firms and tended to go after the same clients. It was an ongoing battle between them. Where one succeeded, the other made a quick comeback. Perhaps in another life they would have been best friends, so similar were their ambitions. However, in this dimension they were uncompromising adversaries.
“I was hoping I would run into you.”
“You found me, Coop. What can I do for you?”
Cooper"s gaze landed on Laney. “This must be your lovely wife.”
Laney considered the stranger. He was a tall, well-dressed man, well over six feet. He had short jet-black hair, was well built and very handsome. Laney lingered over his gray eyes, which were so pale they appeared silver. She guessed he was around Mr. Sinclair"s age. He carried himself with an athletic grace that made Laney conjure up some naughty thoughts. She watched his intense stare travel down her body and surmised that he liked what he saw. This pleased her immensely.
Nick seemed to ignore the man"s blatant flirtation with her. “This is Mrs. Sinclair.” His voice had a definite edge to it.
Taken back by Nick"s guarded tone, she moved to soften his harsh words. “You can call me Laney,” she offered.
The stranger held his hand over his heart and inclined his head.
“Laney?
How unusual. Nevertheless, a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.”
“Thank you.” She immediately decided that she was fond of this man.
“I"m Cooper Wright. We should be seeing a lot of each other during this retreat.”
He winked at her. “Tell me, Laney, what is your maiden name?”
Nick placed his hand possessively on Laney"s hip. “As far as you"re concerned, Laney and I are happily married.” Nick looked around. “Where is your wife, Coop?”
Cooper shrugged, finally giving Nick his attention. “She"s roaming about. As luck would have it, our stateroom is next door to the Zelmans.
We bumped into each other in the hall. Zelman extended a dinner invitation.”
“I guess that makes dinner for six.”
Cooper looked at Laney. “I wouldn"t have it any other way.” He grinned at Nick.
“See you at dinner.”