Hitched: A Stepbrother Honeymoon Romance (10 page)

BOOK: Hitched: A Stepbrother Honeymoon Romance
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Great. Perfect. So now we’re going to have to act like Mr. and Mrs. Cutecouple all night. Maybe I can fake an allergic reaction right before we have to leave and tell Kayla I’m barfing too much to make the cruise…

“Ok…well…hopefully we’ll see you tonight!”

I turn to leave, but Kayla grabs my shoulder before I get too far away and leans in close. “By the way, just so you know…I heard a rumor that Jason Hayward is going to be on the cruise tonight.”

My eyes widen with shock as I look at Kayla. “
The
Jason Hayward?”

Kayla shrugs. “That’s what I heard. Too bad you’re taken, right?”

Kayla and I laugh for totally different reasons, and as soon as she walks away, I hurry down the hall towards the elevator. Forget barfing. I
need
to get on that ship.

 

***

 

At this point, I’m basically expecting Travis to be naked as soon as I walk into the suite, so I’m actually relieved that he’s just shirtless and doing push-ups in the middle of the floor.

But I guess it says a lot about the past two days that the sight of him half-naked and dripping sweat is actually a relief. Unfortunately, he does not look like a guy that’s planning on being on a cruise ship in a couple of hours…and that needs to change. Fast.

I plop down on the couch and noodle around on my phone for a couple of minutes while he finishes up, trying not to sneak peeks at the way the tattoos on his back twist and bulge with every push-up he does. Luckily, he seems like he’s at the end of a long workout, and it isn’t too long before he hits the floor and flips over, pecs heaving up and down with his breath.

He looks at me and grins. “Have fun in the sauna?”

I roll my eyes. “
Way
too many people making out. I looked super out of place.”

“Well…we could fix that.”

Normally, this is where I’d call Travis a pervert and throw a shirt at him…but I should probably stay on his good side if I want to get his oversexed butt on that ship with me.

“Well, I
would
, but then we wouldn’t be ready for the cruise tonight.”

Travis looks surprised. “Wait, the cruise?”

“Yeah, remember how Kayla gave us those tickets yesterday?”

“Right, but you actually want to go?”

I put on my best innocent, nothing-to-hide face. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

Travis narrows his eyes at me. “Something weird’s going on here. You
want
to go on a romantic,
overnight
cruise…with me.”

I shrug. “Free food. Free drinks. A cool view. It sounds like fun.”

“Jason’s going to be there, isn’t he?”

Crap. Now he’s going to figure out that he’ll be doing me a favor by coming with me. “Uh…well, I don’t know that for a
fact
…”

Travis smirks. “Alright, we can go on the cruise. But I get to pick out your dress. We’re going to have to look like a real couple, or someone’s going to figure out what’s up.”

I bite my lip as I try and remember which dresses I packed. I’m pretty sure I just kind of threw everything in there…but hey, it’s not like I’m really in much of a position to negotiate.

“Fine. But
please
tell me you packed a suit.”

Travis laughs. “Oh, I did. Trust me, we’re going to be the hottest couple on that whole fucking boat.”

I don’t know if I like the sound of that.

 

***

 

I glare at my reflection, thoughts of revenge on Travis running through my head. Naturally, he went through my whole suitcase dress by dress until he found the most revealing possible thing he could stuff me in: a dark blue dress that shows off way, way more cleavage than I remember. I look like I’m trying to find a husband, not trying to ditch one.

When I walk out of the bathroom, Travis openly stares at my cleavage and smirks. I look down at my chest, and then back at Travis. “Happy?”

Travis’ eyes blaze blue. “Over-fucking-joyed.”

I shrug. “I don’t know why you’re torturing yourself by making me show off something you’re never going to get.”

“Never say never, sis.”

I shake my head. “There’s no way anyone’s going to buy us as a real couple.”

“Sure there is. All we have to do is relax, have fun, and not fucking fight. We do that, we’ll be fine, you’ll get your story, and you might even enjoy yourself.”

Travis grabs his suitcase and heads into the bathroom. A few seconds later, after I hear the shower turn on, I start thinking about what I’m going to say when I see Jason.

Should I tell him I’m his biggest fan? Probably not, he’s here to get away from fangirls. Should I act like I know he’s famous but not what he’s famous for? That doesn’t sound like a great idea either.

Maybe Travis is right. Maybe all I need to do is relax, have fun, and not fight with him. I look around the room and take a deep breath, reminding myself that I’m in a luxury suite specifically designed to be fun and relaxing. Then, before I know it, I’ve poured myself a glass of wine and I’m sitting on the couch, waiting for Travis to get out of the shower so we can get on that ship.

But I’m definitely not prepared for the sight of Travis walking out of the bathroom in a ridiculously nice-looking suit. Holy crap, he cleans up well. I was expecting him to look like his usual foul-mouthed, immature self stuffed into a tacky suit, but no, his hair is actually combed, his stubble is gone, revealing a smooth, powerful jawline where it used to be, and his suit fits him perfectly, hugging his body in all the right places…

Who’s
this
guy, and what has he done with my stepbrother?

Travis offers me his arm. “Ready to go,
honeybuns
?”

I down the rest of my wine and take it. “You know it,
loverboy
.”

You know what? I think I’m starting to have fun with this.

Hopefully, I don’t have too much.

Chapter 15: Laney

 

The cruise ship rocks gently beneath me as I lean against the railing and try to catch my breath. It turns out that fifteen minutes wasn’t nearly enough time to get from our room all the way down to the little dock right below our window…and we realized this after about ten minutes, when we weren’t even out of the hotel yet. So we ended up booking it the rest of the way to the docks, with me waving my tickets at the Royal Shores employee like a crazy person right as he was about to close up the ramp. But hey, we made it on the cruise. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I couldn’t look like a bigger fish out of water here if I tried.

The entire ship’s deck is full of elegant, classy-looking couples decked out with expensive jewelry and designer clothes; basically everyone looks like they just stepped out of an awards show. Meanwhile, I’m over here against the railing, out of breath like I just ran a marathon. I’m about to fall out of my dress, my hair’s a mess, and I feel like I have a giant blinking sign around my neck that says “On a date with my stepbrother! Ask me anything!” in huge neon letters.

Whatever. Don’t think about it. It’ll only distract me from the real reason I’m here…finding Jason. As I start to get my sea legs under me, I take a couple steps away from the railing and scan the crowd. Lots of pretty faces here…but I don’t see Jason. As my eyes pass over Travis, standing on the other side of the deck talking to a couple of fans, he looks at me with a hungry smile on his face. A shudder runs through my body, and I bite my lip, trying to think about anything but him.

“There you are! I was worried you weren’t going to make it.”

My eyes shoot open and I see Kayla, standing in front of me wearing a sailor hat and a short blue dress and carrying a plate of what look like flowers resting on napkins.

I smile at her nervously. “So were we! I wanted us to leave earlier, but Travis and I got a little…uh…sidetracked.”

Kayla looks me up and down and nods knowingly. “Understandable. Well, you made it! Cheese flower?”

She holds the plate of flowers out towards me, and I pick one up and cradle it in my hand. “Thanks! So...” I look around and lower my voice. “Is you-know-who here?”

Kayla looks apologetic. “He said he was coming yesterday, but I didn’t see him get on board. We saved him a table, but some of the other waiters are saying that they heard he checked out with his lady friend a couple of hours ago.”

You’ve
got
to be kidding me. I Vegas married to my stepbrother to report on this guy, and he checked out? I’m about to explode.

I turn and face the water so Kayla doesn’t see the look of disappointment on my face. “Lame…I really wanted to meet him.”

“You and me both. But hey, it happens all the time. Celebrities are unpredictable.” Kayla puts her cheese plate down on an empty table and looks out over the water with me. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

I nod. “Yeah, it’s gorgeous. I’m sure you’re bored of it by now, though, right?”

“Not at all. It’s always a little different. Sometimes the moon shines off the water and it looks amazing, and sometimes it’s so dark out that it’s like we’re floating in a whole other world.”

I peel a petal off my cheese flower and pop it into my mouth. “Right, but doesn’t it get old telling people the same things over and over again?”

Kayla laughs. “I don’t have to. My bosses know that every couple’s different, so I get to treat everyone differently. It’s actually really fun.”

I shake my head. “Must be nice to have a job like that.”

I look down at the waves lapping up against the side of the ship, and Kayla instantly notices that I’m upset.

“You don’t like your job?”

“Nope, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”

“Well…look on the bright side. This,” Kayla gestures out over the water, “Is the ultimate new beginning. Whatever problems you had before you came here are going to feel a whole lot smaller when you’ve got a guy like Travis on your team.”

We turn away from the water and look at Travis, who’s charming the pants off a small crowd gathered around him on the other side of the ship.

“He’s crazy about you.”

I shrug. “It probably just looks that way because he thinks it’s funny to talk dirty whenever you’re around. I’m pretty sure he’s just horny.”

“Well, yeah, he’s got a dirty mouth, and I’m sure he has an even dirtier mind. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the way his eyes light up whenever he looks at you. I’ve worked with hundreds of couples here, and whenever I see that look……I know there’s something special going on. That’s why I put you two in the Couples Deluxe suite. Lots of couples come out here to have sex and get pampered, and there’s nothing wrong with that…but I think you two are out here to fall in love.”

Yep. That’s right. Definitely not to snoop on the celebrity clientele. Let’s go with falling in love.

“I hope so.” The words come out weirdly soft, like something is trying to hide inside them. Then, for a couple seconds, we’re quiet, watching Travis and the open ocean bobbing behind him.

Kayla picks up her cheese plate. “Alright, I need to get rid of these cheese flowers and get back into the kitchen. But I’ll be back with dinner in about twenty minutes!”

She looks around and lowers her voice. “In the meantime, we’ve got an open bar in the cabin with a killer wine selection. Make sure to get some before the good stuff runs out.”

And just like that, she’s back in waitress mode, handing out cheese flowers to the honeymooners on the deck.

I scan the ship again, jumping from table to table until they spot Jason’s name written on a placard near the back of the boat. He’s really not here, is he?

Well, maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe I don’t want Anna’s money. Maybe what I really want is a new beginning. I look at my cheese flower and then back up at the party, and for the first time since I checked in…I feel like I’m ready to have fun.

 

***

 

A few minutes later, I walk out of the ship’s cabin with a tall glass of wine in hand. I’m going to need it if I have to act like Travis’ arm candy all night.

Where’d he go, anyway? It doesn’t look like he’s on the deck anymore. As I scan the crowd looking for him, I notice that a couple of the people that he was talking to are stealing weird glances at me, and it’s starting to make me nervous. After all, if any of them recognize Travis, all it takes is for one of them to do some basic internet searching to realize that he didn’t get publicly married. And from there……how hard would it be for them to find out who I am?

I should probably stop standing out here in the open like this.

Since I don’t see any sign of Travis, I decide to sit in Jason’s empty seat and enjoy my wine. Hey, maybe he’s here, and he’ll ask me to get out of his seat.

Hey, that’s his date’s placard, isn’t it? Maybe I can get a scoop after all. I turn it around and look at the name written across the front.

BOOK: Hitched: A Stepbrother Honeymoon Romance
5.23Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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