Love's Call (5 page)

The men were already seated at the table and enjoying breakfast when Liana and Alyssa joined them.

Alyssa had rushed ahead of Liana to take her usual seat across from Lloyd.  Liana thought,
Don’t worry, ‘Lyssa, I wasn’t planning on taking your seat.
 

But when she looked over to see the vacant seat where John usually sat, she chose to sit there and not in the empty chair across from Kyle. She knew she couldn’t handle being across from him without involuntarily staring at his strong arms as he ate, so she took the safe route and sat as far away from him as possible.

Kyle noticed her slight and was a bit hurt, but didn’t let it show. He continued eating his meal. Duane, finished with his breakfast, rose from the table to sit next to another woman he had been eyeing that morning, and struck up a conversation.

Liana looked out of the round porthole window next to her and stared at the waves as she chewed.  She drowned out Lloyd and Alyssa’s busy chatter about all of the activities they could participate in at the upcoming ports of call. And with her attention on the turquoise sea, she didn’t notice Kyle glancing over at her occasionally, studying her features as the sun shone on her face.

He hated it, but he couldn’t deny that his attraction to Liana was growing. He wanted to find out more about her and she was making that nearly impossible to do by avoiding him whenever she could.

But he was jarred out of his thoughts when he heard a group of women muttering and making clearly audible noises of disdain as they passed his table.  He looked over to see Tiffany and her friends.  Tiffany’s face was a picture of pure disgust as she cut her eyes at him. Her friends whispered and shot equally cold looks his way.

When Kyle heard Lloyd burst out into laughter he turned to see him shaking his head, and Alyssa trying her best not to laugh, but unable to resist the smile that crept on her face.

“Looks like you rubbed
somebody
the wrong way last night,” Lloyd said.  “You weren’t too hard when you rejected her, were you?”

Kyle shot Lloyd a look, but didn’t entertain his question with an answer. He looked over to see Liana watching them.  Evidently she had witnessed the scene too, and she looked down at her plate, a slight smile curving her lips as she snickered.

Kyle had had enough of being the butt of the joke, and spoke up, to take the heat off of himself. “What do you all plan to do today?”

“I’m thinking about trying out the one-day scuba diving excursion,” Alyssa piped up. “You wanna come along, Lia?”

She shook her head forcefully, “No way.  You can count me out of that.”

“Awww. Live a little, it’s your vacation.”

“Nope,” she answered. “I already have plans to go check out the duty free shops.  I want to pick up some souvenirs and gifts.”

“I’m there,” Lloyd said, and Alyssa gave him a wide grin.

“What about you, Kyle?” Lloyd asked.

“I don’t know yet.  Maybe just look around, grab a bite to eat.”

“Sounds like a plan, then,” Alyssa said as they all rose to prepare for the ship to anchor at the first port of call.

The heat from the bright sun beamed down on Liana as she wandered through the rows and rows of carts and stands full of items of clothing, knick knacks, souvenirs and gifts. She smiled at the vendors when she approached their carts, and perused all of the brightly colored items on display.  

She found one cart with an intricately designed, colorful fan and knew that it would be a great gift for her youngest niece.  She walked over to the vendor, an older man with a face full of charming wrinkles that seemed to multiply when he gave her a wide smile. She could tell just by looking at him that he was a contented person who seemed to have a genuine happy vibe about him which could instantly pull a person in.

“Very good choice there,” he said, when she handed him the fan she’d decided to purchase.  She handed him the money for the item, according to his quoted price.  He smiled even wider, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling as he did.

He reached over and picked up a shiny black figurine of an elegant, nude woman in a regal pose.  He handed it to her.  “Yours...free.”

Her eyes widened and she too caught his, apparently, contagious smile. “Oh my...thank you.  I love it.”

He patted her hand gently and said, “Beautiful smile.” Liana found herself blushing at his remark. “A pretty girl like you should smile always.” She nodded, thanked him for the figurine and continued browsing the other stands for gifts for her remaining family members.

***

Kyle traversed the small town where the ship had docked, taking in the sights and sounds of the Mexican town.  He went in one shop after another, just browsing around, not particularly interested in buying anything, but mostly concerned with discovering someplace new.  

He watched the town’s citizens moving along, looking past him and going about their day as usual--apparently accustomed to the onslaught of tourists, such as him, who invaded their hometown daily.

Kyle made his way to a row of vendor stands and walked along the path that ran between the tables and carts.  

He stopped occasionally; inspecting the interesting items he passed that caught his eye. He then heard the voice of an older man speaking in broken English followed by the soft laughter of a woman.  He looked up to see Liana directly across from him holding a figurine and thanking the vendor.

He watched her leave the stand and move on to another table. Kyle had never felt like a lucky person but that day he felt like luck was on his side, allowing him to find her-- and all alone--for once. It felt like the perfect opportunity to finally get a chance to talk to her, without distractions.  That was, of course, if she even let him. He’d quickly learned that Liana was a stubborn woman.  And if she didn’t want to be bothered, she had no problems letting a person know it.

He drew in a deep breath, collected his nerve and walked her way.
It’s now or never,
he thought, as he moved closer to her. When he reached her, he stood behind her a moment, watching her in silence. She seemed truly contented to just browse the various items, appreciating the uniqueness of each piece she picked up to inspect.

He cleared his throat, “We meet again.”

She jumped, startled by his voice. She turned around and found herself looking up into Kyle’s smiling eyes.  
Not Bedroom Eyes again,
she thought to herself, upset that she was caught off guard, once again, by his sexy brown eyes. She put her hand to her chest and inhaled rapidly, attempting to breathe normally again. “Kyle. You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to. I saw you over here and wanted to stop by to say hello.”

“Ok...hello,” she said, and turned back to look at the other items on the table.

Here we go again
, Kyle thought, a bit annoyed by her persistent stubbornness.  But he was determined to get her to talk to him this time. “You know, it’s nearly lunchtime.  It would be a shame to leave Mexico without stopping by a restaurant for some authentic Mexican cuisine.”

She nodded.  “I guess it would. I saw several places to eat on my way here.  You should go check it out.  Back up that way,” she said and pointed to a narrow path on her left.

She’s not going to make this easy.
“I was hoping you were ready for a bite to eat, too. If so, I’d like to treat you to lunch.”

She looked up at him, “I don’t really like random guys paying for my meals.  But thanks, anyway.” She turned back to finger a piece of festively colored cloth on the table.

He was quiet a moment, figuring out a new angle or way to get in beyond the fortified wall that it seemed she kept up to block all others out.

“Okay.  That’s fine.  We’ll go dutch.  That’s cool with me,” he said. “I’d just hate to dine alone, and I’d hate for you to do the same.  Hey we’re already tablemates on the ship, so this should be nothing new.  We’ve done this before.  It’s just lunch, that’s it.”

It was Liana’s turn to grow silent, as she thought about his suggestion. If she was honest with herself, she had to admit that she was hungry.  And the thought of authentic Mexican enchiladas made her stomach growl, at just that moment, giving her away. She looked over to see Kyle smiling at the noise and before she could stop herself, she was grinning as well.

“Alright, you got me. My stomach’s a traitor.  Okay, I’m in,” she said.  “If you just give me a few more minutes, I need to pick up a couple more things.”

“Take your time,” he told her, in a calm and patient tone.  But in his mind, he was ecstatic that he’d finally been able to get through the first layer of Liana Harris’ seemingly impregnable barrier.

***

“So, you’re stalking me now, are you?” Liana asked, as they sat at the table after ordering their meals.

Her bluntness threw him off, and all he could do was laugh.

She had a smirk on her face, and raised an eyebrow, waiting for his answer.

He shook his head, and unfolded the cloth napkin on the table and placed it on his lap. “No Liana, I promise.  I wasn’t stalking you.”

“Are you sure?” she challenged. “Because at breakfast you ask what we are all doing, I tell everyone I’m shopping, and here you magically, coincidentally show up where I am. So, forgive me if I have trouble believing that you didn’t follow me here.”

“No, I didn’t.  But if I had, you’d know,” he said, and stared at her intently.  She felt herself grow warm.  And it wasn’t the sweltering heat of the summer day that had caused it. “But I have to say I am glad to have finally gotten you alone.”

Keep your cool, girl,
she coached herself, refusing to give in to whatever game she knew he had to be playing with her.
No way a man that fine and that talented, not to mention sought after by half of the women on the cruise ship, is interested in getting more than one thing from me.

Her mouth had suddenly gone dry, and she picked up her glass to take a sip of her beverage.

“I know you don’t really want to be on this trip, but I’m glad you came,” he said. “I think you’ll enjoy yourself.”

“That’s yet to be determined,” she answered. “It’s just another expensive trip where Alyssa looks for her future husband.”

“Has she ever found one on your trips?”

She didn’t have to say a word. The look she gave, said it all.

“So, why do you keep going with her on these trips if you dread them so much?”

“Well, even if watching her chase after one man after the next gets old, I have to admit that I like getting out, and seeing new things.  I like discovering new lands and places.  I didn’t get to see much beyond my little home in Houston, growing up, so I guess I’m making up for lost time.”

“Well, do you mind if I tell you a little secret of my own?”

She shrugged, “Go ahead.”

“I’m not exactly excited to be here either.”

“Yeah?”

“Nope.  Duane and Lloyd insisted.  Said I couldn’t go without finding a way to celebrate my divorce.  So...here I am.”

“Hmm...we must really love our friends, then, to let them drag us here, right?”

He chuckled, “I guess so.”

“So why don’t you like it here?” Liana asked.  “You seemed to be eating up all that attention yesterday after you played.”

“Not really,” he said.  He wouldn’t tell her, though, that he had attention from everyone except the one person whose attention he’d wanted. “I was just being a good sport.  No one wanted to volunteer at first, so I thought I would.”

“I see.”

“The single scene isn’t my thing,” he said.  “And Lloyd and Duane know that.  Hell, they’re the ones who tease me for being a monogamist.  They say that’s my problem and it was my problem with my marriage.”  He shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t help it.  When I fall, I fall hard.  Maybe that’s not stereotypical dude behavior.  I don’t know.”

She shook her head, “You’re right, it’s not.”  But she had a hard time believing he was being completely honest. Liana had been around long enough to know that talk was cheap, and he could be feeding her whatever story he thought she wanted to hear.  

She’d seen his friend Duane work a room, and she knew that if Kyle was anything like him, he knew exactly what notes to play and what tune to sing to get what he wanted out of a woman.

“What’s your story, Liana? What do you do?”

“I’m a Realtor. In fact, that’s another reason I shouldn’t be here right now. The summer is the busiest time of year for me.  I’m giving up plenty of potential work and clients to be here.”

Kyle nodded his understanding. “I know, I had a...an...old friend, who was a Realtor too.  I know all too well.”  Kyle stumbled over his words, trying to figure out what to call his “old friend”, Craig--the one who he’d caught in an affair with his ex-wife.

“So, it’s your turn.  What’s your occupation?”

“I work as VP at a software development company.”

She raised her eyebrows, “Hmm…nice title,” she teased. “I’m sure you impress
all
the ladies when you dish
that
out.”

He grinned, and once again realized how different this woman was.  Not only was she completely unimpressed by his title, she even thought it was part of his game.
Relentless
, he thought to himself. “Most of the time, yeah, actually,” he said, playing along with her teasing.  “But apparently you’re immune to the effects of a big title.”

She nodded her head, slowly, emphasizing just how spot on he was in his assessment. “Yep,
very
much so.”

His face dropped in mock disappointment, and he fell back in his seat.  She smiled at his comedic antics.  When he noticed her smiling, he propped an elbow up on the arm of his chair, and leaned, his hand resting under his chin.  He looked at her, his expression now serious, and she grew uncomfortable under his gaze.  “You know, I love it when you smile. I’m going to have to figure out how to make you do it more often.”

Liana shifted in her chair, and was grateful that their waiter had great timing.  Just then he arrived holding plates of food in both hands.

Saved from going where that conversation was heading
, she thought as she dug into her meal.  Their meals and the disruption hadn’t happened a moment too soon, because Liana could feel her defenses weakening with the sensual heat behind his presumptuous statement.  
Who’s to say he’ll even get me alone long enough to have another chance to make me laugh?

Kyle silently cursed the waiter’s poor timing in his head. He could see how nervous she had become under his stare and he knew he was that much closer to cracking her tough exterior.  
Another time,
he thought,
another time.