Winter's Embrace (5 page)

“Actually it is a great idea.” Stone stared at Mimi
until she had the good sense to look down at her plate.

The thank you smile she started to send Stone’s way
dimmed. It wouldn’t be appropriate and it probably wasn’t wanted. He looked so
handsome in his black suit. He also wore a Rolex watch she had not seen before.
Either he was rich or Mimi bought it for him at the Diamond Store in Skagway.
Of course, those weren’t the only options. He made it hard to concentrate.

Maybe it was because she knew what those strong hands,
sprinkled with a bit of dark hair, could do. A chill went right through her.
Thinking like this was only going to make it harder to say goodbye. Throughout
the rest of the dinner, she played it safe and talked to the other passengers,
doing her best to ignore Mimi and Stone.

The group had their pictures taken. Of course, Mimi
had to be in the front. Winter just hoped that her smile looked real instead of
the fake one she’d been wearing. Peering into her handbag, she noted the time.
Only two more hours until midnight, and then she would be plain, old
Winter
again. That was what she wanted, wasn’t it?

* * * *

Stone watched
Winter
say her
goodnights to the group. There was a graceful way about her and everyone really
liked her with the exception of Mimi. The temptation to dump Mimi over the side
of the ship grew with every instant he spent around her.

In the beginning, he’d tried to be good natured to
her, but the minute she tried to blackmail him, his kindness turned into
disgust. Sure, she was attractive, but only on the surface. Underneath, she was
a vain, spoiled brat.

Too bad, he wasn’t escorting
Winter
back to her cabin instead of having Mimi hang on him. Things weren’t turning
out the way he’d hoped. He ached to be with
Winter
.

Looking at his watch, he wondered if maybe she would
talk to him. It wasn’t really late and it was possible she hadn’t gone to bed
yet. “Well, folks, I’m going to hit the hay.”

“No, you can’t go.” Mimi made it sound like an order.

“I can.” He walked away from her. He tried being nice
to keep her claws away from Winter, but that hadn’t worked and he didn’t book
this cruise to play nice with some prima donna. He’d done it to see
Winter
again. For the last ten years, he’d had a constant
ache in his heart as though a part of it was missing. Winter owned a piece of
his heart and being with her made him feel complete again.

After tonight, he hoped to shake Mimi loose for good.
Paying attention to her was
a lose
-lose for him, and
he didn’t plan to come away from this cruise a loser.

He too noticed that
Winter
wore no jewelry. He foolishly went into the Diamond Store to buy her a
necklace, but as usual, Mimi followed him, hinting that she’d like a ring, and
he walked away from her. That was probably the reason for her behavior on the
train.

* * * *

Thank God, there was a coffee
maker in her room. With almost no sleep behind her, it promised to be a rough
day. It wasn’t for the lack of trying. She should never have given Stone’s
hands any thought. The memories of his tantalizing touch tormented her all
night.

Grabbing a cup of coffee and
putting on her robe, she walked out onto her balcony and was greeted by Glacier
Bay. The sheer beauty of the mountainous glaciers took her breath away. This
made it all worth it. God really had his paintbrush out when he put these on
earth.

She leaned against the railing
and sipped her
coffee,
as a smile graced her face and
peace found her soul. Turning her head to the left, she spotted something
flying from Stone’s railing. It was tied and blowing in the crisp wind. She
gasped,
it was a white lace bra.

Her stomach dropped, but as
she closed the gap between her and Stone’s railing, she realized that the bra
waving was hers. It was part of a new bra and panty set she had purchased. She
quickly turned and ran for her room. Her set had to be there. Opening the
dresser drawer, her stomach threatened to heave. It was missing. Slumping down
onto the small couch, bewilderment filled her. Why? Why would he have stolen
her bra and panty set? They were lacy, but certainly not sexy enough to steal.

Her heart hammered against her
chest and she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to regain a sense of
calm. Enough was enough. Stone was full of excuses and maybe Mimi hadn’t
blackmailed him at all. He was a player and a jerk. What had she ever done to
him to make him want to play with her feelings?

Getting up, she grabbed her
briefcase, opened it, and rifled through until she found Stone’s file. There
wasn't much in it. He did indeed list his address as Montana. He was divorced
and one of her co-workers had written yummy on the front page.

Usually first time clients
didn’t have much information in their files. Repeat clients had their likes and
dislikes listed. Well, she could write that he liked petite blondes with big
chests.

Her anger this whole trip
surprised her. Usually she was unflappable, politely dealing with each crisis
as it arose, but this time her feelings were involved.

While she showered and
dressed, she tried in vain to come up with a plan, or at least something to
say. She never had witty comebacks. Her heart was bruised and all her peace had
left. Obviously, he’d turned into some kind of jackass pervert.

Standing tall, she
straightened her shoulders and tried to steel her heart again. She had a job to
do. She was a professional—she could deal. At least she hoped so.

* * * *

“Why
the evil eye?”
Stone sidled up to her with camera in hand.

“Seriously?
I
have no idea what you are talking about. I treat the whole group with respect.”

She seemed intent on not
looking at him. Glacier Bay was majestic, but she could at least glance his way
when he talked to her.
“My imagination then.
Sorry to
have bothered you.” He walked away and sat at a nearby table.

“Room
for two?”
Mimi flirted.

“No, sorry, I’m not in the
mood for company. This is a spiritual moment for me.
The
Glacier and all.”

Mimi’s eyes widened and her
lips curled into a sour expression. “We can enjoy it together.”

“If you want to sit, then sit.
I’ll just go to my cabin. At least there I can be alone.” Stone didn't even
look back at Mimi as she gasped. It was too damn bad. Why couldn’t she take a
hint? The entire trip had been a failure so far because of Mimi and her
possessive ways. No woman was ever going to tell him what he could or couldn’t
do again. He’d lived that way before, and he was through.

He opened his cabin door and
sat on his bed with his face in his hands. Nothing was working out the way he
expected. The love of his life was within his grasp and he couldn’t have her.
Groaning he, ran his fingers through his hair, and glanced around spotting a
towel or something tied to his balcony.

Intrigued, he made his way out
there and groaned again. What the hell was going on? It was probably Mimi’s
bra, and he bet that
Winter
had seen it. After he had
untied it, he was tempted to throw it overboard, but something stopped him. It
was too small to be Mimi’s.

He shook his head.
No way
. He wasn’t taking the rap for
this prank.
Damn
the lacy white bra
probably belonged to
Winter
.

His heart dropped, he couldn’t even begin to come up
with an explanation and she would never believe the truth. Hell, he didn’t even
know what the truth was. He’d been set up and Mimi had a hand in it.

How she got into both cabins, he didn’t know. He
turned the handle on the balcony door and, to his surprise, it opened. The door
lock didn’t work. Puzzled, he strode across her balcony to the other door and
that lock didn’t work either.

Quickly he went back to his cabin, opened his door,
spotted the maid and approached her.

“Did you see anyone go into my cabin?”

The dark haired woman nodded. “Yes, your wife needed
to get in.”

“A petite blonde woman?”

“Yes, your wife.”

“She’s not my wife.”

The woman covered her mouth with her hand her eyes
full of panic. “I’m so sorry. Please, I could lose my job.”

“I don’t want to be the cause of you losing your job.
Just don’t let her in again.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding, he went back to his room.

Now it made sense, Mimi got into his room, opened the
balcony door, stole the bra, and tied it to his railing.

Damn it. Winter would never believe him. She probably
had him pegged as some type of pervert who stole women’s bras. Why should she
believe him? The explanation was farfetched and even he had a hard time
believing it.

This was not how he pictured this cruise. All he
wanted was to reconnect with
Winter
and see if the old
spark was there. The spark was there, but nothing was going his way. He figured
he’d have her undivided attention on the cruise. He’d bribed
Winter’s
co-worker Tammi to bow out as the guide. That part had been easy enough, yet
every time he thought that she was warming up to him, Mimi ruined it.

He hadn’t given
Winter’s
discovery of the bribe much consideration. It all seemed to be for the better
good.

There was a light tap at his door and Stone answered
it. His heart lurched in his chest when he saw
Winter
.
God, she was a beauty, especially with her green eyes spitting fire.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me?” She
looked horrified to see that he still held it in his hands. Winter tried to
snatch it, but Stone backed away from the door.

“You are such a child. I couldn’t believe it when I
saw it this morning. I thought it had to be Mimi’s doing but here you
are
with my underclothes.” This time she succeeded in
snatching it. She marched out to his balcony, and opened the adjoining door.
“Just what I thought.
Your side is unlocked.”

“Winter, the locks don’t work.”

She turned and gazed at him, her eyes full of fury.
“I’ve had enough. Why are you trying to hurt me again? Wasn’t the first time
adequate for you? Lord knows I’ve tried to ignore you, but the hurt runs too
deep. Last time you left me for whatever her name was, and now you’re just
being plain cruel, you and Mimi both.”

Stone could hardly breathe. She looked so lost, so
hurt, and it was his fault. “I never should have left you in the first place. I
have regretted that phone call every day since.”

* * * *

Her hands shook. Finally, she turned away from Stone
and grabbed the railing to steady herself. She looked out at the most beautiful
sight. Glacier Bay was meant for happiness and awe. Instead, she was battle
weary and broken.

“What’s done is done, I guess. The cruise will be over
in two more days and we can part ways.” Her heart squeezed painfully, but she
didn’t have a choice. “It’s for the best, you know. I have a nice career and
friends.”

Stone came up behind her and turned her into his
embrace. How could someone smell the same ten years later? It wasn’t fair and
why did he have to look so good? Even his voice made her tingle.
The tingle of lost chances.

He stared into her eyes. “I know you live alone and
you rarely go out. Davis Daniels still lives in Eversville and we keep in
touch.”

“I happen to like my life. I get to travel all over
the world. It is rather exciting.” Her stomach clenched, he wasn’t buying it.
Hell, she didn’t believe it herself. She’d gone on a few trips here and there,
but primarily she just made travel arrangements in a town where people didn’t
really travel.

The next thing she knew, Stone wrapped his strong arms
around her waist and pulled her close. “I’ve missed you. You remind me of love,
laughter, and everything good and I’d hoped that our meeting again would have
gone differently.”

Winter took the comfort he offered. It felt so right
to be in his arms again. “You have a good life. You have your ranch in
Montana.”

“I don’t have you. My life feels empty without you.
It’s taken me two years to gather the nerve to come see you.”

Winter pushed him away. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“You need to know. You need to know why I left you and
married Clare.”

Even though he looked upset, she didn’t want to hear
his reasons. “I have to go.”

Stone held out his hand to her. “Please?”