Besides the basics, they’d never really talked about family before. All she knew was that his mom was from Italian stock while his dad was a good old American mutt, like her own parents.
Why bother getting the scoop on more? Erin had thought. Light conversation was what had allowed her to say yes to him in the first place. She’d just hoped everyone really knew what they were talking about when it came to his reputation for not getting serious.
“But-” he added, his mood shifting as he leaned back in his seat casually, as if none of this even mattered “-even though they disapproved, it all ended up good. I didn’t feel like wasting my time on a business degree when I could be out there actually starting my own business.”
“Day trading?”
He nodded, seeming a bit uncomfortable at the acknowledgement of his success. Maybe he was one of those people who didn’t like to crow about how much money he earned. Made sense. Wes was more the type to show than to tell.
“And things took off from there,” she continued.
“I guess.” He pushed his plate away.
“Your buddy Caleb told me that you have a knack for pulling out of investments, then redistributing your profits at just the right time. You don’t need a diploma for that.”
He shrugged.
“What do your parents think about how well you’ve done?” she asked.
“They say they’re proud. I didn’t mean to make you think they weren’t. They just…I don’t know. They have their way of doing things and I have mine.”
She wanted to ask him so much more, but that’d be lethal. A transition man wasn’t supposed to offer a big connection; the more the two of them mined each other, the harder it’d be to move on to the next experience life had in store for her.
Not that she didn’t wonder what it might be like to dig deeper…
“How about you?” he was asking, watching her from his careless position as he reclined back against the chair. “You said your parents are from the East, too.”
“Milwaukee. Not so east.” She stirred Ketchup with a French fry. “They moved to Arroyo Grande before I was born. It’s near Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.”
“Where you went to school with Cheryl.” He tapped his head.
“Good memory.” She smiled. “A few years ago, the Ps-my parents-retired and went back to the homeland with the rest of our extended family. They were getting some pressure to rejoin the fold, and guess who’s getting the same pressure right now?” She made a “tah-dah” motion.
“You’re leaving California?” he asked.
“Oh, no. It’s just that…” She hesitated. “Since I broke it off with William, they think I’m not mired here now. They think my life has become this blank slate that needs to be filled. What they don’t get is that this is my home. I have a business here, friends…”
Others.
She kept her gaze away from Wes, not wanting to see how he was responding. While they were so close to the subject of family, she thought about how they’d react to Wes. God. Her mom would weird out because Wes wasn’t the wonderful William, whom Erin had “tossed away without thinking everything through.” Her dad would be more tolerant, but he’d still be suspect about Wes’s charm. Heck, maybe dads were like that with all boyfriends, but since William hadn’t possessed much charm, she wasn’t sure. And as for Erin’s older and younger sisters? They’d tell her she was wasting her time on such an obvious lothario.
But none of them knew Wes. Not like she di-
Wait. Erin didn’t know this man at all, and she wasn’t ever really going to.
“And what about William?” he asked.
At the name, anger reared up again. She didn’t want the ex to enter into this weekend, into her idyll with a man who’d so often made her forget what she’d left behind.
“Aren’t exes a taboo subject on romantic cruises?” she asked, trying to inject some levity into the conversation again.
“Taboo then.”
A beat passed, the clank of silverware covering discussions from the other tables. The almost imperceptible roll of the boat brought Erin back to the moment. Cruise. An affair. An escape.
Her stomach turned because, now, she couldn’t shake William’s memory. It pressed down on her shoulders, and she shrugged, trying to jar him off.
“Erin, are you okay?”
“Not used to the motion of the ocean, I think.” Before he could say anything else, she added, “I should get going to my spa appointment.”
She stood, hoping to leave her ire behind. God, this was what her one and only big relationship in life had left her with? And that was just another reason she didn’t want to get involved with anyone right now. The negativity, the disappointment.
But she couldn’t leave Wes like this. It wasn’t fair. Not to either of them.
Summoning a smile-which was always so easy around this man-she leaned down, resting her lips against his ear. Wow, he smelled so good-rugged, like surf and clean air.
“I’ll see you back in the room in an hour?” she asked, pulse picking up speed.
He turned his face so that his mouth touched her jawline. Softly, he kissed her in answer, his hand skimming her hip as she moved away.
When she left, she didn’t look back.
Just like she planned to do when her time with Wes was over.
4
ERIN TOOK AN ELEVATOR TO the spa on the twelfth deck, her head more clouded than she’d ever thought possible on a party weekend. Wasn’t she supposed to be relaxing by now? Wasn’t she supposed to have become the Cosmo girl at this point?
Well, she was going to start, dammit.
She checked in at the front desk, filled out a health and waiver form and then greeted her masseur. He was a slender man named Justin with dark skin and a soft voice, but he snapped his gum as if creating punctuation marks. He guided her to the private room where she’d strip and indulge in her first massage ever-a hot-stone treatment.
Before leaving, he went over the health form with her then slammed the door on his way out. Wow, weren’t masseurs usually more gentle? But she didn’t let that matter. Nope. Instead, she took in the small, dim room, candlelight flickering amid the smell of herb-laced oils and the sound of ethereal music. In the corner, a minifountain burbled water over rocks.
When was the last time she’d pampered herself? The candy shop had consumed so much of her and Cheryl’s attention for the past few years that she hadn’t taken the time. Also, William had thought massages were a waste of money, so she’d abstained, even though he never would have known what she spent her money on: though engaged, they hadn’t gotten to the point of combining their bank accounts, much less picking out china patterns.
Frustration sneaked up on her again, so she redirected her energy, taking off her jeans, sweater, shirt and underthings. She’d always been modest about her body, but now, with her newfound freedom, the idea of being buck naked in front of another person seemed liberating.
She slipped under the sheet, lying on her belly and resting her face on the doughnut cushion, where she could see the tiled floor. Her breasts pressed against the table, making her ultra-aware of them.
Eyes closed, relaxing, relaxing. The music swept over her, and she allowed herself to wallow in bare-skinned joy at being away from work, being with Wes.
She imagined him naked, too, ready to slide under the sheet with her, ready to press his skin against hers. The nebulous friction of her fantasy made her damp, her clitoris thudding.
Justin took a while to return, but when he did she’d gotten herself so mentally worked up that she had a hard time coming down.
Chill out, she told herself. Save yourself for the cabin.