He was impressed. That meant Zoe had had some help in paying for this cabin. Landon doubted she could afford such a pricy birthday gift on her teacher’s salary. His folks had probably chipped in. And hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if the guys at Peachtree hadn’t pitched in as well, considering how happy they’d been to see him off. He must have needed this more than he thought.
His last assignment had been a doozy. He’d been in Seattle for six weeks, tracking down a man believed to have staged his own death. The Florida man, married and a father of three, had almost gotten away with it. Landon had located him living in an apartment complex with a new identity and a new wife.
Grabbing the menu off the coffee table, Landon decided to order room service for dinner. He had brought a number of books with him and looked forward to finally getting a chance to read them. He glanced outside—the balcony was roomy and seemed to be calling his name. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad trip after all. He couldn’t wait to stretch out in one of the loungers and settle down with a good book.
Satisfied with that plan, he went into the bedroom to unpack.
Monica saw several pairs of masculine eyes turn her way the moment she walked into the food court. She hoped it would not be another one of those days. She’d been hit on more in the past two days than she had been in the past five years. What was wrong with these men? Did they assume every woman on this cruise was looking for a hook-up?
She shook her head. Yeah, they probably did. After all, this was a singles’ cruise. Although this was the first time that she’d taken this kind of cruise, she had spent a week at Dunwoody Cove, the exclusive five-star singles’ resort that was located on a private island off the Bahamas. That had been a few years ago, when she, Sebrina and her cousins had split the cost and rented one of the huge suites. The experience had been interesting, to say the least.
But even then, the men at the resort had turned her off. They had been so aggressive. It was as if they’d seen themselves as a valuable commodity, something any woman would want to get her hands on. She had come close to telling a few of them that there was a reason they were single—their pick-up lines left a lot to be desired.
That was one of the advantages of having lived with three older relatives—all of them with good heads on their shoulders. She had watched how her sister and cousins had handled their love lives, and knew never to let a man get the upper hand. She’d learned that it was wise to stay away from guys who felt you owed them something. The rule was to never lead a man on if you weren’t interested. Tell them they’re dreaming, right up front, and then keep it moving.
While standing in line for a hamburger and fries, she overhead a group of women standing behind her discussing their prospects. She was glad to hear that she wasn’t the only one who thought some guys were too aggressive. However, there was one man who’d caught the interest of several of them—only he hadn’t been seen anywhere since the first day. Words like ‘eye candy of the most delicious kind’ and ‘walking Adonis’ were being thrown around.
Monica barely resisted snorting with laughter. Really! It was as if these women had never seen a man before. In her opinion, no man was that fine, however, she’d keep her opinion to herself. Besides, it wasn’t nice to eavesdrop. But then, they had been talking loud enough for anyone in the vicinity to hear.
Eye candy of the most delicious kind?
Umm, really? Well, maybe there were men out there who were just that fine. All she had to do was to remember her encounter with Landon Chestnut at that nightclub eight months ago. When she’d first seen him, she had definitely been thinking some of those same thoughts. And he had certainly occupied her dreams for months afterward. Heck, he still managed to creep into her fantasies once in a while, even now.
He had been one of a kind—mature and honorable. Her knight in shining armor. She thought back to how easily he’d taken care of Dusty. So maybe chivalry wasn’t truly dead, and a man could be both hot and honorable…though the chances of finding someone like that on this cruise were slim to none.
A few minutes later, she took her lunch and sat down at a table, looking out at the ocean as she ate. It was a beautiful December day, and the waters were calm and relaxing. She’d ordered room service for breakfast, and had to admit, it was a great way to start the day. She’d stayed up late writing the first draft of her review—it hadn’t taken her long to type it on her laptop. Then she’d watched a movie on television and at some point, she had fallen asleep with the remote in her hand.
“Hello beautiful. I’m Jack. What’s your name?”
She looked up, sliding her sunglasses down her nose a bit to look at the man standing in front of her. He was probably around her age or maybe a year older and was quite good-looking. But what immediately turned her off was the smirk on his lips and the glint of lust she saw in his eyes.
“Hi, Jack, I’m Jill.” She knew a smart man would make the connection right away. A guy who only had sex on his mind would not. A woman’s name wasn’t important to that kind of man. All he wanted to do was reel her in.
“Hello, Jill. Where are you from?”
“Planet Earth.”
He laughed, evidently finding her answer amusing. “Where on Planet Earth? What city and state?”
“Tabasco, Florida,” she said, eying the bottle in her hand that she’d been shaking on her French fries.
“Is that near Orlando? I think I might have passed through it once.”
She started to tell him the place didn’t exist, and wondered how long would it take for him to figure out she’d been playing with him?
Before she could answer his question, he asked another one. “May I join you?”
She glanced up at him. “Sorry, but I’d prefer to be alone while I eat and read this magazine.” A girl couldn’t get any plainer than that.
“Any interesting articles?”
“Yes.”
“I can be far more interesting than any article.”
She doubted it. The article she was reading was about Prince Harry, Meghan and little Archie. She loved anything that had to do with the royals.
“I’m not sure that you can.”
“Let me prove it.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.” Now she was getting annoyed. Why couldn’t he just move on and irritate some other woman?
“I saw you watching me.”
She looked around, and then glanced over her shoulder, fairly certain he wasn’t talking to her since she definitely hadn’t been watching him. The same women who’d been standing behind her in the food line were sitting at the table directly behind her. Maybe they’d been the ones looking at him. They sure weren’t trying to hide the fact they were listening to her and Jack’s conversation.
She looked back at Jack. Granted he was handsome, but this boat wasn’t big enough for his ego. “I’m afraid you are mistaken, Jack. I was just sitting here, reading my magazine. I didn’t even notice you until you came over to my table. You must have me mixed up with someone else.”
“Are you saying you don’t think I’m worth your time?”
He actually sounded shocked. That made her smile. “Yes, that’s pretty much what I’m saying.” The look on his face told her he wasn’t used to being rejected.