Their Festive Island Escape
Celeste seemed to deflate in his arms. He figured she could use a drink. “Why don’t we head below deck for some refreshments?” he suggested.
She didn’t hesitate, following him off the dance floor and to the bar down the starboard steps. He ordered them more wine once they were seated on the bar stools. But once their glasses arrived, Celeste didn’t so much as take a sip. She merely rubbed her finger around the rim, deep in thought.
Reid cursed the loss of the easy companionship they’d been enjoying before running into the newlyweds. He could only guess what Celeste was thinking. She was wondering if she’d ever have what that couple had. If she’d experience the thrill of a honeymoon, or dancing with her new husband above deck aboard a dinner boat cruising over the Caribbean waters.
It was the strangest thing, but he was thinking along those same lines for himself. Definitely not something he’d ever considered before. He shook off the useless thoughts. He already had his hands more than full. Between the family holdings and his father’s self-destructive behavior, Reid didn’t have it in him to commit to any other kind of relationship.
His gaze fell on the woman sitting next to him.
No. He couldn’t even go there, couldn’t allow himself to think those thoughts. Celeste had been hurt enough in her lifetime. The last thing she needed was someone like him toying with her affections further.
But they had the rest of this trip. At the least, they had the rest of tonight. There was nothing wrong with enjoying each other’s company.
Though Celeste looked far from joyful at the moment. He would have to do something about that. He couldn’t have her this forlorn. The evening was much too beautiful to let it go to waste. They were the only people downstairs at the bar, with everyone else still at the dance party above.
He stood and took her by the hand. “Here, follow me.” Acknowledging the sole bartender, he walked her behind the bar and led her to the kitchen area behind it. Several cooks and servers waved as they entered. Reid walked over to the freezer in the center of the room and reached inside.
Celeste blinked at the carton he’d pulled out. “Ice cream?”
“Chocolate.”
Her confusion grew into a wide smile. “Where do we find spoons?”
Five minutes later they stood at the hull of the boat with his jacket thrown over Celeste’s shoulders and the wind blowing around them, spooning chocolate ice cream straight out of its container.
* * *
She didn’t want the night to end. And it was just silly to think that way. It wasn’t as if she and Reid were walking back to her room after any kind of real date. Foolish, really.
Reid’s suit jacket still hung over her shoulders, the smell of him enveloping her, reminding her of the way it had felt to be in his arms on the dance floor. Not to mention, all those other times when they’d been alone.
A shiver ran over her skin. He must have noticed. “Are you still cold? I can call for a beach cart to drive you back to your room,” he offered.
No. That wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to continue walking with him, to delay the inevitable. When they would part for the night. What then? Reid didn’t mention any other activity he wanted her to attend, no other excursions were planned. For all she knew, this was it.
There would be no more opportunities to spend any time alone with him. Celeste felt an ache of pain in the center of her chest.
“I’m actually enjoying the night air. Thank you for walking me back.”
“What kind of gentleman would I be if I left you to head back to your suite by yourself?”
“The kind that serves a girl chocolate ice cream on the hull of a boat during a dinner cruise?”
He laughed at that. The rest of their stroll continued on in pleasant silence, the night air balmy and comfortable. Celeste indulged in a slight fantasy and just let herself pretend. Just for these few short moments, she would make believe that she had what that couple on that boat had. That she’d found the man she was meant to be with and had known right away. And that, fanciful as it was, Reid happened to be that man.
Never mind that her reality was the complete opposite. By contrast, the one time she’d been engaged, it had been a mistake of epic proportions. And with Reid... She sighed. She honestly didn’t know the true reality when it came to Reid. He was obviously attracted to her. But what did that mean when he was so quick to step back from her before things could go anywhere? The answer should be obvious, she figured. He knew they had no business being together, so he wasn’t going to let things get too far. Wise of him. Unlike her, he was thinking straight.