Chapter Eight
Jade spent the rest of the day on St. Martin cruising around the island on her four-wheeler. She ate lunch at a little local spot, stopped at a few more beaches, and arrived back at the boat about half an hour before the all-aboard. She spent the rest of the evening alone and miserable. Dang that Joshua Jewel. She’d almost kissed him, before he’d revealed yet again what a jerk he was.
Of course he didn’t want to believe she was innocent. He only cared about his lost money, not about real people. Ugh! No matter how much Joshua and Jesse looked alike, she couldn’t understand why she’d ever believed Joshua was her Jesse. Jesse would have trusted her.He didn’t trust you enough to show you his face, that stupid, angry she-devil voice reminded her.
She went to a comedy show, and laughed a little bit. That made her more upset. The comedian was good, and because of her frustration with Joshua, she couldn’t even laugh and have a good time. Wandering the promenade after the show, she bought herself a scoop of mint chocolate chunk from Ben & Jerry’s and ate it alone. The ice cream was an upcharge, but it was so worth it.
A group of young men, barely out of their teens, walked past, several staring at her. They stopped and talked and laughed and jostled each other and kept sneaking looks at her as she slowly licked her ice cream cone. A tall redhead kid broke from the group and approached her. “Hey, pretty lady.”
She smiled, having no desire to crush this young man’s confidence. “Hey.”
“You want to … go for a walk?”
She tried to be nice. “That is so kind of you, but …” But what?I already have three men I’m interested in and you’re too young to compete with any of them?
“She has a boyfriend,” said a deep, irresistible voice behind her.
Jade whirled, and there he was. Joshua looked as gorgeous as ever, wearing dark gray slacks and a button-down pale blue shirt that showed just a hint of his tanned, tough chest. His chestnut-brown hair had just that perfect wave to it, and those blue eyes yanked her right in. How she wished he truly could be her boyfriend.
No! She wanted to be with Jesse. What was wrong with her?
“Ah, sorry, man,” the guy was saying.
Joshua reached out, and she watched them shake hands. “Hey, no hard feelings. I know she’s the most beautiful woman on this ship. You didn’t know she was taken.”
“You’re one lucky dude.” The kid smiled an embarrassed grin at her and then scuttled back to his friends.
Jade stared in semi-shock at Joshua as he took the chair next to her. His knees brushed hers, and he looked her over possessively as if he were her boyfriend. “You’re welcome,” he said.
“Excuse me?” Her temper flared up. At this point she didn’t know if he could win with her, no matter what he said. What happened to him staying away until he figured out she was innocent? “What am I thanking you for?”
He smiled smoothly, and she loved that dimple. It reminded her of Jesse. She was regretting more and more that she’d boarded this ship. Here she thought she’d inform Joshua about the accusations Curtis had thrown at her, and he’d find and fire the real embezzler and maybe give her job back and a celebrity interview to boot. Nope. She should have just stayed with Jesse.
“First of all, saving you from that kid hitting on you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “He seemed like a very nice young man, and I’ve always been partial to redheads.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t have any problem with a cute guy hitting on me.”
He edged in a little closer, and she smelled that irresistible cologne. How was it possible that he and Jesse had the same cologne?
“Second of all …” His voice was so irresistibly husky, it made her stomach feel all warm, like she’d just drunk a mug of hot cocoa. “You looked really lonely. I thought I’d rescue you from that.”
She stood and glared down at him. “I happen to be confident enough to enjoy my own company, and I thought I explained today that you have no responsibility to protect me, watch over me, rescue me, or be around me. The only responsibility you have is to figure out who really stole your money. When you figure that out … come begging my forgiveness. We’ll see if I grant it.”
She whirled away from him and stormed down the promenade, pushing around slower-moving groups. The nerve. The absolute nerve. Just because he was incredibly handsome and sickeningly rich, the man thought he could just charm any woman. Well, she wasn’t just any woman. She was a disgruntled employee with a dang good reason for being disgruntled. The only good thing she’d heard from him today was that he’d hired external as well as internal investigators.
Her steps slowed. When he’d said to the kid that she was the most beautiful woman on the ship, it had melted her heart.
Stupid. She was stupid. Joshua Jewel could have any woman he wanted. But he couldn’t have her.
Jade climbed the steps from the fifth to the ninth floor, out of breath by the time she reached her suite and slammed the door behind her. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a water bottle and drained half of it in angry gulps. Sliding out of her high heels, she strode to the balcony. The warm air embraced her, and the sound of the water flowing past the ship soothed her, a little bit.
Standing at the rail, she looked out at the water. The lights from the ship sparkled against it. Life felt a little simpler out here. She understood Joshua’s quandary, to a point, but why couldn’t he see that she was genuine and trust her? Trust was huge to her. Yet why did she care? She felt like she was betraying Jesse by being so drawn to Joshua. She just needed to get through this week without falling prey to those blue eyes, or that smile with the dimple, or those biceps. My, oh my. He was so perfect that he took her breath away.
“Good criminy, grow a brain, woman!” she yelled at herself.
“Grow a brain?” The male voice came from her left. “I thought you were very smart when I talked to you last night.”
Jade closed her eyes and shook her head. Here was man number three who intrigued her, and she had no clue what he looked like. At least she’d seen part of Jesse’s face, had fun experiences with Jesse, had kissed those beautiful lips of his. “Hi, Priest,” she muttered.