Page 16 of Blue Hawaiian
“Great to see you,” she said. “We were wondering whether your plane would arrive in Maui or end up somewhere random, like Tahiti.”
By tomorrow, Jess hoped everyone would be done mentioning her travel mishaps. She plastered a bright smile on her face. “I arrived in one piece. Thanks for helping out with Gabi’s wedding errands.”
“No problem. I’m glad my boss gave me the week off. Though I expect he’ll be checking in constantly. I’m pretty much indispensable.”
Jess bit back a laugh as she caught Gabi’s eye. The two of them had spent numerous holidays listening to Luisa extol her position as a powerful player in a cutthroat marketing firm. “Are you planning on doing any work while you’re here?” Jess asked her.
“Planning? No. But I’m sure I’ll be asked to put out a few fires.” Luisa peered at the water, where Connor and Marc were tossing a Frisbee back and forth. “In the meantime, I can have fun. Marc’s cousin looks very promising.”
Don’t even think about it.
Not that Jess had any claim over Connor. But she didn’t want Luisa fawning over him either.
Gabi spoke up quickly. “Don’t waste your time. The guy will break your heart.”
“Speaking from experience?” Luisa asked.
Jess’s chest tightened as she waited for Gabi to mention Big Bear. But her sister shrugged off the question. “That’s just what I’ve heard from Marc.”
“I’m not looking for anything long-term,” Luisa said. “My job’smuchtoo demanding. But I wouldn’t say no to a little vacation romp.” She stood up. “Let’s go in the water.”
As Gabi got to her feet, she shot Jess a sympathetic look. “You want to join us?”
Jess fought the urge to retreat to her room. This was her vacation, and she wasn’t about to let Connor or Luisa ruin it. She flashed her sister an ultra-fake smile, as if to signal she was one hundred percent okay. “Sure, but I should put on some sunblock first. Did you bring any?”
Gabi handed her a bottle of Banana Boat sunscreen. “Here. You’re going to need it, otherwise you’ll fry. The sun’s stronger than you’re used to.”
After Gabi and Luisa left, Jess began the slow process of applying sunscreen to her body—pretty much herentirebody, since her new bikini was so damn tiny. Marc waded out of the water and approached her.
“You coming in?” he asked.
“In a few minutes.” She waited, curious as to why he’d sought her out privately.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, listen. I got a text from Lance. He was planning to join us, but he’s got a wicked hangover. Apparently, he was at the bar until two last night.”
She kept her smile in place, despite the unease coursing through her. “No problem.”
“I’m sure he’ll be up for tonight’s cruise. He loves sailing.”
“Great.” She tried to muster up an appropriate level of enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
Marc ran into the water and splashed the girls. Despite her best intentions, Jess let her gaze drift over to Connor, who was horsing around with Luisa. In swim trunks, he was a sight to behold, with his muscular legs, broad shoulders, and tight abs on display.
A snarky voice broke into her daydreams. “Please tell me you’re not pining over my obnoxious man-whore of a brother?”
Coming from anyone else, the comment would have made her flush with shame. But not when the speaker was Connor’s younger sister, Victoria, who delighted at shooting barbs at everyone in the family.
Jess laughed. “I was just objectifying him a little. I didn’t realize it was that obvious.”
“You were all but drooling. Believe me, he’s not worth it.” Victoria set down her towel. “By now, you must be over him.”
“Of course. He’s old news.” Jess cringed at how false she sounded. She passed Victoria the bottle of sunscreen. “Do you want some?”
“You think I’m putting a ten-dollar bottle of grease on this skin?” Victoria opened her rattan bag and brought out a tube of La Mer SPF50. “This is the only brand I’ll use.”
Knowing Victoria, the brand was probably endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow or some other lifestyle guru. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
“And I don’t intend to.” Victoria gathered her curtain of raven-black hair into a topknot, then rubbed sunscreen over her long, slender arms.
