"You were on the Soufriere cruise today with your boyfriend. Christian I think his name was?"
"Oh, yes," she breathed with relief, smiling at him gratefully as she realized he was going to uphold her position as Christian's beard.
"I thought so," Jack said, beaming. "We just got in from the night cruise and I came up for a drink, spotted you and thought I'd come congratulate you on winning the shake-your-booty contest. I didn't get the chance onboard ship."
"You won a contest?" Marguerite asked with interest.
Carolyn flushed. She only vaguely recalled the contest and suspected she didn't really want to remember it any better, but nodded weakly.
"Beat out a dozen other women to take the prize," Jack told them proudly.
"What exactly is a shake-your-booty contest?" Julius growled.
Carolyn glanced nervously his way, eyes widening when she saw the cold way he was eyeing Jack.
"We're considering taking the tour to Soufriere ourselves," Marguerite explained, smoothing things over. "It would be good to find out more about it."
Acting like it was an invitation, Jack immediately pulled out the chair next to Carolyn and sat down to explain.
Marguerite listened attentively, ignoring her husband's rude glares as Jack chattered away charmingly. As for Carolyn, she sat tense and nervous, her gaze sliding from Jack, to Marguerite and Julius, to Christian over and over, like an iPod on loop. And the whole time, she was silently wishing he'd leave. Jack was a nice guy and she still intended to have an affair with him and everything, but really this was beyond nerve-racking.
Julius was glaring, Christian was scowling, and she was sitting there with her butt hanging off the chair, for heaven's sake.
"-care to dance?"
Carolyn whipped her head back from Christian to peer at Jack blankly. "Huh?"
He chuckled at her dumbstruck expression. "I said would you care to dance?"
"It's hard rock," she said with amazement.
"It's a hard-rock ballad," Jack pointed out gently. "And lots of people are dancing. I'm sure Christian would want you to dance to his music."
Carolyn followed his gesture to the small dance floor in front of the band where couples were shuffling around to the ballad.
"Oh... er... I...," Carolyn muttered, but he'd caught her hand and stood, drawing her up with him as he headed for the dance floor. She had little choice but to follow, but tugged fretfully at her skirt with her free hand as she went, hoping to God she hadn't mooned anyone.
Carolyn's eyes slid to Christian as they reached the dance floor, but then she looked quickly away. If looks could kill she and Jack would be corpses on the floor, she thought on a sigh, and pulled back slightly when Jack pulled her tightly to his chest.
"Marguerite and Julius are watching," she muttered apologetically.
"I know," he sighed. "And I shouldn't have come over, but I couldn't resist when I saw you in this dress. You look incredible."
Carolyn flushed and glanced away, whispering, "Thank you. It's Gia's. I fell down the hill and ruined the dress I was wearing and she put me in this."
"Gia?" Jack asked.
"Christian's cousin. The lead singer," she murmured, nodding to the stage.
"Ah." He barely spared Gia a glance. "Well, she did you justice. You look hotter than hell and I gather hell is pretty hot," he added with a grin.
Carolyn smiled reluctantly, but glanced away again.
"And you aren't at all comfortable looking that way, are you?" he asked with gentle amusement.
Carolyn shook her head with a sigh. "It's a little sexy for me."
"Caro, nothing is too sexy for a woman who shakes her booty like you do," he said solemnly and for some reason that made her laugh. Her laugh died though when he pulled her closer again, his hands sliding to curve over the top of her behind as he added seriously, "Give me the week and a half you have left here and I'll have you realizing that and as comfortable in this dress as a second skin."