she was weak with longing.
She glanced again across the room. A petite blonde fluttered around him like a pheromone-crazed butterfly. Maybe she hadn't been that far off the mark when she'd wondered if he'd been hired as the resident Adonis. She had to admit he added a certain rough-hewn male sex appeal to the exquisitely appointed yacht. With his movie star good looks and renegade soul, he could probably have any woman he wanted just by crooking his little finger.
But he wants you.
Last night he'd made it crystal clear that she still had the power to make him want her. They both recognized that not even time had diminished the primal attraction between them. Try as she might to banish the memory of his kisses, she could still taste him on her lips. Sweet and dangerous and impossible to resist.
She pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. Val, Sandy, and her other luncheon companions looked up at her. "I think I'll go back to my cabin and do some work on my menu plan."
The moment she closed the cabin door behind her, she dialed Ingrid's number. She needed to connect with home, to be reminded of everything that was really important in her life.
"Details!" Ingrid demanded the second Megan said hello. "Tell me about the suite, the weather, the men...."
Megan laughed, feeling her real world move back into focus. "Gorgeous, perfect...interesting."
"You can do better than that."
"Is Jenny there?"
"She's playing Barbies with Stace."
"I'm dying to hear her voice."
"Give me some juicy details then I'll let you speak to your daughter."
Jenny's father works on the ship, Ingrid. I feel like I'm nineteen years old again and it scares the hell out of me. "You wouldn't believe this suite," she said instead. "Mahogany paneling, gilt faucets, a mirror over the bed--"
"A what!?"
"Just seeing if you were paying attention, Ingrid."
"Too bad," Ingrid shot back. "If you remember, I told you to have fun."
"And if you remember, I told you I'm here on business."
"Only until tomorrow night. Monday and Tuesday are pure R & R. If you don't come home with a tan and a smile on your face, you're no partner of mine."
"I'll be smiling if I come back with a contract."
"There's more to life than business."
"I know," said Megan, remembering the way Jake had looked in the moonlight. She launched into a lively description of her cabin, right down to the paneled wall near the bathroom that supposedly concealed a secret passageway that linked various suites.
"How wonderfully decadent," Ingrid said. She named the billionaire who had first owned the yacht. "No wonder he always looked so tired. The man never slept."
"This phone call is costing us a small fortune," Megan said. "Let me say hi to Jenny and I'll hang up."
A moment later her daughter's sweet voice curled itself inside Megan's ear. "We're having pizza tonight. Can I have pepperoni on mine?"
"That's up to Ingrid, sweetheart."
"And ice cream for dessert?"
"Ask Ingrid," Megan said with a laugh. "She's in charge while I'm away."
Jenny chattered on about the class trip she'd taken today and Megan found her eyes filling with homesick tears as Jenny described the glass-bottom boat and all the wonders she'd seen beneath the sea. Megan could just imagine her little girl's round cheeks all pink from the sun, her big golden-brown eyes glittering with excitement. Jenny was a small, volatile bundle of energy and enthusiasm, so much her father's daughter that at times it almost hurt Megan to look at her.
If only I could be sure I was doing the right thing for you, Jenny, she thought, but I'm as new at this as you are. There were times she felt as if she were running just one step ahead of her little girl, trying desperately to pave the way for her.
"Do you have your four-leaf clover, mommy?" Jenny asked in her piping voice.
"Absolutely," Megan said solemnly, touching the charm that hung from the chain around her neck. "I'll keep it with me every second."
"It'll bring you good luck."
"I have you," said Megan, wishing she could envelop her daughter in a bear hug. "How much luck does one mommy need?" Her marriage may have been a failure, but out of that painful interlude had come something truly precious, this little girl who meant everything to her.
"Don't forget to send me postcards, Mommy."
"I promise," Megan said. "A postcard from every port."
"Send me a postcard, too," said Ingrid as she returned to the phone. "Tell me you enjoyed at least one moonlight