Page 10 of Sinful Temptations

Rolling my eyes, I caught sight of one of the passengers climbing down the steps. I walked toward her. It was Laura,the only British passenger on this tour. Laura had a cute pixie haircut and an honest face. The kind of look that was suited to a morning news anchorwoman where viewers would trust every word she said.

“Hey, Laura, is everything okay?”

She picked at her fingernails. “Yes, ummm, no, maybe not.”

“You need the restroom?”

“No. No. It’s not that.” She looked about as uncomfortable as someone who’d sat on an ants’ nest.

I eased in beside her. “It’s okay. Just tell me what’s up.”

“I, ahhh, I was just wondering if the passenger you are waiting for is Richard Bartholomeus.”

“Yes, it is actually. Do you know where he is?”

“Well.” She cleared her throat. “He’s my fiancé. No, ummm, well hewasmy fiancé. Until last week. We broke up. I wasn’t sure if he’d still come on this trip.” Her face morphed into utter sadness. “I guess he’s not.”

The sorrow in her expression could have melted even the toughest biker. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. Leave it to me, and I’ll sort it out. Go on up and take a seat, and I’ll ask the office to call him.”

She lowered her eyes, and for a second, her chin quivered but she clamped her jaw, fighting it. “He’s not likely to answer his phone. He never does.”

I touched my hand to her shoulder, feeling her trembling bones beneath. “I’m glad you still came. You’re going to have a wonderful time. It’ll be his loss. I promise.”

A tiny smile appeared and vanished from her lips in a nanosecond. Nodding, she looked at me with tears pooling on her lower eyelids. “Thank you.”

I wanted to pull her in for a hug, to tell her everything would be all right. But her emotions were already rampant. She didn’t want awkwardness adding to them. Rubbing hershoulder instead, I said, “You’re welcome. It’s going to be okay.”

Laura climbed back up the stairs. She was almost moving in slow motion as if every muscle hurt. I knew exactly what was hurting her—a broken heart. If they’d only separated a week ago, she would still be so raw—the poor love.

I vowed there and then that I’d make sure she had the best holiday ever. For twenty days, she could forget about her ex and enjoy herself. Maybe she’d forget about him forever.

I strolled back to Roman. His dark eyebrows drilled together. They were so perfect; it was like he groomed them. William had spent a ridiculous number of hours in front of the mirror attending to his facial hair. I hated the idea that Roman did too. Maybe, like everything else about him, they were just naturally perfect.

Roman let out a sigh as I reached him. “Wow, she didn’t look happy. Is she okay?”

Shoving that pointless eyebrow-observation aside, I said, “She will be. I’m going to the office to make a call. Back in a sec.”

“Righty-ho.” He did that thing where he curled his hand through his hair, and every strand slid back into position like he wasworkin’ itfor the cameras.

Silently cursing Mr. Perfect, I turned on my heel and trotted toward the office.

As I crossed the expanse, it reminded me that I hadn’t confronted my boss about what he’d told Mother. This was my chance. I picked up my pace. With each stride, my boobs gave my new sexy lingerie its first real challenge, and my mind slammed between what Mother had demanded of me and what I was going to demand from my asshole boss.

By the time the glass doors parted for my entrance, I was clenching my fists so hard my newly manicured fingernails were digging into my palms.

At reception as I waited for Tracy to finish up a phone call, I tried to hear if Bruce was in his office. As usual, his door was shut. I had never understood why he did that—it wasn’t as if his work was top secret.

Tracy cradled the handset and smiled so sweetly it’d frost a cake. “Is everything okay?”

I showed her the clipboard. “I have a Mr. Richard Bartholomeus on the list, but he hasn’t shown up. Have you heard from him?”

“Oh, ummm, hang on.” Even her voice was sweet. She fiddled with her computer mouse, and her expressions rolled from curious to incredulous.

I turned to Bruce’s closed door. “Is Bruce in?”

“Yeah, he’s in his office.”

“Okay, can you please try and call Richard? See if he’s still coming? I need to chat with Bruce for a sec.”

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