Page 25 of Faking It at Sea

His brow pinched. Where some other guy might be irritated that I’d led him on, Sutton’s expression was filled with worry. “Did I do something?”

“No. This is all me,” I confessed. My mind told me to put more distance between us, but my feet wouldn’t move. “Thanks for tonight. And sorry for...” My gaze cut to the elevator for just a second.

What exactly was I apologizing for? He thought I was embarrassed, which, yeah, maybe a little, but that was also the single hottest experience of my life. It felt real.

Too real.

“Have a good night, Sutton.” I started to turn, but when he reached out and touched my arm, I stilled.

“June, wait. Please talk to me.”

I closed my eyes against the hurt in his voice.

Maybe he was genuine. Maybe Sutton Rafferty was exactly who he seemed to be, a guy with the body and attitude of a bad boy wrapped around a heart of gold, but that didn’t change anything. Real or no, I couldn’t risk letting him in. Not when it was so painfully clear how quickly I could fall for him.

I shook my head.

His hand fell away. “Can we talk tomorrow?”

Another little shake of my head. “I don’t think so.” Even just seeing him again felt like a risky proposition.

I dared a glance over my shoulder and instantly regretted it. He looked gutted, making me feel like even more of a monster.

My chest tightened. I hated the idea of hurting him. He’d done nothing to deserve it. And maybe I was making a huge mistake, but when push came to shove, I had to protect myself.

“I really am sorry,” I forced out. Then I turned and walked away.

Anytime I was torn about something, the second I made a decision, a weight would lift off my shoulders. Not this time. Instead of relief, I felt like a coward running away from my fears, and I hated every single step that took me away from him.

I didn’t look back to see if he was following me. I’d drawn the line in the sand, and even though I was the tease who’d lured him onto the elevator when he intended to let me ride up alone, I was sure he wouldn’t cross it.

When I made it to the suite, I was on the verge of tears. I threw myself onto the bed, letting the downy duvet and plush mattress cocoon me in a softness I didn’t deserve. There were things I still needed to do, like get undressed and take a quick shower, but that was where I stayed, curled around my pillow with my contacts in and my shoes on, until Missy shook me awake the next morning for our bestie’s spa day.

It was a sea day for the cruise, with the ship sailing from Nassau to Bimini. Luckily, with all the treatments Missy booked for the two of us, I was pretty sure I didn’t have to worry about running into Sutton. All I had to do was enjoy a day of luxurious pampering, which turned out to be more nerve wracking than anything.

The seaweed mask massage just made me more tense because the muscled masseuse wasn’t the guy I wanted putting his hands on me. The facial left me feeling weirdly exposed. And I had way too much time to think during our detoxifying mud bath and the body wrap that followed.

By the time we made it to the thermal suite where we reclined side-by-side in heated loungers, I was wound tighter than I’d been in years.

Missy’s irritated huff had me twisting my head around to look at her. “Something wrong?”

She glared over at me. “Spill it, June Bug.”

“Spill what?”

“Whatever it was that crawled up your butt and died there between the deck party last night and this morning.”

I snorted a surprised laugh. “Nothing crawled up my butt.”

She rolled back and closed her eyes. “I’ve been trying to be the good bestie and let you work through whatever the hell this is, but the tension is straight pouring out of you. Do you know how hard it is to relax when you’re sitting next to someone who’s coiled up like a snake about to strike?”

“I am not like a snake,” I argued, as if that was the point.

She opened her eyes just so she could roll them at me. “Talk. Now.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “It’s nothing.”

“Strike one.”

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