Page 8 of What Matters Most

After an unhurried shower, Carla decided to head for the pool. With her skin color, she wasn’t able to stay out in the sun long, and morning was generally the best time for her to sunbathe.

The pool area was filling up with early sun worshippers, and Carla chose a chaise longue near the deep end. That way she could dive in and cool off whenever necessary. This afternoon she’d do some shopping at the Mazatlán Arts and Crafts Center. She’d heard about the center almost immediately after her arrival. With twenty-eight shops to explore, she was certain to find souvenirs for her family. But even shopping had lost its appeal, especially since she’d be doing it alone. If she was lucky, she might meet someone at the pool—preferably someone male and handsome. She spread her towel out as a cushion for the longue and lay on her stomach, facing the pool. With her arms crossed, she pressed her cheek against her forearm. Boring, she admitted regretfully. Day two and she was bored to death. The turquoise tankini she wore was modest, especially when compared to the daring suit on the luscious, curvy creature across the pool from her. Carla guessed that if she had a body like that, she might be tempted to wear the same thing. She’d heard of string bikinis, but this one was hardly more than threads. The woman was attracting the attention of almost everyone at poolside. When Philip moved into her line of vision, Carla’s eyes widened. He smiled, and his gray eyes twinkled. It didn’t bother her that his smile wasn’t directed at her. For all the attention he’d given her, be obviously hadn’t noticed that she was across the pool from him.

Carla chose to ignore him, but her heart leaped just seeing him again. He wasn’t muscular or strikingly masculine, but he was compelling in a way she couldn’t describe. If she hadn’t spent yesterday with him, she wouldn’t have given him a second look today. But she’d felt the lean hardness of him against her in the water. She’d tasted the sweetness of his kiss. She’d experienced the gentle comfort of his arms. Her eyes refused to move from him, and when he looked her way, she shook herself from her musings and lowered her cheek against her arm again, pretending not to see him.

Her heart was racing, and that angered her. One look from Philip was no reason for her pulse to quicken. Although Carla refused to pay attention to him, she could feel Philip’s gaze on her. She smiled as she imagined the satisfaction in his gaze, the look of admiration that would dominate those smoky-gray eyes of his. How she loved his expressive eyes! Unable to resist, she raised her head a fraction to catch a glimpse of his approval. To her dismay, Carla discovered that Philip wasn’t studying her at all. His concentration was centered on the daring blond beauty at the other side of the pool.

Carla expected the woman to treat Philip like a pesky intruder. But she didn’t—in fact, she seemed to encourage his attention. Grudgingly, Carla admitted there was a certain attractiveness to Philip, and an aura of quiet confidence that was…well, masculine. His sandy hair had a tendency to curl at the ends, she observed, and most men would have styled it into submission. But not Philip—professionally groomed hair wouldn’t be on his list of priorities.

After several minutes of what appeared to be light conversation, Philip dived into the pool and did a number of laps. Carla couldn’t help admiring the way his bronze body sliced through the water. Anyone would. A rush of pink colored her cheeks as she recalled their antics last night. Yes, Philip Garrison was indeed gifted.

When Philip came out of the pool, he maneuvered himself so that he “accidentally” dripped water on his scantily clad acquaintance. The luscious blonde sat up to hand him a towel and laughed lightly when more drops of water splashed on her bare midriff.

Forcefully, Carla directed her gaze elsewhere. For a full five minutes she refused to allow herself to turn their way. When curiosity got the better of her, she casually glanced toward Philip and the other woman, who were an unlikely match. To her dismay she found that they were laughing and enjoying a cocktail. One side of Carla’s mouth curved up sarcastically. One would assume a dedicated police officer would know better than to consume alcohol at such an early hour.

Pretending that the sun was burning her tender skin, Carla made a show of standing and draping a light terry-cloth wrap over her shoulders. She tucked her towel and tanning lotion into her oversized bag and walked down the cement stairs that led to the beach.

The beach wasn’t nearly as crowded as the pool area. Carla had just settled in the sandy mattress when she was approached by a vendor carrying a black case. He knelt in front of her and opened the lid to display a large number of silver earrings, bracelets, and rings. She smiled and shook her head. But the man persisted, telling her in poor English that he would sell jewelry to her at a very good price.

Politely but firmly, Carla shook her head again.

Still the man insisted, holding out a lovely silver-and-turquoise ring for her to inspect. His eyes pleaded with her, and Carla couldn’t refuse. The ring was pretty.

Someone spoke in Spanish from behind her. It didn’t take Carla two seconds to realize it was Philip. His words were heavy with authority, although he hadn’t raised his voice. Resenting his intrusion, she tossed him an angry look.

“Do you like the ring?” He directed his comment to her.

“Well, it’s more than I wanted to spend—”

She wasn’t allowed to finish. Philip said something to the vendor, who nodded resignedly, took the ring back, and turned away.

“That wasn’t necessary, you know,” she told him stiffly.

“Perhaps not, but you could buy the same ring in the hotel gift shop for less than what he was asking.” Philip spread out his towel a respectable distance from her. “Do you mind?” he asked before he sat down.

“It’s a public beach,” she returned coolly, recognizing it wouldn’t do any good to object. “Just leave enough space between us so no one will assume we’re together.” She suspected that Philip would only follow her if she got up and moved. “What happened with Miss String Bikini?” Carla had hoped to resist any hint of acid in her query.

Philip chuckled. “Unfortunately, Miss is a Mrs., and hubby looked like the jealous type.”

Now it was Carla’s turn to laugh. She was sorry to have missed the scene of Philip meeting the irate husband. “I’ll admit, though, she had quite a body.”

“Passable,” Philip admitted dryly as his eyes swept over the beach.

Passable! Carla’s mind echoed, wondering what he considered terrific.

“Where’s your roommate?” he asked breezily.

“With…Eduardo. They seem to have hit it off quite well.”

“We did, too, as I recall. I wonder what it would take to get you to agree to have lunch with me.”

“Forget it, Garrison,” Carla said forcefully.

“You know what a good time we could have,” he prodded softly.

“I’m not interested,” Carla replied without looking at him. She felt a twinge of regret at how callous she sounded, and recalled how cold she’d been to him after he’d told her his occupation. She wouldn’t have been so unfeeling, she suspected, if she hadn’t previously expressed her resentment about her father being a policeman. Later, unable to sleep, she decided she was glad she’d told him. It had saved an unnecessary explanation. As it was, she’d pushed herself from his arms and swam to the opposite side of the pool. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Philip Garrison,” she’d said tersely while toweling dry. “But I have one strict code regarding the men I date.”

“I think I can guess what that is,” he’d replied with a control that was frightening. “You realize I didn’t have to tell you. We could have had a pleasant vacation together without you ever being the wiser.”

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