Chapter 1

Mark

I step out of the shower after a grueling workout at the ship’s state of the art gym. I’m probably late to meet the guys, but it’s not like they had anything else to do all day but lounge by the pool and sip drinks. To my business partners and old college buddies, this week-long cruise is a chance to relax and unwind after a stressful few months.

I prepare myself for their eye rolls for not joining them earlier and lazing the day away, but even on so-called vacations I don’t skip my routine. Sunshine, cool ocean breezes, and a steady stream of alcohol aren’t usually my thing, even though this cruise ship is amazing. I’m more of a mountain kind of guy, waking up at the crack of dawn to hit the trails and beat the crowds for the best view of the summit.

But the medical company we hope to partner with invited us to make our presentation to them on one of their annual retreats, and since our vacation time was coming up anyway, Ray and Silas talked me into it. If we get this contract, our wellness company, Livelihood, will really be in the big leagues.

I press the button to call the swiftly moving glass elevator in the middle of the massive ship. A few young women hurry to crowd on with me right before the doors slide shut. They’re wearing short, brightly colored sundresses, their shoulders and cheeks already burned after just a few hours on the ship. I sense their stares but keep my eyes ahead. I didn’t come on this cruise to fuck around. I came to make the deal that will allow me to finally pay back my father the seed money he gave me to help start this business. I don’t just owe Livelihood to his belief in me, I owe my old man everything, and I live to make him proud.

As the elevator doors open on the highest level of the ship, I pause to look out at the stunning view. It’s breathtaking and a bit dizzying as we barrel through the waves. Live music and laughter wafts over to me and I drag myself away to head over to the Stellar Sky Lounge. I spot Silas and Ray at a table near a fire pit, laughing and toasting with amber drinks in martini glasses as the band plays on a raised stage.

Despite still being amped up from my workout and the excitement of chasing a new deal, the celestial theme and the sophisticated, contemporary design slows me down from the place where I always seem to be revving at full throttle.

Okay, this is nice. This is vacation, even if we’re giving presentations and having meetings. I pull up one of the plush seats at the guys’ table and they wave to one of the servers.

“You have to try this honey martini,” Ray says. “I’m on my second.”

“Second at this bar,” Silas says with a chortle.

“Yeah, I figured you guys wouldn’t wait for me.”

I place my order, deciding to start slow with one of the craft beers the server suggests.

“Where’ve you been?” Silas demands.

“Did my workout and then checked out the sauna,” I answer. As I suspected, the two shake their heads at me but know better than to try to get me to change my routine.

A woman in another one of the loud, floral sundresses they all seem to be wearing, comes up to our table and asks me if I’d like to dance. Remembering the manners my mother taught me, I let her down easy, all the while Silas and Ray snicker behind me.

As soon as she’s back at her table with her friends, they start in on me.

“You need to lighten up,” Ray says, then frowns. “She could have asked one of us,” he tells Silas.

I laugh and raise my eyebrows at them, “Maybe working out so much isn’t the waste of time you two think it is.”

They scowl at me, promising they’re just getting started. “And you need to, too,” Silas says. “This is a seven-day cruise, and only a few hours of it are going to be spent wooing the client.”

“We’ll see,” I say to get them off my back. “Now, about the first meeting. I was thinking that you should do the presentation,” I tell Silas, who is a born showman and could sell ice in the Arctic circle.

As I’m about to give them my thoughts on how to present our numbers, Ray brings up how the CEO we’ll be meeting with is originally from Sacramento. My stomach sinks at the name of the city and I give him a wary glance. Not this again.

“I heard that they’re thinking about moving their headquarters back there in the next year or two,” he says. “We should let them know that we’re expanding there soon.”

“Except we’re not expanding there soon.” I’m not anywhere near drunk enough to want to get into this argument, so I give him a look that should have had him backing off.

“It’s crazy to wait, Mark,” he continues, ignoring my glare. “Especially once we get all the new cash flow from this deal.”

“The deal isn’t done yet,” I remind him.

Silas jumps in. “All three of us know they’ve been dying to partner with us. Why else invite us on this cruise? If they weren’t really interested, we’d have flown down to LA and done the presentation in their offices.”

“Until our signatures are on a contract, we could still walk away from this with nothing. And anyway, we—” I say, then completely lose my train of thought as I look up at the entrance to the Stellar Sky Lounge.

My mouth freezes mid word, hanging open as a stunning blonde woman walks in, shyly checking out the lunar phase paintings on the walls. Her hair is silvery blonde, almost glowing in the dim light of the star-shaped hanging lamps. She’s small and slim with a pretty, round face and big eyes that dart from table to table. Surprisingly, she’s not decked out in loud florals, or something skintight and shiny. She wears a pale blue silk sarong with a cream colored top, classic and elegant.

As her eyes scan the room, they alight on me for half a breathless second, and it’s as if time itself stops. My stomach feels as if it’s been sucker punched, and I’m not sure if I’m holding my breath or if her presence has sucked all of the air from the room. I force myself to remain in my chair, even as I feel drawn to go to her and introduce myself. We continue drowning in each other’s gaze until she forcibly jerks hers away, a blush staining her cheeks. As she slowly passes us to find a spot at the bar, my eyes drop from the cascade of glossy blonde curls to the perfect little round ass under her skirt, and I wonder where else that blush hides.

Damn. Have I found someone who’ll actually take my mind off of business?

I continue to stare, completely oblivious to anything else.

“Hey, Mark?” Silas says, waving his hand in front of my face and breaking the spell.

Ray laughs and they share a look. “So, is that the one that you’ll deign to spend your precious time with?”

They know me well so it’s no use pretending the sexy vision in blue at the bar isn’t exactly my type.

“Yeah, but will she spend her time with him?”

Silas’s jibe makes me narrow my gaze at him.

“I don’t know,” Ray joins in the teasing. “She doesn’t seem interested.”

“She just got here,” I say, a bit too defensively. I don’t want to consider what it means that I feel a panic coming on at the thought of her not spending time with me. I just laid eyes on her, for shit’s sake.

We go back to trying to plan the meeting, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. Unlike her, who hasn’t so much as taken her gaze off her drink. I can’t keep a thought in my head for long and once again, the guys are laughing at me when I veer off course.

“Listen,” Ray says, leaning closer as the server brings him his next drink. “How about a bet?”

“What are you thinking?” I ask, always up for some friendly competition. Unless he thinks he’s going to go over and hit on her. That’s not happening.

“You have the week to get that ice princess over there to sleep with you.”

“Impossible,” Silas says with a smirk. “Give him something easier.”

“Fuck off,” I tell them both with a forced laugh.

“What? Backing down already? Look, how about if you win, we shut the hell up about Sacramento until next year like you want.”

I drag my eyes from my girl. That’s right, fuckers, my girl. Before I can answer, Ray pipes up. “When you lose, though, you get on board with the expansion.”

I groan, sick of explaining why opening a new office is a bad idea right now. “I’m not taking your idiotic bet,” I say, standing up. “But I am going to go talk to her. So, see you tomorrow, boys.”

I leave them behind and slide into the vacant barstool beside the beautiful woman who has somehow interrupted my brain functions. Hell yes, I’m taking time out to be with her tonight.

“Let me get the next one,” I say to the bartender, nodding at her as I give her a killer smile.

The girl beside me chokes, sending a spray of liquid across the bar. I hastily snatch up napkins from the holder on the bar and hand them out to her, containing my grin at the red creeping over her face. She’s even more beautiful flustered, and I have to shift in my seat, thinking of all the ways I could tease her.

She takes the pile of napkins and cleans up her face before looking back down at her glass, though now she’s trying to sneak glances out of the corner of her eye. While she’s gaining her composure, I study her and realize she’s even prettier in person. In the sultry lighting, her velvety brown eyes look almost amber, like the barely touched honey martini in front of her.

“Mark Crane,” I introduce myself, holding out my hand.

She doesn’t extend her own hand, and barely gives me a side swipe with her mesmerizing eyes. “Daisy,” she says shortly, not bothering to give me a last name. As I’m desperately thinking of ways I could capture her attention, her phone pings and she snatches it off the bar, reading the message she just received. I wait, but still she doesn’t look my way.

What in the ever-loving hell is going on? I can hear the hoots of my buddies behind me, but they don’t matter. Nothing matters except the girl in front of me not giving me the time of day. Uncomfortably disappointed, I stand, taking her not-so-subtle hint to fuck off.

Before I can make myself move away, I lean in close, whispering next to her ear,” I’ll see you around the ship, Daisy.”

Not a word, not even another glance, but I hear her intake of breath. That little sound makes me smile, knowing I got to her, knowing she realizes I will be seeing her again. I head back to the table with the guys, giving each of them a death glare that does nothing to stop them from laughing their asses off.

“Aww, she didn’t even finish her drink,” Ray snorts. “Look, you scared her completely away.”

Sure enough, Daisy is leaving the bar with her head down, her long hair hiding half her face as she scurries past.

“She’s definitely not interested,” Silas says. “Good thing you backed down when you did. You’d never win that bet.”

I slap my hand on the table. “Wrong. Challenge accepted,” I tell them. “Anything to get you two to shut up about Sacramento.”

They keep laughing as I turn my back on them to follow my little flower.