Chapter 2

2

I always knew my brother was a shit person.

What I hadn't known was that he was dumb enough to let a woman like Virginia get away.

His loss is about to be my incredible gain though.

I know I'll have to move slowly. There's no way that Virginia won't be spooked after what my brother just put her through, but there's no way I can let an opportunity like this pass me by.

As little respect as I'd had for Chad before this, there's none left now, and it's all I can do as I sit across the table from him as we eat dinner with our parents to not punch him in his smug face. He's been the baby his whole life, our parents catering to his every need and treating him like he was special and above the rules they'd set for me because he was their later-in-life, miracle baby.

I've had a front row seat to it my whole life. I'm almost forty and he's encroaching on thirty, so I'd really hoped he'd outgrown his childish behavior and become the man he's had the potential of being since he was a kid.

I see now he's just as spoiled and self-centered as he's always been.

No matter how much our mom tries to guilt me during the holidays, I've obviously made the right choice staying away from him as much as possible. It's been easy enough the last few years since he'd been living out of state, trying to "make it" at some tech company.

But a few months ago, he'd come crawling back to Stonewood Ridge, begging our parents to help him as he "reset his life."

I don't even know what that means, but they'd done it. Supporting him emotionally and monetarily, paying most of his bills and waving off my concerns when I brought up the fact he was still unemployed a couple of weeks ago.

But this… This is a whole new level of douchbaggery.

As he tells our parents lie after lie—some I know for sure and some I just suspect—I begin to lose my appetite. Our parents just lap it up, believing every word that comes out of his mouth.

Luckily, no one seems to notice or care when I give up and slip away to find our server near the ma?tre d' stand.

Ten minutes later, I open the door to my suite and walk in slowly, unsure of what I'll find. Virginia had been quiet all afternoon and I hadn't wanted to push, but now I'm beginning to wonder if I should have, if letting her cry it out on my shoulder would be better than the toxic silence that had filled the space.

As I step farther into the suite, I realize why it's so quiet, my breath catching in my chest.

Wearing a nightgown that's basically just a long T-shirt, she's curled up on the couch, sleeping peacefully. I almost leave her be, but I know for a fact she hasn't eaten anything since breakfast.

I set the to-go container on a low table and then pick it up and move the whole thing a few feet away to make space in front of the sofa. Kneeling, I stare at her relaxed face for a few minutes instead of immediately waking her like I should.

God, she's just so damn beautiful.

Her golden skin is perfect and blemish-free, looking so fucking soft my fingers curl with the need to touch. Her long, long lashes damn near touch her cheekbones, and her pink lips—so plump they're indecent—are slightly parted. But it was her dark brown hair that had entranced me from the moment I set eyes on her. It was long, down to her mid-back, thick and shiny. It was hard for me to focus on anything else when she was around other than sinking my hands into it, wrapping the strands around my fingers and using it to pull her close.

I can't help but wonder how it would feel cascading across my chest as she snuggled against me, or brushing on the inside of my thighs as she sucked my dick.

Her body is so soft and curvy. My fingers ache with the need to touch and squeeze. Instead of giving in to my animalistic needs, I softly brush my fingers down her cheek.

"Wake up, baby girl. You need to eat dinner."

Her brows furrow and her nose wrinkles in the cutest way, so I brush my fingers down her skin again.

"Virginia, wake up."

"Why?" she asks, her voice thick and a little slow.

"You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," she says, and starts to turn over, but I grab her shoulder, holding her in place, and that finally gets her to open her eyes. This close, I can see the ring of gold around her pupils, though I know her hazel eyes tend to change, and I can't wait to find out if her emotions play a part in it.

"You need to eat," I say again, more firmly. "I'm not going to let you make yourself sick. He's not worth it."

She sucks in a breath and stares at me. Her eyes a little wide and glassy. "Sad part," she says softly, "I never really thought he was. So who do I have to blame but myself?"

"Him. You need to blame him," I say, furious that for even a second she would lay blame anywhere else. "It's not your fault he can't keep his dick in his fucking pants."

She gives me a half-hearted smile and pushes partway up, sniffing audibly. "Yes, that part is definitely his fault. I meant more that I had put myself in the situation to begin with, when I wasn't even that certain about the relationship before."

I move out of the way so she can sit up fully, lowering her legs to the ground, and her adorable nightgown hikes halfway up her thighs. She barely notices, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and then giving her hair a quick tousle.

To try to stop myself from staring at all that delicious-looking skin, I grab the table and move it back into place, pushing the to-go box so it's closer to her.

I know it makes me a terrible brother to be happy about the fact she wasn't more invested in her relationship with him, but I just don't have it in me to care. He's fucked up and messed around too many times. And while there doesn't seem to be a limit on what my parents will forgive him for, I reached mine years ago.

"Why'd you come?" I ask, as she opens the container and makes an appreciative sound.

She takes out the disposable silverware I brought back and starts taking little bites of each thing, making a soft moan at the taste. It's like she's deliberately trying to drive me crazy.

"Mostly for selfish reasons," she says, glancing up at me and then letting her eyes drop back down to her food. "I'd always wanted to go on a cruise, and I didn't think I'd ever have another chance."

"Why not?" I ask, pulling a chair over and sitting down across from her, perfectly happy with watching her soothe her aching belly with food I'd brought her.

She gives me an incredulous look. "Not all of us can afford to go on vacations like this."

"Are you struggling for money?" I ask, surprised I hadn't heard about this since Chad isn't exactly great about knowing what to keep to himself.

She shakes her head. "Not struggling, but everything extra that I have goes into saving up for a house."

I nod and wonder if she would like mine. It's on the edge of town, back in Stonewood Ridge, on a few acres of land. I'd bought it years ago because I'd loved the location and had updated anything I didn't like about the house or property.

Money isn't something I've had to worry about for a long time, but it does concern me that she does.

"Was dinner awful?" she asks, distracting me from my thoughts about what she would want to redo in my house.

"In what way?" I ask, not quite sure what she means.

She sort of shrugs with her whole body, and I smile at the absurd cuteness of it. "You know, when your parents found out that Chad and I couldn't even make it through two days on a cruise ship together."

"Oh, that," I say, leaning back in my chair and propping one ankle up onto the opposite knee. "Yeah, he didn't tell them."

She stops eating, eyes darting up. "What do you mean he didn't tell them? I think they're going to notice we're not together anymore at some point."

I shrug. "He told them you had a migraine and that that's why you weren't at dinner, but that you should be better tomorrow." I cock my head, studying her. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me to correct him or not, so I didn't say anything."

Virginia lowers her plastic utensils and raises her chin, a flush of color appearing in her cheeks. "Do you think he honestly believes I'll just get over him sleeping with another woman by tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," I say honestly. "We aren't exactly close. But based on his attitude and what he said at dinner, I'd say it's very likely."

"How could he think…"

"Because in his eyes, this is his world and the rest of us just get to live in it."

She shakes her head, leaning back against the couch, completely forgetting about finishing her dinner. "How could anyone be so oblivious or delusional?"

"I'm no psychologist, but I would blame my parents." I lean closer so I can see inside the to-go box. She's eaten most of it, but I gesture at what remains. "You should finish this."

She makes a face but does as I say, heating the blood in my veins.

We don't really talk much more as she finishes eating, but she doesn't seem uncomfortable with my presence or the fact that I'm blatantly watching her. Maybe she doesn't notice. She seems lost in thought, probably wondering how she'd ended up in her current situation.

As much as I hate that Chad hurt her, I can't be mad at the results. I'll have five more days on this cruise to convince her that losing Chad and ending up in my suite was the best thing that ever happened to her as well.

Once she finishes eating, I collect the garbage and throw it away, tidying up the small kitchenette area as I do.

"Are you still tired?" I ask softly, coming back into the small living room.

She's sitting where I left, her gaze unfocused until I speak. Tipping her head back, she meets my eyes. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Do you want to go to bed? Are you still tired?" It's not even quite nine o'clock, but I know it's been an emotionally wrought day for her, so I don't mind if we head to bed early.

She nods slowly. "I am tired. Thank you again for letting me stay with you."

When she starts to lay back down, I grab her hand. "No, not out here. That couch is horrible. There's no way you can survive sleeping on it the rest of the trip."

Her brows wrinkle. "But there's only one bedroom."

"I know," I say with what I hope comes off as a reassuring smile, "but the bed in there is huge, so I think the two of us can share it without any mishaps."

She stares at me for a long time, but I just wait her out. Just as I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I somehow broke her brain, she starts to shake her head slowly.

"You don't have to do that. I'm perfectly fine on the couch."

Scoffing, I give her hand a tug until she's standing right in front of me, her curvy frame coming up just beneath my chin. "You'll end up with a back that hates you by morning. Now, enough arguing."

I watch her throat bob, and then her pink tongue darts out as she wets her lips, and I have to bite back a groan. There's no way she doesn't know what she's doing to me, is there?

"Okay," she finally says, voice barely more than a whisper.

I nod and gesture toward the door that leads to the bedroom. "Go ahead and head in and get comfortable. I'm going to get cleaned up. You can sleep on the side farthest from the door."

She just nods, not questioning my request, and heads into the bedroom. I go in and take a quick shower, giving myself a perfunctory orgasm in the hopes I won't end up poking at her come morning.

I turn off the lights in the rest of the suite and then step into the bedroom. She's left the lamp on my side of the bed on, curled on her side facing the other direction.

I turn it off and slip underneath the covers, letting out a quiet breath as my body settles on the mattress. Yesterday, I'd hated the idea of being stuck on this boat with so many strangers and in the room right next to my brother as he fucked the woman of my dreams, and now she's in my bed and the rest of the trip is looking a lot more interesting.

Just as I start to doze off, she turns over. I suck in a breath as she plasters her warm body against my side, snuggling in close.

Yeah, the rest of this cruise is going to be damn good.