CRUISE TO ROMANCE Read Free Page B

share.”
    Jennifer’s mouth
dropped open at the invitation.  “If you were any kind of a gentleman,” she
sputtered, “you would leave and give me time to take my shower.”
    “Maybe I’m not a
gentleman.  Besides, it seems to me you have plenty of time, just no shower.”
    Jennifer spun around
and surveyed the room.  Oh, no.  He was right.  There was no shower—she was in
the wrong room.  A beach towel rested on the nearby massage table, one end
dangling on the edge.  One step forward and she quickly grabbed the towel. 
“Oh, no,” she moaned, “I can’t leave the room like this.”
    “My, my, but you are
shy.”  Ryan grinned and settled his hands on his hips.  “Tell you what,” Ryan walked
over to her and reached for the towel in her hand.  “I’ll be nice and show you
where the shower is.”
    Jennifer gripped the
towel and held her breath.  It was getting entirely too warm in here.  Mr.
Gorgeous was so close . . . and so handsome, smiling that heart wrenching smile
that could melt ice cubes.  What was she going to do?  “I . . . Mmm . . . ah .
. . I don’t need your help, thank you very much.”
    “You’ve got to let
go,” he chuckled, gently pulling at the towel.
    Jennifer stared at
her clenched fist holding the beach towel as if her life depended on it. 
Slowly she relaxed her fingers and watched as the towel slipped away.
    Ryan eased the towel
away from her grip, shook it open, and placed it around her shoulders.  “The
closest shower is in the massage room next door.  On your right.  Or you can go
down to the showers for the gym.  Take the third door on the left to get
there.”
    “Thanks,” she
breathed, acutely aware that he still blocked her path through the door.  She
looked up from her empty hand and met the hard wall of his powerful chest. 
Jennifer burned.  She could feel the waves of heat just flowing off of him. 
Why, oh why, wasn’t the air-conditioning working?  Her heart raced as her gaze
traveled up his tanned skin to meet his laughing eyes.
    “Have dinner with
me,” he coaxed.  “There’s a small lounge area next to the entrance to the
Venetian dining room on Deck Six.  Meet me there at seven.”
      Here was her chance
to flirt.  Did she dare?  Would he be disappointed when he finally saw the real
her instead of a mystery woman swathed in a thick shapeless beach robe and
covered in mud?  She didn’t think she could handle the embarrassment if he
rejected her.  Still, he acted interested.  If her courage would just hold up,
she might be able to best Sheila and end up with a dynamite lover.  Jennifer
angled her face toward his and smiled.  “All right,” she murmured.  “Dinner at
seven.”
    “Promise?” he teased.
    Tongue tied, she
nodded, wishing she had something clever and witty to say.
    “Well, beautiful,” he
stepped back with a grin and opened the door.  “I think you’d better go.”
    “Next door, it is,”
she added huskily as she hurried out the door, anxious to wash away the mud and
see the beginnings of her new image.

CHAPTER TWO
    Ryan Treymont loved women. 
Short, tall, skinny, or plump, plain or exotic, domestic or foreign, he loved
them all.  There was just something about a warm feminine creature that he just
couldn’t resist.  Even the short-tempered females usually melted under his
charm.  To his way of thinking, how could a man not love the rainbow of women
bringing pleasure into his life with a smile, and if he was lucky, with a
kiss.  If a woman was funny that was a plus, but if she could cook—now that was
a major bonus!  After growing up in a household of seven men and no women, he
cherished the feminine sex.  Everything they did fascinated him, from temper to
tears to giggles to laughter.
    Even the little spitfire that
he’d met earlier today in the spa was refreshing.  There was just something
about her that intrigued him.  Would she show up for dinner tonight?  Probably
not.  No way would