TEAGAN SHOULDN’T HAVE been disappointed, but the minute Harper went from him to Stuart within a blink, inserting herself in what was clearly an invitation for two, was hard to ignore.
His disgust rose and he stalked away, walking to the bus alone. If Harper noticed—or cared—she certainly didn’t show it.
Ten minutes later, the rest of the group arrived at the bus and filed in. Just as before, the quarters were close and although he wasn’t excited about sitting next to Harper, there simply wasn’t enough space to be choosy.
She settled in beside him and he chose to look out the window, effectively shutting her out.
Harper broke the silence first. “So we’re going to get a drink at Senior Frog’s when we get back to town. Want to come?”
“I think one third wheel is plenty, don’t you think?” he answered coolly without breaking his gaze from the dusty window.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
“Playing dumb is beneath you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Vanessa mentioned wanting a drink and I thought it was a great idea. I don’t know if you caught this or not, but doing that zip line thing was a big deal for me. I think I’ve earned something cold and frosty.”
She was really going to play like she hadn’t purposefully inserted herself where she wasn’t invited? The balls on Harper were bigger than his. Fine. She wanted to play games? He’d play.
“Yeah? So you’re just in it for the drink? Not to wedge yourself between two people who seem to be hitting it off? Forgive me, but it seemed a little desperate to me.”
Her cheeks colored. “That’s a mean thing to say.”
“But true?” he countered, shaking his head. “When are you going to learn that screwing people over isn’t going to win you any points in the end.”
“The end of what?”
“Life, baby. Everyone has to answer to someone.”
She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re a philosopher?”
He ignored her dig and put her on the spot just to see how far she’d take it. “Okay, you say you’re in it for a celebratory drink... I’m down. Let’s leave the two people who are getting along great to themselves and we’ll find someplace else to find a cold one.”
“But shouldn’t we stay with the group?” she said, faltering. “I mean, for safety purposes?”
“This isn’t my first time in Mexico. I’ll keep you safe if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I just think we should stay together,” Harper said, obviously unable to think of a better argument, not that it would’ve mattered. Teagan knew it was all a bunch of horseshit, anyway. Harper was determined to steal Stuart away from a woman who really seemed to like him, and vice versa, because Harper needed a payday.
Goddamn. He was pissed off.
Why did he care so much what Harper did with her life?
Teagan wasn’t trying to be the knight in shining armor. They were all adults on this cruise. If Stuart allowed himself to be swayed by someone like Harper when he had a good woman on his arm already, what business was it of his to interfere?
Hell, he didn’t know, but he was having a hard time swallowing his decision to leave Harper in the dust.
Was it the sex? Pretty damn good sex. But still, he was old enough to know that centering an entire relationship on what goes on between the sheets was a recipe for disaster.
So why couldn’t he just walk?
Even mad as a wet hornet, he still wanted her.
Correction, he wanted Harper to give up this insane plan of hers and spend time with him because she wanted to, not because he had a fat bank account.
His bank account wasn’t anemic by any means but—let’s get real—he was no Stuart Buck.
“Are you going to be mad at me all night?” Harper surprised him by asking.
“And why would I be mad?” he returned quietly, afraid he might start yelling his fool head off in front of all the nice people on the bus. “I don’t care what you do with your life.”
“I just wanted a goddamn drink! Why are you being such a prick?”
That was it. Final straw. He turned and gripped her chin, drawing her close so that only she could hear his words.
“Just back off from Stuart. Find another target for your payday. He’s a good man and he doesn’t deserve to be sucked dry by someone like you. Vanessa is a better match for him and you know it.”
He released her and caught the shine of sudden tears in her eyes but he wasn’t swayed. A woman like Harper could probably produce the waterworks on command.
Okay, maybe he was a little swayed—he wasn’t a jerk—but he told himself it was likely an act. Harper had been pretty clear about what she wanted from him and what she didn’t want.
It was all about the sex.
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.
If sex was all she wanted, then Teagan would oblige her.
It wasn’t a huge tragedy to screw Harper six ways from Sunday.
Maybe he’d been overthinking things, anyway.
Sex—epic sex, at that—wasn’t meant for the long haul. Anything that burned that hot burned out quickly.
Maybe Harper was doing him a favor by keeping things superficial between them.
The last thing he needed was to get emotionally tangled up with a woman like Harper. He could only imagine how many notches she had on her bedpost from men she’d eaten alive.
Yeah, well, it was one thing to try and convince yourself of something when you’re mad, quite another when you’ve sobered from your bruised ego and realize that, crap, feelings are involved, after all.
He wanted Harper.
How was it his dumb luck that he’d have to find the one woman on the entire ship who couldn’t be more wrong for him?
The bus pulled to a stop in town where they’d boarded and everyone dispersed in different directions. It didn’t escape his notice that Vanessa and Stuart had snuck off, taking matters into their own hands without making things awkward, leaving Harper and Teagan by themselves again.
“You still want that drink?” he asked.
Harper cut him a reproachful look. “With you? Certainly not.”
“Suit yourself. You might want to head back to the ship, then. The streets aren’t safe for a single young woman.”
“I can take care of myself.”
He tipped an imaginary hat toward her and then started walking away in the direction of a bar he knew. He needed a beer and didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg for it like he would on the ship.
Suddenly, the sound of feet running after him made him smile with knowing. Little Miss I Can Take Care Of Myself wasn’t so sure about being alone.
“Change your mind?”
“Shut up and just buy me a drink,” she grumbled as they walked into the small bar.
Teagan liked the bar because it wasn’t a tourist trap, but then, it wasn’t fancy, either. It was a place the locals enjoyed, which meant the drinks were stiff and the bartender wasn’t going to rob them blind.
They grabbed a couple stools at the bar and Teagan ordered two beers.
Once two cold ones were delivered, Teagan took the time to savor that first drink, letting everything else slide away for the moment.
A good beer could save a bad moment.
At least, most times.
Teagan wasn’t sure a beer was strong enough to handle the storm building inside him for no good reason.
All he knew was that he wanted to shake some sense into Harper before she irreparably damaged something good in two people’s lives.
* * *
TEAGAN’S JUDGMENT SAT heavily on Harper’s shoulders.
Why did she care what he thought of her plan or how she lived her life?
The breadth of his broad shoulders were just the perfect size to rest her head on but he looked as cuddly as a sea urchin at the moment.
“Why are you so mad at me?” she asked, a bit defensive. “It’s not as if we’re a thing. I told you from the start—me and you—just isn’t going to work.”
“Honey, I heard you loud and clear. Not asking to marry you,” he muttered, his attention centered on enjoying his beer. After a good swallow, he added, “Look, you can do what you want, but I’m not going to sit and watch you selfishly put your interests before everyone else’s. In case you’re blind, Stuart is really into Vanessa. Hard pill to swallow, isn’t it, Hot Stuff? Must be difficult to realize that you’re not irresistible.”
Why did he have to make her feel small like that?
“Ask me why I have to do what I’m doing,” she said.
He cut her a sharp look. “I don’t care. Nothing can justify what you’re doing.”
Frustration ate at her for a couple reasons: one, for caring about his opinion and two, because he was right.
Now she wanted to cry.
It was the overall rush of adrenaline, she reasoned. Defying death and all that. Normal reaction. Drawing a deep breath, she ignored Teagan for the moment and sipped her beer to collect herself.
Mmm, it’s good, at the very least.
“How nice for you that you’ve lived a perfect life,” Harper said. “Not everyone is as lucky.”
“What makes you think I’ve lived a perfect life?” Teagan asked with a scowl. “Honey, just because I don’t make it my business to stomp on other people doesn’t mean I haven’t been given my share of screws in the life department. Think of this...maybe you didn’t corner the market on pain.”
Harper opened her mouth to defend herself but he had other plans and kept going, gaining steam as he went.
“I’ve watched fellow airmen die in the line of duty. I’ve attended funerals for soldiers who took their own life when the PTSD got to be too much to handle. I’ve chased my little brother all around the world, trying to keep his ass alive, and most recently, had my entire life blown up, including my business, when my brother got tangled up with a lunatic billionaire drug lord. I’ve slept on the ground with nothing but leaves to cover me, I’ve eaten bugs to survive, hell, I’ve even done things I can’t talk about because they’re classified but that don’t mean they don’t haunt me at night. So, yeah, baby girl, we all got pain. How you deal with it is the measure of your character.” He cast her a dismissive glance. “So far, your character sucks.”
Why didn’t she get up and leave him there? At the very least tell him to stick his judgment up his ass and spin on it?
Because she couldn’t speak.
The lump in her throat was too tight, blocking her airway and choking off her ability to speak.
No. Stop. He doesn’t have the right to shame you for your choices.
That tiny voice of defiance was the one thing keeping her from openly bawling.
Her heart rate quickened as she struggled with her need to cry, scream or flat out tell him to mind his own business.
But after a few gulped breaths, she regained her composure, finished her beer and tossed a few dollars on the bar, saying as she rose to leave, “I wouldn’t want you to think I was using you for your money.”
At that, he quirked that annoyingly handsome grin and said, “Baby, no worries there. I know you’re just using me for sex and I’m good with that.”
Her cheeks flared with heat as a few people glanced their way and she hustled from the bar, eager to escape the unwelcome feelings cramming their way down her throat.
She had to return to her room. Decompress. Get focused.
Or maybe Harper would just cry her eyes out in her own pity party for one.
No one understood the struggle.
The loneliness.
The yawning chasm of emptiness that grew with each passing year as she chased her goal.
She just wanted to be self-sufficient, never beholden to anyone.
Ever.
The only way to get there was the path laid out for her.
Damn you, Teagan Carmichael—you don’t get to judge me.
Only God can judge me and so far, He hasn’t seen fit to say a word.
So cram it, asshole.