Kitabı oku: «The Husband Fund», sayfa 3

CHAPTER THREE

THE lights went on.

“Greer?” The second her sisters saw the condition she was in, they scrambled out of their beds toward her.

“How come your dress is wet?”

“Where did you get that robe?

“Where are your shoes?”

The questions pelting her one after the other stripped her down to the bare bones. This was no laughing matter. The only reason she’d escaped at all was that he’d allowed it.

She could still see the mixture of triumph and mockery glinting from the black depths of his eyes before the door closed, keeping him momentarily at bay.

“Guys?” Never in her life had their faces been more dear to her. “I’m in big trouble. We’ve got to get out of here now! I’ll tell you about it when we’re in the taxi.” She removed the robe and wet sundress.

“They only have chauffeur driven cars here at the hotel.”

“Well we’re going to call for a taxi. Will one of you do it please?” she begged. “Tell them to be here in fifteen minutes.”

“Where are we going in such an all-fired hurry?”

“Across the border to France. We’ll drive to the nearest airport and take the first flight leaving for anywhere that puts as much distance as possible between us and hi—Italy,” she amended.

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

She shook her damp head at Olivia.

“I’ve seen that look before. She’s not kidding,” Piper whispered. They followed her to the bathroom. “Does this have something to do with what happened today when the police kept us so long?”

“No.” She removed her watch, then her necklace, her skin still seemed to burn where he’d kissed her.

“I detect the scent of a man.”

At Olivia’s adroit surmise, a distinct blush covered every particle of Greer’s skin. She was thankful for the protection of the elaborate sculptured design on the glass shower door, although it reminded her of the one on the floor of the pool.

The floor she never got to inspect at close range because she was snatched away by a force that still caused her to tremble.

“I didn’t think there was a man alive who could make you run.”

“If you must know, I tangled with a shark.”

“In the pool?” Piper blurted incredulously.

“This one had arms and legs…” And a masculine appeal that ought to be banned from existence Greer groaned inwardly as she washed the suds out of her hair.

“Did he manhandle you?”

She reached for the tap to shut off the water. “Not exactly.”

“Then he threatened you.”

Greer shivered. “Not in so many words.”

“If you expect us to check out of the hotel tonight when we’ve only had a couple of hours sleep, then you’d better tell us everything first.”

Olivia was right.

After they left the bathroom, Greer grabbed two fluffy towels. With one encircling her head, the other fastened around her body, she padded in the other room after them.

Her sisters sat on their own beds cross-legged, waiting for her. She sank down on the side of hers. “I—I have this horrible feeling I’m not only in over my head, but there could be serious consequences. It’s my own fault of course.”

She jumped to her feet, unable to relax. “In the beginning, the idea of turning the tables on an honest to goodness European playboy sounded very fun and challenging. That was until—”

“Until you met up with a real one tonight,” Piper supplied.

Greer nodded jerkily. “There was this black-haired Adonis in the pool who would put any Olympic swimmer to shame. When he got out—”

Images flashed before Greer’s eyes. She couldn’t believe such an attractive man existed.

“Since you can’t find the words, we get the picture.” Olivia steepled her fingers. “Did he throw you in the pool without your permission?”

Her face went scarlet. “No.”

Piper leaned forward. “Did you fall in by accident?”

“No! It was nothing like that,” she confessed in a quieter tone.

“Then what was it like?”

“If you must know, he took one look at the pendant and asked me to swim with him. Everything happened just as we planned it back in Kingston. There was this gorgeous playboy who knew who the Duchess of Colorno was. He came on to me because of the pendant.”

“So you just jumped in the pool with him?” By now their eyes had rounded.

“The Duchess girls don’t jump, remember?”

Olivia’s mouth broke into a grin. “Of course not. Still wearing your clothes, you executed one of your graceful dives to make certain you captured his attention.”

“I guess,” came her muffled admission.

Laughter filled the room, but Greer didn’t join in. It was something they noticed.

“So what happened next?” Piper urged her to keep talking.

Greer kneaded her hands convulsively. “That’s when everything went wrong.”

“What did he do? Come on,” Olivia prodded. “Let’s hear it all, no matter how embarrassing it might be. Otherwise we won’t know how much trouble you’re really in.”

“It’s bad,” she whispered. “Trust me.”

That wiped the smiles off their lovely faces. “He didn’t—”

“No—” Greer blurted. “But he could have done anything. My dress was floating around my waist and he was so powerful and so…so—” Heat suffused her face.

Piper slid off the bed. “And you think that if you’d been alone with him, he would have taken advantage of you whether you told him no or not?”

She drew in a sharp breath. “What I think is, that man goes where he wants, when he wants, and does whatever he wants. Period. The pendant seemed to have particular significance for him.”

In the next breath she told them about the conversation in the pool, leaving out the parts about both kisses which were too personal. They’d shaken her so badly she couldn’t discuss it, not even with her sisters.

“What’s his name?”

“I have no idea.”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “Greer—”

“I know,” she muttered in self-deprecation, rubbing her arms nervously. “It gets worse. I tried to outbluff him by pretending that I wasn’t in the most compromising position of my life. I flirted a little before telling him I wouldn’t be in Genoa after tomorrow because we were going to Vernazza.”

“You told him we were going there?”

“I’m a fool, Piper, and I know it, b-but that was before I realized how dangerous he was. And after what he said about a secret grotto and the sun and the sand and me rising au naturel from a seashell, my gut instinct says he’ll follow me there with the excuse he wanted to give me back my shoes.”

After his words to her at the door, Greer just knew he was the type of man that would turn up again.

“It sounds thrilling to me,” Piper murmured.

Olivia nodded. “Me, too.”

“Guys—” Greer cried in sheer panic, “this man invented the double-entendre. He’s…dangerous.”

“You’re saying that because you’ve never met anyone so gorgeous in your life, and you don’t know how to handle your attraction to him.”

“I’m not attracted, Piper!”

“Yes, you are,” Olivia contradicted her.

“All right. But even if I am, he’s the kind of man who’s off-limits!” her voice shook. “When we decided to spend the Husband Fund, we should have stuck to the movie version we saw in Mr. Carlson’s office and targeted sensible men. It would have been a lot safer than making ourselves the targets to wealthy playboys.”

Olivia frowned. “Our plan worked in theory. You’re just not used to Italian men. It’s perfectly natural for him to have been forward with you. It’s the way they’re made.”

“Olivia’s right,” Piper backed her sister up. “After all, you are very beautiful, Greer. Don can’t ever take his eyes off you, but he’s American, and American males aren’t as obvious. Look how long it took him to make his first move toward you.”

“Try six months,” Olivia drawled. “Greer—maybe this stranger is totally unscrupulous. Then again, maybe he isn’t. You haven’t given him enough of a chance yet to find out.”

“You had to be there, Olivia!” Greer snapped.

“Not necessarily. You said he has black hair. With you being so blond, and having the most unusual violet eyes, it’s no surprise he was drawn to you. I noticed a ton of men staring at you all day today. He couldn’t help himself any more than they could. You did say he restrained himself.”

Heat crept over Greer’s body. “Not completely,” she finally admitted. “He kissed me in the pool, a-and at the door.”

“I thought so,” Olivia murmured.

“Did you kiss him back?” Piper prodded.

“Of course not! H-he didn’t kiss my lips.”

Her sisters eyed each other before Piper said, “That explains everything.”

“What do you mean?” Greer fired back.

“You’re a take-charge kind of woman. He knew that and found his way around you. Sounds like you’ll be getting a marriage proposal out of him before long.”

“I don’t want a marriage proposal. I just want to get away from him. Maybe we should just go home.”

“We will, after our vacation is over,” Olivia placated her. “Since we’ve already paid the money for the boat and can’t get it back, I say we put the pendants away, drop the Duchess act and enjoy the rest of our trip like any normal tourists.”

“I second the motion,” Piper concurred.

“But I already told the stranger I was related to the Duchess of Colorno.”

“It’s too late to worry about the fact that we made reservations for the boat in the name of the Duchess of Kingston,” Olivia advised. “We just won’t pull it on anyone else we meet.”

“You’re overreacting. However if or when Signore Mysterioso does show up,” she mimicked Greer’s pronunciation, “and you still want protection, he’ll have to deal with all three of us.”

“That’s right,” Piper chimed in. “Should he come around, we won’t let you out of our sight for a single second. How does that sound?”

“In theory, it sounds fine.”

“Good. Now that we’ve got everything settled, let’s go to bed and sleep in until they throw us out. Okay?”

“Okay…” Greer’s voice trailed, not nearly as confident.

Within a few minutes the lights had been extinguished and everyone had crawled under their covers. Soon Greer could tell her sisters were dead to the world.

It took a lot longer for her to succumb to the fatigue draining her body. That was because neither Olivia nor Piper had ever been stalked by a shark.

She kept feeling the spots where his mouth had scorched her throat and neck, imagining he’d actually taken little bites out of her.

“Nic? It’s Max. I’ve got Luc on the line with me so we can have a three-way conference call.”

“Luc?”

“I’m here, Nic. Good to hear your voice.”

“It’s like old times.”

Max’s two cousins, Nic and Luc, the son’s of his father’s sisters, were as close to him as brothers.

One aunt had married Carlos de Pastrana from Marbella, Spain. The other was married to Jean-Louis de Falcon from Monaco. All three parents were the direct descendants of the House of Parma-Bourbon and had married royalty. Max felt as at home at their residences as they felt at the Varano villa in Colorno.

Being between the ages of thirty-three and thirty-four, the Varano cousins had spent every possible moment together growing up, be it at school or on vacation. But five months ago tragedy struck, killing Nic’s fiancée and almost causing Luc to lose his leg.

The accident had robbed both cousins of the joie de vivre Max had thought inherent in their natures. Much as he hated to admit it, he, too, had been in a state of despondency even before the ghastly accident. As far as he was concerned, if the three of them weren’t careful, depression would turn them into old men before their time.

He could use their company right now and was glad for any excuse to bring them together.

“Forgive me for calling both of you at one in the morning, but this is important.”

“What do you mean forgive?” Nic fired back. “As I recall, I kept you up half the night for weeks after the accident.”

“And you spent the other half in my hospital room,” Luc reminded him. “Hearing your voice is like a much-longed-for blast of fresh air. Especially when all I do lately is go from bed to work, to physical therapy, and then back to bed again.”

“I couldn’t agree more with Luc,” Nic assured Max. “Thank God you’ve called. Tell us what you need and you’ve got it!”

Max was going to hold Nic to that. “Do you two think you could give me about ten days of your time?”

“Starting when?” they both demanded with such telltale eagerness, Max had his answer. Gripping the phone tighter he said, “In about six hours from now. It’ll be a reunion I’ve needed.”

Hard to believe there was a time when the three of them had been young, inseparable and immortal. They hadn’t believed the problems of ordinary men would ever touch their lives.

“You want us to join you in Colorno?”

Encouraged by Nic’s question he said, “No. Vernazza, aboard the Piccione. I need you to help me crew.”

Luc made a gruntlike sound. “With this damn cane, I’m afraid cooking is the only thing I’m good for at the moment.”

“You’re reading my mind, Luc. Since you’re still out of commission, that’s the job I’m assigning you. As we’ve learned from past experience, if preparing meals was left to me or Nic, we’d all starve to death. Nic can play captain.”

“How come the Piccione?” Nic wanted to know. “You gave your boat to Fabio Moretti a couple of years ago.”

“That’s true, and it’s his by right. I received the last payment on it several months ago.”

“Good for him.” A pregnant silence ensued. “So, I used to be fairly adept at reading your mind, but this time I have to admit you’ve got me baffled. What’s going on?”

“Where are the Morettis going to be?” Luc asked.

“On an unexpected paid vacation.”

“I take it this is some kind of emergency.”

An image of the bewitching creature wearing what looked like their family’s prized pendant flashed through Max’s mind.

Her gorgeous eyes could have been spilled drops from those very amethysts. He pursed lips that could still feel and taste the flawless, perfumed skin where her life’s blood throbbed close to the surface.

“I’m not sure what it is, Luc. But I know one thing. We have to strike now.”

“Strike? That sounds cryptic.”

“We may have our first break in discovering the person, or persons, behind the theft of the family jewelry collection.”

An expletive came out of Luc. “My parents never stop talking about it.”

“Nor mine,” Nic murmured. “Just before I left Marbella for the bankers’ conference in Luxembourg, I heard Mama complaining to Papa because the head of security hasn’t come up with a single lead in the case. As far as I’m concerned it’s like we all said. Long ago the family jewels were removed from their settings and are sitting in someone’s strong box.”

Or around the delectable neck of an American vixen without scruples.

“It might interest you to know that yesterday morning Signore Galli, the head of security at Genoa airport, detained three American women on entry because they were each wearing the Duchesse pendant.”

After a collective silence, “There’s only one pendant!” Then they exploded with laughter.

That had been Max’s first reaction, too. The jewelry collection was one of Italy’s greatest treasures. Whoever stole it from the ducal palace in Colorno was the object of an intensive search.

For over a year now Italy’s top investigators in conjunction with the CIA, Scotland Yard and Interpol had been working on the case without success.

“This Signore Galli’s eyesight must be impaired.”

“I don’t know, Nic. The Duchesse pendant I saw a little while ago looked like the genuine article.”

Quiet reigned once more.

“You saw one of the pendants they were wearing?”

“I did, Luc. Up close and very personal, if you know what I mean.”

The inference that Max had been with one of the females wearing it didn’t escape his cousins who after another telling silence urged him to explain everything.

“These women, Greer, Piper and Olivia, are extremely beautiful, twenty-seven-year-old blond triplets.”

“Triplets?”

“Si. Not identical up close. Together they make an amazing sight. Their passports say their last name is Duchess. They live in Kingston, New York.

“I found out they were planning to go sailing from Vernazza later today. According to Fabio’s records, the person who chartered the Piccione called herself the Duchess of Kingston from the House of Parma-Bourbon.”

His cousins’ sounds of disbelief rattled the phone line.

“I did a little homework and discovered through an impeccable source there is no such Kingston title in existence today.”

“Which sister thought up the idea of capitalizing on such a blatant piece of fiction?” Nic demanded.

“I have no idea,” Max muttered. “Greer claimed her ancestor was the Duchess of Colorno.”

“Incroyable!” Luc bit out.

“I agree the whole situation sounds unbelievable. I wouldn’t have taken any stock in Signore Galli’s report if I hadn’t followed the three of them from the Splendido to the San Giorgio church and back. They were each wearing a matching pendant. It’s anyone’s guess why, especially in light of the theft.”

“Why would they enter the scene of the crime wearing copies of the genuine article unless they wanted to be caught for some reason?”

“I don’t know, Nic. Perhaps it’s an elaborate joke perpetrated by the thieves to rub it in the family’s face that we’ll never find out who was responsible.”

“Or, it’s possible one of the pendants they’re wearing is the genuine article and they’re bargaining for bigger stakes,” Luc muttered.

“My sentiments exactly. To make this even more interesting Greer claimed they were in Italy visiting their…relatives.”

“Relatives—” Nic blurted. “We’re the relatives.”

“Exactly. Under the circumstances I thought you and Luc would like to help me facilitate a meeting between long lost cousins.”

“Go on,” Nic urged. At this point Max had garnered his cousins’ undivided attention.

“We need to find out who they really are, why they’re here. Are they acting alone? If not, who sent them? What is their agenda? The only way to get that kind of information is to use the old-fashioned method of extracting information, if you know what I mean,” he drawled. “I trust you two haven’t lost your touch.”

“I like the idea of six ‘kissing cousins’ very much,” Luc said, easily reading Max’s mind. “There’s no place cozier than the Piccione for what you’re suggesting.”

“Agreed. While we’re crewing, we’ll do everything we can to get their undivided attention. Here’s my plan. Nic? When Fabio first brings them aboard, I want you to keep them entertained while I go through their luggage and steal the pendants.

“We’ll sail for Lerici. After dinner I’ll take them on a tour of the castle. That will give you and Luc time to fly to Parma by helicopter, show the pendants to Signore Rossi for examination, and be back on board the Piccione before my return with our guests.

“Depending on what we learn about the pendants, we’ll know if we need more time to get information out of these women, or call in the police immediately and have them arrested.”

Low laughter rumbled out of Nic. It was the first genuine emotion Max had heard from his cousin since the funeral, a sure indication he wasn’t completely dead of feeling after all.

For that matter, Luc actually sounded excited about something which was a huge change from his brooding apathy of late. Both cousins’ reactions constituted a plus Max hadn’t counted on.

“I’ll be honest and admit I’m looking forward to spending quality time getting as close as possible to Greer Duchess.” In fact Max was living in anticipation. After tasting the satiny skin of her neck and throat, not once but twice, he’d developed an instantaneous addiction for her he needed to satisfy before the day was out.

“I’ll meet you at the boat at seven,” Luc declared.

“What about you, Nic?” After losing his fiancée, Nic hadn’t looked at another woman.

“I’ll be there.”

Good. Better than good. Nic had been in hibernation long enough. “I’ve a feeling this is going to be like old times. Ciao.”

The brochure described Vernazza as a jewel. But the picture of it hadn’t in any way prepared Greer to appreciate its spectacular beauty. The only natural port village of five towns making up Cinque Terre had a cut and polish like no stone she’d ever seen.

As she took in the brilliant facets of tower-shape houses clustered in different levels against the steep cliffs, the stark blue clarity of sea and sky made her eyes water.

She gasped at the range of color pitting forest and emerald-green mountains against the yellow, pink and rose of the more elaborate palaces and castles decorated by portals and porticos.

The delighted sighs coming from her sisters bespoke their mutual entrancement of this Mediterranean masterpiece the Genoese had protected against barbarians and Saracens centuries earlier.

Greer longed to hike the narrow paths climbing dizzily from the small square up the rocky face. But she would have to explore the town and hidden Vernazzola stream at the end of their trip because they were already late to board the sailboat.

Due to the thousands of tourists flocking to the Riviera for the Grand Prix, there was a lineup at the train station for tickets. As a result, Greer and her sisters didn’t reach the stone jetty of Vernazza’s small harbor until three in the afternoon, three hours past the appointed time.

A dozen or more boats in various colors were moored on the sheltered side of the dancing blue water. But there was only one catamaran. It stood out from the others like white chalk on a new blackboard.

She couldn’t wait until they were at sea.

Though the haunting stranger from last night hadn’t been waiting outside her hotel room door this morning with her shoes, or accosted her in the lobby when they’d checked out of the Splendido, or shown up at the dock, she still didn’t feel safe.

Something about him had threatened her peace of mind in more ways than she could explain, even to her sisters. Given the slightest opportunity, she feared he might just devour her whole. Mind, body, soul, psyche—all of her…gone.

It was an absurd notion of course. He couldn’t really do that, yet until the boat left the harbor, she wouldn’t be able to breathe normally.

“Buon giorno, signorine,” a male voice sounded behind them. Greer jumped in reaction, fearing the worst. “I’m Fabio Moretti, the owner of the Piccione. Welcome to Vernazza.”

She heard her sisters introduce themselves. Piper gave her a nudge. With her breath still trapped in her lungs, Greer turned around.

Relief swamped her to discover a smiling, dark blond Italian of medium height wearing blue trousers and a darker blue sport shirt. His hazel eyes gave them an admiring glance before he shook hands with them.

“Which one of you is the Duchess of Kingston?”

“We all are,” Olivia declared. Greer moaned inwardly.

He tugged on his earlobe. “Ah, because you are—how do you say it? Treeplets. Capisce!” His head reared back in understanding.

Piper nodded. “But as we indicated in our e-mail, we’d like that kept confidential.”

“Of course. Just so you know, I arranged for a special chef for your trip. He has cooked for several royals of the House of Parma-Bourbon. Right now he’s busy in the galley preparing dinner. You are in for a very special treat while you sail on the Piccione.”

Greer eyed her sisters in consternation before she looked back at him. “You didn’t need to go to all that trouble, signore.”

“It was my pleasure. Though the people of Vernazza are Ligurians, the Duchy of Parma holds a special place in our hearts, mine in particular. If you’ll follow me below, I’ll introduce you to the captain who’s anxious to get underway.

“Don’t worry about your bags. The first mate will bring them to your staterooms. He’ll be your steward and go through the boat safety drill with you once you’ve cast off. Shall we board?”

They stepped off the dock onto the boat and started up the side stairs after him. At this point Greer was feeling horribly guilty over the whole Duchess deception and knew her sisters were, too.

Under other circumstances she would have loved to chat with Signore Moretti, a local who might be able to shed light on the story about the Duchess and her progeny. But at this juncture Greer realized it wouldn’t be prudent for several reasons.

His boat more than lived up to her expectations, diverting her attention for the moment. Not only did it feel like an elegant luxury apartment at sea, but it came loaded with a wind glider, snorkeling gear, fishing gear, water skis, knee boards, sun mattresses… Anything and everything to ensure a dream vacation.

Then Greer caught sight of a striking, thirtyish looking male in sunglasses coming out the crew’s quarters at the head.

Because of his well-defined physique visible beneath the indigo T-shirt and white cargo pants he was wearing, he bore a superficial resemblance to the tall stranger from the Splendido.

Her heart rose in her throat. But when he joined them in the main saloon where there was more light, she realized her mistake.

This man’s hair was straighter in texture and had brown highlights among the black. His rugged features put her in mind of the group of proud, handsome Castilians who’d flirted with them on the train as it had passed through one tunnel after another.

The owner of the boat said something to him in Italian. When he removed his glasses, she found herself looking into black fringed eyes the color of rich brown loam.

“Buenas tardes, señoritas. My name is Nicolas, but please call me Nic. We are always informal on the Piccione.”

A gorgeous Spaniard who knew it, and spoke Italian and English, too. Impressive. Greer had been right about his origins.

Everyone said hello.

“It is indeed a pleasure to sail a boat with three such breathtaking sisters who look alike, yet are so different.” His gaze traveled over each of them, but seemed to rest on Piper the longest. “Forgive me for staring, señorita…?”

“Piper.”

“Piperrre…” He seemed to relish rolling her name across his tongue. “Your eyes are the same rare hue as the aquamarine waters along the Riviera di Ponente. Muy muy bella.”

Piper did have remarkable eyes. The trail of men who’d looked into them and been smitten was miles long. Obviously she didn’t have to wear the Duchesse pendant to attract this man’s attention.

Not for the first time did Greer regret last night’s reckless, impulsive, unquestionably dangerous escapade.

“Thank you.”

“We’re sorry we’re late,” Olivia inserted.

“No problem, señorita…?”

“My name’s Olivia.”

He flashed her a seductive smile. It seemed not only Italian men, but all European men in general, had a way of invading a woman’s space like nobody else, giving her no breathing room whatsoever.

To Greer’s chagrin she discovered their captain, like the dark-haired stranger from last night, had the kind of overwhelming good looks you didn’t run into every day, or every year. Or possibly never.

“As I was saying, señoritas, do not be concerned about the time. This is the busiest season of the year and delays on land are routine. That is the beauty of traveling by water. When there’s no wind to fill the sails, we have engine power to take us where we want to go. I know places where we can be virtually alone.”

Greer tensed at the unmistakable innuendo. “All we require is that you follow the itinerary we worked out with Signore Moretti.”

She felt his slight hesitation before he said, “Naturally, señorita.” The assurance rolled off his liquid tongue, almost as if he’d sensed her misgivings and could read her mind. Almost as if he was mocking her. “But we will make one slight exception.”

Greer knew it!

“Before we dock at Monterosso tonight, I thought you might enjoy a visit to the port town of Lerici. There’s a castle you should see.”

When Greer didn’t say anything, Piper filled in the uncomfortable silence. “That sounds exciting.”

Normally it would have sounded exciting to her, too, but for some reason she couldn’t shake, Greer wasn’t sure she trusted the captain completely.

“I don’t remember hearing your name, señorita.”

Really. It was on the tip of her tongue to play the same game the stranger had played with her last night and ask the captain to guess, but she restrained herself. “It’s Greer.”

She saw intelligence reflected in those dark brown eyes studying her with such unusual intensity it made her suspicious. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the captain still reminded her a little of the stranger from last night.

“Greer is an obscure yet charming diminutive of Gregorio, the first Greek pope, yet you all have the gilt-blond hair of the Saxons,” he observed. “Why were you not given commensurate names?”

Commensurate? Who was this man?

“If our mother were alive, you could ask her.” Ignoring her sisters’ frowns she said, “If you’ll excuse us, we’d like to freshen up.”

Signore Moretti who’d been oddly silent throughout their exchange said, “There are three staterooms ready for you with your own queen-size beds and private bathrooms. Before I leave you in Nic’s capable hands, allow me to show you.”

Without casting another glance at the captain, Greer took the lead behind the owner of the Piccione. Her sisters might be blinded by the captain’s charm, but Greer wasn’t!

For a seaman, he possessed an amazing grasp of etymology. Too amazing in her opinion. She felt like they’d jumped out of one proverbial frying pan into a fire where things were threatening to get a lot hotter.

As if to add to her concerns, their plan never to be separated was foiled when she realized the light, airy staterooms were located in three different corners of the catamaran.