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  However irrational it was, somewhere in her mind she blamed him for starting this vacation off so terribly. And then she remembered how kind he was after they landed, and she felt like a jerk for thinking so ill of him.

  He seemed to notice the moment she figured out who he was. He waved to her and stood up, carrying his drink over toward her part of the bar.

  What was the appropriate thing to do in this situation? Should she offer to buy him a drink make up for the vomit in the plane, or would that imply that she wanted to sleep with him? Maybe she should buy him dinner or was that worse? After all, it wasn’t just the vomit in the plane, she also had a complete meltdown on him after they landed. For what seemed the 50th time in the last 24 hours, Judy sighed to herself and told herself to just push through what is sure to be an insanely awkward conversation and get it over with. At least he had nice shoulders.

  “Hi, Judy,” he smiled.

  He had a nice smile. It was the kind of smile that probably gave him a girl in every port. It was genuine and his eyes sparkled with it. She was again reminded of how kind he was after the plane landed; more kind and attentive than her husband was.

  “Did you run on the beach today? I thought about another morning run but ended up having to work. Seemed like another perfect morning for it, though.”

  “Hi, Jason,” she said, a bit too cheerily. “Yes, I did run this morning. It was nice.” She tried not to think about the too long run she took because, well, her husband had left her. “I'm sorry you had to work, it was a good morning for a run.” Why did she feel so awkward?

  “Mind if I sit?” He touched her shoulder and gestured toward the empty stool beside her.

  At his touch, she suddenly remembered that she felt like something had passed between them after they landed and he had tried to comfort her. And oh, those eyes. She gazed up into them and with the boldness of two Mai-Tais supporting her, she took in the full effect of Jason the Pilot. His eyes were so bright blue they radiated his smile. His blond hair was tousled by the breeze and looked a little long, like he'd forgotten to get a haircut. It was the color of honey, probably more light brown in the winter and then blond in the summer. It set off those baby blues perfectly. He looked to have a couple days’ worth of beard growth also. Not enough to be a lumberjack, but enough to look disheveled in a sexy way.

  “Oh. Yeah, sure,” she gestured. Judy was impressed with how calm she was on the outside. Internally, for reasons she could not explain, her stomach flipped.

  “I flew your husband to LAX yesterday,” he said evenly, sitting down next to her. “I hope everything is okay – usually people don’t leave a place like this unless something bad happened.”

  Right, Greg. She’d forgotten about him for minute or two.

  “Well, yeah, you could say that,” she said. “But it will be okay. And it wasn’t bad enough that I had to go back with him,” she said, trying to explain without really saying anything.

  He looked confused but let it go.

  “He must have been disappointed, the weather is perfect now. That's nice that he was okay with you staying.”

  Ha. Greg was more than okay with Judy staying on Catalina while he went back to Seattle to move in with his girlfriend. And her kid.

  He looked out to the ocean and she followed his gaze. The sun had set but the sky still kept the remnants of a rosy glow. It was truly beautiful. He turned to look at her and it was his turn to take her in, all in, with a long, lingering look. He looked at her a little like a hungry predator, but also with careful kindness. He then looked at her left hand and Judy knew he noticed the lack of wedding ring on it.

  She was conflicted. She was instantly attracted to this man. She noticed his shoulders filling out that wrinkled blue button-down. She also noticed how the top two buttons were unbuttoned and a small patch of light hair was peeking out from under the top of his shirt. He had the sleeves rolled up and she fought the urge to reach out and touch his arm. His skin had a slight bronze to it, like he’d seen the sun a little more than the rest of us. And his legs. His legs filled out the old, comfortable jeans he wore. His jeans clung to his thighs and the rest of his masculine shape, and she suddenly wondered how they looked from the back. She took a big sip from her Mai-Tai.

  On the other hand, she was only beginning to get her head around the idea that her marriage was over. An attractive stranger could not offer her anything but confusion and complications at this moment in her life.

  It was okay to enjoy the view, though.

  The combination of the Mai-Tais and this lovely place worked on her. For a few moments, all she could think about was this ruggedly handsome pilot sitting next to her.

  “Hey, can I buy you a drink? Just a small gesture to make up for throwing up all over your plane?”

  She heard the words come out of her mouth, wondering where they came from. She must have been distracted by those faded jeans that hugged his body in the more provocative places. He looked like he'd be very solid underneath those clothes. She was stunned by a bolt of desire that traveled to all parts of her body.

  What was wrong with this picture? Judy chastised herself, reminding herself that she’s still married, and more importantly, she came here to fix her marriage because she still loved her husband. Right? What was she doing buying another man a drink and noticing the way his jeans fit (and being enormously pleased by it)? It must be the booze. It had to be. Well, one drink couldn't hurt anything. She would finish her drink and he would finish his and they would go their separate ways. Or maybe he would decline the offer because he had a date waiting for him.

  The thought of him having a date brought her instant disappointment. Wow. That was not a good sign.

  Jason smiled. “I would like that, thanks Judy.”

  He sat down next to her and she immediately got a whiff of something musky and overwhelmingly masculine. His knee brushed against her bare thigh and a jolt of electricity coursed through her body. It was a mistake to buy him a drink. No woman’s virtue was safe with this man. He could have had Mother Teresa out of her habit in seconds.

  It’s time to man up, Judy thought. Just make polite conversation and then make a graceful exit. That’s all she needed to do.

  She had her Mai-Tai and Jason had his bourbon, and they began some easy small-talk.

  “So what brings you to Catalina Island,” she asked. “Is this a normal thing, shuttling tourists from LA over here?”

  “No, this is not a normal route for me,” Jason answered. “I am helping a friend who is short-handed. I don’t mind, though. I don’t get down here enough, and it’s really nice, especially this time of year. Sun, sand, surf, amazing food and beverages, and no shortage of beautiful women to talk to.” He grinned at Judy.

  He was flirting. Dammit. She’d been right - no woman’s virtue was safe around Jason.

  “So how about you? Just here on vacation that was supposed to be a nice, romantic getaway?” He asked, somewhat provocatively.

  “Yes, something like that. But as you can see, it’s just me now,” she tried to sound casual. “This is a welcome change from the gloomy Seattle winter. It’s springtime in Seattle, but really, that just means more rain. We are still a few months off from any serious sun. Anyway, I’m glad I decided to stay.”

  She talked too fast and she was rambling. He made her nervous, and she talked too fast and too much when she was nervous. Of course, she wasn’t telling him the real reason she stayed. She hadn’t felt she had much of a choice in staying.

  Thankfully, Jason did not appear nervous and carried their conversation valiantly. He had a way of disarming her, and she found herself relaxing around him. They talked easily about meaningless topics and she was pleasantly surprised when she realized what a nice diversion it was from her current situation. They talked about music (he liked classic rock and classical music, she shared her love for all things indie), books (he read westerns and sci-fi; she read everything else), and favorite places they had been. They e
ach ordered another drink.

  “I love the Baja Peninsula. It’s tropical, but there is such a wildness to it once you get a little outside of Cabo. I love seeing it from the plane, too. It’s like the beach meets wilderness. I go every chance I get. What about you?” Jason asked, leaning toward her and nudging her wrist a little in a gesture to respond.

  Jason seemed like he would be at home anywhere. But his eyes sparkled when he talked about the Baja Peninsula. Interesting. He was so rugged looking, and his hands were calloused. He had done some manual labor in his life. She would have expected him to say Yellowstone or the Alaskan wilderness was his favorite, not something tropical.

  “Chicago. Especially in the winter. Definitely.” A wave of homesickness traveled through her.

  “What?? That’s crazy! Isn’t it 30 below zero?” He laughed in surprise. She liked his laugh. It was genuine and contagious. She smiled in return.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said. “The snow covers up all the city dirt, at least for a little while. And yes, it’s painfully cold and windy. It feels dangerous. Lake Michigan is wild, terrible and so gorgeous in the winter. I don’t even like winter, but if you are going to do winter, do it right. Chicago does winter right.”

  It was the one thing Judy missed living in Seattle - the true winter of the Midwest: biting cold, wind-burned cheeks, heavy parkas and warm, toasty fireplaces.

  “I guess I can understand that. So, you like a little danger, huh?” He said, and he gave her a long, considering look.

  His face was unreadable, but his stare made her feel a bit lightheaded and warm inside. And then a different but also familiar feeling began to surface. Not a good feeling. Judy began to groan.

  The next thing she knew, Jason was saying her name, only it sounded like he was very far way.

  “Judy, hey, Judy, are you alright? Uh oh, I don't think you are all right. Maybe let’s get you back to your room. Come on sweetheart.”

  He looped an arm around her waist and she thought he might be mostly carrying her to the elevator. Her legs didn’t seem to want to work properly.

  She had no idea what happened. One minute they were talking and maybe having a decent time, and the next minute the room tilted sideways. Jason walked/carried her to her room and helped her inside.

  “Bathroom,” she mumbled in a voice that must have been nearly unintelligible.

  “I know, Judy, bathroom it is.”

  Her last conscious thought was of Jason holding her hair back as she threw up.

  Chapter Nine

  WELL, THIS WAS AN interesting twist. Jason had wanted to get closer to Judy and he’d gotten his wish: he was holding her hair back while she threw up. You don’t get much closer than that. At least fully-clothed.

  This girl clearly had issues. She was beautiful, but he’d known her for just a few days and she’d thrown up on two of those days. Maybe it was him, he thought sardonically. Well, if you had to hold a girl’s hair back while she threw up, at least it was hair like Judy’s, all soft waves and curls. He wondered what it was like to have his hands in her long locks while she straddled him.

  He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her when he saw her at the patio bar earlier. He caught a glimpse of her bare legs before she sat down and his reaction had been physical. He immediately wanted to join her because he knew this time, her husband would not be there.

  But something had stopped him. Something about the look in her eyes had made him cautious. So, he’d waited and watched.

  He watched her order dinner and then mostly push it around on her plate. He also watched her drain a Mai-Tai, and he had toyed with the idea of sending her another one, but she ordered it before he could make up his mind. Most of all, he had noticed that she was alone.

  Eventually, she’d caught him staring at her, but she hadn’t recognized him. That stung a little. Obviously, he hadn’t had the same effect on her that she had on him. Jason gave himself a mental slap upside the head. Of course he didn’t affect her the same way. She was married. Christ. Why did he keep forgetting that fact? What the hell.

  When he looked up at her again and she recognized him, he was up out of his seat and walking over to her immediately. He tried not to look as eager as a 16-year-old who’d just been given the green light by the prom queen, but he’d probably failed. When he reached her, she greeted him casually, which seemed encouraging. When she asked him if she could buy him a drink, he wondered for a minute if it was the Mai-Tais talking, but he didn’t care. He was going to see where this led.

  Jason could tell right away that something had happened. She was skittish. He had thought at the time that he’d have to be careful with this one, keep things light. He’d been surprised when she offered to buy him a drink.

  When he sat down with her, he openly appraised her. He was not going to play games with her. He decided on the spot he would be open about his attraction to her. But when he took that first long look at her, he realized that she had a hollowness around her eyes. Like she hadn’t slept well, or something had upset her. His eyes had briefly traveled to her left hand and he noticed she hadn’t been wearing her wedding rings. Interesting. This had to be connected to Greg the douche leaving the island early. It had to be.

  Jason didn’t know if he was overjoyed at this opportunity or furious with Greg for leaving this woman alone. He really, really wished he had a chance with her for something, even if it was just drinks. But he also felt strangely protective of Judy. Where had that come from? Maybe it was a residual feeling because of how awful the flight over here was and he blamed himself for her discomfort. Whatever, he was seriously conflicted no matter how you looked at it.

  She seemed conflicted, too. Her expression went from engaged to wary to flirty, and then back to cautious and closed off, repeatedly while they talked and drank.

  But the truth of it was, every time his knee brushed hers, he could practically feel her skin through his jeans, lighting him on fire from within.

  And then, just like that, she fell apart at the seams. She was on what Jason thought had been her third or fourth drink and it must have hit her like a ton of bricks. She had been about to fall off that bar stool when he caught her. He nodded at the bartender to close them out and hustled her to the elevator. He tried not to relish too much in the feel of her against him. Even with her about to toss her cookies all over him and the elevator, he’d loved the feel of her body pressed up against his, completely yielding.

  “Judy, room key. Where is it?” He asked outside her room, hoping she wasn’t too far gone to answer him.

  “Ugh. Mmmm. Back pocket,” she mumbled into his chest.

  He put his hand down the back pocket of her shorts and God help him, yes, he copped a feel. Her ass was fantastic. He found the key, slid it in the door, and pulled them both inside. Just seconds after getting her into the bathroom, she found the toilet bowl and started heaving.

  He almost felt sorry for her. She was going to be seriously embarrassed and hungover when she sobered up.

  After a while, her heaves stopped and she sat back from the toilet on the floor of the bathroom. He sat down next to her, holding a cold compress to her forehead.

  “Hey, you feeling better?” he asked softly, pushing the strands of hair away from her face and trying his best to comfort her.

  She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on her arms. She turned her face slightly to look at him, “I feel better.”

  “Good girl,” he said, rubbing her back. “Mai-Tais can be the work of the devil if you aren’t careful.”

  “Now you tell me,” she sighed.

  He pulled her closer to him, cradling her in his arms as they sat on the cool bathroom floor. He felt her body shaking against his, and he realized that she was crying. Greg’s words from that first day floated back to him, “She always cries when she throws up.” He tightened his arms around her and let her have her moment.

  After a few minutes, Jason realized that Judy was mumbling into h
is chest. He pulled a little away so he could hear what she said. “What’s that, sweetheart?”

  “I can’t believe he left me,” Judy repeated, as tears slid down her cheeks. “He left me, after everything I gave to him, to our marriage. And for a dancer. Who does that?”

  She buried her face in his chest.

  Holy shit. It’s even worse than he thought. He’d thought they had a fight, but this sounded way more serious. Again, he was conflicted. He loved the idea of maybe being able to date this amazing, and possibly emotionally unstable woman. But he wanted to kill her dick husband for doing this to her.

  After a while, her breathing returned to normal. It was time to get her into bed. He stood up and realized that she’d gone limp in his arms. He reached down and cradled her, picking her up to carry her to her bed. He laid her down and thought about trying to put her in her pajamas. Looking at her sleeping form, there was no way could he remove her top without having a serious meltdown in his pants. He settled for removing her shorts and letting her sleep in her panties and shirt. As he unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her long, shapely legs, his jeans became unbearably tight. Fucking Christ. He needed to get out of there.

  He pulled a bottle of water from the room’s fridge, and located a bottle of aspirin in her bathroom. He left her a short note, and put all of it on the nightstand beside her bed. As he took one last look at her, he thought only one thing: he was going to see her again no matter what it took.

  Chapter Ten

  JUDY WOKE UP WITH an unimaginable pounding behind her eyes. She was scared to open them, certain that her head would explode. She wasn’t sure where she was, but finding out was not worth the pain of opening her eyes. After a few minutes of suffering, she opened them, and discovered she was in her hotel room, in the hotel bed, yet she had zero memory of getting there. Huh. Wait, the last thing she remembered was, oh God, was it the pilot holding her hair back as she threw up?