tighter, hoping it would act as a shield against Sebastian’s knowing eyes.
“I’d say if your party had a schedule then it was already ruined.” Sebastian shook his head. “Good thing you guys came to us or this bachelorette party would be DOA.”
“Excuse me?” Anger pulsed in her veins. Was he implying she couldn’t throw a party? That she wasn’t any fun? “We were having plenty of fun without you.”
“Not as much fun as you’d have with us. Anyway, we’re staying as long as the bride and groom want us to stay. It’s their weekend, right?” Sebastian flicked a look toward the groom, who had his arm draped around Lola’s shoulders. The two looked blissfully happy, and that was what this weekend was all about.
Suddenly the lights in the bar went dark and Gabriela heard a loud shriek from Felicia. What was happening? The bartender turned up a thumping bass and, before Gabriela could blink, two men and a woman suddenly appeared: all wearing hardly any clothes. Each of them jumped on top of a separate table and began dancing.
What on earth? Who organized this? Then, in a split second, as Gabriela glanced at Sebastian with a big grin on his face, she immediately knew. This was his doing.
WELL, THIS IS A SURPRISE, Sebastian thought as he watched the two men and one woman dance together on top of three conjoined tables. Granted, he could do without the oiled-up men, but, hey, this technically wasn’t his party. He glanced over and saw the other men from the bachelor party looking stunned. He doubted Bill had ever been to a party like this in his life. Or, hell, even a strip club. He didn’t seem the adventurous type.
“That’s it, put on a show!” cried Felicia as one of the men unbuttoned his shirt. In that moment he knew she’d done this. It had Felicia written all over it: from the excessive spray tans to the sparkling Speedos the men wore. Sebastian threw back his head and laughed as Felicia jumped up on the table next to the tall, blond stripper and began dancing right next to him. He’d considered bringing in strippers, but the cruise line had balked, and he hadn’t wanted to cause trouble for Marco. Felicia, however, seemed to have somehow gotten around the rules—per usual.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Gabriela demanded at his shoulder. “Get rid of these people right now before we get in trouble—”
“Me? Why do you think I hired them?” Sebastian studied her. He still absolutely could not get over how gorgeous she’d become. How on earth had he missed this beauty in high school? She had the most adorable heart-shaped face and warm brown eyes. Had she always had such amazing skin? he wondered. Like toasted caramel. He had the sudden urge to run his fingers down the nape of her exposed neck. Find out if it was as soft as it looked.
“Of course you brought them here. I want you to get rid of them.”
“Look, if I had hired them, they wouldn’t be keeping their swimsuits on,” he said, nodding at the dancers. “And there’d be more women up there. Not that I have an issue with men—everyone has their thing—but my thing is not men. Also, I’m not the one groping them right now.”
He flicked a finger toward the dancers and Gabriela’s eyes widened in new understanding as she saw Felicia shimmying next to one of the shirtless men.
Gabriela let out an exhausting sounding sigh. “Felicia.”
“Exactly.” Sebastian glanced at Gabriela’s nearly empty glass. “Want another?”
“I want these strippers out of here. The cruise ship has rules.” Gabriela gripped her clipboard tighter. She was clearly still a person who hated rule breakers.
He still couldn’t believe this was Gabriela Cruz. She’d been the one at parties who was always telling them to stop drinking so much, to keep the music down. She’d been an awkward braces-wearing girl from what he remembered. Smart, too, but not on his radar in terms of a girl he wanted to date. Did that make him a bad person? No, he decided. Just shortsighted. Goodness but she had an amazing ass. When had that appeared? Had it been there all along? He barely remembered Gabriela Cruz, but if she’d looked like this in high school, he would’ve made it his business to remember.
Of course, he’d just gone and insulted her clipboard. He’d have to work doubly hard now.
But if he thought about it, Gabriela was exactly the kind of woman he’d want to settle down with: whip-smart, opinionated and not afraid to speak her mind. Not that he’d really pursue anything this trip. He did bet Marco he’d be celibate.
He glanced at Gabriela.
“I don’t think the bartender cares about the rules,” Sebastian said, nodding toward the man behind the bar who was clapping and enjoying himself. Sebastian noticed, too, that the busboys had closed the bar doors and had most likely placed a private party sign outside. Felicia had paid them all off, clearly.
“I care about the rules.”
“I seem to remember that,” Sebastian said.
“Really?” Gabriela’s dark eyes flashed with doubt. God, the flush of those perfect cheeks. He almost wanted to keep pushing her buttons.
“How could I forget you yelling at me to put pants on when we were skinny dipping in Felicia’s pool?”
“That wasn’t Felicia’s pool. That was her neighbor’s pool, and I was trying to make sure nobody got arrested.” Gabriela lifted her chin in defiance.
“We weren’t arrested.”
“Because I got us out of there before the neighbors got home!” Gabriela glared at him. Felicia was now grinding against the blond dancer on top of the table. Gabriela glanced over and groaned. “I’ve got to stop this before somebody gets hurt.”
“Felicia has a pretty solid hold on the dancer, so it might be too late.” Sebastian sipped his drink and watched as Gabriela ignored him and marched up to the dancers balancing precariously on the tops of the tables.
“Felicia!” she called, clapping her hands like a middle school gym teacher. “Come on. Get down.”
Felicia ignored her, putting her hands on the man’s now-bare shoulders. He grabbed her lower back and the two of them put the dirty in dirty dancing. Sebastian had to bark a laugh. Felicia might not be the kindest woman but the girl knew how to party.
“Seriously, guys! Come on. We’re going to get kicked out.”
“Of the cruise ship?” Liv said doubtfully. “Come on. Let them dance.”
The other male dancer and the female dancer then jumped down off the table and moved over to the bride and groom. Lola’s eyes grew wide as the male dancer, whose ample chest muscles shone with a thick layer of oil, took her hand and led her around in a little waltz. The female dancer, tall and thin with strawberry-blond hair, grabbed Marco’s hand and all four of them danced together in a little circle.
Gabriela noticed the couple seemed to be having a good time, but soon enough, as the music switched to a new song, one with a slower beat, the groom and bride disengaged from the dancers and found each other once more.
That was true love, Sebastian thought. Everyone in the room could tell the couple only had eyes for one another. That’s what I want. The desire rose up in him, surprisingly strong. That’s exactly what’s missing from my life. A partner I can truly share it with. Or, hell, a woman who’d hold more than a five-minute conversation with me.
He glanced at Gabriela, who was still trying in vain to get Felicia off that table. Hell, that was not happening now that Felicia had found her spotlight. If it was one thing she hated, it was sharing attention.
Gabriela had abandoned her vodka soda on