Pretty Packages (12 page)

“Yes, I’ll have that. The fake champagne,” Giada said decisively with relief in her eyes. She sent
Kentucky
a look of gratitude. He gave her a nod of welcome in return.

“Well, I’m still having the real thing,” Fabian said stubbornly, cutting his eyes at the man who’d gotten Giada to stand her ground. That was the closest Fabian had ever gotten to making her even take a sip of alcohol. Now his nostrils flared with ire, despite the fact that he held his peace in so public a place.

Kentucky
noticed how Fabian continued to brood silently even after their orders were taken and delivered. He barely wanted to sign autographs for the handful of female fans who had been allowed to venture over to their VIP table. Had it not been for Bartley nudging him, he might have turned all five women down.

“No more autographs,” Fabian told a sixth woman who walked up to their table a minute later. No amount of nudging was going to work this time.

“Oh, I didn’t come over here to get your autograph,” the woman in all pink clarified. “I came over here to ask
him
to dance,” she added, pointing and looking seductively at
Kentucky
.

* * * *

Giada instantly narrowed her eyes at the woman in pink. Jealousy shot through her body like it never had when women approached Fabian. She stiffened in her seat.

Though the woman before them was built like an Amazon with her height and thick curves, she was exactly the kind of woman
Kentucky
would date. This was the kind of woman that he didn’t have to wonder if she could handle him in the bedroom.

You don’t have to be big to know how to handle a big man.
Giada recalled how she had handled
Kentucky
once upon a time.

“Actually, I’m on duty tonight . . .”
Kentucky
began, about to politely turn the beautiful caramel-skinned island bird down.

“Actually, he’s not,” Fabian interrupted, giving his bodyguard a look that broached no argument.

“Or at least not as much as he thinks. Tonight we’re all mixing business with pleasure. Feel free to dance all you want,
Kentucky
. You can even ask your lady friend to join us if she wants to.”

Giada wanted to protest so badly, but she knew she couldn’t. If she did, she would give her true feelings toward
Kentucky
away.

“I would like that very much,
Kentucky
,” the woman said, giving him a lustful smile as she repeated the name she just heard Fabian say. “By the way, my name is Pinky.” She extended a manicured hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Pinky.”
Kentucky
smiled, showing off those gorgeous teeth of his as he shook her hand. “I love that outfit.”

“Nice to meet you, too. And thanks,” Pinky said, accepting his praise of her sexy pink minidress. She reluctantly released his hand.

“Do you want to dance now or sit and talk for a while?”
Kentucky
asked, moving over just in case.

“I’d like to dance first.” Pinky chuckled huskily. “You can tell a lot about a man by the way he moves on the dance floor.”

Kentucky
chuckled, too. “That goes both ways, you know.” He rose to his feet. “Page my phone if you need me for anything,” he turned to tell Fabian, proving that he hadn’t forgotten that he was still on semiduty.

Fabian nodded. “I will. Now go have some fun with your lady.” He pulled Giada closer and added, “I know I’m going to have tons of fun with mine tonight.”

Giada blushed with embarrassment. Inside she was fit to be tied.

Bartley rolled his eyes with disgust.

Kentucky
simply turned around and left with the lady in pink.

“Why did you embarrass me like that, Fabian?” Giada hissed under her breath when the other couple had gone.

Fabian looked shocked. “As much kissing and hugging as we’ve done around
Kentucky
and you chose
that
statement to be embarrassed about?”

“We haven’t done all that around
her
,” Giada retorted, sending a suspicious look Pinky’s way. “At least we
know
Kenny. We don’t know this woman from Eve.”

Fabian bristled at her almost reverential use of
Kentucky
’s nickname. He suddenly looked very irritated. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were jealous,” Fabian fired back.

Giada scoffed. “Of her? Please.” She waved a dismissive hand in the air. She turned back to face Fabian. “Besides, why would I be jealous of her? She’s not after
my
man. My man is still right here by my side.” She gave Fabian a heated look that quickly chased all of his suspicions away.

Bartley rolled his eyes again. “I think I need something stronger. Waitress?” He hailed the nearest one. “Your best vodka on the rocks, please.”

Chapter Eleven

Though Giada did her best to hide her jealousy toward Pinky, she couldn’t seem to shake it. She wanted to be the one slow dancing with
Kentucky
. She wanted his arms around her. In short, she wanted to be his.

The more the night wore on, Giada became inundated with thoughts of Pinky returning to the boat with them. Fabian had mentioned that he was okay with
Kentucky
inviting his date back to the yacht for a nightcap, especially since that was the same privilege he regularly afforded Bartley.

If she comes back to that boat, I don’t know what I’m going to do.
Giada continued to sip her non-alcoholic drink, which was starting to taste like it could be the real thing.

I don’t think I can handle Kenny sleeping with someone else right down the hall from me.
Giada overlooked the fact that she’d done that very thing over the last three weeks. Like so many others before her, she couldn’t handle the shoe being on the other foot.

She has to go,
Giada decided selfishly, looking for the first opportunity to get rid of Pinky.

That opportunity came when Pinky excused herself to the ladies’ room. Giada followed right behind her, walking a little unsteadily on her feet for some reason.

“Are you coming back to the boat with us tonight?” Giada asked Pinky as they refreshed their makeup in the large bathroom mirror.

Pinky smiled. “If
Kentucky
asks me to,” she replied, showing how conducive she was to the idea.

“Well, if you do, I hope you’re into S & M, because Kentucky likes it rough based on what the last woman told me,” Giada lied. “I thought we were going to have to call the coast guard in when I heard that girl screaming at the top of her lungs that night.” She shook her head with fake sadness.

“I called to check on her just yesterday, and the child still ain’t right yet.”

Pinky stiffened. “
Kentucky
’s into beating and bondage?” Her eyes looked fearful.

“Yes.” Giada nodded. “And so much more. I thought I would tell you so you’d know what you were in for tonight.” She shrugged. “But hey, you should be all right. Your frame is much sturdier than the last girl’s.”

On that note, Giada left the restroom so that Pinky could have some time to mull over what she would do. She knew she’d taken a chance by lying on
Kentucky
like that. But it was a chance Giada was willing to take in order to . . . in order to . . . save him for herself?

Now if I can only get rid of Fabian. Or at least get away from him for a while.
Giada needed some time alone to just think about what she really wanted in life. She needed to particularly think about
who
she really wanted in her love life.

* * * *

“Where’s Pinky?”
Kentucky
asked when Giada returned to the table alone. He exited the seat so that she could return to her place beside Fabian.

“I left her in the bathroom. She should be here in a little bit,” Giada replied innocently, settling into her former seat. She looked down at her glass and noticed that it was full again. “Who refilled my glass?”

“Fabian,”
Kentucky
replied, sending her a look that reeked of caution.

Though she didn’t fully understand that look, Giada knew not to touch that drink. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Fabian frown with irritation at the unusual connection she and
Kentucky
seemed to have with one another. It was almost as if they could read each other’s minds at times.

“Thanks for the refill,” Giada told Fabian, even though she failed to actually bring the drink to her lips again.

Just then, a waitress came up to their table with a note. “Which of you goes by the name
Kentucky
?” she asked.

“I do,”
Kentucky
replied.

“A tall lady in pink left this for you.” The waitress handed him the note and departed.

Giada held her breath as
Kentucky
unfolded the pink slip of paper and read the note. A frown creased his brow a few seconds later. Confusion shrouded his features.

“Is something wrong?” Bartley asked, looking over at him with glazed eyes. He’d had one drink too many tonight.

“No, Pinky just had to leave on an emergency,”
Kentucky
replied. “Any idea what that emergency was since you were the last one to talk to her?” He looked to Giada for the answer.

“No,” Giada lied, fidgeting in her seat. “But she did get a call on her cell phone right before I left the restroom, so maybe that was her emergency.”

“I see.”
Kentucky
nodded, giving her a look that said he didn’t believe a word she just said. “Well, no use crying over spilled milk.” He balled the note up and put it in the ashtray in the center of the table. “Especially since we leave in the morning anyway.”

“Th . . . That’s a great way to look at things,” Bartley slurred out.

Fabian laughed at his manager’s inebriated speech. “And on that note, I’d say it’s time for us to be heading back to the boat.” After signaling the waitress for the check, he turned to
Kentucky
and added, “Maybe you’ll meet a special lady at our next port. I heard that there are plenty fine women in
Trinidad
.”

Kentucky
smiled. “I’ve been there before, so I definitely know a few.”

The men laughed, as if sharing a private joke.

Giada felt her temper flare, but she swiftly quenched it and forced a smile upon her face. She thought she would make this trip tormenting for
Kentucky
. Somehow it was turning out to be torture for her instead.

* * * *

Pleading a headache tonight, which she really did have, Giada waited until Fabian passed out from having a few more drinks in their cabin before leaving the room. Keeping her dress on, she donned a pair of soft slippers and quietly made her exit.