Suzie lay on the yacht’s warm deck, trying to relax. It was a gorgeous day. With the sea lapping at the sides of the boat and the warm, gentle breeze drifting over her, she should be in heaven. Would be, if not for Nate. Just her luck to get stuck with him.

At least it wasn’t a very long trip, so it would be over soon. And in the meantime… well, she’d noticed his gaze playing hungrily over her body. Wonder how he’d enjoyed the show? She stretched as though she were half asleep, letting her bikini bottom ride up a little more.

Like the view, Nate? Feeling horny?

It served him right for destroying her dress last night.

Maybe it was time to roll over. He’d had an eyeful of her butt by now, so he might want to stare at her breasts instead. And if it got achey in his pants, he only had himself to blame. He shouldn’t have lied about her to Harrison. He shouldn’t have said he was going to spank her. And the more she’d thought about his parting comment as he left her in the trees – something about her finally getting an A – the angrier she got.

Did Nate know she’d dropped out of school? Maybe not, he’d left town by then. But he sure as hell knew that Laura had been the sister who’d won all the academic prizes.

She rolled onto her back and put one arm over her face to cover her eyes against the sun. In a couple of hours she’d be able to get off this yacht and never see Nate again. It couldn’t come soon enough.

Instead of wasting her time thinking about him, she should be building up her confidence for the wedding she was catering on Friday. Every time she thought about doing it by herself, her stomach clenched. Scary. But exciting too.

She was Marianna’s first and only employee, and she wanted to repay her friend for giving her this chance. If she did well, Marianna might even take her on full time, which meant she’d finally be earning a decent salary again.

Yeah, thinking about Friday was her priority. Not dwelling over what an arrogant ass Nate was, or worse, remembering the feel of his incredible abs under her fingers. The memory made her shiver. Despicable as he was, how could kissing him have felt so good? Her body had betrayed her. Didn’t it know how much she hated him?

Stop thinking about him.

Suzie forced her thoughts back to the wedding. Shame the dishes they offered were so boring. Mini quiches and club sandwiches. If only Suzie could drag Marianna into this century and convince her to add some better options, they’d probably get a lot more business. How hard would it be to add sushi to their menu? Or Thai fish cakes? And what about dumplings?

They didn’t need to do the same old things they always did, and Suzie had made so many damn mini quiches she had nightmares about them.

If only she could make something different and show Marianna how much better their menu would be with more variety. Did she dare? And if she did, what dishes would she make?

The sun was pleasantly warm and the boat swayed gently from side to side, the waves slapping softly against the hull. Maybe she could talk to the bride about swapping out a couple of her choices, Suzie thought sleepily. Her eyes closed as she tried to calculate the cost of the ingredients in her head. She could go to the seafood market when she got back and check the price of prawns. The bride might like some delicious Vietnamese rice paper rolls instead of those awful mini quiches.

She’d fallen into a light doze when a noise came from behind her. Suzie forced her eyes open, then turned her head to see Nate easing down beside her. He sat with his knees bent, not looking at her, but staring at the water in front of them. A tiny, tree-covered island was passing slowly by on their left.

Suzie struggled up to sitting and gave Nate her best glare. He’d taken off his shirt. Did he think she’d be attracted to his bare chest? Not a chance. Although those muscles of his were hard to look away from. His abs rippled like the surface of a lake. Holy deliciousness, did the man spend his entire life working out?

With an effort, she forced her glare back to his eyes. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “You were blocking my view.” He stared straight ahead and she followed his gaze. The water in front of them was a light, translucent blue, so it had to be shallow. And there was something huge and black rising out of it.

Suzie jumped to her feet. “There’s a rock. We’re going to hit it!”

Nate didn’t budge. What was wrong with him?

She raced to the steering wheel and tried to wrench it around, but it was hard to move, as though it was fighting her.

Finally Nate was on his feet too, rushing towards her. She’d thrown her body weight against the wheel, but it still wasn’t turning. It made a weird grinding noise.

Instead of helping, Nate grabbed her shoulder and tugged. “Suzie, let it go.”

The grinding sound got louder, but the stupid boat was going the wrong way. It was turning the opposite direction to the way she was trying to wrench the wheel.

“Suzie, stop. It’s steering itself—”

A loud bang made her jump. The engine coughed and died. Was that smoke she could smell? The engine had stopped, but they were still drifting towards the rock.

Nate grabbed the ignition key, turned it off, then on again. Nothing happened. “Shit. I’ll drop the anchor.” He ran to the front of the boat and Suzie followed. Perhaps she could help.

Nate did something to a winch, then pushed the anchor off its holder into the water. The chain rattled noisily as it ran out. Suzie stared at the rock. It was big, but not quite as close as she’d thought. And the tiny island was a short distance away to their side. Just a single hill covered in trees, with more rocks and a little white sand around its edge.

After lots of chain had rattled out, Nate stopped the winch. She stared at him in the sudden silence, her heart still pounding. Hopefully there wasn’t too much damage to the engine and he could get it started again. But she didn’t like his expression. It seemed almost accusing.

“At least we didn’t run into that rock.” She tilted her chin up. “No thanks to you.”

“My self-drive system was steering us around it.” He turned and went back to the cockpit.

Self-drive system? Why hadn’t he said so right away? Had he meant her to think they were going to hit it? She stormed after him. He was testing the steering wheel, turning it gently from side to side.

“I wouldn’t have noticed that rock if you hadn’t sat next to me. You wanted me to see it, didn’t you?”

His hands stilled and he turned his face to her. “I didn’t expect you’d rush for the wheel.”

She hadn’t expected a note of admiration in his voice, and it dampened her anger. “Why would you do that?”

“Why did you turn sunbathing into a spectator sport?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” But it was difficult to keep an icy tone with a guilty warmth creeping over her cheeks. “Anyway, can you get the engine started?”

“By the smell coming from the electronics, we’ve fried a circuit. I might be able to jimmy a bypass, but I won’t know until I take a closer look.”

“How long will it take?”

“Depends how bad the damage is.” He peered at the exposed electronics. He’d attached a laptop into the mess of circuits and wires. How on earth could he make sense of it?

“Let me know when you get it figured out.” She went down the steps to the saloon, then into the yacht’s biggest bedroom where she’d stashed her bag. At least the sea was dead calm so there was no chance of getting seasick. Pulling out her phone, she sat on the double bed to dial her sister’s number, and looked out the small rounded window to the sparkling water as it rang.

“Hey,” she said when her sister answered. “How are you this morning? How does it feel to be married?”

“Great,” said Laura. “You should try it.”

Suzie gave a grunt, which was the only response that comment deserved. “You were asleep when I left this morning. I’m on a yacht, heading back to Port Denarau.”

“You’re what?” Laura sounded startled. “I thought you were going on the ferry?”

“So did I, until I got a knock on my door this morning. The resort manager said the ferry wasn’t running today and I had to go on the yacht instead.”

“Oh. Well, as long as you’re okay.”

Suzie bit her lip. “Guess who’s driving the boat?”

“Who?”

“Nate Mason.”

“Good. I hope you two sort things out.”

Suzie grunted. “How come he was at your wedding? You guys keep in touch?”

“He lives in New York now, but we Skype sometimes. Last year, when I was doing that research project, he helped me figure out some of the more complex calculations.”

Laura had asked for his help with numbers? She was genius-level smart, so what did that say about Nate?

“I didn’t recognize him,” she said. “He’s changed a lot since school. Must have been working out as well as tapping a keyboard?”

“I suppose so.” As smart as she was, Laura wasn’t getting that Suzie was fishing for more information. She sounded distracted, like she was about to say goodbye.

“How come Nate and Harrison moved away before my last year of school?” asked Suzie quickly.

“Their mother died, so they went to live with their father in Florida.”

“Oh.” Suzie was silent a moment. She remembered Nate’s mother, a slight woman who used to work hard in her store. “That’s sad.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Remember how I used to call him Milhouse?”

Laura clicked her tongue. “He didn’t like it very much.”

“It still seems to annoy him,” admitted Suzie. “But he’s not a scrawny kid with thick glasses anymore, so I don’t get why he’s still bothered.”

“Go easy on him, Sue.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just… be nice.”

“I’m pretty sure he can handle himself,” Suzie said, a little taken aback. She was the victim here, not Nate. “Anyway, I doubt he cares what I call him.”

“Nate would be a big step up from the men you usually date. No prison record, for a start.”

Great. As much as she loved Laura, her sister had a knack for making her feel an inch tall. “I’m not interested in him. Didn’t you hear me last night?”

“He’s the smartest man I know.” Laura went on as though she hadn’t objected. “Apart from Luke, of course. Has Nate told you about his new project?”

“Sorry, sis, but we don’t exactly get on. In fact, I’ve never met a more arrogant pain in the ass.” Besides, Suzie didn’t need a second genius in her life to compare herself against. Her self-esteem couldn’t take it.

“What about if you pretend he’s one of those bad boys you like so much?”

Suzie had a sudden memory of Nate ripping her dress and shoving her bra aside to fondle her breasts. A thrill like an electric charge ran over her skin and she swallowed hard. “No chance of that,” she lied. “Anyway I’ve got to go. My phone’s running low. I just called to say goodbye and tell you again how happy I am for you guys.”

“Have a safe trip home,” said Laura. “Call me when you get there.”

After hanging up, Suzie went into the master bedroom’s tiny ensuite bathroom to collect herself. Thinking about last night had made her nipples hard, and in her bikini that was something she couldn’t hide. There wasn’t much else to do but go back on deck to sunbathe while she waited for Nate to fix the engine, but if he saw her like this, he might get the wrong idea. And then he’d probably open his big mouth.

At least if he came out with one of his asshole comments, her nipple erection problem would be solved.