Hot Mistake

Gabriela nodded. She needed to talk some sense into Felicia. “You can’t do this. Say you hook up with him and say he says something that upsets you. Or, ignores you for the rest of the trip.”

“He does tend to do that,” Liv said. “He is Mr. One and...Done.”

“We can’t let him and his man-drama ruin Lola’s big day.” Gabriela glanced at her friend, who stared at her drink.

“Sebastian’s not that bad,” Lola offered, ever the optimist. “He’d be nice. He’s...matured. He’s actually pretty nice now, if you spend more time with him.” Also, she was going to be Team Sebastian because he was the reason she’d met her groom, Marco. The two worked together at the same law firm, and Sebastian had introduced them at a bar on South Beach. According to Lola, it had been love at first sight.

“You’re biased, Lola,” Liv said. “Sebastian might be older, but you can’t convince me a leopard can change its spots.”

Felicia seemed to consider this. “But it’s not like I want a relationship,” she said. “I just want to hit that.”

“Yeah, but why give him the satisfaction?” Gabriela offered. “Didn’t he ghost you summer after graduation? After you and he were finally going to get together...” Felicia and Sebastian had been heavily flirting with each other through all of high school, with Felicia doing most of the pursuing, if Gabriela remembered right. Then, after a particularly wild party the summer after graduation the two were rumored to have made out. But after that, Sebastian had ignored her.

“That was ten years ago.” Felicia’s voice was flat. It was clearly a sore subject even all these years later. So why did she want to go back to drink from that same well? Seemed like it had disaster written all over it, and Gabriela’s one job was to make sure the wedding went smoothly. Lola didn’t need some brewing drama between Felicia and Sebastian to worry about, either.

“Well, it does sound like maybe Sebastian’s a bad choice,” Veronica said. “And we want things to go smoothly for Lola.” She leaned in and gave Lola a one-armed hug.

“Yeah,” Liv agreed, nodding, her blue-tipped blond hair rippling. She’d dyed it blue for something blue in the wedding party.

“I guess so.” Felicia shrugged. “And I like James anyway.” She glanced sideways at her sister, but thankfully Liv didn’t rise to the bait.

“Okay, so then we all agree?” Gabriela felt a little bit of relief. She raised her glass. “To none of us going near Swipe Left tonight.”

They all raised their glasses and clinked them together, and Gabriela breathed a little sigh of relief. The last thing anybody needed was for someone to hook up with Swipe Left and then have the whole wedding party sidetracked with drama.

Lola took a sip of her quickly vanishing margarita. “Seriously, though, Sebastian isn’t the same jerk from high school. You should actually have a conversation with him. See what I mean.”

Gabriela scoffed. No way was she talking to Sebastian Lott. She’d long since gotten over her girl crush on the guy. No need to revisit those painful days when she’d be frozen by her locker and he’d come bounding up to his, three down from hers, with a caravan of hangers-on following his every move.

“Oh, lord. Is that a cheese plate the bartender just put out? I freaking love cheese,” Veronica exclaimed, glancing at the small snack nook near the end of the bar. “Lola, come on, honey, let’s go get fortified. Come with me, I can’t be the only one pigging out. Did I mention I love cruises? Seriously. Love them!”

“You know she’s getting married in two days,” Gabriela felt the need to point out. The last thing she was probably thinking about was consuming dairy fat.

“All the more reason for her to keep up her strength.” Veronica tugged Lola off her bar stool and the two snuck over to see about the cheese bar.

“I’ll be right back,” Lola promised, leaving Gabriela with her least favorite people at the bachelorette party. Gabriela would’ve headed over, as well, but Liv grabbed her arm.

“You’re right about Swipe Left,” she said. “Thanks for reminding us.”

Felicia even reluctantly nodded.

Gabriela felt perhaps a temporary truce might have been struck.

“Okay, I get it. I get it. No Swipe Left.” Felicia shrugged, adjusting her strapless bra. The top of a tattoo at her neckline became visible for the briefest of seconds and then disappeared behind the spandex fabric. Gabriela thought she saw the head of a running stick figure. Really, Felicia? She’d just started running 5Ks a few months ago and now she suddenly got herself tattooed?

“The worst part is that I heard he’s seriously hung,” Felicia said.

Gabriela seriously did not want to know this information. She really didn’t. Why were they still talking?

Felicia, however, could not read a room. “One girl told me she didn’t even know they came that big. Like an actual eggplant,” she whispered.

“Guess that’s where the emoji came from,” Liv said and barked a laugh.

“Do I really need to know this?” Gabriela protested.

“Yes, Liv, consider poor Gobstopper. You know she hates being explicit,” Felicia teased and the two sisters burst into laughter at Gabriela’s expense.

Gabriela was half tempted to confess a few of her exploits in New York. But she wouldn’t. Not to these gossips. She mentioned word one and then the whole ship would know about her sexual exploits.

“Ugh, all this talk about cock makes me want some,” Felicia declared, slamming her margarita glass on the bar as some of it sloshed over the rim.

Classy. Gabriela sipped at her malbec, wishing this night would come to an end.

“What are we going to do about this lame-ass party?” Liv moaned. “I’m bored.”

Lame? This party was not lame, and Gabriela had a clipboard to prove it. A clipboard full of activities. Granted, they’d only gotten through the shots part so far, but they were warming up to the rest, like Friend-ivia. Trivia all about the roots of Lola’s friendship with each bridesmaid. Gabriela had read about it online.

“We could play a trivia game. I made up one just for Lola,” Gabriela began, searching for her clipboard. She had all the questions mapped out and party prizes for bridesmaids who got the right answer.

“Trivia? No way.” Felicia frowned. Then she seemed to get inspired. “I know! Why don’t we go crash the bachelor party?”

Liv squealed in delight, clapping her hands together. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Oh, no, no...no! Gabriela couldn’t think of a worse idea. For one, they were supposed to have separate parties, and she’d made sure through a detailed schedule on her clipboard that they’d all be headed to different bars at different times to avoid crossing paths. Now Felicia was going to ditch all her hard work!

“No, we can’t,” Gabriela said. “We promised we’d stay in separate bars.”

“Who promised? I didn’t promise.” Felicia smirked at Gabriela.

Gabriela thought the idea had disaster written all over it. “Seriously. What if they’ve got strippers there?”

“On a cruise ship?” Liv looked doubtful. “Besides, I bet Lola wants to go. Lola!” Liv raised her voice.

Lola turned after having a bite of cheese. Veronica was already stacking her plate high with tiny cubes.

“Do you want to go crash the boys’ party?”

Felicia skipped over and Lola’s face lit up. Pretty soon, the two were jumping up and down and squealing in delight.

“Of course she does!” Felicia called as she tucked her arm through Lola’s and led her out of the bar.

“But I don’t think...” Gabriela protested one last time.

“What the bride wants, the bride gets,” Liv said and pushed past Gabriela on her way to the cruise ship elevators.

Gabriela shook her head. She had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling.

CHAPTER TWO

UP ON DECK TEN, Sebastian was desperately trying to liven up what he could only call the world’s tamest bachelor party. They’d taken over the small whiskey bar on Deck Ten, with the ornate, old-fashioned, carved wooden wraparound bar, and had staked out the corner table surrounded by oversize leather chairs. The men sat in a semicircle: the groom, Marco; his brother, James; and Marco’s cousin Bill, who were about as lively as a stick in the eye. The only lively attendee so far was Lola’s brother, Theo, whom Sebastian had known since first grade.

So far, the men had only barely sipped at their expensive whiskeys and the most exciting conversation revolved around who took which expressway to work every morning. Boring.

Sebastian had to think of something to put this party back on track and fast. He was determined to make this bachelor party the very best party of a lifetime. If his best friend was saying goodbye to singlehood, something Sebastian himself thought was darn near close to social suicide, then he was determined to send him off with a bang. First, he needed to get these guys to drink.

Sebastian raised his glass high for a toast. “To you, Marco. Tonight is almost your last night—technically—as a single man. You crazy fool!” The others laughed a bit, but he continued. “I know that Lola is going to make you a very happy man. And no one deserves it more than you.”

Sebastian meant every word. He’d known Marco since law school, where the two happened to sit next to each other in Constitutional Law. But their friendship had deepened when Marco had helped him bury his mother after she lost her battle with liver cancer. That was a sorrowful memory, but Sebastian would always be grateful to Marco for being there.

“Hear, hear,” James echoed.

“Let’s get this party started,” cried Theo.

They all clinked glasses and took a swig. “By the way, when is it going to be your turn, Sebastian? Isn’t this the fifth wedding this year you’ve gone to?” Marco asked.

“The answer is never,” Theo interrupted. “This guy? He’s not the settling-down type.”

“That’s not true,” scoffed Sebastian. And lately he’d been thinking more and more about settling down. Sure, marriage sounded like pure insanity to him: one woman for the rest of his life? What was he, dead inside? Or he would be if he ever put on a ring. But, lately, he was thinking more about a woman who might be able to keep his interest for more than a week or month at a time. Lately, his parade of partners on the dating hookup app Spark was all about the quick physical connection. He couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d had a decent conversation with one of them. Then again, that’s not why they came over to his house at midnight, either.

“You like to play the field, huh?” Bill leaned forward and grinned, his wedding band catching the meager light. “Tell me about it.”

Bill was the last person Sebastian wanted to confide in.

“He was the first guy with a dating app account in law school,” Marco agreed. “He cleaned up.”

“He’s got game.” Theo grinned and elbowed Sebastian hard. Sebastian mustered up a weak smile. Sure, he had to admit, it was fun hooking up with random women who weren’t looking for commitment, but these days, he wanted to take a girl out for once, maybe even learn a single detail about her other than what position she liked best. Maybe he was getting old, or maybe he was just tired of the revolving door of his own bedroom. He wanted something more. Marco had showed him exactly what he wanted, actually—real companionship. Someone to talk to. Someone to care for him when he was sick. Somebody who’d just care about him period after the fury of the one-night stand wore off.

“Yeah, but I’m not into that now.” Sebastian shrugged and stared at his glass of whiskey.

“You want to get married?” Theo asked, shocked.

“Hey, I don’t know. Maybe.” What was he saying? Was he really ready to shelve his riding spurs for life? Strap himself to one woman for all time? He didn’t know. All he did know was that for the very first time in his life, he’d actually consider the possibility.

“Oh, please.” Marco didn’t believe him. Of course, Sebastian didn’t blame him. Why would a player suddenly have a change of heart? Because the player was almost thirty, that’s why, and realized that he’d built a life and had no one to share it with. In fact, most of the men here were married or engaged. James and Sebastian were the only fully single partygoers. “You once dated three girls in one weekend.”

“Well, be careful,” Bill said. “You know how many STDs are out there? Some of them aren’t pretty.”

Who talked about STDs at a bachelor party? Geez.

“Sounds like you know a bit too much about that, Bill,” Sebastian joked. But when the man turned bright red, Sebastian realized that Bill might actually have had a few experiences at the local health clinic.

“You get in trouble, Bill?” Theo echoed.

“I’m married now,” Bill said, as if that answered anything. It didn’t.

The men all stared at Bill. Now they were all thinking about Bill’s issues. How had this party got so far off track? Next they’d be asking about where his rash might be.

What this party needed was a drinking game. Sebastian knew he sure needed another drink.

“How about we play a game of Never Have I Ever?” Sebastian offered.

“Yes, let’s,” Theo said, leaning forward.

“Remember first year of law school?” Marco slapped the table, causing his whiskey to slosh in his glass. Beneath their feet, the boat swayed slightly, the only indication they were out to sea. “You killed with this drinking game.”

“You binge drank in law school?” Bill shook his head in disapproval.

Sebastian glanced at the man’s pressed khakis, super-starched, pin-striped, short-sleeved, collared shirt and wingtips. Who wore wingtips on a cruise ship? Hell, who wore them to a bachelor party? Sebastian had opted for a tasteful Aloha shirt and flip-flops. They were headed to Cozumel and then to Key West. Nowhere in that itinerary did wingtips factor in.

“Hell, I binge drink now,” Sebastian joked. Or I will soon if this party doesn’t get going. “Come on, one round?”

“Let’s do it,” James said, his dark eyes lighting up a bit.

“How do we play?” Bill asked. Of course Bill wouldn’t know how. He’d probably drunk wine spritzers in college. Sebastian glanced at the wingtips again. Hell, he probably drank wine spritzers now. It would explain why he’d barely touched his whiskey on the rocks.

“Everyone takes turns declaring ‘never have I ever’ something. If it’s true for you, you drink. If not, you don’t drink. Those aren’t the regular rules, but it’s more fun this way.”

“Sounds a little silly,” said Bill.

“Let’s just try it.” Sebastian raised his glass. “I’ll go first.”

“But never is such a strong word. I mean, does this include all future acts, as well?” Bill asked, clearly overly concerned about the legalities of a drinking game. “Also, what if a participant lies? How will we know?”

Sebastian stared at the man wearing Argyle socks in the tropics. God, if there was a vampire of fun, Bill would be it. Did the guy have to be so literal? Theo frowned and shook his head, as well. At least Theo got it. The two men exchanged a what’s-with-this-dude look. He guessed it just went to prove you didn’t choose family.

“Well, nobody’s taking an oath to tell the truth, so the only way we’ll know if you’re lying is if we just call you on it,” Marco explained.

“Fine.” Bill shook his head in disgust.

“Let’s just play. Here.” Sebastian put down his drink. “Okay, never have I ever...” He tried to think of something fun. “Never have I ever run down the French Quarter naked.”

The other men laughed. Sebastian lifted his whiskey and took a deep drink. He noticed Marco and James did the same, while Bill barely sipped at his. This was going to be one hell of a looong night at this rate. Sebastian bowed his head.

“Okay, okay, I have one.” Theo raised his glass. “Never have I ever gone more than six months as an adult without sex.”

Theo tipped his glass back. James and Sebastian both drank, but Bill failed to lift his glass.

“Are you serious?” Theo glanced at Marco, surprised.

Both Marco and Bill shrugged. “Hey, anyone can have a drought,” Marco said.

“Well, I haven’t had sex with my wife since the first year I got married,” Bill admitted. Sebastian’s mouth fell open. “Just telling you, bud, things change when you get married.”

“No, they don’t.” Sebastian wanted to derail this conversation pronto. While marriage might kill a man’s sex life, the last thing he wanted was for Marco to start thinking matrimony meant never having sex again. “Lola isn’t like that. She’s mad for you. I don’t think you’ll be like...” Wingtip Bill, who seems to be walking birth control.

“Sebastian defending marriage? Never thought I’d see the day. What? You’ll be getting married next!” Theo exclaimed.

“If I find my person, you bet I will.” Sebastian was surprised by his own forcefulness. Since when was he so open to the idea of marriage? Or was he just playing the part for Marco? Keeping the man’s spirits up? Hey, I’m just walking the man to the guillotine here, trying to remind him things don’t look so bad.

“Really? And how are you going to find your person sleeping with everyone?” James asked.

Sebastian stared at his glass and frowned. “Hey, how do I know unless I try them all?” The other men at the table chuckled at the joke.

“If you’re really serious about this,” Marco said, “you’ll get serious about dating.”

Was Sebastian serious? He could be, he reasoned.

“There’s no way this conversation is even happening,” Theo said, shaking his head. “Come on, get serious. I’ve had longer relationships with yogurt in my fridge than this guy’s had his whole life.”

“Not true.” Sebastian was getting a bit defensive. “Besides, what does that have to do with finding the one?”

“You can’t find Mrs. Right if your bed is crowded with Ms. Right Nows,” Marco pointed out. “I’d been hookup free for a full month before I met Lola. It was nice not to have all that other noise when we started dating. I didn’t have to keep my phone away from her or worry about awkward run-ins with dating-app hookups.”

“You’re going to ask Sebastian to be celibate for a whole month? Not possible.” Theo shook his head so vigorously, he sloshed a little whiskey out of his glass. “Heck, even a week would be too much. Or weekend!”

“I could be celibate for a weekend,” Sebastian protested. Of course, come to think of it, he hadn’t been celibate for a whole weekend in a long, long time. But so what? He could do it anytime he wanted. All he had to do was shut off his Spark profile. “I’ll bet I can be celibate this entire cruise.”

Marco and Theo laughed. “We’re stuck on a boat, so that feels like cheating.”

“Stuck on a boat with thousands of attractive women. Uh-huh. Not exactly so easy,” Theo offered.

“Look, I’m not a sex addict,” Sebastian maintained, wondering why on earth he had to defend himself for getting some often and just the way he liked. “But what do I get if I do it? What’s the wager?”

“Bragging rights?” Marco offered.

“Why would I brag about not getting any?” Sebastian joked. Somehow he’d dropped out of this reality and into a dimension where men had seemingly lost all their hunting instincts.

“Fine, then, a nice bottle of bourbon,” Marco said.

“Hardly enough for a weekend of blue balls,” Sebastian said.

“What? You not man enough to take it?” Theo nudged Sebastian with a sharp elbow.

“Oh, I’ll show you what kind of man I am.” Sebastian flashed a wicked smile. “Give me five minutes alone.”

Theo laughed. “I don’t need my ass kicked today, thanks very much. You win.”

Marco raised his glass. “To Sebastian, and his vow of weekend celibacy.”

“We’re seriously going to toast celibacy at a bachelor party?” Theo asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Besides, he’s never going to last the weekend.”

“I could last the weekend,” Bill offered.

“Your wife isn’t even here, Bill,” James pointed out.

Sebastian cleared his throat. “Okay, you nut jobs. Here’s to celibacy.” He lifted his glass reluctantly as he glanced around the table.

“Your celibacy, not mine,” Marco joked, and the men laughed and clinked glasses.

Just then a shrill cackle of voices hit them like a wall of noise. Sebastian turned in time to see their man cave whiskey bar being invaded by...bridesmaids...and the bride.

What the...?

“Baby!” cried Lola as she ran into Marco’s open arms. “Is it okay that we dropped in?”

“Is it okay? It’s more than okay,” Marco said and clearly meant it. He swept her up and gave her a fierce kiss, worthy of a chick flick. Lola gave the kiss her all, as well, wrapping her finely manicured hands in his thick, brown hair. Sebastian felt a twinge of envy then. Their love was the real deal. Anyone could see that.

Sebastian glanced at the bridesmaids, the first time he’d seen them since boarding the ship that afternoon, and recognized Felicia, who’d seemed to have had a rough ten years since high school. Why did she look ten years older than the rest of them? Somehow she’d etched crow’s feet into her crow’s feet. Her sister, Liv, looked exactly the same, except for the blue streaks in her hair.

Felicia and Liv saw him and frowned. It looked like they weren’t going to let bygones be bygones. This was going to be awkward. Granted, he’d not exactly been the most sensitive guy in high school, but then what guy was at sixteen? Of course, this would make his vow of weekend celibacy that much easier to keep. They beelined for James, Marco’s brother, practically ignoring Sebastian. He supposed he deserved that.

Veronica came in next and gave him a happy little wave. Well, at least there was Veronica. She was nice to everyone. It was a good thing, because Sebastian knew he would have his hands full this weekend. He’d known coming back to his hometown would mean swimming with his exes, who were more unpredictable than sharks. But he’d do anything for Marco. His best friend. Hell, he’d introduced him to Lola, and watched as the two had fallen madly in love. Marco deserved that kind of happily-ever-after, though.

He glanced up and saw a striking woman in a flowing, halter-top jumpsuit. Who was this beauty? She looked vaguely familiar and yet he couldn’t quite place the face. Was this a new friend? Somehow outside the high school circle? No...wait a minute. Wait a damn minute. That’s...Gabriela Cruz. He was sure of it. She was the only other bridesmaid it could be. Yet...how?

He racked his brain. Gabriela Cruz, the shy, nerdy and very smart salutatorian at their school. She’d always gotten As, always known all the answers. But he never, ever, remembered her having a body like that. The flowy jumpsuit hinted at her ample curves and the halter top seemed to be holding itself up. Her skin was amazing, too, and those dark, smoky eyes. Oh, mama. He’d remembered a wiry girl with braces. But she was all grown up now.

Sebastian finished his drink, put it down on the table and stood. Looked like they had some catching up to do.

CHAPTER THREE

GABRIELA TRIED NOT to panic. Sebastian Lott was coming her way. Surely that was a mistake. No way the golden boy of high school with those amazing hazel eyes meant to pay her any attention.

Stay calm, Gabriela. She held her clipboard like a shield. Just stay still and he’ll pass on by, just like he did in high school.

“Hello.” Sebastian almost sounded tentative. She glanced up so quickly she almost gave herself whiplash. His hazel, not quite green, not quite blue eyes, focused on her. Gabriela froze for a nanosecond, feeling like the awkward girl of high school burdened with glasses and braces her sophomore year, the one boys like Sebastian Lott looked right through. Except he wasn’t looking through her this time. He was looking right at her. Intently. On purpose.