Thirteen Nights of Luck by Lacey Dancer

Author:Lacey Dancer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cruise Ship Romance, Carribean Romance, Middle-Age Romance Fiction, Mature Romance Stories, Florida Authors Fiction
Publisher: Sdyney Clary
Published: 2022-10-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

"I can't wear this," Lyla said warily.

She stared at the scantily clad length of her body. Her legs had never looked so long, her breasts so clearly defined. Even before the notoriety of the trial, her clothing tended to be restrained, more professional than feminine. With the white wrap skirt that completed the ensemble, there was more of her skin showing than was usual.

Joe shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. His shoulders were braced against the edge of the long mirror, his hands tucked in the pockets of his white cotton pants.

"You've been saying the same thing to every outfit for the last hour."

Lyla glanced at him, startled. "Has it been that long? Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked over her shoulder to where Pippa and Josh sat by the window talking. She was horrified at the time she had taken with her indecisiveness.

"I didn't tell you because, until now, it didn’t matter. However, I do have to get back to the ship soon for my presentation."

He studied her, liking the colorful outfit that she was determined not to buy. "Personally, I think this is the best choice yet. If you don't buy it, I will."

"You can't."

"Do you think I don't have the money?" His dark brows quirked at the thought. While he wasn't mega­wealthy, he only worked because he wanted to.

Lyla flushed, wishing she had never allowed Pippa to bully her into coming with her and the Luck brothers. Josh was quiet, speaking mostly to Pippa. She wasn’t sure whether he approved of her or not. Joe watched her with eyes that saw too much.

"I never should have come," she muttered.

Before her lips closed around the last word, Joe pushed away from the wall and caught her shoulders. He shook her once, gently but firmly.

"Stop it, right now. You aren't guilty. Stop acting as if you were and are. You have a right to enjoy yourself and to look delicious in those shorts. You also have a right to smile just because something pleases you.

Don't let those fools who hurt you and turned away when you needed them the most, take any more from you. Stop looking down, trying to hide. Look up into the future. It's there waiting."

"You don't know what it's like."

His face hardened with his own memories of being shunned. "Don't I? Do you think you're the only one who has ever been ostracized by small-minded jackasses? You don't have the corner on pain. I've had my share. So has my brother and Pippa. Look at them!"

He turned her so that she had to see. "Really look. Pippa's style is flash and show. But is that the woman? Would that glitz have reached out to you if she hadn't seen below the surface? That kind of insight doesn't come by accident. It comes through knowledge and pain. And Josh, you think he judges you as the others do?"

"I never said that" she protested.

"No, you only avoid his eyes, shrink from being near him.

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