"Where are we going?" I ask Danny as we speed along a back highway from the hotel.
"Does it matter?" he asks with a smirk.
I turn my eyes from him and stare out the window instead.
As soon as we were finished with dinner, Danny and I escorted Andrew to Kathleen's room for the night. He seemed excited and not the least bit fazed that his parents were leaving him for the night.
Kathleen and Ray on the other hand, seemed a little chagrined, but they hid it well as as Danny and I bid them goodnight and headed out for parts unknown.
The night is whipping by me and I take a deep breath of salty air.
"I meant to talk to Kathleen tonight," I say at last, breaking the silence.
"What exactly are you going to tell her, Michelle?" Danny asks, giving me a sideways glance.
I sigh and lean back in my seat. "I don't know. What can I say?"
"What do you wish someone had told you when you were cheating on Nino with me?"
I turn my head and glare at him. "I was not," I say through clenched teeth, "cheating on Nino. Not that the bastard didn't deserve it. But, besides, this is a completely different situation. Neither Ray nor Kathleen is married."
Danny shrugs as we pull up in the parking lot of a marina.
"Ray is married in a way. At least, that's what he told me becoming a priest was. It's like...I don't know, marrying the church or something."
"Well, I hope the church has one hell of a good divorce lawyer," I mutter and Danny laughs.
"I'm sure they know a guy."
We both share genuine smiles then and I wonder briefly again what things would be like if I'd never met Nino Rivera. Would Danny Santos have become a part of my life anyway?
Danny gets out of the car and comes around to my side to open my door.
"Why are we here?" I ask him as I get out, wrapping my arms around me to ward off the chill. I'm still wearing the dress I wore to dinner this evening, a pretty slinky number of midnight blue with spaghetti straps and no back. It's long and slit on one side up to my knee. There are tiny crystal beads sewn on in no particular pattern, so the whole dress shimmers when it catches the light.
It's easily the most beautiful dress I've ever owned. Carmen gave it to me before we left for this trip.
"You need something special for this trip, mi hija," she had told me as I gaped at the dress.
I had looked into Danny's mother's eyes and seen understanding there.
"Santos men are not the easiest men to love, Michelle," she had told me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "But if you can get past their stubborness and their pride, the reward will be worth the struggle."
I remember that now as I look at the yacht that towers over Danny and I in the darkness. I look at that boat and immediately know why we're here.
"This is my family's boat," Danny says unnecessarily.
"Ah," I reply softly.
And suddenly, I feel like a virgin bride on her wedding night.
Danny notices my nervousness and gives me that slow smile of his as we make our way up the dock.
"Bridal jitters, Mrs. Santos?" he queries and my nerves seem to snap.
"Fuck you," I say as I stride past him onto the boat.
"That's the idea," he calls back, laughter in his voice.
Damn him. And damn me for letting him make me feel this way.
The interior of the yacht is almost completely dark, but I can still determine that this isn't your usual boat.
No, it's basically a floating palace.
Danny comes up behind me in the dark and loops his arms around my waist.
"You like it?" he murmurs against my ear. His breath his warm and his teeth lightly scrape that little spot just behind my earlobe.
I moan slightly and lean back against him, causing him to chuckle slightly. "I knew you couldn't stay mad at me for long."
"No," I breathe as he continues to kiss my neck. "I'm still furious, can't you...mmmmm...tell?"
"Do you want the grand tour?" he asks as he slides one strap down and begins to kiss my shoulder.
Fireworks are already starting to explode in the pit of my stomach and I manage to shake my head.
"Later," I murmur and he chuckles softly again.
I turn in his arms so that I'm facing him. "We have one reason for being here, Danny," I say in my iciest voice, trying desperately to hold back the flood of lust already coursing through me. I can't let him win, not this time. "Let's get on with it."
His eyes spark, but whether it's with laughter or desire or even anger, I don't know.
He takes my hand and lightly runs his lips over my knuckles. "Very well then," he says mockingly.
Then he takes my hand more firmly in his own and pulls me into the bedroom.