Perfect Timing by Brenda Jackson Page A

infatuated with her. Leaving town after graduation had been for the best. There was no way that Maxine Chandler, the smartest girl at school—and he’d always thought, the prettiest—would have gotten involved with him.
    â€œLet me get you back in bed while I find out what’s the deal with our cabins.”
    Maxi marveled at how easily he was able to carry her in his arms as he gently placed her on the bed. She watched him cross the room and pick up the phone, thinking how good he looked in his designer jeans and shirt. They were a far cry from the tattered and worn-torn clothes he used to wear to school.
    She studied his transition from boy to man. He had changed. Grown older. In her opinion his features had always been chiseled masculine perfection. Now they were even more so with his high cheekbones, strong chin, full lips, and straight nose. And there were lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before. He had gotten taller and the breadth of his chest and shoulders radiated power and strength. And as impossible as it may seem, he was more handsome than ever before. He’d said he was on the cruise alone. Did that mean he was still single? He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring but that didn’t mean anything these days.
    He was so absorbed in making the phone call that he didn’t look up for a long moment. It was long enough for her to continue her close study of him. His nose was slightly crooked from the time Ronald Swindel had broken it. Some say the two had been fighting over Lorraine Brown. Christopher had gotten a broken nose and Ronald had gotten a broken arm.
    Maxi’s gaze moved over him, downward. He was firm at his stomach and hip, and his muscular thighs were like tempered steel and looked like the type that could wrap themselves around a woman’s waist and hips real tight while they made love. A deep tint covered Maxi’s face. This was the first time she’d thought of a man in a sexual way since Jason’s death. She inhaled deeply, thinking her racy thoughts must be the result of the medication she’d taken.
    She forced her mind back to the real issue at hand—the mix-up of their cabins. From the conversation he was having on the phone with the cruise ship director, she got the distinct impression that he was a man who was use to being in authority, in control, and having his concerns taken care of to his satisfaction immediately.
    â€œWhat did they say?” she asked when he had hung up the phone. She could see the frustrations outlined in his features. Evidently whomever he’d spoken to had told him something he hadn’t wanted to hear.
    â€œThere was some sort of computer glitch. Since we have the same last name and were booked under the class reunion group, the system apparently assumed we were married and placed us in the same cabin.”
    â€œOh,” Maxi said. “But they are finding me another cabin, right?”
    â€œThey indicated they will try but according to the person I spoke with, this ship is booked to capacity. Their only hope is if there have been ‘no shows,’ and they won’t know that until later this evening.”
    Maxi lifted a brow. “And if there aren’t?”
    Christopher sighed deeply before answering. “Then they will check to see if anyone who is paying for a single cabin wants a cabinmate.”
    â€œAnd what if no one does?” she asked, desperately.
    He shook his head. A lot about Maxine Chandler hadn’t changed. She still believed in asking a lot of questions. She used to drive their teachers batty with her constant stream of inquiries. But her endless questions had never bothered him. In fact those were the times he’d actually paid attention in class because he’d always liked hearing the sound of her voice, low-pitched and smooth. And then when he’d gotten to the age where he appreciated the opposite sex, he would enjoy watching her mouth move