Killer Confections8 Delectable Mysteries(6)

A young woman dressed in a royal-blue polo shirt and form-fitting white shorts, and with a mane of blonde curls secured by a scarf, greeted the passengers. “I’m Amanda, your hostess and marine life specialist,” the petite woman announced in an annoyingly perky voice. “Welcome to the Sea Jinx. Is this your first time sailing with us?”

Everyone replied in the affirmative as we followed her up the gangway.

“You’re all going to have a great time. Let me give you the grand tour.” She showed us where the “heads,” aka potties to us landlubbers, were located. Then she bounced up the stairs, assuming we’d bounce along behind her.

Amanda must have noticed my red-rimmed, hung-over eyes because she pointed me in the direction of the coffee. A variety of juices and pastries were also set on the bar.

“After a successful snorkel expedition,” she said, beaming a 100 watt smile at us, “we’ll all celebrate with a Mai Tai.”

I was afraid to ask her definition of “successful.” Did that mean no one on board ended up as shark bait?

We followed Amanda’s instructions to store our gear under bench seats that ran down the center of the main deck. Mother and I sat next to each other on the blue-padded cushions. I immediately proceeded to lather myself with a 15 SPF sunscreen.

Liz plopped down on the slick white non-cushioned seat across from us “You’re going to need something stronger than that,” she said. As the owner of a full-service spa in El Dorado Hills, she was dedicated to protecting her peaches-and-cream English complexion.

Liz pulled a large tube from her red-striped bag and handed it to me.

“A sunscreen with 120 SPF?” I twisted the cap open. “If I put this on, I’ll return home paler than when I left.”

“You’ll thank me in forty years.”

I squeezed the tube. The sunscreen had the viscosity and stickiness of Elmer’s Glue and an unusual scent. Lavender combined with skunk. The ointment would definitely repel any men from attacking me. I wasn’t confident it would have the same effect on marine life.

Despite my teasing Liz, I had no desire for my fair skin to turn lobster red. I tried to pull my T-shirt over my head so I could spread the lotion across my neck and shoulders, but it caught on the strap of my bathing suit. For a brief moment, I worried about a wardrobe malfunction. Good thing only my mother and Liz were in the immediate vicinity.

As I struggled to slide the narrow neck of my tee shirt over my unruly copper curls, my swimsuit strap was prodded back in place.

“Thanks, Mom,” I said.

“Any time,” responded a voice at least two octaves below my mother’s soprano.

In under a millisecond, I ripped the cotton tee over my head. I found myself staring into a pair of cobalt-blue eyes that reflected even bluer than the surrounding ocean. Eyes filled with amusement. The crinkles around the man’s eyes indicated laughing came naturally. He was tall, trim and tan, and I had a feeling he was the captain of the Sea Jinx.

I had one additional clue. A captain’s hat perched on his thick, sun-streaked blond hair.

He proffered his hand. “I’m Steve Bohannon. You must be Dave’s sister. You look just like him, except you’re um…” His gaze briefly dropped to my chest, which I could feel turning the same shade of red as my cheeks, “even prettier than he described.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “Dave said you’re hot. I mean, you know all the hot spots, that is, the hot spots to snorkel…” I looked around for something to do besides babble like an idiot. I grabbed the pink container of suntan lotion and squeezed hard.

White goop shot out of the tube, splattering across the zipper of his shorts. I reached out to wipe off the mess then realized my hand was barely an inch from Steve’s crotch. What would Emily Post do?

Emily wasn’t available, but Stan miraculously appeared with a beach towel in hand. I grabbed the towel and handed it to Steve. He wiped off his shorts and grinned. “There’s never a lack of adventure on a boat.”

Liz introduced herself and asked if he was ready to leave.

“It looks like all the passengers are on board. We’ll be underway in a few minutes.”

“We know Dave won’t make it, but I haven’t seen Regan yet,” I said.

“Sorry, that’s what I came out here to tell you when you got me a little distracted.” Steve’s smile proved the combination of white teeth against a dark tan could be equally distracting. “Regan texted she’s been delayed so we’ll have to go ahead without her.”

“Did she mention why?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Just said she’d see you later. Trust me. I’ll make sure you have a great time. Don’t forget I’m the guy who knows all the ‘hot’ spots.”