Dropping my voice low, I tease, “Oh, so he must’ve heard about us through our Volt advertisement. Good to know it brought some good-looking guys to help offset all the estrogen on the ship.”
“That it did, cousin. I came with three other bachelors who are looking for a good time too. You guys definitely downplayed the whole astrology shit in the ad, though.”
I grimace. “I know, right? Why do you think we had to advertise in a guy’s magazine in the first place?”
“Ah, it all makes sense now. Well, at least the women are hot as hell. That definitely helps soften the blow.”
“Glad they’ve met your approval.” I roll my eyes and smack his shoulder, pulling a deep laugh out of him.
“Me too. After the shit I went through at my last job, I’m in desperate need of a distraction. Did your brother come too?”
“Nah. He’s busy with his son, which is where his attention should be so….”
“Good point.”
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” a confident Gem announces before stepping back and scanning Conner up and down. Her lips tilt up in amusement. “Why, hello there. I’m Gemini. And you are…?”
“Gemini?” Conner asks, checking her out just as openly as Gem did. His eyes light up in approval. I don’t really blame him. Gem is all curves in her deep red bikini with her long, curly black hair hanging down her back. Hell, even I think she’s hot.
“With a name like that, I’d say you’re in the right place,” he adds, offering his hand for her to take. “I’m Conner, Nora’s cousin.”
She shakes it firmly. “It’s nice to meet you. Nora, you didn’t mention your cousin would be joining us.”
“I didn’t know he would be. Talk about a small world, right? He saw our ad in Volt magazine.”
“Yes! I knew that would reel in some pretty fish.” She winks playfully. “Is it just you or…?”
“I brought a few friends too. I’m actually supposed to meet up with them.” He scans the pool area before lifting his chin at a group of guys near one of the cabanas. My eyes widen when I recognize one of them in particular.
“We can catch up later,” I offer, trying to hide my panic. “Gem and I should probably go check the auditorium to make sure everything is in place, anyway. We’ll see you later.” I tug Gem before she can argue.
As soon as we’ve turned the corner and are out of view from Conner and his friends, Gem demands, “What the hell was that?”
“That was the guy!”
“What guy?”
“My…,” I cough. “My fiancé.”
With a gasp, Gem goes to peek around the corner, but I tug her back.
“No! Don’t look!”
“Come on, Nora. The picture from the school paper was shit. I couldn’t see how good-looking he was. You gotta let me sneak a peek.”
“School paper?” I screech.
Grimacing, she explains, “Oh, did I forget to mention that I did a little research after you told me about the whole fiasco? One of the students at the university saw the whole thing and wrote an article about it. The picture was crappy, so I didn’t really get a good look at the guy. You looked gorgeous, though,” she adds like that’s going to help.
“I told you not to go snooping!”
“And I ignored you completely,” she counters. “Which you knew I would do, so don’t act all surprised, missy. Tell me…is he cute? And did he see you?”
My palms are sweaty as I wipe them along the thin, white fabric of my swimsuit. “I don’t know if he saw me.”
“You don’t know?”
“I mean…I don’t know! It all happened so fast! I don’t think so. Maybe we won’t run into each other? Maybe––”
“Dude. He’s friends with your cousin, who is really cute, by the way. How did I not know you had a cute cousin?”
“He’s my rich uncle’s son––”
“Ooo, so he’s wealthy?”
“Gem!” I snap. “Not the time!”
“Sorry. You’re right. Let’s get back on track, shall we? Wait. Quick question. Is your cousin single? Then we can get our hands dirty with your little fiancé.”
“He’s not my real fiancé––”
“Well, you didn’t tell me his real name, so that’s all I have to go with.”
I growl in frustration, though the stupid waterworks are threatening to make an appearance. Again. Because that’s what I do. I cry whenever I’m angry. Or sad. Or frustrated. Or scared. Or…pretty much all the time.
Stupid Cancer traits.
Oh, great. Now, even I’m starting to drink the Kool-Aid.
“Gage. His name is Gage. And no, my cousin isn’t dating anyone. He’s one hundred percent single, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw you, so you should definitely get on that. I mean, maybe not literally right off the bat but…. Oh, and yes. He’s loaded. Any more questions?” I choke out, my lower lip trembling.
“Aww, Nora. Come here, babe.” She pulls me into a hug and rubs her hand up and down my back. The combination makes me feel like a little kid. “You’re going to be just fine. I’m sure we can keep you from bumping into him. I mean, what are the odds of that happening on a”––she gulps––“decent-sized cruise ship?”
I whimper, though it’s laced with amusement. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Or you’re just a really good lie detector,” she mutters before releasing me. “Seriously, though. Even if you do run into him, it’ll be fine. You guys were engaged for a whole…what? Five minutes? And it was a total joke. You know this. He knows this. He even asked for your number after the funny exchange.”
“Yeah…and then he ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could.”
“Look. You’ve got this. And if for some reason you don’t have this, then I’ll just tell Captain Ron to throw him in the brig.”
My eyes light up at the prospect. “Can you even imagine? That would be one of the funniest things ever.”
“And he would totally deserve it for making my best friend
