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"I promised to be her date for tonight to compensate for leaving early yesterday." Negal stood up and headed toward his room. "And I never break my promises."
The more accurate statement would be that he hadn't broken a promise yet. The only way he could avoid breaking this one was to have Gertrude lose interest in him so she wouldn't demand it, but to do so, he would have to act like a jerk or a fool, and even that might not be enough to turn her off. Besides, it would be just as dishonest as any other type of lie, and she deserved better from him.
7
MARGO
When Kri opened the door to a small windowless cabin, Margo tried not to wince. The place wasn't so bad, but compared to the luxurious suite Jasmine had stayed in with Alberto, it was pretty utilitarian.
Still, it was bigger than the one they had been put into on Modana's yacht, so there was that.
Letting out a sigh, Jasmine plopped down on one of the twin beds. "So, I'm to be all alone in here for the next five and a half days?"
There was barely enough room between the two beds for the wheelchairs, so Margo sat down next to Jasmine while Kri sat on the other bed.
She felt like she'd overpromised and under-delivered even though she actually hadn't done either. Well, not about the ship, but about her friends. She'd promised Jasmine she would spend time with her along with Mia and Frankie, but since Jasmine wasn't allowed on the upper decks, she couldn't take part in the activities available to guests, and the opportunities for interaction would be scarce. And it wasn't as if Margo could ask Mia and Frankie to spend time with her on the staff deck so Jasmine wouldn't feel abandoned.
"I can stay with you," she offered. "I'm sure Frankie will appreciate having the cabin all to herself and her new guy, right?" She turned to her friend. "That way, you don't have to keep quiet. You can make all the noise you want unless you are concerned about the people in the next cabin over."
"This ship has excellent soundproofing." Frankie waved a hand in dismissal. "Besides, I don't know when the doctor will clear me for strenuous activities, and that's a quote, so don't think that I suddenly became shy about sex. That's how she refers to it."
Mia laughed. "That's so like Bridget."
Margo looked Frankie over, trying again to guess what procedure she'd had. "Are they offering cosmetic surgeries on this cruise?"
Frankie shook her head. "It's not what you're thinking." She shifted her gaze to Kri. "Are you staying because you enjoy our company, or are you waiting to give Jasmine more instructions?"
Talk about a hint the size of an elephant. It was almost as bad as asking Kri to leave, but then Frankie had never been known for having much tact.
The Guardian seemed oblivious to the hint. "I want to give Jasmine a tour of the facilities and explain about her neighbors."
"Right." Frankie's face fell. "About that. Won't it be a problem?"
"Aren't these the staff quarters?" Margo asked.
"Not everyone here is staff." Kri leaned back and looked at Jasmine. "Do you speak Spanish?"
Jaz shook her head. "People often mistake me for a Latina because of my looks, but that's not where my parents are from. My mother was Iranian, and my father is of Russian descent, but I look more like my mother."
"That's such an interesting combination," Mia said. "No wonder you are stunning."
"Thank you." Jaz smiled. "You are all beautiful women, and I'm not saying that to repay the compliment. The men who rescued us were also gorgeous beyond belief. Is that a Perfect Match thing? Do they only hire attractive people?"
One of Kri's blond eyebrows lifted, but she schooled her features so quickly that Margo had almost missed it. "Yeah. I guess so. People in the fantasy business have to look good, right?"
"What about the programmers and the office staff?" Margo blurted. "Not everyone is a model or an actor and has to be pretty, right?"
If Perfect Match hired only good-looking people, they were asking for trouble. Someone was going to sue them for discrimination.
"No, they don't have to be." Kri put her hands on her thighs and pushed to her feet. "Let's get the tour over with so you can get washed up and changed. We have a wedding tonight."
Margo and Jasmine didn't have anything to change into. Hopefully, her friends could loan them some things. The problem was that both Frankie and Mia were petite, so their clothing was going to be too small for Margo and definitely for Jasmine, who was much taller.
"Speaking of getting changed." Margo followed the security guard up. "Do you know what happened to our luggage?"
"I don't, but I can find out."
"I can lend you things," Frankie said. "I brought so much clothing with me that it's ridiculous." She cast a quick glance at Jasmine. "Nothing of mine will fit you, though. You are too tall."
