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23
MARGO
After Bridget left, Jasmine gave most of her Pringles back to her poker crew, thanked them for inviting her to their game, and took Margo's hand. "Come sit with me and tell me what's going on with this cruise. I tried to pump Lina for information, but she wouldn't tell me anything except that most of the staff was working at the party tonight, so they had to wrap up the game early."
That explained why the couches were being vacated, and the lounge was emptying.
"I think that the wedding is starting so late because of us," Jasmine said. "Who ever heard of a wedding that starts at ten-thirty at night?"
Perhaps she was right, and the wedding was happening so late because of the rescue mission their hosts had to pull off to save them, or maybe all immortal weddings happened late.
Margo gave Jaz a once-over. With her face clean of makeup and her long dark hair gathered in a ponytail, she looked younger and not even slightly less beautiful. She had a pair of fitted jeans on and a black T-shirt with a pink rhinestone heart stitched on the front.
"I see that Kri got you the clothes she promised." Margo sat on the low couch and crossed her legs at the ankles. "I would have never suspected her of owning anything with rhinestones or pink."
Jaz looked down at the T-shirt and laughed. "I was surprised, too. She's really sweet once she drops the tough guard façade."
"I don't think it's a façade. Did you see the size of her shoulders? They are almost as broad as Negal's."
"Oh, Negal," Jasmine said in a dreamy voice. "What a hunk of a man. Have you seen him since we got here?"
Jasmine's wistful tone was like nails on a chalkboard in Margo's ears, but she stifled her reaction to the annoyance and answered in what she hoped sounded like an indifferent voice. "I've only been with Frankie and Mia, and I met Mia's fiancé and Frankie's boyfriend. Then I took Frankie back to the clinic and met the doctor, and we came straight here. I was worried about you." She leaned back on the low couch, sinking into the cushions.
It was ridiculously comfortable, and Margo fought the urge to lie down and close her eyes.
"That's so sweet." Jaz surprised her by leaning over and kissing her cheek. "But you don't need to worry about me. I'm a big girl, and as long as I don't get blindsided by a charming snake, I can take care of myself." She tilted her head. "Did Frankie really get bitten by one?"
"How else would she get a reaction to venom?"
Sometimes, to avoid an answer, it was better to turn it into a question. Margo only hoped that her poker face was better than those of Jasmine's game buddies.
"It could have been a poisonous spider or even a toad," Jaz said.
"Frankie didn't tell me the particulars, so I assumed that it was a snake, and since Bridget didn't refute that assumption, I must have been right." Margo shifted on the couch. "So, what have you been doing all this time? Swindling Russian ladies out of Pringles?"
"I wasn't swindling them. It was a fair game that I just happened to be very good at. And no, that's not what I was doing the entire time. Kri and I chatted a little when she brought me the clothes. Did you know that she's getting married in two days?"
"Now, I do."
"Turns out that this cruise is all about weddings, and there is a different one every night. I asked Kri if she met her fiancé in a Perfect Match adventure, and she said no. Then I asked her if the other people getting married were Perfect Match couples, and she said that it was confidential and wouldn't say anything else. I wonder what all that secrecy is about."
Margo would have loved to share what she'd learned, but she was under compulsion to keep her mouth shut. Besides, Jaz wouldn't have believed her even if she told her.
Heck, she was still having a hard time believing it herself.
"It has to do with Perfect Match and their strict client confidentiality policy. If the couples getting married met on Perfect Match, and I'm not saying that they did, but if they did and didn't want that to be known, then it makes sense that access to their party would be restricted."
That's what Margo had thought before Frankie and Mia had told her the truth about the passengers on the ship. Margo still didn't know who was getting married and why there was a wedding every night. Maybe she should return to Frankie's room at the clinic and see if she was still awake. Maybe she could answer more questions for her.
Jasmine's eyes widened. "Now I get it. The weddings are of clients who met through the program but want to keep it a secret."
Margo gestured turning a key over her lips. "Can't confirm or deny it."
"Did they have you sign a confidentiality agreement?"
Technically, what Toven had done could count as one, so Margo nodded. "It's ironclad. I can't say a word without suffering terrible consequences."
Toven had warned her that trying to break through the compulsion would cause a bad headache, so she shouldn't try.
