Until Nash showed up.
When she opened the door, he stared. And swallowed. And ran a hand through his hair. All before remembering to say, "Hey, you look great. Ready to go?"
Yep, she looked just fine. And she was ready to go.
Lena spent a few minutes settling Nutmeg with plenty of toys, food, water, and an automatic treat dispenser that she could control via an app on her phone.
"Is that really necessary?" Nash asked.
"No," Lena said. "Except Victoria wants me to use it. So, in a way, yes. It's necessary to keep Victoria happy. There's a little camera on the treat dispenser so I can watch Nutmeg when he eats his treats. There's also . . ." She pointed to a small, white camera on the dresser. "It's a nanny cam—to keep an eye on him. I'm supposed to monitor it from my phone anytime I'm away from him."
He raised one amused eyebrow. "A little obsessive?"
"Well, she loves Nutmeg and is very protective. If you're going to be obsessive about something, I think spoiling a Maltipoo isn't such a bad obsession."
He threw up both hands in surrender. "Okay, not going to argue with that." He ruffled the fur on Nutmeg's head. "Bye, Nutmeg. Enjoy your evening."
Lena's initial impression of Emil's party was exactly what she had expected. About two dozen people stood on the upper decks, laughing and chatting. And looking red-carpet glamorous.
Smiling politely, she stuck to Nash's side, scanning constantly for Cassidy. Her cousin hadn't shown yet, but they hadn't spotted Emil either. They were likely together. So, no reason to lose hope. Yet.
After a few minutes of mingling, Lena sighted Emil finally emerging from below deck. He apologized to some of his guests for his tardiness and moved through the small crowd, greeting everyone with that annoying, too-white smile.
Cassidy was conspicuously absent.
Lena's stomach dropped.
She tugged on Nash's arm. "Let's go below deck. I'll say I have to go to the bathroom or something."
"Wait, not yet. Let's—"
A lanky man near them called out to Emil. "Emil, where's this lovely woman you keep telling us about?"
Emil beamed at the tall guest. "Cassidy will be up in a moment. She's doing her hair. You know how women are."
The way he said it was apparently supposed to be funny, but there was a sliminess to it.
She leaned into Nash. "Let's go now."
He scanned the crowd, then met her eyes. "Okay, quickly. And if anyone asks, you're looking for the bathroom and I'm following you."
"I'm not sure how to explain that."
"Don't. If anyone has a problem, I'll talk to them."
"Whatever." She made a beeline for the stairs.
"Go down two flights," he said. "I studied the layout. Most of the cabins should be on that level."
Soon they found themselves in a hallway lined with ornate brass sconces and a dozen doors.
She listened closely. Was she really expecting to hear Cassidy's voice?Just choose a door, Lena.She examined the doors, weighing her options. "Nash, what do you th—"
A waiter popped out of one of the doors, holding a large tray of appetizers and drinks, and crashed into Nash.
The horrified waiter immediately started brushing little shrimp and globs of cocktail sauce from Nash's shirt and pants.
Nash, his back to Lena, was busy trying to convince the waiter to move along when the door behind her opened. Two arms grabbed her, pulled her into a cabin, and shut the door. She fought and started to scream, but a hand clamped over her mouth.
