Page 66 of Deadly Waves

Twenty

James trailedbehind Mandy as they walked into the dining room. He didn’t miss the fact that she lifted her skirt just far enough for him to see the “Jawesome” panties when she was sure only he could see, causing his heart rate to speed up. He grabbed her around the waist and buried his face in her hair so he could whisper.

“I need to figure out what’s going on really quickly,” he murmured. “Otherwise you’re going to be the death of me, wife.”

Mandy stilled at the admission, conflicted. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“Because I keep forgetting this is still work for you,” Mandy said, her eyes sober. “I shouldn’t be messing around.”

“On the contrary, I always want to mess around with you,” James said, tightening his embrace. “I’m going to mess around with you so much tonight you’re going to swear I’m superhuman.”

Mandy giggled. “I already swear that,” she said. “I have to stop for now, though. I need you focused on your job, not me.”

“I would rather focus on you.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true and we both know it,” Mandy said, swiveling in his arms and locking gazes with him. “You love your job. You’re good at it. I never want to stand in your way when it comes to work.”

James’ chest tightened. “You’re more important than my job.”

“This is not a situation where you have to make a choice,” Mandy said. “I will always be here. You need to focus on what’s happening on this ship tonight. I understand that. In fact, I want you focused on your job because I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you because you were distracted by me.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me, baby.”

“We’re going to make sure of that,” Mandy said, pressing a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I love you. You can partake of my Jawesome love once you figure out everything. Until then, focus on what’s in front of you.”

“You’re in front of me.”

Mandy pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows, making James’ favorite expression.

“Thank you, baby.” James cupped her chin and kissed her. “Never stop making that face.”

“Find out what happened to Zoe,” Mandy ordered. “I’ll make a lot of your favorite faces when we’re naked and alone if you do.”

“And that right there is the best motivation ever,” he said, smacking a loud kiss against her lips. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“No, I really love you,” James said, his tone teasing as he mimicked her words from a few days before.

“You’re a pain in the butt,” Mandy said, swatting him.

“And yet I still love you,” James said, slipping his arm around her waist as they waited to move forward in the buffet line. “Now, let’s find our suspects, shall we? I want to know where they are at all times tonight.”

“Gladly.”

“THANK YOUso much for inviting us to share dinner with you,” Will said, beaming as he settled between Mandy and Ally. He purposely picked his spot before anyone could settle in chairs, directing the two women where he wanted them to be without asking what they preferred. Instead of arguing, Mandy and Ally acquiesced. They knew exactly how to play the game.

“Oh, well, we just wanted to make sure that we had a chance to thank you for the wonderful time we’ve been having,” Mandy said, placing her napkin on her lap and internally cringing when she realized Will was trying to look down her dress. “Tomorrow is the last night of the trip, and I have a feeling we’re all going to be wrapped up in each other and we didn’t want to miss sharing a meal with you.”

She sounded perfectly reasonable and truthful, James internally mused. He could read the dislike rolling off her, though. Even though he knew he should focus on their host, he took a moment to marvel at the fact that he knew her better than he knew himself. Somehow she became his best friend, lover, and soul mate over the course of two and a half years. He never saw it coming and yet he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“How about you, James?” Will asked, drawing James’ attention away from his wife. “Have you enjoyed your stay on the ship?”

“I have,” James confirmed, working overtime to ignore the adoring glances Tabitha lobbed in his direction. She took her cues from her father and sat between James and Grady without bothering to ask if they were okay with the seating arrangement. Since James wanted to get her talking, he was fine with it. He couldn’t help but dislike the girl a small bit because of her strong sense of entitlement, though. He knew it wasn’t fair because she learned from her father, but she still had an irksome quality that he couldn’t put a name to. “I want to thank you for giving us the job. It allowed me to work and spend time with my wife at the same time. That’s the best kind of job in my book.”

“Yes, your brother told me about the trouble you had,” Will said, making a clucking sound with his tongue. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry that happened to you.”