Page 5 of The Cruise Back to You

“Thanks for the tip.”

We chat for a while. It’s easy, surface-level stuff like where we’re from, what we do for work, whether the ship’s gym is worth checking out. Thomas is nice. Friendly. The kind of guy I’d probably be interested in if my heart wasn’t still frustratingly, inconveniently tangled up in someone else.

I keep drinking. Thomas keeps talking. At some point, his stool migrates closer to mine, and his hand lands on my knee.

I shift away slightly. “So, have you done many cruises before?”

“A few.” His hand follows, sliding higher up my thigh. “But this one’s looking up.”

I remove his hand. “I’m flattered, but I’m not really looking for anything.”

Thomas laughs like I’ve told a joke. “Come on. We’re having fun, right?” His hand is back, fingers pressing into my leg.

“I said no.” I push his hand away more firmly this time. “I’m not interested.”

The friendly expression drops from his face like a mask falling away. “Seriously? You’ve been flirting with me for an hour.”

“I’ve been having a conversation. There’s a difference.”

“You fucking cocktease.”

Before I can respond, someone steps between us.

Colter.

“He said he’s not interested.” Colter’s voice is calm, but there’s an edge to it I recognize. The same edge he gets when someone lowballs an offer on a property he knows is worth more. Controlled. Dangerous. “Walk away.”

Thomas looks like he wants to argue, but whatever he sees in Colter’s expression makes him think better of it. He mutters something under his breath and disappears into the crowd.

I should say thank you. I should be grateful. Instead, all I feel is tired. Tired and embarrassed and still a little buzzed from the rum.

I slide off my stool and turn to leave.

“Robin.”

Don’t stop, Robin.

“Robin, wait. Please.”

Slowly, I turn.

Colter is standing there, hands at his sides, looking at me with an expression I can’t quite read. The bar lights catch the blond of his hair, and for a moment he looks exactly like he did the first time I saw him all those years ago. Before everything got complicated. Before I ruined us by wanting more than what he was willing to give.

Four

Colter

I don’t know why I asked him to wait.

Now Robin is looking at me with those beautiful green eyes, and not only have I forgotten what words are, I’m also struggling to remember what went wrong with us in the first place.

So I ask exactly that.

“What went wrong with us?”

Robin blinks. “What? That’s what you want to ask me now?”

“No.” I run a hand through my hair. “But yes. What happened to us, Robin? I’ve been trying to figure it out for months, and I still don’t understand.”