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Val

I looked at the note again, and said to Meg on the video call, “I’m telling you, there’s no name on it. Why should I go meet someone who could be a stalker or something?”

“First of all, you’re on a cruise that promotes romance and dating. Sliding a note under a door is very romantic. Secondly, he didn’t ask you to meet in a dark alley, but in a dining room full of other passengers. So, stop worrying, fix your makeup and go already!” Meg said.

“What’s wrong with my makeup?” I asked, peering at myself in the corner of the chat window.

Meg laughed. “Not a damn thing, but the fact that you checked means you really want to go, so go.”

Whoever left the note must have waited for me to leave my room for lunch. I wasn’t even gone long. That meant he’d been watching me. Meg didn’t find that creepy, but I sure did. But the note-leaver had the advantage of knowing who I was. The only way to put myself on equal footing was to go and meet him. The perfect opportunity to tell him I’m not interested.

“I’ll go, but not for long.”

“Call me when you get back so I can hear all about what a great time you had,” Meg teased.

“What makes you think I’m going to enjoy this one bit?” I asked.

“Because if you weren’t planning to, you wouldn’t have put on your new sundress. Which, by the way, looks great on you. Blue is your color. But then again, you have one of those bodies that you can shop off the rack and everything looks great.”

I rolled my eyes. Thank you, Spanx. “Abby really told you guys everything, huh?”

Meg nodded.

“Well, I hope this is the last time you all gang up on me, for your own good!”

“If we didn’t, you wouldn’t have gone. We all know that. But I’m sorry that we lied to you. It’s just that we all wanted you to have the best birthday ever and this is what we came up with. Just give it a chance. Who knows? You might find someone special, or maybe you’ll just have awesome sex with a handsome stranger and smile when you think back about this vacation.”

“Can’t I just work on getting a tan? Does it have to be about sex? You do know they make devices that can do the job,” I said.

Meg laughed. “We figured a cruise was better than shipping a bunch of sex toys to your house for your birthday.”

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are…”

“Your best friends. And you’re stuck with us,” she smiled.

“And I’m glad. Now I’d better get going to meet my dinner date. I won’t be long, and I’ll call you when I get back.”

Meg said, “I hope I don’t hear from you till morning.” She winked and ended the call.

If that happened, it would only be because I didn’t want to talk about it, not because I hooked up with someone. When I reached the dining room, I scanned the room to see if I could pick out who this mystery guy was. Quickly, I spotted him, standing alone with a drink in one hand and looking around expectantly, like me. He gave me a slight wave.

It was the man who asked me out yesterday. I thought he’d have gotten the point the first time I turned him down. But I must give him credit, he tried. More than I can say for some people.

I smiled and walked over.

“Hi. Can I get you a drink?” he asked.

“I’m all set for now, maybe with dinner.”

“My name’s Bob Marshall,” he said, extending his hand to greet me.

“I’m Val Rizzo. Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. That brief connection sent an unpleasant chill through me. I knew right then that I couldn’t accept his dinner invitation. He wasn’t my type. I liked long hair on Thor, and maybe a few other superheroes, but I normally was attracted to a more clean-cut look. “I wanted to come and let you know that…I can’t have dinner with you. Not that I don’t appreciate the invitation, but I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Invitation?” he asked, looking puzzled.

Did I get it wrong?I hadn’t noticed anyone else in the room who looked familiar. “I’m sorry. I thought…I was supposed to meet someone here, and I thought it might have been you.”

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