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“You’re engaged to Rick? Oh my God, that’s awesome!” Then she sighed again. “And I just got your fiancé fired. I’m sorry.”
“Would he be able to be in my room then?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t think they’d believe it.”
“Isn’t it worth the try? I mean, he’s already fired. What’s the worst that happens? They can’t fire him twice.” And I doubt they’ll make him walk the plank.
“I guess. It’s worth a try. But don’t you think Rick would’ve told them that when they fired him?” she asked.
That was a good point. There was no reason for them to believe just me and Rick. Betty was not someone who could confirm our relationship either. I could call and ask Meg, but once again, they might not believe it. There was one person I could call who knew what Rick meant to me.
“Betty, thank you for coming and telling me. I have to make a call, but I think I might be able to fix this.”
“Are you serious? Because I don’t think I could ever forgive myself if Rick lost his job because of me.”
“It’s okay, you thought he and I were having sex against the company rules.”
“No. I could ignore that, but I turned him in because I had seen you on deck and knew you weren’t in your room. So when I saw Rick coming out of your cabin when you weren’t there I thought the worse. I…I thought maybe…he was stealing from you.”
He was. He stole my heart.
“Oh, Rick never would take something that didn’t belong to him. He’s the most honorable man I know,” I stated.
“That’s what Mario said when I told him what I did. He’s pretty mad at me. I really like Mario, but I guess I screwed up more than one relationship today.”
I hated seeing her cry. She was young, and God knows I made mistakes back then, too. I gave her a firm hug. “If Mario really cares about you, he’ll understand that it was an honest mistake. And I’m sure Rick does, too.”
“And you too?” she sobbed.
I nodded. “Me too.”
“Thank you, Val.”
She left my room, her eyes red from crying. I thought about calling Rick and discussing my plan, but he very easily could’ve come to me once they dismissed him. Besides, I needed to make sure my plan was going to work first.
I grabbed my cell phone and called my mother.
“Well, I guess you’re enjoying the cruise since you haven’t even called me once,” she said cheerily.
“I figured you might be busy planning something else with Abby,” I teased. “But thank you, Mom. I really do love my surprise.”
“Really? Does this mean that you met someone?” she asked.
“I have. And I couldn’t have had a better time on this cruise. Except there’s one problem. He works for the cruise line and because we are…involved, they fired him.”
“What? That’s ridiculous.”
“I know. For some reason they really take that rule seriously. But he wasn’t doing anything wrong in my eyes. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve hopped on a flight the first chance I got. Instead, I’ve made some wonderful memories.” That was the truth. Too bad we weren’t going to be making any more.
“Maybe you can talk to the captain and explain your side,” she suggested.
“I asked about that. It’s a no. We would need to be more than…friends.” I wasn’t comfortable saying lovers to my mother, even though I was sure she had figured that out. “I’m hoping you might back me up on a story.”
“And what story is that?” she asked.
“That we are engaged to be married.” I wasn’t sure engaged was going to be enough to convince them. What the hell, if I’m going to do this, might as well go all the way. “Or…maybe you could say that we are married, and this is our honeymoon?” That sounded more powerful than just engaged but there was a twinge in my gut knowing it was all a lie. And that’s all it ever will be.
My mother laughed. “You’re doing all this for a guy you just met on a cruise ship? I’m not sure I know who you are.”
