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Val

“I told you, I’m not leaving my room until we dock,” I said to Kathleen and Meg on our three-way call. “And even then, it’s only so I can fly back home.”

“I thought you said Rick is on this cruise!” Meg prodded.

“What does that have to do with this? I did not know this was a singles’ cruise, which by the way, neither of you bothered to tell me. I’m not happy with you guys, either,” I said firmly.

Their laughter rang clear across the ocean through my phone. Then Kathleen said with her characteristic smugness, “Well, I for one think you should be thanking us.”

“Thanking you?” I can’t believe this! “For what?”

“This is the same Rick who was your first love, right? I mean the one you compare every single man to?” Kathleen asked.

“And the one who none of them ever live up to?” Meg added.

I was regretting sharing so much with those two, but that’s what a couple of glasses of wine does to me. Besides, they often hounded me on why I never married or settled down. I’ve loved other men, but never been in love with them. There’s a huge difference.

“That was a long time ago,” I stated.

“And what did you feel when you saw him at your door?” Meg asked.

It was a good question. In the moment, a flood of different emotions had run through me. I had been happy to see him, shocked of course, but a part of me was still angry that he didn’t come back for me like he said he would. He had chosen his career in the Navy, over me.

“I thought…it’s been a long time and I didn’t want to engage in small talk,” I said, hiding the sadness from my tone.

“I’m sorry,” Kathleen responded softly.

“For what? Tricking me into coming on this trip?” I asked.

“No. I’m glad we did that. You really needed to get away,” she said. “But I’m sorry that seeing Rick is bringing back sad memories.”

I hadn’t voiced that, but best friends can pick up on the unspoken. “I’m okay.”

“I don’t know how you can be okay. Whenever you talked to us about Rick, you always had this look in your eyes. He was the one, Val,” Kathleen said.

“What if he still is?” Meg asked.

“He’s not,” I growled.

“And you know this how?” Meg questioned.

“Because…because…” But nothing else came out of my mouth. I just couldn’t bring myself to go down that path again. I had moved on; I got pregnant and had my usually-wonderful daughter, but it still hurt how easily he could forget me. I’ve never been able to forget him.

“Exactly. You don’t have a reason. And I hope you don’t spend the rest of this trip trying to come up with one,” Meg said.

“What do you want me to do? Go looking for him? I mean, he knows my room number. If he wants to see me, all he has to do is knock.” I said.

Kathleen said, “He only learned you were on the ship last night. Give the guy time to come up with a plan. Besides, he probably thinks he’ll see you on the deck, which honestly might feel less awkward.”

“Why would he think that?” I asked.

“Because it’s a cruise, and people usually leave their cabin and enjoy it. Besides, if you really believe Rick is not the one, then prove it,” Meg said.

“How?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“Sign up for some of those matchmaking activities. Meet new men. If Rick isn’t anything special to you anymore, there’s no reason to avoid searching for Mr. Right on the ship,” Meg added.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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