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I chuckle as I gather her up in my arms and carry her to the bathroom, something that’s quickly become a tradition between us—make love, clean up, make love, and get dirty all over again. In the last few days, it’s been our primary activity on the cruise. Not the on-deck entertainment, the shopping or the shows. No, the only thing of true interest is right here in this room.
“Two more nights and then we’re back in San Francisco,” Delaney says with a sigh as she runs a straightening iron through her hair to get ready for dinner. Tonight is Christmas Eve, so it’s an extra special evening for her family. They observe the Icelandic tradition of Jolabokaflod, which is the act of giving each other books on Christmas Eve. I was aware of this tradition from the info folder Delaney gave me when she hired me. So I spent over an hour in the bookstore trying to decide what I want to give her. I wanted the book to hold meaning, but at the time, I wasn’t aware of her fiction likes and dislikes, so I found myself looking for books about inspirational women who forged their own path the way Delaney has hers. I settled on a book about Coco Chanel, and since it caught my eye, I got her a second book called ‘You are a Badass’. It’s all about following your own path and remembering that you call the shots in your world. When I bought it, I thought it was exactly the kind of book Delaney needed. But now I’m not so sure. Over the last few days, we’ve had various discussions about her family and the roles they play in her life, and I think she sees them for what they are, but because she loves them, she looks past all of those faults and cares for them anyway. My opinion now is that we should all be so kind and caring. The world needs more Delaney’s.
“I’ve loved every moment with you on this cruise, but I’m really keen to get back home and get my life moving,” I say as I slide the books out of the side compartment of my bag and try to decide whether I should give her one or both. I’m thankful I brought a gift bag to put them in or I’d be stuck with them wrapped together.
“I have every confidence you’ll find your feet,” she says from inside the bathroom. “And in the meantime, I was thinking that maybe you’d be interested in being the face of our men’s skincare range. We’re not far off launching…” Her voice grows louder as she approaches so I make a quick decision and drop the Coco Chanel book in the gift bag and dump the Bad Ass one back in my bag. Except it misses and lands at my feet. Just as she rounds the doorway. “And it won’t be a huge amount of work, but I think you’re exactly the right—” She freezes as her eyes drop to the book at my feet, and a smile crosses her features. “Is that for me?”
Before she can lean down to pick it up, I squat down to snatch it off the ground. But before I can stand back up and hide it, we collide, our foreheads bumping hard enough to make the back of my eyes hurt and knock poor Delaney on her ass. “Crap. Shit. I’m so sorry,” I say, holding out my hand to help her up.
“Now I really want to see that book,” she moans, rubbing her head as I pull her back to standing. “It must be interesting if you’re willing to headbutt me for it.”
“You took it like a champ,” I say with a chuckle as I cradle her face in my palm and check that there isn’t any swelling. There’s a red mark, but it looks like she’s come out of it relatively unscathed.
“Hand over the book, Mister.” She looks up at me with that no-nonsense expression in her eyes that I’m already coming to admire. It’s the special something she has that I believe is the attitude behind her ability to break into an already flooded market.
“Fine. But for the record, I bought you two books because I wasn’t sure what you’d like. This is the one I chosenotto give you.”
“You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life,” she reads from the bright yellow cover as I place it in her palm then looks up to meet my eyes. “You think I doubt my greatness?”
“I did. But now I think you know exactly what you’re doing, which is why I was officially giving you a different book. Please don’t be offended.”
“I’m not,” she says, smiling as she turns the book over and reads the back. “Because I love this. I love that you put so much thought into something when you barely even knew me. And I do need this in my life. I doubt myselfallthe time. It’s perfect. Thank you.” She leans up and kisses me with her plum-painted lips. “Want to know what book I bought you?”
“Of course.”
She presses her lips together then moves over to her side of the closet and pulls open a drawer. “When I bought this, I did it knowing that you had just let go of a dream. So I chose this out of compassion. I’ve also been nervous about giving it to you, but I don’t have a backup book so…” She takes out a beautifully wrapped package and hands it to me.
“Shouldn’t I be waiting until after dinner to do this with the family?”
“No,” she says with a tiny head shake. “I think this is something better opened away from prying eyes.”
“Is it a guide to using fleshlights?”
She giggles. “No. Just open it.”
“OK.” I slide my thumb along the seam and pop the tape, carefully removing the paper from the book before turning it over and studying the hardback cover. “Man's Search for Meaning.” I lift my eyes to meet hers as she wrings her fingers together.
“At first, I thought it was too much. It’s about how humans need to find meaning in any given situation, no matter how bleak. I thought it might give you some perspective to help you figure out where you want to go in life outside of LA. But after finding out about your father and thereasonyou walked away, I think it’s the perfect text to show you that there’s always a path to where you want to go. It might just look different from how you originally imagined it.” A lump forms in my throat as I read the back of the book then set it to the side. “You hate it. Don’t you?”
“No,” I whisper, taking her face in my hands. “I think it’s thoughtful and perfect. Just like you.” Her expression softens as I bring my mouth to hers, kissing her slow and true until our breathing picks up and our bodies press in close. Before I know it, I have her dress up about her waist and I’m lifting her against the closet wall, lining myself up with her entrance before plunging inside her. “I’m so in love with you, Delaney Gilchrist.”
“And I’m so in love with you, Nate Charmers,” she gasps between thrusts. And I marvel at just how intense the connection we have truly is. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I can’t wait to go home and start the rest of my life with her.
* * *
“Milady,”I say, grinning as I hold Delaney’s chair out for her. We’re in a private dining room tonight, skipping the buffets and crowds for something more intimate. It reminds me a lot of Thanksgiving, which also gives me the warm fuzzies since that’s the day I lost my heart and Delaney found it. Sure, we had our issues getting to this happy point, but as I take my seat beside her at this festive feast, I press a kiss to her shoulder and feel grateful for every moment we experienced getting here. I feel like it only brought us closer sooner.
“If I can make a toast,” Joan says as she stands at the head of the table with her champagne glass lifted in the air. “I want to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here. I know it wasn’t easy to organize time away from work and school, but you all managed it, and this old lady is eternally grateful to you for making this year the most special Christmas yet. I do so love our holiday time together, and I know you’re all worried about my health, but I assure you, I’m not dying—not that I know of, anyway. But I do have some bone density issues, and just general ninety-five-year-old lady tiredness that have made me realize that I won’t be so sprightly forever. I wanted to have one fantastic trip with those I love most before I retire to my estate and hire male strippers to clean my house and wait on me as entertainment.” There’s a titter around the room, but I have a feeling she might be serious. “So with that in mind, I’d like you all to raise your glasses as I wish you a very merry Christmas. I hope Santa is kind to you all in the morning.”
“Merry Christmas,” we chorus, raising our glasses as the first course of stuffed mushrooms is brought into the room and placed in front of us.
“Now, let’s feast,” she says, rubbing her hands together as she takes her seat and lifts her cutlery.
“I was wondering if I might say something,” Tony asks as he taps his glass and stands, not waiting for an answer. Joan graciously gestures for him to go ahead, nonetheless. “Thank you. First off, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this cruise has been a magnificent gift, Aunty, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s brought us all closer in ways I couldn’t imagine. And it’s also revealed a few…truthsabout the people in our midst.” His gaze lands on me.Uh-oh.“Now, I know we normally do the book gifting thing at the end of dinner. But I happen to have uncovered some reading material I think we’d all like to get stuck into immediately.” He pulls a stack of photocopies from a gift bag and passes them around the table. Delaney and I look at each other with concern.Double uh-oh.
It’s a triple uh-oh by the time the papers get to us because staring right at me is Delaney’s familiar handwriting on the front page. It’s a copy of the script changes she made earlier in the week, stapled to all the information she gave me at the coffee house.How the hell does he have this?It should have been safely inside my folder,insidemy bag,insideour closet. He’s been snooping…
“Where did you get this?” Delaney demands, her eyes flashing with fire as she flips the pages.
