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“Well, Florence planned most of it. She just told me what to do.”
That sounds more believable. My husband is chronically allergic to planning, so this feels impossible.
“Are you mad?” Florence asks, sounding hurt. “We thought you’d be excited. I just knew this year, without your parents here, it might be harder than usual. I wanted to help…take your mind off of things, I guess.”
Taking my mind off of things seems rather counterproductive since the whole reason we come here every year is to think about what happened here, to remember what we lost.Whowe lost.
I don’t say that.
Can’t.
“I’m not mad. Honestly, I’m just shocked, is all. I’ve never really thought about going on a cruise.”For good reason, though I don’t say that part out loud. My brother was killed in a boating accident. Are they trying to be insensitive, or am I just beingoverlysensitive? This week always brings out the worst in me.
“We know that too. It’ll be the first time for all of us. That’s why we’re doing this together.” She loops her arm through mine. “It’s going to be fun. Trust me. Have I ever steered you wrong?”
I eye her. We both know the answer to that question. Her judgment has, more than once, landed us stranded without a ride after a night of drinking or waking up in a house we didn’t recognize. But those days are long gone. The wild college days of Florence and Mae are just distant memories.
She grins, and I finally give in, leaning a head onto her shoulder. “Okay, fine.” I wink at Blake. “But just know I fully expect surprises like this for every holiday now.”
His shoulders drop with relief, and he gives me a playful look. “Yeah, we’ve set ourselves up for some major letdowns in the future, haven’t we?”
“You could never let me down.” I pull away, reaching for his hand across the table. “But if this is our last night on the shore, we’re going to need to do all the annual things tonight. Starting with an amazing dinner.” I point across the restaurant as I spot Destiny making her way toward us with a tray in her hands.
“Sounds like a plan. Here’s to an amazing vacation.” Blake lifts his glass toward me.
“To a week we’ll never forget,” Florence chimes in, lifting her own glass.
Patton and I join in, tapping all four glasses in a circle in the air above the table, then I take a sip.
To a week we’ll never forget.
CHAPTERTHREE
BLAKE
“Will you unzip me?”
Mae turns around, holding her hair up with one hand as she waits for me to unzip the shirt she’s wearing. I yawn, moving toward her. It’s later than I planned to be out, really. The night is over. Checking my watch, I see it’s ten minutes until it will technically be morning, and I’m so exhausted I feel ready to collapse on the bed without changing or brushing my teeth. If I closed my eyes for just ten minutes, I’d be out.
As I unzip her, I lean forward and press my lips to the space where her neck meets her shoulder, breathing in the salty scent of her skin.
She turns to face me, patting my cheek as she stares at me with a quiet sort of wonder. “You okay?”
“Just tired,” I promise. I’ve also had a little bit too much to drink, but I suspect she knows that.
“Well, I guess we have an early morning, don’t we? It probably wasn’t the best idea to stay out so late.”
“We’ll survive it,” I say, unbuttoning my shirt. “Besides, we don’t have to board the ship until three tomorrow, so we can sleep in a bit.”
“Yes, but Florence said we can board starting at eleven. I’d rather get on early if we can.” She steps out of her pants, tossing her dirty clothes down and searching through her suitcase for a pair of pajamas. Once she has them on, she sits down on the edge of the bed.
I’m slipping into my own pajamas when I catch her eye in the mirror.
She smiles, but it’s sad. Distant. I turn around at once.
“What is it?”
“I just can’t believe you did all this for me.” She says it with a long breath, like she’s been holding it in all night.
