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Back in the suite, I squared my shoulders and raised my hand to knock on Adam’s door. I was a nurse, used to charging into a sick patient’s room. Still, my heart raced. I couldn’t forget all the secrets I’d just learned about his family. The next time we came face to face, things would be different.
There was no response to my first tentative knock, so I tried again, harder. Nothing.
“Adam?” I called.
I finally got a groan in response.
“Are you okay?”
Another groan.
What if he’d gotten sick in the night and that’s why he hadn’t left his room? The thought that he could be in need of medical assistance overthrew my final scruples, and I tried the handle, which wasn’t locked. I flung the door open to find Adam sitting up in bed, head clutched in his hands. My eyes widened as I registered firstly that he was not wearing a shirt and secondly that he had some extremely well-defined muscles throughout his upper body and not limited to the arms I’d appreciated the day before.
I stood there slack jawed, just taking him in, until it hit me how embarrassing it would be if Adam noticed me ogling him like he was the “hot now” light on my favorite donut shop back in Asheville. I stepped back into the hallway and pulled the door closed to a slit. “Sorry for barging in; I was worried about you,” I called through the door. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Just slept in a little later than I intended.” Adam’s gravelly, just-awake voice did nothing to help me get myself in order.
“Well, breakfast is being served, if you’re hungry. And I think we’re going to meet at the pool in a while, if you’re up to it. I just saw Grandma and Nicole, by the way. They had a great night. Well, Grandma did.” I was rambling to cover my embarrassment.
“Okay.”
I waited a second to see if he’d say anything else, but he didn’t, so I pulled the door shut.
I left the room at once rather than sit around waiting for another glimpse of him. If Adam walked out without a shirt to jump in the shower that would not help me squash the thoughts intruding on my peaceful existence. Thoughts like that it wouldn’t be too bad dating a coworker, and that Grandma would have mentioned it if Adam had a wife and kids stashed somewhere.
There were lots of other ways a relationship could go bad, however. Ways that could still make it unbearable to keep working at the same building with someone.
There was no sign of Grandma or Nicole at the buffet, so I grabbed a muffin and an orange and headed for the adult-only pool where we were slated to meet. When I arrived, Beverly was already sunbathing on a deck chair in a bright red bikini. Grandma’s stories made me feel just as sorry for her as I did for her kids. While Westin hadn’t exactly left me for another woman, I understood a little of what it felt like to be abandoned.
Beverly lowered her sunglasses. “Good morning, Jenna! How’s Adam?”
“Great,” I said, a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, he was just stirring.”
She watched me peel the wrapper off my banana muffin. “Ooh, that looks good. Maybe I’ll get one.” Her face fell. “Oh, maybe not. Did they have any low-carb muffins?”
I finished swallowing my first bite. “I’m sorry; I didn’t notice any. Do you want my orange?”
Beverly shook her head sadly. “Too much fructose. I can’t risk it.” She glanced over her shoulder.
I followed her gaze to see Frank at the poolside bar, drinking something with an umbrella sticking out of the top and chatting with some college-aged girls, oblivious to how they were snickering about him.
I looked away quickly. I didn’t know if Beverly was unlucky or foolish when it came to men, but nobody deserved to be treated like that by a partner.
“We’re not even really together anymore.” Beverly’s quiet voice lacked its usual spirit.
“Oh,” I said, busying myself with the muffin to try and hide my surprise. Apparently, it was the morning for family secrets.
“Frank’s going to move in with his new girlfriend after we get back from the trip. I’ve known for a couple of weeks, but I didn’t want to depress everyone. It’s a cruise! We’re here to have fun!” Her tone had already returned to normal.
“I’m sorry.” Mostly that she was ever in a relationship with so mediocre a person as Frank.
Beverly laughed as if I’d told a good joke. “Don’t worry! There’s always another man. Maybe I’ll even meet someone on this ship! That’s why I have to look my best, even though I’m dying for a muffin.”
Irritation warred with pity. Apparently, she couldn’t be serious for more than a second. How did Adam and Nicole cope?
A man approached us in a high-necked rash guard, knee length swim trunks, a gray fishing hat, black water shoes, and enough thick white sunblock on his face that he could pass for a clown.
It took me a second to recognize the person standing before us as Adam.
