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When Beverly realized, she laughed so hard she almost fell off her lounge chair. “Oh my gosh, son, are you for real?”
“Hi,” I greeted him, ignoring his mom’s laughter. I patted the foot of my lounge chair in an invitation for him to sit.
“Maybe you were switched at the hospital,” Beverly suggested, still giggling. “I can’t believe my son would grow up to be so cautious! And Ron certainly isn’t like that.”
Adam’s whole body went stiff, but he didn’t say anything except “Where’s Grandma?”
I jumped up, abandoning my orange. “Let’s go look for her!” I grabbed his hand, unable to ignore the instinct to get him out of there.
Adam allowed himself to be dragged away, and he didn’t let go of my hand after we’d made it out of his mom’s sight, so I didn’t either.
I tried to reconcile everything Grandma had said about Adam’s tender heart with the very serious man at my side. The urge to hug him was nearly overwhelming, and not just because the tight sleeves of his rash guard neatly showcased his muscular arms. “Thanks for bringing me on the cruise,” I blurted out.
“What?” He dropped my hand. “You can’t be serious.”
“I really like your grandma,” I explained. I didn’t add “and you” because it would have been strange, even if it was true. I hadn’t seen everything in him that Grandma had, but I wanted to. And maybe I could provide what Grandma had been hoping for, only as a friend instead of a girlfriend.
But as my heart fluttered rebelliously at the thought of getting even closer with him, I couldn’t help but remind myself that I was getting into dangerously deep waters.
Jenna and I met Nicole and Grandma walking out onto the pool deck before we’d gone more than a few yards. I was still analyzing the interaction between me, Mom, and Jenna of a few moments before. I didn’t need Jenna to save me from Mom—honestly, her antics hardly bothered me anymore—but I couldn’t deny how comforting Jenna’s hand felt in mine as she pulled me away.
“Nice to see you’re alive, Big Bro.” Nicole eyed me, but she didn’t make fun of my clothing. “Did you come from the pool? Already sick of Mom and Frank, huh?”
Jenna chimed in before I could. “No, we were looking for you two! How was breakfast?”
“Marvelous! Just marvelous,” Grandma enthused. “I had an omelette and a fresh orange juice.” She’d always been like that, so happy about everything that even a fault-finding cynic like me was moved to something like joy.
Jenna and I exchanged a quick look, one that somehow managed to communicate “Are you seeing this?” and “She’s too adorable for words.” I felt a physical sensation in my chest, an unexpected euphoria at having someone to share this with.
Grandma reached out and placed a hand on my arm. “Adam, I was watching the television set in my room this morning, and I saw that they have a surfing machine right here on this ship!”
“Wow, that’s great.” I hadn’t been anywhere near a surfboard in ten years, and I wasn’t about to embarrass myself, but I feigned polite interest for Grandma’s sake.
She wasn’t done with me. “I think you should show off a little for Jenna. You know all about what a great doctor he is, but he’s a real dreamboat on a surfboard! Or maybe you already know that.”
Nicole stifled a giggle, but Jenna managed to keep a straight face as she replied. “I’ve never seen Adam on a surfboard.”
I hurried to put a stop to that line of thinking. “Probably better to keep it that way. I’m so out of practice I doubt I could stay on my feet.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Grandma admonished. “Besides, it’s all about having fun, isn’t it?”
Nicole shook her head. “Donaldson kids are terrible at doing stuff for fun. It’s either excel or abstain.”
“It sounds great!” Jenna smiled at Grandma, then looked at me. “I’d like to try. I’ve never done it, so you’re guaranteed at least to be better than one person.”
It wasn’t about being better than anyone, it was about not looking like an idiot in front of a crowd. But I probably owed Jenna after all she’d already been through with my family. “Yeah, if you want.”
“Anything for Jenna, huh?” Nicole teased. “Have fun. Oh, and don’t forget lunch at noon. And you might want to lay out whatever you need to take with you on our excursion to Cozumel tomorrow. Don’t forget to pack your bathing suit for snorkeling.”
“Awesome!” Jenna chirped.
I gave her a sideways glance. She couldn’t be planning to go snorkeling, not when she was afraid of fish.
“I’ll go to Cozumel with you, but I’ll just watch you from the shore if that’s okay.” Grandma smiled benevolently. “It’ll make me so happy to see you all having such a good time!” She and Nicole continued toward the adult pool to meet Beverly.
I looked down at Jenna, wearing a long green dress printed with white and pink flowers. It was pretty—more than pretty, I realized once my attention was drawn to it. It hugged her body, but the full skirt swayed when she walked.
She probably thought I looked like a guy in a hazmat suit next to her.
