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She proceeded to tell Margo about the robotic bartender. As the two of them were having a good laugh about it, the doorbell rang.
"Hold on. Someone rang my doorbell." Frankie pushed her feet into her platform shoes and trotted to the door.
After what Margo had said about no one hearing her scream, Frankie wouldn't open up without checking who was on the other side. Thankfully there was a peephole, only it wasn't installed with short people in mind, and even in her four-inch platform heels, she had to stretch up on her toes. "I swear. This country discriminates against shorties. We need to start an equal rights movement. And unless the person on the other side is as short as I am, a ghost just rang my bell."
"Maybe it's Mia," Margo said.
"Could be, but after you scared me with talk about ax murderers, I'm afraid to open the door."
As a buzzer sounded, Frankie's heart leaped into her throat before she realized it was an intercom and pressed the button. "Yes?"
"It's Mia, and I'm getting old waiting for you to open the door."
The relief made Frankie weak at the knees.
"Sorry. Hold on." She unlocked the door and opened the way for Mia. "Blame Margo. After I told her about how quiet it is here, we figured that the ship had good soundproofing, and if I invited a guy to my suite and he turned out to be a creep, no one would hear me scream."
"Hi, Margo," Mia said loudly as she drove her wheelchair into the room. "How is Cabo?"
"Terrible," Margo said in Frankie's ear.
"Let me activate the speaker so Mia can hear you." She pressed the icon and propped the phone on the table. "Go ahead. Tell us why Cabo is terrible."
"It's not Cabo. It's Lynda and all her weirdo friends. They are all like her. It's amazing how many Karens there are."
Frankie chuckled. "I assume you don't mean they are all actually named Karen."
"Three of her nine friends are called Karen, and the rest just act as if they are, and they are not even middle-aged."
"You know how the saying goes," Mia said. "Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are, and since I have awesome friends, I must be awesome, too."
"You are." Frankie hugged her. "Margo, you are missing a group hug."
"I know. I can't wait for your ship to get here. I plan to make up a story about a fabulous guy I met who invited me to join him on a cruise. Even Lynda could not be mad about me leaving a day early."
"Speaking of great guys." Mia pinned Frankie with a mock hard stare. "Who's the guy you want to invite to your suite?"
Pretending innocence, Frankie arched a brow. "Who said anything about a guy? It could have been a hypothetical."
"Could have been but wasn't. So, who is he?"
"His name is Doug, and he's Kian's guest."
"Oh." Mia frowned. "I don't know anyone by that name. I wonder who he is."
"Of course, you don't know him. He doesn't work for Perfect Match, and he's a guest. I met him on the top deck when I went for a drink. Oh, did I tell you about the robotic bartender?"
Mia lifted her hand. "Hold that thought. My phone is buzzing." She pulled it out, read the message, and frowned. "I'll have to hear the rest of the story later. I need to accompany Tom to a meeting." She reached for Frankie and gave her a hug. "I'll see you at dinner. You can show me the guy you want to invite later tonight, and I'll tell you if it's a good idea."
Annani
"Itruly feel like a queen now." Annani took Kian's hand even though she did not need his help to climb her makeshift throne.
He chuckled. "Only now? I thought you always felt like a queen or an empress."
Annani laughed. "After all, royalty runs in my blood." She made herself comfortable on the armchair that was standing on top of a coffee table and covered with a brocade bedspread. "You knew that even before the Kra-ell and these gods shed more light on Anumati's politics. I am Ahn's daughter, destined to rule over the gods, and was groomed accordingly." She smiled sadly. "I expected to rule fairly and benevolently, with Khiann by my side to balance my impulsiveness with his rational and calculating mind, but Fate had other plans for us. Our happily-ever-after was cut painfully short."
As she realized that her words had made everyone in the room uncomfortable, Annani squared her shoulders and gave them a bright smile. "Thank you all for preparing this room and building me a makeshift throne."
