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"I don't want to switch seats. Why do you want me to switch?" Marigold grumbles. "I don't know that man."
"Oh, shush. Sitting there for an hour won't kill you," Rose retorts. "I'm taking my granddaughter, Jennifer, to New York next summer. I want to pick Brittany's brain about the city and places I should take her."
"You can do it later. I don't want to move." Irritation is evident in Marigold's voice as she shifts in her seat and crosses her arms over her chest.
"I want to talk to Brittany now," Rose snaps. "The bus is stopping at the light. Hurry up. You can switch while it's stopped."
Marigold gets up from her seat, still grumbling, and takes several steps backward. Larry gets up and waits in the aisle while Marigold and I swap. Larry retakes his seat.
I turn to Rose after getting situated, our bus now merging onto a highway. "What in particular did you want to know about New York?"
"Nothing," Rose whispers. "It was a ruse. I saw Marigold eyeing the man next to you during breakfast yesterday and this morning. I thought I'd give her a chance to talk to him since she'd never do it on her own."
"Oh, you are sneaky. Very sneaky." I now have a newfound appreciation of Rose.
She grins at me. "Don't tell her what I did. She'll never forgive me."
"I won't say a word." It's best I don't get involved in Rose's matchmaking scheme anyway. With my luck, I'd be the one targeted if something goes wrong.
As the minutes pass, I hear Larry introduce himself and make general inquiries about Marigold. She sounds reluctant as she does the same. It's not long before a full-blown conversation flows between them. Rose and I look at each other and grin when we hear a low giggle from the seat behind us, the two of them hitting it off.
Our bus reaches Visegrad and pulls into a parking lot adjacent to the dock. Larry's original bus pulls in behind us, and two other buses are already there, having visited the tourist sites in a slightly different order than us to eliminate one hundred and eighty-eight cruise passengers swarming the places all at once. We disembark, and I follow Iris, Dahlia, and Rose across the paved lot and down the gangway to the ship. Larry escorts Marigold, the two deep in conversation.
Lunch is being served in the dining room. My stomach growls when I make a quick stop in my cabin to freshen up, and itcontinues its noisy tirade when I join the ladies at their favored table by the window. I'm mildly surprised to see Larry joining them and sitting in a chair beside Marigold.
Luka is immediately hovering, wearing a beaming smile and cheerful as ever. I scan the dining room, looking for Dane, but he's nowhere around. Although I'm still angry as hell at being lied to, I can't help feeling disappointed, and I wonder if he's upstairs in the lounge.
Dammit, why am I even thinking about this guy? Stop it. Just stop it. I need to turn off my thoughts and kick him out of my brain.I scowl, knowing that's easier said than done, especially when I scan the dining room one more time.
I turn my attention to Iris. She's watching Luka like a cat watching a mouse, which elicits a cold stare or two from Dahlia.
"One of the waitstaff on the other side of the dining room looks like you. Is he your brother?" Iris asks when Luka returns to the table with a bottle of wine in his hand. "He's the young man talking to the gentleman wearing a turban with that large group by the door."
"Oh, him. He's one of the new waiters. His name is Luka too, so we can't be brothers." Luka eyes the other waiter. "You think we look alike?"
"I do. You're built the same and have the same haircut and facial features, at least from a distance."
"The devil's in the details, then, isn't it?" Luka says with a roguish grin.
"Oh, I'm sure it is." Iris gives Luka a saucy smile.
I giggle, seeing a wicked glint in Iris's eyes and her tongue flick the corner of her mouth. I don't think Luka has a clue what he's up against. Although he likely gets brazen comments and seductive stares from the women passengers on the ship all the time, especially from the ones cruising alone.
We finish lunch, and I excuse myself from the others, going to my cabin to work on my assignment. Once there, I grab my cell phone from the dresser to check my emails. There's a text message from Romeo that he'd sent a minute ago.
Romeo: Hey, sweetie. I wanted to check on you. Is everything going okay?
No! Everything is not okay!I type out on my screen. My thumb hovers over the send button. Sighing, I change my mind. It's too dramatic and needs a softer touch. I erase my text and start over.
Me: No. I have a problem on my hands. Sorry…not work-related. Personal. I think I screwed up.
Romeo: With what?
Me: I followed Laurel's advice about something and created a mega mess.
Romeo: Sweetie, you're scaring me. Advice about what?
Me: Men.
