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"It's all right. I'll walk you back."
I stare at Iris, not quite sure what to do.
Rose suddenly clears her throat, gaining the man's attention. "Excuse me? Can you tell me what time it is?"
The man lifts his arm and looks at his watch, spurring Iris to make her move.
"My dear, you've dropped your scarf." Iris bends over and scoops up her garment, my package of condoms hidden in its folds. She places the bundle in my open backpack. "You should be a little more careful next time." Iris winks, her amusement evident by the glint in her eyes and twitching at the corner of her mouth.
My cheeks burn as I mouth "thank you" and follow the man down the corridor. Two distinct giggles erupt behind me.
After scanning my key card, I return to my cabin, relieved Iris and Rose are gone. Checking my watch, I realize I have over an hour until lunch and decide to update Romeo. It's Saturday andearly in the morning back home—too early to call. So I'll send him a text instead.
Me: Good morning. I thought I'd give you an update. Dane and I made up, so all is good for now. One of my fellow passengers even offered to help us organize a secret rendezvous. You'd laugh your ass off if you were here. Call me when you get a chance.
I hit the send button, receiving a return text almost immediately.
Romeo: Well, little Miss Sneaky, isn't that a surprise? You couldn't stay angry at that hunk of a man for long, could you?
Me: No…and why are you awake?
Romeo: Brad got called into work, so I'm up. That's one of the drawbacks of him being an ER nurse. I'll call you in a few minutes. I need to get another cup of coffee first.
Me: Okay, but hurry up. I need to get your "I told you so" over with.
Romeo: I told you so!
I laugh and lie on the bed as I wait for his call. Not even five minutes go by before my phone rings, and I answer it.
"That was quick. Go ahead and say it. I'm waiting."
"I already said it. No need to make you hate me," Romeo says flippantly. "So, give me the dirt, sweetie. I have a full cup of coffee in my hand."
"In a nutshell, Dane apologized for being a jerk and hurting me. And it turns out his mother is Bulgarian, but his father is British, automatically making him a British citizen when he was born."
"Well, isn't that a relief? So he wasn't the liar you thought he was. And since you have scoundrels offering to help you be sneaky, I assume that delicious morsel of a man found his way back on your plate."
"Yes, he did, and dessert last night was excellent."
"Oh, good grief. You are so torturing me. I can picture his…assets…as we speak. But what about his occupation? What happened with that?"
"Dane said he didn't lie about that either and simply hadn't told me the whole story. He said he couldn't tell me everything right now but promised he would later."
"Hmm. I may still be half-asleep, but that sounds hokey to me. Are you sure you trust him? You do have gullibility issues."
"I do trust him. He's a nice guy. He really is, and I don't think he's a liar. I only wish I could figure out what he does for a living. Dane said he's the co-owner of some international business, so the fact he's a waiter and bartender on the ship must mean he's here incognito. Maybe he owns some company that businesses secretly hire to come in and review their processes and customer service. If that were the case, it would make sense that he can't say anything."
"Or…maybe your hunk of a man is some cruise critic, putting him in almost the same capacity as you. Although, if that's what he is, he'd likely be there as a passenger rather than an employee. So when is he going to tell you?"
"I don't know. Dane said when the timing was right. But it'll have to be before the end of the cruise. After that, it won't matter as much since we won't see each other again."
"Excuse me? You have a gourmet meal on your table, and you're going to give it up and go home to scraps?"
"Yes, I am. Dane lives in England. I live in the United States. Remember? Plus, I'm working on getting that promotion, with my end goal of getting Katherine's job when she retires. That leaves zero time for a relationship. Look what I had with Troy. It was a disaster."
"Troy was an idiot. You can't base anything on that imbecile."
"Regardless, the two of us being together as a permanent fixture doesn't work, and we both know it."
