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"We can whoop it up on the dance floor. That should give Larry a chance to sneak away. Jerry will be watching us, not him. I think it'll work." Rose scans our faces, and all but one of us nods.
Dahlia scoffs. "I'll watch from my seat."
"Suit yourself." Iris waves her hand dismissively and turns her back on Dahlia.
I glance at the bar. "I should text Dane to tell him what's up."
"You can't," Iris says. "If you pick up your phone and type out a text, and Dane checks his phone immediately afterward, Jerry might figure out something is up. If you've saved Dane on your contact list, I can text him from your phone and make it look like I'm on mine."
"Go ahead and use my phone. Dane's under P for Petrov."
Iris casually reaches over and places her hand over my phone, sliding it across the table until it's in front of her. She opens up my contact list and types out a text. Then she hits the send button. "I've laid out the game plan. We'll see what Dane says." She smiles when my phone dings. "Your young man says he likes the plan. He'll go to your cabin when Luis lets him leave."
We all grin at each other.
Marigold wiggles in her seat. "Oh, this is exciting. I feel like I'm robbing a bank or something."
"This is better," Rose laughs. "We can call ourselves Cupid's Crew."
There's a round of laughter, followed by clinking glasses. Then, the ship's resident pianist begins playing another lively tune.
"Let's go, ladies." Iris gets up and walks over to the dance floor.
I take my key card from my pocket and set it on the coffee table. Rose, Marigold, and I join Iris. I peek at Jerry and find him watching me, as Iris had predicted. He doesn't even turn away when Larry goes to Dane.
The song finishes, and the four of us return to our seats, but Larry is gone. He returns to the lounge a moment later, walking past Jerry's group before rejoining Marigold on the couch.
"Where'd you go?" Marigold asks.
Larry grins at her. "The restroom, so it looks like I got up for a reason."
Marigold beams at him.
The evening continues as we laugh, drink, and dance. After a while, the pianist stops playing, and the lounge slowly quiets until only a few groups remain. Jerry, his wife, and several friends are still there, the asshole keeping his eye on me. Andre leaves, and Mitre straightens chairs and cleans tables. I look toward the bar, spotting Dane and Luis deep in conversation. Luis says something, and Dane laughs. They both glance in Jerry's direction.
Dane spends the next few minutes wiping down the counter. I turn away when Marigold asks me a question. When I turn back, Dane is gone.
I peek at the group next to us. Jerry looks concerned, his eyes searching the bar. I'm relieved when my luck holds out, Jerry remaining in his seat.
My cell phone makes a low ding on the table in front of Iris. She looks at me, and I nod, giving her the go-ahead to check the message.
"It appears your young man is in your cabin waiting for you." Iris slides my phone across the table, and I pick it up.
"Then it's time for me to go." I stand, grinning at Iris and the others. "Thank you, Cupid's Crew, for all your help." I skirt around the coffee table to leave, noticing Jerry get up.
Iris, Rose, and Marigold giggle. Larry puts his head down like he's not looking, and Dahlia rolls her eyes.
My step feels light as I descend the stairs, Jerry and his wife not far behind me.
Reaching my cabin, I turn slightly so my back faces Jerry and pretend to pull my key card from my pants pocket and scan it outside my door. He and his wife are far enough behind me they won't know the difference, and they shouldn't be able to tell Dane left my door ajar. Pushing into the cabin, I close the door and lean against it, quietly snickering.
"What's going on?" Dane gets up from the bed and walks toward me. He's naked and so damn sexy.
It takes me a few seconds to snap back to his question. "I was snickering because I feel like I'm playing some spy game, and Jerry is the villain. If this whole thing weren't so stressful, I'd thoroughly enjoy it."
"Let me help you dispel some of that stress." Dane reaches for my hand and pulls me against his chest. "I missed you."
"You've just seen me for the last couple of hours."
