Page 24 of Forbidden Whispers

Her finger indicated a man in the background of the shot. He was seated on a stool up at the bar. But he was turned in his seat, staring intently at Valentina with an angry scowl on his face.

“That doesn’t look good,” Maggie said.

“It looks like I took a few more pictures after these restaurant ones,” Noah said. “Maybe we can figure out where Valentina and I went next.” He continued scrolling through the images and cringed as a series of very bad selfies filled his phone screen. He was in a crowded room filled with low, colorful lighting. It looked like everyone around him was dancing. Noah, on the other hand, was striking some pretty strange poses.

“You look...interesting,” Michelle said, clearly trying not to laugh.

Noah frowned, scrolling back to make a few of the images larger. He examined the background of several photos, and then suddenly his face cleared. “I know where these were taken!”

“Where?” Maggie asked.

“Can I interest you in joining me for a sunset cruise?”

Chapter 8

Maggie felt heat emanate through her body, originating at the point where Noah’s hand lightly touched the small of her back as he escorted her up the gangplank to board the Lake Michigan Princess. Was it wrong that she felt excited about embarking on a romantic sunset cruise with Noah by her side? It was a secret dream come true for her.

She loved creating romantic experiences for her clients. But she’d never experienced any of them for herself. Neither of her previous boyfriends had understood the kind of romantic gestures that spoke to her soul. Nor had they probably even cared, if she was being totally honest.

She took a deep breath and pushed those negative thoughts from her mind as she felt the soft evening air wash over her. She was determined to enjoy as much of this night as she could, despite their true purpose for being here.

The eighty-foot vessel was a Victorian-style paddlewheel riverboat with two decks. There was an enclosed lower deck and an open-air upper deck covered with a crisp navy blue-and-white striped canopy. Both levels held comfortable seating and tables for the guests, but at the moment, nobody was sitting. Everyone stood around the perimeter of the boat to soak up the magical lake views. Maggie and Noah had been the last to board and immediately after they stepped onto the boat, the crew began lifting the gangplank and loosening the ropes that held the boat to the dock.

“May I see your hand, ma’am?” said a young man who was wearing the staff uniform of a navy blue polo shirt and white shorts.

Maggie extended it toward him and he placed a stamp on it. She looked at the dark blue rectangular boat shape with the words Lake Michigan Princess stamped inside it.

“Oh my gosh!” she said, extending it toward Noah. “Recognize this?”

“Riiiight,” he said slowly, recognition dawning in his eyes as he looked at her hand. The fresh stamp was clearly similar to the smudged image that had been on the back of his own hand that morning, before he’d showered it off. “I knew it looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember from where. Now we know.”

Noah received a fresh stamp on his hand, and they moved into the ship. Now free from its mooring, the boat began drifting away from the dock, apple-red twin paddle wheels slowly churning the water beneath them.

Maggie took another deep breath, determined to get a grip on her emotions and keep focused on their goal. She turned toward Noah. “Where should we start?”

Noah looked down at her, a strange glint in his eyes. “I know this may make me sound terrible,” he said. “But we’re going to be on board for the next few hours. We have plenty of time to find out if anyone saw Valentina and me. But, right now, I think it would be nice to watch the sunset. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful one. Are you okay with that?”

---