Page 142 of Why Cruise

“We’ll run focus groups. Not a problem.”

Justice and Aria got into it with business plans, launches, product development. He was careful to explain buzzwords and jargon. Mackenzie was smart, but start-ups seemed to have theirown language. With planning meetings scheduled, Aria left us to work the room, but she sent champagne to our table.

We spent the rest of the evening laughing and drinking. It may have been the best night of my life.

Mackenzie

As we walked through the vast lobby, I wanted to stretch my arms out and spin around until I passed out. I couldn’t believe I lived here now. After Daryl’s tiny apartment and Jillian’s spare bedroom… it felt like I just stepped into someone else’s life.

“Mr. Twill, welcome home. We have some items for you.” A beta in a smart suit stepped around the impressive desk.

“This is Hector. He’s the evening concierge manager. He has the best recommendation for late night food.” Justice said and then he introduced us by name. There was a hint of pride in his voice. Not showing off, exactly, but wanting us to feel at home in his world.

“I do my best, sir. Your furniture delivery went smoothly. Everything has been unpacked as per your instructions. Angela, head of Housekeeping, ensured me that all the beds were made to your standards.”

Justice thanked him and ripped open a bubble envelope. He shook out three phones. Even at a distance, I could tell they weremuch better than the one Daryl had given me. Each phone had a sticky note on them with our names.

“And these are for you, Ms. Twill.” I looked around to see who he was talking to. Oh. Me. Duh. Ms. Twill? Mackenzie Twill. The Twill Pack. Twill. It was fun to say. Twill. Twist? Twist of… citrus… Neroli oil was like a twist of citrus in your drink. Twist Cosmetics? Twist Skin? Twisted Skin? Huh. Maybe I wasn’t terrible at naming things after all? I had to juggle my new phone to accept the little bouquet.

“Who is sending me flowers?”

Ren took the flowers from me and plucked out the card. Justice moved us toward the elevator with a hand at the small of my back. The envelope had the logo of the boutique where we’d bought my dress today.

“‘These should look lovely with your dress. Jennifer. Senior sales associate.’” I read the card aloud as we stepped into the elevator. “Why is she sending me flowers?”

“She works on commission. She wants your business,” Ren said, burying his nose in the flowers.

“That seems silly, spending half your commission on flowers. The dress couldn’t have been more than a couple of hundred dollars.” I smoothed my hand over the fabric, still marveling at how it felt against my skin. It was the nicest dress I had ever owned. I’d probably never have the chance to wear it again.

“Thousands.” Justice whispered.

“What?” The elevator stopped on our floor. No sign of the neighbors. Ren tapped his key card to the door and held it open for us.

Justice screwed up his face like he hadn’t wanted to admit that.

“You let me wear a dress that cost thousands?” My voice was high pitched and squeaky. “What if I spilled something on it?”

Ren spun me around and pressed me against the closed door, almost crushing the flowers between us. “He didn’t buy the dress for you. He bought it for himself.” Ren ran his fingers up my side, making me shiver. “Have you seen yourself in this dress? He’d buy you a thousand more just to look at you in them. Let’s go put your flowers in some water.”

He led the way into the kitchen. This wasn’t an open floorplan apartment. The kitchen was in its own spacious room. There was a pantry and island counter with a breakfast bar and a small table against the huge windows overlooking downtown. Port Haven sparkled like it was celebrating too.

Theo took the flowers, refreshed the water, and started fluffing them up to look even prettier. He looked pretty standing there. I blinked back sudden tears. Three weeks ago, a mix-up brought Theo into my life. But what if it wasn’t a mix up. The auracle on the cruise said I already had my pack. And tonight? That omega had said we looked like scent matches. What if we were always meant to be together? I turned on my new phone as a distraction. I didn’t want this perfect night to end in ugly crying.

There were a ton of apps I didn’t recognize. I’d have to reset all my passwords tomorrow so I could log into to all my apps. I could never remember them. Maybe Justice had a solution for that. He leaned over my shoulder and tapped one of the icons.

“This is PackSuite,” he said, his voice soft near my ear. The app opened to reveal a sleek interface with our names already listed. “It’s premium software created by my company specifically for intra-pack communications.”

I touched the screen, scrolling through the options as he explained.

“The messaging is fully encrypted,” he continued, tapping a chat section. “No one outside our pack can access it, short of a court order. Video calling works anywhere in the world,regardless of cell service, as long as you have Wi-Fi or satellite connection.”

“You made this?” I asked, impressed despite myself.

He nodded, a hint of pride in his eyes. “It was one of our first major products. Here,” he swiped to another screen, “there’s a shared calendar where we can all update our schedules, set reminders for pack activities.”

His finger moved to another button. “And everything’s linked to secure cloud storage for documents, photos, videos. There’s even a recipe database you can enable that will scan for all potential allergies and preferences. So, no mushrooms for you. Anything you want to share with the pack goes here. ”He paused, his expression softening. “Your personal folders are private, though. Only you can access them unless you specifically grant permission.”

“We’ll all have access to the same information,” Justice explained. “Pack finances, household details, medical records if you want to share them. It’s all in one place, but protected.”

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