Page 28 of It Had to be You

He reached a hand across the table and set it over hers. "Well, now I have something to look forward to when we get home."

When we get home…

She was certainly going to have a lot to think about when they returned to the ship.

CHAPTER 7

Alexander was waiting on the pier when the young man he’d paid earlier walked up with a large box in his hands. He held the base steady as Alexander lifted the top and looked at the contents with a smile.

"Are you trying to sneak contraband aboard, Mister Wen?"

Laughing at Martina’s school-marm tone, he showed her the contents of the box.

She smiled at one item and looked askance at the other. "Interesting."

Alexander held out a bill to the young man who tried to refuse. "No," he assured him, "I want you to have it. You did a great job, and I thank you."

The young man helped Alexander close the box and gave them a friendly wave as he jogged off toward the parking lot.

Now that they were alone, he had a feeling she was going to have a few things to say to him.

And he didn’t mind it in the least. He, too, had something he wanted to talk to her about, but he wasn’t sure how the heat would affect the contents of the box. He gestured at the pathway to the ship and they both started in that direction.

"The flowers are beautiful," she began, "but the hat?"

They were nearing the shadowed entryway and Alexander was hoping there would still be enough

light for him to see Martina’s expression.

"It’s not for Blair."

Surprisingly, she didn’t have much of a reaction to his words. If they decided to play poker on board, he was going to have to get Martina to be his partner. She had an excellent poker face.

"Well, I was actually trying to find you to talk about Blair."

He didn’t hear anything in her voice that would make him worry that there had been an

emergency with her health, so-

"She left the ship while you were out."

Alexander set the box down on a table in the entryway. "Is she okay?"

"Health wise," she assured him, "she’s fine. That’s not… give me a moment." Reaching into her shoulder bag, Martina removed her cell phone and cued up a video. As they stood there, side by side, she hit the play icon and he listened to the video message.

It shouldn’t have shocked him as much as it did. He’d planned to track her down that evening and explain where his feelings were, but from what she explained, she’d already realized a few things herself.

"… my head and my heart just aren’t in the same place right now. Yes, I want to find love, but I need to make my mark on the company so I can prove that I’m the right person to lead it when my dad steps down.

"And to do that, I need to live and breathe this job every second of the day. So, I hope you don’t hate me for this, Alexander, but I have to get back to New York. Martina said she’s going to try

to find you another match, but I have a feeling that you might not need help finding the right woman.

"Maybe all you need is a light push in the right direction. Enjoy the time you have on the ship and I hope that you’ll let me take you both out for a celebration when you come back to New York."

The video ended and Alexander looked over at Martina.

"That was," he cleared his throat, "a little surprising."

---