Page 24 of It Had to be You

"Yes, you."

Her eyes narrowed and then relaxed again. "Sure. You’re more than welcome to come along."

He heard the uncertainty in her voice and some of the excitement he’d felt waned.

Her smile lifted a little. "I think we’ll both have a nice time."

Nice time.

Nicetime.

"Uh," he blew out a breath, "maybe it’s best if I head back to the ship." Shaking his head, he managed to pull himself together and gave her what he hoped was a genuine smile. "I don’t want to bother you."

He turned away to get his bearings before doing something stupid like walking into a wall or a

light post. He would wait until later to figure out why he felt like he’d been punched in the chest.

"Alexander?"

He wanted to turn around, but he didn’t want her to invite him alongjust to be nice.

"Alex?"

One corner of his mouth tipped up in the beginning of a smile as he turned back around.

She didn’t say anything at first, just met his curious gaze with her own and a trade wind blew

down the street, lifting one side of her hat brim and almost pulled it off of her head.

Alexander grinned. "Where did you get that crazy hat?"

Her gaze lifted up toward the brim of her hat and her mouth pursed into a wavering line. "It is crazy, isn’t it?" Reaching up a hand, she pulled it off her head and held it against her chest with both hands. "I thought I would like to do some exploring at our stops on the cruise, but I’ve spent so much of my life indoors. I burn just looking at a picture of the sun, so I saw this hat online and bought it. It looked so cute. And then I opened the box. I’mpretty sure if I used the ties and made a bow under my chin it might lift me right off the ground."

"It’s a really… pink hat."

She laughed and her smile was transcendent. "That’s the truth."

"You want to know what else is the truth?"

Her smile dimmed just a bit. "Sure?"

Tatum shifted a little and he swore she was almost wincing at the thought.

"Yes, Blair’s busy today, but that’s not the only reason I left without her." The street around them was bustling with people, the sounds of life carried by the winds seemed to circle around them. "When I said that I want to spend time with you, I meant it. Just the two of us. Alone."

He saw her expression falter a little, and he couldn’t read what it meant.

"I like you, Tatum. I’m attracted to your smile. Your laughter. I look forward to every moment you and I spend together. I’m well aware that you might not feel the same way and that’s fine. I would still love to have today as a chance to explore San Juan with my new friend, but if there’s a chance that you might be attracted to me, I want to see where this could go."

She didn’t have to say a word for him to see that she was struggling with the idea.

If there was one thing he knew about her it was that she was a thoughtful and gentle person. If she didn’t return his interest, he had no doubt that she was thinking of the nicest way she could to turn him down.

And really, he was grateful for that.

He was already out on a limb.

"I’m not sure what I should say." Her lower lip plumped as her teeth bit down into it. "I’m pretty sure as a paid member ofthe staff, I should tell you no. Or at least that you’re welcome to come with me today, but as for the rest…"

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