Page 45 of His Secret Gift

She smiles shyly. “It’s okay.”

“Please, you first.”

We haven’t talked since the kiss.

I stand up straight and make sure we don’t look suspicious. “How are you doing?”

Her eyes meet mine again. “I—I’m fine. How are you?”

There are so much more than the words we’re exchanging being said.

“I’m very well. I’ve been sleeping great.”

“I’m happy to hear that.”

Callie soon comes up and bumps into her back. She’s laughing, but her face falls flat when she realizes I’m standing right there.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Good morning, Callie.”

I then feel so uncomfortable that I excuse myself—having only a few orange slices and a croissant on my plate.

“That’s all you’re going to eat?” Bryant comments after I sit down next to him.

“Um, yeah. My stomach doesn’t feel great.”

He raises his burly eyebrow. “I’ve never known you to be one to fall victim to sea sickness.”

I wave my hand in the air. “No, it’s something else. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a bug going through the crew.”

Pursing his lips, he says, “Could be. Oh!” He dabs the cloth napkin around his mouth before returning it to his lap. “Speaking of the crew, some of my guys wanted me to ask you if still wanted to take a quick break in Morocco on the way. Around the time we’ll reach it, the ship and employees could use a little rest and refueling. What do you think?”

“Oh.” My whole focus, other than this Kayla distraction, has been on getting to Greece. “Do many staff members have the right visas for that?” There’s no point in going somewhere that nobody can get off the boat and explore.

He shakes his head. “You don’t need one unless you’re staying more than ninety days.”

“Oh. Well, okay. I don’t see any reason why not then.”

Bryant claps his hands together. “That’s great. I’ll let them know. We’re still weeks away from that, of course. But it’ll be awesome.”

Awesome.He continues to rant and rave, but I start looking around the room, and when my eyes lock with Kayla’s, it’s hard to look away again.

“Jack?” I eventually feel my shoulder shaking.

“What?”

“Are you listening to me?”

Finally, my pupils peel away from her. “Um, yeah. Totally.”

“What’d I just say?”

“Uh…”

“Exactly.

Chapter 15

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