Page 41 of Too Far To Sea
“You too.”
McKay hurried to the nearest crew door and entered before reading the message.
Alvaro: Activity on camera. Do walk by.
Mac: Going now.
He raced down the stairs as he reached the bottom of the last flight and his phone buzzed.
Alvaro: They moved on.
To avoid the stares of fellow crew members, McKay descended one more deck at a more sedate pace before crossing over to the crew elevator and retiring to the security office. Even if he had caught people kissing in that corner, the only thing he could do is leave the couple embarrassed. Likely, all it would have done was chase them into a new hiding spot. He doubted that either of the couple were stupid enough to do more than kiss, which wasn’t against any cruise ship rules. There had to be another way to find the crew member that informed the fiancéabout this spot. One that didn’t involve Dana. She didn’t deserve to be in the middle of this.
12
The shelvesin Trinity Library towered over Dana, stretching into the grand ceiling above. Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, casting a warm glow on the rows of ancient tomes. Each shelf held row upon row of ancient books, their spines worn and faded with age. She walked slowly, taking in as much as she could without stalling the other tourists.
Visiting the library had been on her bucket list for years. The Book of Kells was interesting, but she’d rushed through the last few sections of the audio tour to get to this room filled with knowledge. She snapped a selfie to send to her dad, Brit, and Simone. Had McKay visited this room? What had he thought?
Dana stepped out of the way of a mom pushing a stroller. Where did thoughts about McKay come from? He wasn’t here, and she was unlikely to be able to talk with him long enough to ask a question as trivial as his thoughts on Trinity Library. Yet he was the person she wanted to talk to about the day. The rest of the bridal party wouldn’t care. Normally Cheyanne would, but with only days to the wedding, her time and thoughts were occupied.
When they’d made their excursion plans months ago, Dana was the only one who had wanted to visit the university, so they decided to spend the morning exploring and meet up at the hotel at check in time. Most of the party had opted for a tour of the world-famous brewery and a bus tour of the city, leaving her to enjoy the day alone.
As she left Trinity College and made her way down the cobbled sidewalk, Dana wished she could explore Dublin longer. She stopped at a small café for a quick lunch and continued her stroll through the city. Dana couldn’t resist popping into a few shops along the way, searching for a sweater for her dad. The thought that the next store would have the perfect one and the fact she could return tomorrow kept her from purchasing the grey one she fell half in love with. It would look great on Dad, or McKay. No, the green one for McKay. One store later, the “what if she didn’t make it back” thought won, and she retraced her steps for the sweater for her father.
She wished she could find something more for Dad. After a week dodging Sheila, Dana wondered if there was a way to show more appreciation for the man who gave up his military career to raise her. Nothing she saw on her way to rendezvous with Cheyanne gave her any ideas.
The hotel lobby buzzed with activity as Dana made her way inside. She spotted the rest of the bridal party gathered in a corner, chatting and laughing. Dana wound her way around tourists with roller bags and bell boys with carts.
Cheyanne handed Dana a room key. “Did you have a good time at Trinity?”
“The library was incredible. I wish I could have read one book, just to say I did.” Reading a few paragraphs from the current novel on her phone wasn’t the same thing.
“That’s awesome,” Cheyanne said. “We decided we’re going shopping for matching tacky tourist shirts for the bachelorette party tonight.”
Dana raised an eyebrow. “There is a chain store with plenty of those.”
As they made their way to the shops, they chatted about the wedding. Amy-Kate seemed to be a bit tipsy. From the other bridesmaid’s comments, she finished everyone’s sample drinks on the brewery tour.
As they walked down the street, Amy-Kate tripped and fell on the cobblestone. She winced in pain as she tried to stand up. “I think I twisted my ankle,” she slurred.
Dana helped her sit up against a nearby wall while Renee called for a taxi to take them back to the hotel.
“I’m sorry,” Amy-Kate mumbled, tears in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” Dana reassured her. “Accidents happen. Do we need to go to a hospital?”
“No. I can just go back to the ship. If it gets worse, I’ll see the doctor on board. My travel insurance will cover it.” Amy-Kate rubbed her ankle. “Can I borrow your crutches? I’ll be fine in a day or two.”
“We could just stay in the hotel bar. Then you won’t need to go back,” suggested Lindie.
“If we wanted to stay in one place, we could all go back to the ship. They might refund our fees since we didn’t really use the rooms,” said Erin.
Chey bit her lip. “I don’t think they’ll do that. Our stuff is in our rooms.”
“Don’t cancel your night. Dublin pubs. You can’t miss them.” Amy-Kate used the wall to stand, putting no weight on her injury.
Renee offered a hand. “But you shouldn’t go alone.”
