Page 80 of Love Overboard
“We can have some installed if you plan to make this a habit.”
“Heavens, no!” Daisy said. “We’ve learned our lesson.”
Althea held up her right hand. “We promise, baby. No more—”
“Don’t let her bully you.” Emily stood straight and tall. “We know this is all for show. It’s normal protocol to lock unruly passengers in their cabins. You must have arranged this to keep us in line. Am I right?”
Lacey gritted her teeth. The woman was scary smart. If only she would use her powers for good instead of matchmaking. “Emily”—she forced her voice to stay calm—“all you have to do is stop these crazy, convoluted plots.”
“But we want you to be happy, dear.” Emily sat back on the bed with the heartbroken expression of a spanked child.
“Gah.” Lacey thrust her hands in the air and curled her fingers. “How can I get through to you?”
“Lacey.” Jon captured her elbow. “We should come clean.”
“Shhhh!” She jerked her head at the Shippers.
“Look at them.” He motioned to the four aging prisoners on the narrow bed. “I’m afraid they’ll get in real trouble if they keep going.”
Lacey glanced at the Shippers. The obstinate tilt of Emily’s chin guaranteed future meddling.
Lacey pursed her lips and flicked a gaze at the ceiling. “You’re right. Tell them.”
Gerry folded her arms. “Tell us what?”
The hand Jon placed on Lacey’s elbow slowly slid down her arm, and his fingers interlocked with hers. He faced the women. “You win, ladies. Lacey and I are officially together.”
Emily side-eyed him. “What do you mean by ‘together’?”
Jon placed his free hand to his chest. “I offered my heart, and the fair lady has accepted me. We are in a committed romantic relationship.”
Five seconds of shock followed.
Then …
“Hallelujah!” Althea jumped up and did a Sunday-morning shuffle by the bed.
Gerry slapped the blue padded wall and nodded her head. “I knew something was fishy.”
Daisy sneaked a handkerchief from the pocket of her velvet robe and pressed it to her mouth.
And Emily sat silent and still. But her eyes betrayed her happiness. The joy welled and spilled out of them in shiny little drops.
Lacey regretted her churlish behavior at the sight of tears. But she’d make it up to the stubborn old matchmaker, who’d been right all along. It was stupid to run from love. Lacey should have stopped sooner. No more avoidance. Jon was a permanent part of her life, and that meant there was an important task she had to complete.
Whether she wanted to or not.
CHAPTER 36
LACEY STOOD ON THE CHAOTICpier with her mother and father. People milled around them in a sea of stress and clamor. Passengers hauled their suitcases. Crew members rushed up a side gangplank—already in turnaround mode. A thousand things needed to happen in the few quick hours before the next wave of customers arrived—bedsheets washed, food delivered, pianos tuned. Lacey longed to be a part of the mind-numbing bustle, but she had something to tell her parents.
Her mother embraced her in a gentle hug. “When does your current contract end? Will you come home on your break this time?”
“We’ll see.” Lacey let go.
Her mom sniffled and wiped her nose. “It’s silly to get teary about a fully grown daughter, but I can’t help it.”
“Don’t cry.” Lacey rubbed her mother’s arm. “I’ll try to visit in a few months.”
