Page 58 of Love Overboard
“Conversation?” She stayed in his arms but leaned to the right and met his eyes.
“You know.” He tilted his head from side to side.
Lacey squinted at him. “Nope. I’m drawing a blank.”
“Oh.” Jon cleared his throat and looked away.
She reached up and directed his face to hers. “How about you refresh my memory?”
Her fingers traced his jawline as he grinned. “I’d be happy to, ma’am.”
CHAPTER 26
“IPEEKED IN THE DOORWAY, and there they were.” Emily pressed her hands together as she filled her friends in over a midnight supper. “Cuddled like a pair of puppies.”
“Doing what?” Gerry seized her notebook from the table and lifted her pen.
“Lacey was sleeping away on his shoulder, and he was sitting there on the floor, grinning like a besotted fool. My poor heart almost burst from joy.”
“What happened next?” Althea leaned so far forward her pendant necklace slipped into her soup bowl.
Emily motioned to it with her finger while she continued her story. “Nothing much. The weather calmed, and the tender boat was there before we knew it. We loaded up and returned to the ship.”
“Awww.” Althea’s lower lip stuck out. “What a wasted opportunity.”
“But progress.” Emily shrugged. “Count the small victories as well as the big ones.”
Daisy reached to pull the necklace out of Althea’s tomato bisque and cleaned it with her napkin. She picked a piece of lint off her own bolero jacket and eyed a family two tables away. Every member from the dad to the toddler wore baseball caps. “Why do people insist on wearing sports attire in a formal setting?”
“The days of dressing up are gone.” Gerry set her notebook on the table and grabbed her fork.
“Yes.” Daisy nodded. “Proper cruise attire is all too rare these days.”
Each Shipper sat in her own version of dressed up. Emily wore a beaded gold blazer with matching pants. A vintage-style faux fur wrapped around Gerry, and a knit beret with silver sequins tilted on her head. Althea filled out a shiny red spaghetti-strap number with a flowered silk shawl. And Daisy wore her requisite black. Underneath her bolero jacket, ruffles spilled from the neckline, and the billowing sleeves of her poet blouse never once dipped into the food as she dined.
Gerry took a bite of her salad. “If Lacey is warming to Jon, then perhaps we should back off. Let nature take its course, as they say.”
“Who says?” Emily scoffed. “Whoever ‘they’ are haven’t met Lacey. I’ve analyzed that girl for over a year. The only way she’ll fall in love is if we give her a good, hard push.”
Daisy tipped her bowl forward by the rim and scooped the last bit of soup with her spoon. “But pushy people can also push others away.”
“I’m with Emily.” Althea took her second dinner roll from the basket, broke it in half, and slathered butter on each piece. “Lacey requires … encouragement.”
Emily placed both hands on the table and observed her colleagues. “Consider Jon’s feelings. The poor man has been pining after Lacey for years.”
“He doesn’t look to me like he’s pining.” Gerry pointed across the room with her fork.
Jon’s head bent back as he laughed with a large group of passengers at the entrance. His dark-blue suit jacket accentuated his tapered build. He noted the women tracking him and made his way to their table.
“Hello, my lady Shippers.” His smile was fully charged. “What a lovely picture you make.”
Althea preened as she smoothed her shawl. “Thank you for noticing.”
“Are you here alone?” Emily glanced past him.
He walked around the table and stopped at her chair. “Worried about me? Don’t be. I’ve already eaten, and I’m making a few goodwill rounds before I turn in for the night.”
Gerry elbowed Emily and motioned with her chin to where Lacey had entered. The young woman wove through the dining area, coming close to their table. When she noticed their group, she took an abrupt left and wandered around the pockets of diners, staying as far away from the Shippers as possible.
