Page 30 of Hearts Aweigh
Abby leaned her hand against a dining room chair and rotated her foot. High heels were not for work hours.
Spencer’s attention zeroed in on her shoes. “And your break was cut short. I apologize.”
“No biggie. There’s always tomorrow.”
“Until we interrupted, how was your date going?”
Abby blinked, surprised he’d asked. “Norville was … attentive.”
“Cloying?”
This man was quick on the uptake. She’d better be careful how she phrased things. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“Even if it’s true?”
“Norville was sweet.” Abby felt the need to defend her escort. After all, the man was a minister. “He brought me flowers. And held the door for me. At the restaurant, when I sat in the chair with my back to the wall, he kindly let me know proper etiquette dictates the man faces outward toward the room. It has something to do with keeping watch for danger. He was super mannerly.”
Spencer’s mouth curled. “Real manners let the lady sit where she pleases.”
Abby returned to Maddie’s side and dropped onto the plush settee with a moan. “I admit I had the setting sun in my eyes for the first five minutes.” She bent and rubbed the toes peeking from the flirty straps of her sandals.
Spencer sat in the chair opposite her and regarded the shoes. “Was he worth the four-inch heels?”
“I didn’t even need the boost.” She straightened. “Our heights are very compatible.”
“If this works out, you can spend the rest of your life squinting at a man on the same eye level as you.”
“Are you normally this curious about your employees’ love lives?”
“Is it love already?” He thumbed through the folder.
Abby ignored his question and focused on Maddie. The child’s head rested on the arm of the couch. Her long golden lashes drooped.
Abby bent and patted her on the back. “Would you like to go to bed?”
Maddie’s chin bobbed, but the rest of her body didn’t move. Her father sat and studied his folder, absorbed in his work. He’d be no help.
“Looks like someone’s too sleepy to walk.” Abby placed gentle hands under the girl’s arms and lifted her up.
Maddie cuddled close. Her breath regulated as she fell asleep in an instant. A pleasant ache in Abby’s heart caused her to squeeze the child tight.
It was good she’d sought help from the Shippers. Good that she’d gone on the date with Norville, even if he was a little fastidious. The sooner she married, the sooner she could have a baby of her own to assuage the longing inside.
Until then, she’d pour her love into this precious girl.
CHAPTER 13
ABRISK, EARLY-MORNING BREEZEruffled the playful waves rolling past the MSBuckinghamas the Shippers observed their latest client. The four ladies sat at a shaded table. Abby stood before them, her arms full of picture books. Gerry opened her laptop and signaled for Emily to begin the debriefing.
Emily motioned to an empty chair. “Sit down, dear.”
“I’d love to, but I can’t.” Abby shifted the books to free up a hand. “I’m due at the childcare center in fifteen minutes. Mr. Masterson is meeting me there. I told him he could leave Maddie with anyone, but he insists on turning her over to me before he leaves for his business appointment.”
“Who makes business appointments on a cruise ship?” Althea asked. “Are you sure he’s not getting a massage?”
“Unfortunately,” Daisy drawled, “I can confirm he has a business appointment. Family business. With me.”
Emily refrained from giving her opinion on a man who treated his own mother like an employee. She suspected the woman’s relationship with her son required more than one conversation to mend, so she’d focus on a more pleasant topic—matchmaking.
