Page 63 of Eat Your Heart Out
36
Gerard
Three Days Later
Ali had jumped to help and volunteered whenever something needed to happen since we came back on board. I wasn’t sure why, but she’d been calmer. My heart whispered we were progressing into a relationship, but I’d kept my lips shut about it.
Land was ahead, and the captain tugged on the horn to let the dock know we were coming to our assigned stall.
I sat in the sunroom, gazing at the land as it became larger and larger. Footsteps sounded behind me, and my skin buzzed, alerting me that it could only be one person, Ali. Then she took the seat next to me and poured herself a coffee from the carafe that had been left for her. She smiled, and my heart broke. I wasn’t sure what else I might do for her.
“We’ll dock soon.”
She let out a happy sigh as she sipped her drink. “I’m excited to see real land.”
I tilted my head. “Were the Azores not real?”
She giggled. “Fair point. I meant somewhere where water doesn’t entirely surround us.” She put her cup down. “Being alone with you has been nice.”
Adrenaline burst in my veins as I wondered if I should her ask her out again. “Agreed. So, instead of just writing our blogs today, how about we explore the city?”
She sucked on her bottom lip for a moment. I wasn’t sure what she wanted, but my skin pulsed.
She gulped. “Like on a date?”
I hoped she would see it as progression, so I nodded. “No pressure.”
For a second, she didn’t move. I tensed and expected a setback for pushing. Then she took my hand. “Well, I was hoping you would ask me again.”
She pivoted, and our knees brushed, as we were both in shorts. My heart thumped faster, and I stood taller, though I needed to be sure. “Do you want to go out with me, on a date?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’d like that… very much.” She laughed and covered her lips.
Her happiness struck something deep in my gut. “Any requests?”
She motioned with her hands going outward. “Dazzle me.”
I saluted her. “Challenge accepted.” I needed to make a plan, as I’d not thought it through. “Now you can wear the jewelry I left for you.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
“In the Azores. It was delivered to your room.”
She gulped her coffee then jumped up. “I’ve not spent much time there. Be right back.”
I would follow her shortly, as a T-shirt and shorts weren’t exactly date wear if I wanted to make it special.
I finished my tea, then my phone rang. I glanced at it and answered. “Elon, I didn’t think you’d call.”
“I’m heading to Orlando, and I figured I’d see if you were in port yet.”
“We’re docking as we speak.” I smiled and settled back into my seat for a few more minutes. I needed to make a plan, but my nerves were making logical thinking impossible, so hopefully, conversation would calm me down. I poured myself another tea from my carafe. “So, you found Clarissa?”
“She’s working at a theme park.”
As a girl, she’d been the last one of us to leave the parks. My mother had usually bought her a ticket when we went, as her parents were two of the full-time house staff. I hadn’t gone there since Adrien’s sixteenth birthday nearly six years ago. “Doing what?”
“Pretending to be a princess.”
