Page 11 of Revenge Honeymoon

“Right. Okay. Yes.” Why did her mind say yes, but her feet say no? She couldn’t force her feet to take a single step away from her future dream husband.

“Number Seventy!” Martina called out. “Couple number seventy, you are next up for portraits.”

“Dinner’s at eight,” Ruby reminded her. “We get to pig out. Time to ditch this dress and put on something more comfortable.”

Ruby had never pigged out a day in her life. Once, if Emily’s memory served correctly, she’d gotten two scoops of ice cream on a waffle cone on their disastrous double date with the Hoffman twins—fraternal, not identical—but she’d never actually finished it. The woman had the lightest, bird-like appetite. Naturally thin with little effort and no starvation tactics.

“I think I’ve got some yoga pants in my bag,” Emily said.

“Perfect.” Ruby grinned. “I’ve heard you can order as many desserts as you want to try.”

“Really?” Max leaned in. “What about entrees?”

Did his breath smell like chocolate and peppermint? Or was Emily only fantasizing about unlimited desserts?

“I think so,” Ruby said. She grabbed for her tiny purse that held maybe a lipstick and a credit card—oh, and the whole day’s itinerary. How did she manage that? “See, right here?Your Cruise Dining Experience?”

Max leaned over her perfect shoulder to peer at the paper Ruby unfolded.

Emily’s stomach burned. She didn’t like the emotion surging through her at that very moment. It was not best friend-y. Not in even the slightest way. To avoid that emotion growing into something even bigger and uglier, she snatched that paper right out of Ruby’s hand much to the shock of the bride and the photographer.

“Yep, right here.” Emily’s face heated. Why did she do it? Why did she do something so rude and stupid and childish? “Looks like you can—order more than one entrée, more than one appetizer, too. Wow. Great. Fantastic. We can all gorge like starving wildebeests.” She shoved the paper into the pocket of Max’s jacket.

A poof of Max’s manly scent assaulted her nose, and she almost lost herself in it. Like put her face behind the lapel and take a long, weird sniff that would reveal her very ridiculous crush on a man that was so stupidly unsuited for her.

Why, if Emily were honest, she should shout off the highest deck of their cruise ship that Ruby and Maxwell—her best friend and the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen—were perfect for each other. It’s as if the gods rained favor upon them and created the ideal couple.

Everyone could see it.

Emily could see it.

And inside her chest, her heart deflated to the size of a molecule.

Chapter4

Surprise Dining Partner

“I’m never wearing another thing out of your wardrobe,” declared Emily as she slipped into her favorite ‘office’ yoga pants, which she’d paired with a bright pink wrap blouse that tied at her waist. “There, I look fine dining suitable, but with plenty of room for the food I plan to consume.” She patted her stomach.

“My dress looked great on you.” Ruby stood behind Emily as they shared the one large mirror in their cabin. She’d decided to keep wearing her floral dress—of course, why wouldn’t she? She looked like a model in it—but swapped out her heels for a pair of more casual sandals. “It was bad luck about the rip. I wish I had your curves.” She eyed her friend’s cleavage.

Emily tugged the edges of her blouse together. “Oh, is it too much?”

Ruby batted her hand away. “It was a compliment, not a criticism. Most women would die for those.” She gestured at Emily’s ample chest. “I still have yet to find the perfect push-up bra.”

Emily smiled at her friend and finished putting on her lipstick. “What would I do without you, Rubes?”

“Probably die of boredom. Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

Emily grabbed her purse off the bed. Max’s jacket lay across the foot of it. She fingered it for a moment. “Sure was nice of the photographer to lend me this.”

“Wasn’t he so kind?” Ruby fluffed her hair and tossed a Chapstick into her bag. “Hard to find a nice guy like that these days.”

For a split second Emily let her fantasy mind wander. She’d head down to the photography studio after dinner, the room would be dark and empty. Nobody around. She’d sneak over to his equipment stash with the jacket, a note tucked into the pocket with her phone number. As she turned to leave, Max would be standing there. His dark hair half-covering his face, almost like the Phantom of the Opera—sexy but a little dangerous. He’d grab her by the elbow without saying a word, reel her into his hard chest, tip her back, and kiss her like Samantha and Jake in the 80s classic,Sixteen Candles, except without the birthday cake and the candles burning...and, well, okay, maybe Max reminded her of Jake a little bit.

“Are you feeling sick?” Ruby asked.

Emily snapped back to the cruise ship, her best friend, their fake marriage, and the next week of pretending. Max would be a distant memory and maybe, if she was lucky, a good dream tonight. “No, I’m fine. Maybe a little tired.”

---