Page 20 of Revenge Honeymoon

Her best friend, however, seemed to think that was a little cuckoo. “Hold on, what are we promising? Let me remind you, Max, Emily promised me she wouldn’t tell anyone we weren’t newlyweds, so I’m not sure how reliable she is in the promise department.” Ruby glared at Emily.

Their server delivered two massive sundaes and a piece of peach pie the size of the moon in its first quarter phase.

Max crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “All I want is—”

Emily found her mind most inappropriately filling in the blanks:

All I want is someone to slather sunscreen on my naked chest...

All I want is a night of incredible sex with the lights on...

All I want is you...

“—to forget about my life for a few days,” he finished. “So no more personal questions. Everything we talk about at this table must be about the cruise, about the here and now.”

Somehow instead of having to own up to Ruby’s ruined wedding and broken heart, they’d gotten away with the thinnest of excuses and a table companion willing to go along with it.

“Promise accepted.” Ruby stretched her hand across the table and cemented the deal with a handshake.

Okay. That could be good. That could be very, very good.

Not only did Ruby end up not having to explain her runaway groom, Emily didn’t have to share the usual stories of failed relationships, heartaches, embarrassing moments, and all the other stuff that made up her conversational arsenal. Self-deprecating was her go-to chat mode. She didn’t want to be that way, but it came naturally to her after a lifetime of not living up to expectations—her own and the expectations others put upon her.

“Em?” Ruby nudged her.

“Oh, yes, I promise.” The opportunity to shake Max’s hand had disappeared, as he’d begun eating his dessert. One sexy bite at a time.

Emily licked her lips without thinking.

Max looked up at her at that exact moment. He stared at her mouth, and his gaze warmed to a low burn.

At least, Emilywantedto believe it was a low burn. He lingered for a few seconds on her mouth. She froze with the tip of her tongue touching her upper lip.

A lush roll of heat swept from her head to her stomach and maybe even a little lower.

Whoa, Nellie.

He cleared his throat, shifted in his seat, and directed a question at Ruby, ending the moment abruptly, “What are your plans for tonight? After dinner, I mean.”

A server appeared to pour them each a cup of coffee and answered, “There’s karaoke in the Sunset Lounge, a trivia contest in the casino bar, and then Honeymoon Under the Stars on the pool deck.”

“Honeymoon Under the Stars?” Emily found herself asking without thinking. “What’s that?” Oof, why did she ask such a dumb question? Any activity with ‘honeymoon’ in the title would be off limits for sure.

“Romantic music, umbrella drinks the size of a basketball, and they turn off the lights so everyone can see the stars.” The server finished pouring coffee and nodded before he headed to the next table.

Yeah, off limits. But it might be nice to do some star gazing...

“Trivia contest,” Max and Ruby announced simultaneously.

“I suck at trivia.” Emily scooped up another bite of brownie and ice cream and sighed. Last time she’d participated in a trivia contest, she’d mistaken Paul Simon for Phil Collins, and her team—made up of Ruby, Tyler and Kyle, her ex—had laughed and laughed at her error. Emily had accepted no invites for trivia after that. Didn’t Ruby remember?

“Maybe we win a prize.” Ruby draped her napkin across her half-eaten peach pie, unfolded the schedule of the day’s events, and read the description aloud, “Join us for trivia in the casino at 10 p.m. Win a spin on the prize wheel.”

“Prize wheel?” Emily asked. Like theWheel of Fortune? Trips, cash, cars? Ok, taking a shot at winning didn’t seem so terrible an idea. What if the trivia happened to be in her wheelhouse? Like gourmet cooking or meteorology? She’d earned a minor in meteorology in college. If they had a question about lenticular clouds, she was golden.

Max checked his watch. “It’s almost ten. Where’s the casino?” He pushed back from the table. “Come on, girls, let’s see who is the Trivia King!” The smile on his face was infectious.

“Queen,” corrected Ruby. “Trivia Queen.”

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