Page 37 of Revenge Honeymoon

“Last night. Right.” Ruby set down the glass and put a hand to her forehead. “The trivia contest. All those newlyweds with their husbands. If Tyler had been here, we would’ve aced it.” She sniffled. “He knew everything about me. Everything. Things I never shared with anyone before. I can’t believe I’ll never see him again—” She sucked in a lungful of air.

Uh-oh.

No lingering thoughts about Tyler were allowed. No way. No how. He was a cad. A jerk. The lowest of the low. He deserved no thoughts whatsoever. This cruise was to be fun, enjoyable, a laugh-a-minute. No time for sadness.

“Sweetie,” Emily said, joining her friend on the bed and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Tyler doesn’t deserve you.”

“What am I going to do, Em? I’m a twenty-nine-year-old Old Maid.” A single tear rolled down her perfect cheek.

“I don’t think Old Maids are a thing anymore.” For some reason, her mind flashed to a self-help book she’d read after Kyle broke up with her. “We’re strong, independent women who don’t need men to be happy in life. We make our own destinies. We create our own fulfillment.” There was something else about enlightenment or maybe was it a light recipe that had less than four-hundred calories a serving?

“But I like men,” Ruby said in a little voice. She wiped tears off her face.

Emily sighed. “So do I. Guess we’re doomed.”

Ruby gulped down more of her Bloody Mary. “Yeah, doomed.” She giggled.

Emily smiled and patted her friend on the arm. “You are gorgeous and wonderful and kind. There are plenty of men out there who’d die to date you, much less marry you. Forget about Tyler. Let’s find you Mr. X.”

“Mr. X?”

“Yeah, your perfect man. Time for you to build a list of what you want in a husband.”

“I thought I wanted Tyler.” Ruby sniffed again.

“No, you are not allowed to bring him up anymore.” Emily wagged a finger. “Remember? Our pact?”

Ruby nodded.

“Okay, so let’s talk perfect man instead.” Emily to the rescue. No more wallowing in self-pity. “If you could pick what you wanted in your next fiancé what would you choose?”

“Tall.”

“Wait! Let me make a list.” Emily hopped up off the bed and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen provided by the cruise line. “Tall. Got it. What’s next?”

“At least six-foot-two.”

“Six-foot-two. Okay.”

“Dark. I like a man with a good head of dark hair.”

“Dark hair. What about personality traits?”

“A sense of humor. But not that stupid middle school boy kind of humor.”

“No fart jokes. Got it.”

“A good job. Doesn’t have to make a million dollars, but he has to have a job.”

“Job. Check.”

“Adventurous. I want someone who will jump out of airplanes with me.”

As they crafted Ruby’s list, Emily couldn’t help but let her mind wander to her ideal man. When she’d first laid eyes on Max at the port, everything she’d thought about him had been based on looks alone. To be honest, it was nearly impossible to avoid. The man was perfection on two feet. But with each new encounter she had, the more she realized he was so much more than wavy dark hair, rippling muscles, and sexy green eyes. Behind all of that, Max made her smile and never once made her feel insignificant or unworthy of notice.

“Did you write down that last one?” Ruby sat cross-legged on the bed and drank the dregs of her Bloody Mary. “Bi-lingual. I want someone who can speak French or Spanish or maybe Chinese. I don’t know. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Emily shook her head. She’d lost track of the conversation. “Got it. Bi-lingual.”

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