Page 68 of Revenge Honeymoon

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

Oh, all right, she’d do it, then, if he couldn’t. “Thanks for helping me out back there.”

Great. She’d done it. Thanks given. No more needed to be exchanged.

She’d board the bus in silence, sit in the very back with some stranger, and stare out the window until they arrived at the dock.

He blinked a few times.

The entire raft-full of people were half way up the slope, leaving the two of them alone on shore.

He scanned her face. “Can I take you to dinner?”

Chapter18

So Many Abs

Emily couldn’t speak. She had words in her head, but her mouth wouldn’t move. It had to be a dream or a joke or something other than a sincere date request.

She was boring. She was plain. She was, well, Emily.

He scanned her face, gave a shy smile, and pulled his wet T-shirt from his body.

“Yes.”

The abs did it. The quick peek at the bare torso beneath the T-shirt. How could she resist? Ruby would understand, wouldn’t she?

“Yes?” His voice cracked.

“Yes.” She affirmed with a nod. It all came across as weirdly formal, but visions of shirtless Max floated through her head. Only a few days of the cruise remained. Surely, she was allowed some kind of fun. A once-in-a-lifetime date with the hottest man alive. Her heart sped up at the sexy thoughts running through her mind.

“How about tomorrow?” His green eyes gleamed.

What would be a good time to slip away from Ruby? “It would have to be late. Like nine o’clock?” She’d figure something out.

He lifted a damp curl from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Sounds perfect.”

Her body shivered.

“Emily!” Ruby stood at the top of the hill near the water’s edge. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Both she and Max turned their heads, the moment broken between them.

One side of her wanted to slide her hands under his shirt, run them up his muscled body, and make out with him until the ship’s horn blasted for the last time. The other side of her wanted to make him pay for the sneaky way he took photos of her and Ruby at the pool.

Could she do both?

She waved at her friend. Before she left the shore, she said, “Don’t tell Ruby you asked me out.” Because that would gut her friend, and the last thing she needed to do was choose a practical stranger over the jilted bride on the cruise said bride had paid for. Not very best friend-y.

He scratched his cheek and frowned. “Uh, okay.”

He had to know Ruby would be upset. This would be a secret date between the two of them, and then maybe she could correct Max’s wrong and fix all this bad blood between them once and for all.

The Weird Twins caught sight of Ruby and booked it up the steep slope.

“Can you call off the dogs?” Emily nodded in their direction. “They’re making it worse. That’s not how you win Ruby over.”

He raised an eyebrow. “There’s a way to win her over?”

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