“I didn’t know y’all were going on a cruise,” I said. Let alone my exact same cruise. Which of the gods had I made unhappy in order to be strapped to this karma?
“How could you?” Annie asked, her bright smile so familiar it caused a pain in my gut. She was the image of her mom, who just so happened to be the image of mine. Literally. Our moms were identical twins. “You’d have to come home once in a while in order to know anything about us.”
I pulled Annie into a hug.
“Five years,” Levi bragged, pulling his wife back under his arm. “This one here has been saddled to me for five years now, so we’re fixin’ to celebrate.”
“Who’s your friend?” Annie asked.
Friend? Oh, gosh. “This is Lauren Foley.”
“Hi,” Lauren said, putting out her hand to shake.
Annie pulled her right in for a hug, Arcadia Creek style. Small town Texans didn’t do anything halfway. “Any friend of Jack’s is a friend of mine.” The way she embellished the word friend made it obvious she assumed we were much more than that.
For the sake of the cruise and everything we’d planned, she would need to believe it. At least for a week. Could I count on her being too cheap for Wi-Fi or international data packages? If we could get to the end of the week, then I could tell her the truth and she wouldn’t go home and inform my entire extended family that I had a girlfriend—the very last thing I needed. My mom and her sisters became the Spanish freaking Inquisition when it came to relationships. No one meddled like a Southern Momma, and I had four of them.
“My cousin Annie and her husband, Levi,” I explained.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Lauren said, a little flustered—probably from the strength of Annie’s hug. “And happy anniversary. We’re just here for my sister’s wedding.”
Shoot. That was another thing that couldn’t really slip until we got home. Maybe if I steered Lauren out of here quickly, Annie wouldn’t catch Kevin’s name or make any comments to anyone who knew someone who might know his parents. What was the point of eloping if your secret wasn’t safe?
“We’re meeting up with the wedding party for dinner, so—”
“Go on, then,” Annie said, squeezing my arm. “Don’t be a stranger, Jack.”
“See you around, Jackson,” Levi called.
Why did that feel like a threat? “Still not my name,” I said.
We walked down the corridor where I’d tried to escape originally for no other reason than to leave the space they were in. It meant taking the long way around to the help desk, but I needed the time to think. Lauren’s gaze on me was hot and thick, and I waited until we were totally clear before I peeked her way.
She wore the widest grin I’d ever seen on her. “You have some explaining to do, sugar.”
CHAPTER TEN
LAUREN
Jack was quiet all through dinner. He turned on the charm while Cheryl helped us move our rooms and change our key cards, but when it came to getting ready in our newly shared room or eating dinner at the large round table with the group, he was silent. It wasn’t until we were searching out the club that had listed 90s night on the program that he completely disappeared, though.
He’d been tight lipped about why running into a member of his extended family had bothered him. Then again, I didn’t have cousins, so I didn’t really understand.
“Did Jack leave?” Lucas asked, sidling up to sit beside me at the bar while the girls and Kevin danced in the center of the room to Baby One More Time. He’d shed his dinner coat, his brown neck glistening from sweat. He’d been out there with them before Britney Spears took over the speakers.
“Maybe? I haven’t seen him in a while.”
He shot me a confused glance. “Aren’t y’all dating?”
“I’m not his mother.” I took a drink. If I was really dating Jack, I would have followed him from the room and asked if he was all right, but as it stood, it was probably better if we didn’t cross personal boundaries.
Also, when I’d joked earlier about wanting to know why he’d been all weird around Annie and Levi, he shut me down. I wasn’t eager to try and earn his confidence again.
“You’re not a dancer?” Lucas asked.
I grimaced. “It’s not really my scene.”
He leaned against the bar to watch the women. “It’s definitely Amelia’s scene.” He let out a sigh and started mouthing along with Britney Spears, bobbing his head.