Page 53 of Love on Deck

“Shouldn’t we do a love song?” Cara asked.

Amelia laughed. “I’m always down for Spice Girls if I get to be Ginger.”

“Dibs on Posh,” Sydney said. Then she eyed me. “Too bad there’s no Stuck-Up Spice.”

“Be nice,” Amelia said, moving aside while Kevin slid into the space beside her. She kissed her fiancé. “Y’all did an amazing job.”

“I make a pretty good backup singer,” Lucas said, popping a pretend collar.

“I’ll go sign us up.” Annie jumped from her seat and crossed to the DJ.

“What song are you doing?” Jack asked.

Amelia clapped. “It’s a surprise! Your cousin is fun, Jack. Why haven’t you brought her around before?”

“She doesn’t come up to Dallas much.”

I shot him a look, but he avoided catching my eye. The issues were so much deeper than he made them sound. Whether or not Jack liked his hometown, his cousin had made it sound like he didn’t want anything to do with it. Did his family feel the same, wondering if he wanted to avoid them, too, by extension?

Annie slid back into her seat, having overheard the end of the conversation. “Well, you make it impossible anyway, with how busy you are.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “The real reason he doesn’t invite us up has nothing to do with me. Jack and Levi had a bit of a thing in high school, but he’s too polite to mention it now.”

“A thing?” Lucas asked, lifting his eyebrows.

“Rivalry,” Jack explained quickly. “Levi was constantly trying to one-up me. It was petty and exhausting and we’ve grown out of it.”

“Don’t act like you weren’t just as petty,” Annie said, laughing. “I remember when you facilitated a whole party in the school gym just so you could dump fruit punch on Levi when he got there. We’d just seen the movie Carrie,” she added in explanation.

“Fine. I played into it just as much as he did. He should be glad I didn’t use real pig’s blood.”

Cara scrunched up her face. “Gross.”

Jack laughed. “But that’s small-town Texas for you. We had to find something to pass the time.”

Annie flinched. I reached back and put my hand on Jack’s knee to stop him from saying more.

A few more songs went by before it was the ladies’ turn to hit the stage. We stood in a line, sharing microphones, and despite the words popping up on the TV, I remembered most of them. Cara took a microphone to the center stage and rapped Scary Spice’s monologue perfectly and the crowd erupted. When we finished the song, we all bowed. Amelia threw her arms around me in a hug and I hissed, pushing her off.

“What?” she asked with concern.

“Sunburn.” I cringed. “I think I need to check the shop for aloe before they close.”

“No.” Her forehead creased in concern. “Seriously?”

I’d told her this would happen. I’d also spent my entire life being this easily burned, so it wasn’t a crazy surprise. She tanned, I turned into Sebastian from The Little Mermaid.

“Then go,” she said, walking back toward the tables by my side. “I’m so sorry, Lo.”

“It’s not your fault.” I’d made my choice, and now I was heartily regretting it. “Is there anything else on the agenda for tonight?”

“No. You’re coming to my room in the morning to get ready, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there at seven.”

Amelia looked like she was about to go in for another hug but stopped herself.

I stood behind my seat while someone took the stage to start My Heart Will Go On. I was pretty sure it was standard practice—a karaoke night could not be complete until Titanic made an appearance in some form. Still, a little insensitive for a cruise, right?

“I’ll see y’all in the morning.”

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