Page 60 of Love on Deck

That wasn’t part of the agreement.

Jack settled beside me, our arms pressed together. “Is your eye twitching over the last-minute change in plans?”

I nudged his knee with mine. “I’m not psychotic. I can be happy for Amelia.”

“And simultaneously bugged that we haven’t followed the schedule?”

“I was more annoyed before I had one of these crab things. Kevin can hijack our plans anytime he wants if he’s going to provide more of these.”

“Noted.”

The music was bumping and Cara walked out to the center of the deck to dance. She was trying to entice us all to join her, but everyone else was eating.

I swiped another bite of goat cheese dip. “As if that piece of information will ever be useful to you. We part ways in Miami, remember?”

Jack lowered the steak kabob back to his plate. “You know we don’t have to do that, right?”

“I thought about that,” I agreed. “If our flight here was any indication, it’s possible we’ll be on the same one going home, too.”

Jack laughed. “Not what I meant. Are you willfully being ignorant? You can’t really fail to see that I’m falling for you, right?”

My heart kicked up a notch. Falling? As in already en route? They were the words I wanted to hear, but I was too scared to believe them. I picked up Jack’s crab pastry and popped it into my mouth so I wouldn’t A: have to speak right away, and B: be tempted to kiss him.

Crab breath would save me from making a fool out of myself.

Jack took my plate and set it on the table beside our little bench. He put his next to it. “I’m sorry, Lauren. I’m sorry for what happened on our date. I regret it, and I don’t know what I was thinking—well, I wasn’t thinking, obviously. I should have looked for you. Can you find it in you to forgive me? To give me a real chance?”

“You’re going to be overheard,” I whispered.

“Not over the music,” he countered. Swinging out one of his arms, he gestured to the sparkling ocean beneath us. “There’s nowhere to run this time, so just hear me out. I’m serious, Lauren. We’re good together. We both live in Dallas. Why not see where this goes?”

Jack wanted to date me? Like for real date me? It was such a surprise that he could conceivably want this. Did he not see the lack of wisdom in it? Knowing all the reasons it was a bad idea didn’t settle the anticipation bubbling in my stomach, either. His green eyes were earnest. I couldn’t hold them any longer or I would combust.

“It’s not a good idea.” I picked up my water and took a few long swallows, but his attention didn’t waver from my face. My shoulders lifted. “It isn’t wise.”

“How?”

“If we break up now, we can be chill when we see each other in the future. A real break up would give us real feelings. Kevin and Amelia will have baby showers and birthday parties and all sorts of things we’ll both be attending. Do we really want to ruin all those experiences by getting feelings involved?”

He sat back. “You think breaking up is inevitable?”

He didn’t? “I mean, the chance is super high that we wouldn’t last forever.”

“Why?”

I pointed to my chest. “Spreadsheets.” Then I tapped his chest. “Sunshine.”

“So your argument is that we’re too different?”

And that most relationships failed, but I wasn’t going to say that part out loud. Did I want it to? No. But I was realistic. “Statistically speaking, we wouldn’t last a year.”

“How about we just try to last the cruise instead?” He studied me for a moment, his eyes serious. “Then we can get home and try to last another week. Then maybe a month. Then we can worry about all this year stuff.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying we don’t have to plan our wedding today, Lauren. We can decide to give us a shot and worry about the rest as it comes.”

I nodded toward the happy newlywed couple. “And if we have a messy breakup and have to face each other at their Christmas party this year, what then?”

---