Page 12 of Love on Deck

Jack laughed, then paused at the door. “What, no good night kiss?”

“You would be so lucky.”

“Yeah, I would.” He quirked a smile at me and disappeared.

This was going to be interesting.

CHAPTER FIVE

JACK

Kevin groaned, rolling over on his bed until he hovered dangerously close to the edge of the mattress. I blinked away my sleepiness and checked the clock. 6:34. If I was back home in Central Time, it would be 5:34, and I’d be heading to the gym right now. Since I’d had an early night last night, I wasn’t suffering for the early morning. It was just as well my body would wake up like normal.

I wondered if Lauren was awake now, too. She seemed like the kind of woman who woke up at the same time every day, ate the same bagel with a fresh smoothie, and logged an hour on the Peloton. Some sort of routine that led to a shower, very little makeup, and winding her hair so tight it suffocated the part of her brain that controlled relaxation or joy. I still wondered if loosening her hair would also loosen her personality, too.

Had she tried that?

“What time is it?” Kevin groaned again, his blond hair standing on end.

“Just after 6:30.”

“Ugh. I have to meet Ames for breakfast in an hour.” He rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. “Do you think she’ll still marry me if I don’t show up?”

Since he was being rhetorical, I didn’t respond right away. Lucas snored from the sofa bed, so I lowered my voice. “You could just tell her you aren’t ready yet.”

“I’ll be ready by then.”

“How about I shower first and give you ten extra minutes to sleep.”

“You’re the best, best man.”

I saluted him, then unzipped my bag to get a change of clothes and my bathroom bag.

“You know,” came his groggy voice. “I never would have put you with Lauren, but it kind of works.”

So much for Kevin going back to sleep. He was clearly delirious. Foggy sleep brain or whatever. “You think so?”

“Dude, I don’t know. I guess I’m just hopeful. Maybe if she’s with you, she’ll lighten up.”

I laughed. “Unlikely. Lauren is... Lauren.”

“Well, a man can hope.” He rolled onto his back and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Amelia complains a lot about her. They don’t really connect anymore, and it wears on her, you know? Lauren is always working, like even when they’re together. She’s permanently grafted to her laptop. Well, you would know, I guess.”

Guilt swept through me. I didn’t think I’d be too bothered lying to Kevin, because I didn’t think he’d pay much attention to the fake relationship. He didn’t usually care who I dated as long as she didn’t screw up our poker nights, so his current investment in this—however slight—worried me. “Lauren’s coming on the cruise, at least. That’s putting her sister before her work.”

“I bet she’ll be in her room the whole time working, though. You know the girls don’t have any other family, right? Lauren is all Amelia has. And she can’t even put her computer away for five minutes to spend time with her.”

“That’s pretty sad.” No other family? At all? I remembered when their grandma died a few years ago and how wrecked Amelia was, but I didn’t realize family was such a rarity for her. When you grew up like I did, where it was impossible to go anywhere in town without running into someone you were related to, the idea of having no one was foreign.

“I know.” He yawned. “If you could make her be a little more present, that would change Amelia’s entire cruise.”

“More present. Got it.”

“Thanks, man.”

I took my stuff into the bathroom and spent my shower worrying about how I was messing with the Foley family dynamics. Lauren cared about her sister, that much was plain. But even a workaholic would put her job aside for her sister’s wedding, right?

When I got out of the shower, my shorts and T-shirt on and my hair a mess, I tossed my bathroom bag onto my suitcase. A door somewhere in the hallway closed with a thud, and I hurried over to the peephole just in time to see Lauren walk by.

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