Page 4 of Love on Deck

A woman walked past me, catching my attention. I recognized that low, tight bun and the concentration on her brown eyebrows, bunched so tight they were causing canyons to develop in the lines on her forehead. Lauren Foley, sister of the bride. She was just as pretty as I remembered and looked just as stern. She could be holding a stick, ready to rap kids’ knuckles or walk slowly down the library aisles, searching for people to shush.

When Kevin and Amelia set us up on a blind date, it had started well enough. She was intelligent, and I’d thought of her as a breath of fresh air compared to the women I typically saw. She could actually discuss things of value and had insight to share. None of that breathy, fluttering crap with Lauren. She’d felt authentic.

To say nothing of the fact that she was beautiful, her hazel eyes bright, her lips full. She had the same high cheekbones as her sister, but despite their similarities, Lauren was clearly older than Amelia. Mature, like a good cheese. Which was exactly what every woman wanted to hear.

Just call me a charmer.

Like an utter creep, I watched her settle on a seat a few rows ahead of me and felt the briefest temptation to go sit by her. Rip off the Band-Aid, get it over with, let her know we were on the same flight from Dallas to Miami. But the woman was a little crazy. Like, ditched-our-date-before-it-was-even-over crazy. To be fair, things were tense before I’d felt a little queasy and got up to go to the bathroom, but she’d never told me why she used that opportunity to sneak out. The few times we’d seen each other since that awful night left no mystery as to how she felt about me.

It didn’t make me like her all that much either.

Which was a shame, because I think we might have gotten along if she didn’t have a ruler stuck up her butt. From what Amelia had said about her, she didn’t know how to have fun, which I could readily believe.

My phone rang, and I answered it. “What’s up?”

“Hey man, you on your way?” Kevin asked. I could hear that he was outside. He’d gotten to Florida already. Amelia had a few errands she wanted to run before guests arrived.

“About to get on the plane.”

“Okay, cool. Cool.” The silence stretched.

This was not a good sign. “What’s wrong? I got my room squared away. The cruise line let me add on to Lucas’s—”

“No, it’s not that.” He cleared his throat. “You know Amelia’s friend Sydney...”

My stomach shifted into a hard, solid rock. Friend wasn’t really an accurate descriptor. That woman breathed drama. “You told me she wasn’t invited.”

“She wasn’t. But after Amelia saw how easily they let you join Lucas’s room, she asked Sydney. She didn’t expect her to be available at the last minute. I don’t think she has a job,” he added as an afterthought.

“And now we all get to put up with her for a week.”

“Listen, at least you don’t have to deal with my Aunt Nona getting handsy. There are benefits to eloping.”

True. She’d been a little too fresh during that Fourth of July BBQ last year. But she would still be better than Sydney.

“Can you call it eloping when you’ve had the wedding planned for months?” I asked.

“I can when none of my family knows about it. I’m going to return home a married man, and I don’t even have to put up with all the typical wedding crap. Just a cruise, a ceremony on the beach, and my best friends.”

“Your mom is going to kill you,” I said, cringing.

“Maybe. But she doesn’t want this wedding to happen anyway, so I’m saving her from needing to witness it.”

And saving his fiancée from having to put on a face and try to please in-laws who would only ruin the day for her. This way, Amelia got to enjoy her wedding without being called a gold digger. Which she clearly wasn’t, or she wouldn’t be teaching music to kindergarteners. “Honestly, I thought you were just being lazy, man. But it’s kind of sweet you’re sparing Amelia from your mom.”

“Just call me Tenderheart.”

“I can call you what?”

“It’s a Care Bear—you know what? Don’t worry about it. Elementary school stuff.”

Kevin, six-foot-two and all brawn, knowing the names of the Care Bears? His fiancée had obviously impacted his life. Why wouldn’t Mr. and Mrs. Dougherty want her in their lives? Unsolved mysteries of the Texan oil tycoons. “This is a side of you I’ve never seen.”

“Ames makes me a softy.” He must have moved the phone away from his face because he shouted something unintelligible and then came back to the speaker. “Gotta go. We’re grabbing food at six.”

“I won’t make it in time for that.”

“Okay. See you at the hotel?”

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