Page 5 of Love on Deck

“That’s the plan.”

We hung up. I glanced up to find Lauren still sitting there, chewing on one of her nails. She looked stressed, her focus on her open laptop. Maybe a little break would be good for her. Lighten her up a little. Prepare her for the cruise crowd.

I put my AirPods away and gathered up my backpack before making my way toward her. I hoped she would look up at some point, but her attention was on the computer, her concentration unbreakable.

Well, let’s test that theory.

I plopped down on the chair next to hers and immediately felt her stiffen. She glanced over at me and the concentration on her face morphed into irritation, but only for a second.

“Hey there, Sunshine.” I put on my best smile just to lighten her up.

“Jack.” I didn’t realize my name could sound like a condemnation, but here we are.

“Looks like we’re on the same flight.”

“What luck.”

She dropped her attention back to the computer. Dismissed. She just needed a sweater and a pair of glasses because she had the cranky librarian attitude down. I looked at her tightly wound bun at the base of her head and wondered what it would look like undone. If I reached over and pulled it out of its somehow magically held together knot thing, would she loosen up?

The impulse was weird, and I shook it off. Despite her schoolmarm-ness, she was so pretty. I bet she’d be even prettier if she liked me.

Creating a civil space between us was going to be tougher than I realized. I turned up my charm a little. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and our seats will—”

“Be on opposite ends of the plane?”

“Ouch.” Okay, noted: impervious to charm.

She lifted one eyebrow but still didn’t remove her gaze from the computer. I hoped this wasn’t how the entire cruise would go. Maybe, for the sake of Kevin and Amelia, we could come to a truce now.

Her focus on the spreadsheet drew my attention there, and I looked at the file name at the top of the screen. Dougherty_Wedding_Naussau

Hold up. Lauren had made a spreadsheet for her sister’s elopement? Didn’t that take away from the feeling of running away or the magic of eloping? Next she was going to produce a list of acceptable restaurants and timetables of the various island tides. “I didn’t realize we had a schedule.”

Lauren shut her laptop, frowning. “This is personal.”

“A personal spreadsheet?” Good grief, she was more rigid than I realized. “For your sister’s wedding.”

“It’s all my information in one place and a perfectly reasonable thing to have before a vacation.”

“So explain the outfits tab, then. You intending to consult the spreadsheet before you get dressed? Actually looking through your suitcase isn’t good enough?”

Lauren narrowed her eyes. “At least I have a plan for coordinating my outfits.” She gave me a gentle sweep I felt to my toes.

What was wrong with my shorts and tee? So what if my yellow shirt was a little loud. This was a vacation. “There’s nothing wrong with color.”

Her raised eyebrows spoke differently. “Of course not. Everyone wants to be picked out of a crowd by how badly their shirt is burning retinas.”

“At least I won’t blend into the sand.”

She glanced at her own khaki joggers and white tee. “It’s called sophistication. Look it up.”

“So right next to strict, right? Or is it closer to stiff? Stern? Stringent?”

“Wow. You know a lot of words.”

I was impressed with myself as well. “I also know spontaneity. Google that one, Sunshine.”

Lauren’s hazel eyes spit fire. Maybe coming over here wasn’t such a good idea after all. We had to spend the next week together for Amelia and Kevin’s wedding, and I didn’t want our mutual hostility to ruin anything for them. Time to suppress my innate desire to hogtie the woman and try to make peace. “Listen, Lauren—”

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