I don’t think they’ll ever forgive us.”
“We promised not to do that again,” David said, chuckling softly. “You’d think we’d disinherited the children from the way they acted.”
“Was it another Explorer expedition?” The Browns seemed to enjoy these cruises, and like nearly everyone else, this wasn’t their first adventure with the company.
“Not this time; we went the luxury route on one of those fancy cruise ships from Singapore to Hong Kong, and it was splendid. I’d do it again, just not over Christmas.”
The purser’s voice came over the speaker and announced that Asher would be giving another lecture and asked for everyone to gather in the meeting area in fifteen minutes.
* * *
—
Asher knew he should never have kissed Daisy. He’d lowered his guard and did the very thing he swore he wouldn’t do: become emotionally involved with Daisy. If he was looking for an excuse, he’d blame his lack of discipline on the stress of that afternoon, when he discovered her missing. When he’d gone down for the night, his mind refused to rest. All he could think about was Daisy and the relief he felt when she’d been found. He hadn’t even realized Jimmy was missing until someone pointed it out. All he could focus on was Daisy.
His mistake was venturing into the meeting area. Or more specifically, not going back to his room when he found Daisy there. He’d had no idea she would be curled up reading there. It had been a weak moment, the two of them alone, moonlight spilling over her. He couldn’t imagine any woman more beautiful than Daisy in that instant. He knew he was going to kiss her, knew he wouldn’t be able to stop himself, and so he’d given in to the impulse and woke with a hundred regrets.
Nothing would come of this short fling. In another five days she would be out of his life and he would be out of hers. The attraction they felt toward each other was situational and would quickly fade. If he wasn’t careful, things could easily get out of hand, and that was something Asher fully intended to avoid.
Unsure how best to deal with what he’d started, he spent a good portion of what remained of the night arguing with himself. By morning, he decided his only option was to put as much distance between himself and Daisy as the cruise allowed.
No more surreptitious glances. No more seeking her out at mealtimes. No more lengthy chats. And definitely no more kissing. It wouldn’t be easy. Even in this short amount of time, he’d grown accustomed to her company and enjoyed it more than he wanted to admit. He needed to start now. Today.
Coward that he was, he skipped breakfast, fearing Daisy would be too much of a temptation. He spent the time he was normally at breakfast building up his resolve to avoid her as much as possible while still maintaining a friendly camaraderie. When the time arrived to give his lecture, he was ready to face Daisy.
* * *
—
Everly sat in the first row, front and center, for the lecture, eager to see Asher. For his previous lectures, she’d sat in the middle. Choosing a position in the front row was sure to relay the message that she was eager to see him.
The room filled up quickly with the other passengers before he appeared. Her wish was that when he saw her, he’d acknowledge her with a smile and talk to her before he started his lecture.
He didn’t. In fact, he acted as if she was invisible.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling and looking out over the group. He seemed to have a warm welcome for everyone but her.
Unable to hide her disappointment, Everly looked down at her hands. The woman sitting in the chair next to her brought out her knitting. Everly wished she’d had something to occupy herself, as she felt like she was naked. She needed something that would take her mind off the way Asher had ignored her.
“This morning I’d like to talk to you about the animals you can expect to see this afternoon as we slowly traverse the river.”
“Dangerous ones?”
Everly welcomed the question. True, she had an irrational fear of spiders, but that wasn’t all. Snakes were by far her biggest fear. Her brothers had taken delight in chasing her with garden snakes. Every time she ran across one, she’d scream like the barn had caught fire. Her father would come running and Jeff