at a group of guys near one of the cabanas. My eyes widen when I recognize one of them in particular.
“We can catch up later,” I offer, trying to hide my panic. “Gem and I should probably go check the auditorium to make sure everything is in place, anyway. We’ll see you later.” I tug Gem before she can argue.
As soon as we’ve turned the corner and are out of view from Conner and his friends, Gem demands, “What the hell was that?”
“That was the guy!”
“What guy?”
“My…,” I cough. “My fiancé.”
With a gasp, Gem goes to peek around the corner, but I tug her back.
“No! Don’t look!”
“Come on, Nora. The picture from the school paper was shit. I couldn’t see how good-looking he was. You gotta let me sneak a peek.”
“School paper?” I screech.
Grimacing, she explains, “Oh, did I forget to mention that I did a little research after you told me about the whole fiasco? One of the students at the university saw the whole thing and wrote an article about it. The picture was crappy, so I didn’t really get a good look at the guy. You looked gorgeous, though,” she adds like that’s going to help.
“I told you not to go snooping!”
“And I ignored you completely,” she counters. “Which you knew I would do, so don’t act all surprised, missy. Tell me…is he cute? And did he see you?”
My palms are sweaty as I wipe them along the thin, white fabric of my swimsuit. “I don’t know if he saw me.”
“You don’t know?”
“I mean…I don’t know! It all happened so fast! I don’t think so. Maybe we won’t run into each other? Maybe––”
“Dude. He’s friends with your cousin, who is really cute, by the way. How did I not know you had a cute cousin?”
“He’s my rich uncle’s son––”
“Ooo, so he’s wealthy?”
“Gem!” I snap. “Not the time!”
“Sorry. You’re right. Let’s get back on track, shall we? Wait. Quick question. Is your cousin single? Then we can get our hands dirty with your little fiancé.”
“He’s not my real fiancé––”
“Well, you didn’t tell me his real name, so that’s all I have to go with.”
I growl in frustration, though the stupid waterworks are threatening to make an appearance. Again. Because that’s what I do. I cry whenever I’m angry. Or sad. Or frustrated. Or scared. Or…pretty much all the time.
Stupid Cancer traits.
Oh, great. Now, even I’m starting to drink the Kool-Aid.
“Gage. His name is Gage. And no, my cousin isn’t dating anyone. He’s one hundred percent single, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw you, so you should definitely get on that. I mean, maybe not literally right off the bat but…. Oh, and yes. He’s loaded. Any more questions?” I choke out, my lower lip trembling.
“Aww, Nora. Come here, babe.” She pulls me into a hug and rubs her hand up and down my back. The combination makes me feel like a little kid. “You’re going to be just fine. I’m sure we can keep you from bumping into him. I mean, what are the odds of that happening on a”––she gulps––“decent-sized cruise ship?”
I whimper, though it’s laced with amusement. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“Or you’re just a really good lie detector,” she mutters before releasing me. “Seriously, though. Even if you do run into him, it’ll be fine. You guys were engaged for a whole…what? Five minutes? And it was a total joke. You know this. He knows this. He even asked for your number after the funny exchange.”
“Yeah…and then he ran in the opposite direction as fast as he could.”
“Look. You’ve got this. And if for some reason you don’t have this, then I’ll just tell Captain Ron to throw him in the brig.”
My eyes light up at the prospect. “Can you even imagine? That would be one of the funniest things ever.”
“And he would totally deserve it for making my best friend cry.”
“To be fair, if that was the logic you lived by, I’m pretty sure even the Chinese food delivery guy would be in there.”
Throwing her head back, she laughs even harder, and the sound is contagious. “Good point. How dare he bring you Orange Chicken instead of good ol’ Pon Pon?”
“Exactly. I’m fine. He’s fine. I’m just…awkward. And I want to hide under a blanket for the foreseeable future. That’s all.”
“In a swimsuit like that, it would be a shame, my friend. You look adorable, by the way.”
“Why, thank you.” I curtsy. “You look pretty hot yourself.”
While adjusting her top, she