“You know, I’m feeling a little tired,” she said. “I think I’ll go to my room and rest.”
He looked confused, probably wondering if what he’d said was chasing her away.
“I need to charge my batteries,” she added.
“Of course,” he said. She got up and he, too, stood, like a gentleman. “I hope I’ll see you later.”
“I’m sure you will.” It was a small ship. They, of course, would see each other. What if they continued to see each other, spent more time together? What could come of that?
Nothing, most likely. He’d already lost a wife to cancer, had suffered right alongside her. Catherine doubted he’d want to endure that kind of battle again with another woman. She shouldn’t encourage him any more.
It was awfully hard to be noble when you were with a man who was such good company. Catherine hadn’t felt this happy in a year and a half.
She went to the room, stretched out on her bed and tried not to waste time imagining how pleasant life would be if she was stretched out in a bed every night with Rudy Nichols next to her. She failed.
* * *
Sophie Miles was more intoxicating than fine whiskey, and carrying her to the cruise ship had been a sweeter treat than any chocolate concoction Trevor could create.
Sierra had brought them rolls and cold cuts from the buffet, then disappeared again, and they’d sat there munching and playing progressive gin rummy for hours, though he was finding it hard to concentrate on what card was wild. Her hair kept falling in front of her face, and he wanted so badly to tuck it behind her ear for her. And that smile was irresistible.
He watched as she tapped her lips with a finger while she inspected her card hand. How soon before she’d let him kiss her?
Good Lord, he had it bad. But who wouldn’t? She was pretty and sweet and her laugh was like champagne bubbles.
She rearranged her cards, grinned and then laid them down. “I’m out,” she chortled, discarding.
He frowned and looked at the mess in his hand. “You’re killing me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, not the least repentant.
“Yeah, I can tell.” He finished his play, then tallied up the points she’d caught him with and groaned. “You caught me with fifty points, for crying out loud. Where’d you learn to play cards like this?”
“It’s a gift.” She picked up the piece of cruise line stationery and added fifty more points to his column.
“I should take you to Vegas.”
He could picture them in Las Vegas, eating at one of those high-end restaurants, watching the fountain show at the Bellagio. Staying at the Bellagio. Playing craps in the casino, her blowing on the dice for luck with those kissable lips.
“I’ve never been to Vegas,” she said.
“Me, neither. Let’s go and I’ll stake you at the poker table.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah? Are you a gambler?”
“Total high roller. I play poker with my brother and a couple friends once a month for some pretty high stakes. Quarters.”
She snickered. “You are a high roller.”
“I know, right? I guess when it comes down to it I don’t like to risk losing my hard-earned money.”
“Me, neither,” she said, and began shuffling the deck. “Except wasn’t starting your own business a gamble?”
“In a way I guess it was. But I’d done my research, worked hard. I felt like it was a pretty sure thing. You started your own business, too, so it looks like you did some gambling.”
“Not really,” she said. “I didn’t have to invest a lot of money in my business other than business cards. And I was still working at a paying job.”
“Oh, yeah? What did you do?”
“I was a waitress. It was good money. I worked nights and made pretty good tips. It got me through two years of community college. But all that being on my feet. I didn’t want my arches to fall.”
She’d been worried about falling arches?
She must have read his expression because she frowned and said, “You have to take care of yourself.”
There was that. “And, might I say, after seeing your foot, that you’re doing a very good job keeping those arches in tip-top shape?”
“Now you’re making fun of me,” she said, shaking her head at him.
He half smiled. “Maybe just a little.”
“Anyway, I was able to make my business a success. I get to work with some really nice people and I get to shop to my heart’s content without spending any of my savings. I’d