Upside Down (Breaking the Rules #3) - A.M. Madden Page 0,27

it.”

After another uncomfortable pause—longer, heavier with tension—he finally said, “Well, tell my sister—”

“I’ve been wanting to—” We both released a strained apology: “Sorry.”

“No, go ahead… wanting to?” he prodded.

“Call you.”

“Call me?”

“Yeah.” I needed to be the more mature and understanding of us and make sure he was doing okay. My situation was entirely different than the one that he endured, but it fucked with my emotions all the same. I couldn’t imagine adding confusion to the mix because I suddenly questioned my sexuality. “Look, I know we got off on a rough start… and that kiss further complicated things, but I don’t want you to feel bad about it. It was a pretty hot kiss,” I only somewhat teased. It had been.

This time his chuckle sounded raw, gritty. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should. And as I said before, I’m here if you want to talk… as a friend.”

“Okay, I’ll bite,” he said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“What was it about me that made you think I was gay?”

That was easy. “The way you stared at me whenever we saw each other.”

“I’m pretty sure any looks your way were laced with annoyance.”

I chuckled over the phone. “No, any looks my way were laced with desire.” My statement was met with deathly silence. “You there?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ricky.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before the line went dead. I stared down at the screen, but instead of seeing Rebecca’s home app page I saw his handsome face. Thirty-nine days. Was he counting them to be with his sister, or to see me?

“Are you holding out on me?” Rebecca’s accusation came like a smack on the back of my head. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed before turning to face her.

“No.”

“Ricky Burrows, who did you kiss?”

Pulling out my best acting job, I waved an annoyed hand and plopped down in my chair. “None of your business.”

A pang of hurt flashed over her features before she pouted. We told each other everything, but this thing with Cooper I couldn’t share with her. And like an idiot, I completely forgot the entire exchange had happened on her phone until her eyes narrowed on it, still clutched in my hand. “Who were you talking to, Ricky?”

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

After what seemed like an eternity, she lifted a palm while her raised brows questioned my hesitancy. I knew she wouldn’t be upset over the fact I’d answered it; we did that kind of thing. But with what she’d heard me say, and learning who that last caller was, meant shit was about to get real.

“Ricky?” Out of time, I reluctantly handed the cell over and cringed as she opened her phone app.

“Becks, it’s not what you think.”

My heart squeezed at the way she plopped in the chair, still sporting a deer-in-headlights expression. “I’m so confused.”

What went down between us would lead to Cooper’s issue, and that wasn’t my story to tell. But lying to her wasn’t an option either. She watched as I dragged a hand through my hair and sighed. “You need to talk to Cooper. He had a lot to drink at the rehearsal dinner, and when I found him out on deck… he wasn’t in his right mind, and…”

Fuck.

“And what? You kissed him while he was drunk?”

“No! I wouldn’t do that.” I couldn’t blame her for the assumption, but it hurt regardless.

Remorse caused her to say, “I’m sorry, Ricky.”

“It’s fine. I get it… the truth is…”

“He kissed you.”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Sweetie, you need to talk to Cooper.” But when she tapped on her screen, I leaned closer and placed my hand on hers. “Not here,” I said with a regretful shake of my head.

Understanding my point, she nodded solemnly before walking out with the phone in her hand.

Marco, Rebecca, and I always enjoyed lunch together once we returned to port when all the passengers from that week disembarked and before the next group boarded. It was our way to discuss what went right and what went wrong during the voyage. We’d review the list of guests that would be joining us that day, familiarizing ourselves with their names and photos, and planning a journey based on the likes and interests we found on each of their profiles.

But today, I dreaded our normally lighthearted touch-base meeting.

I hadn’t seen Rebecca since she left my office earlier, and I wanted no part of a discussion I knew she would want to have. Not knowing if she had called Cooper, or what