Page 6 of Cocky Cruiser

“You don’t say,” I teased before taking another swig of my beer.

Adele smiled. “I think we should get to know each other better before hopping on a boat together for almost three weeks, don’t you?”

Smirking, I arched a brow at her. “And ruin all the surprises?”

She laughed that whimsical laughter of hers. I watched her, noticing the roll of her sky-blue eyes and the crinkle of her nose as she shook her head. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, and my cock throbbed.

A lump formed in my throat, and I started to think the invite was a bad idea. I never let myself get close to a woman besides Cara and my mother, and for a good reason. And there I was, inviting some gorgeous stranger on a cruise with me where we would be confined to a boat for nineteen days together.

What the hell was I thinking?

Adele interrupted my panicked thoughts. “C’mon. Aren’t you the least bit intrigued about who you just invited on this trip with you?”

The smile she gave me was coy and playful, and my dick hardened slightly in response. If I was smart about everything, I could definitely avoid getting close to Adele yet still have fun. Maybe even a lot of fun. “Okay, you talked me into it. Tell me about yourself.”

Her smile practically lit up the whole room, and I worried I wouldn’t be able to stick to my plan. Cheeks flushing, she giggled nervously. “Now I don’t know what to say.”

I chuckled. “Okay, I’ll go first. My name is Cohen. I’m thirty-four, and I’m a chef in Las Vegas.”

“A chef, huh? What’s your favorite food?”

I signaled the bartender for another round as I answered, “Spaghetti and meatballs.”

“Seriously? You’re a chef, and your favorite food is spaghetti and meatballs?”

I chuckled. “Yes, but I’m not talking about some store-bought sauce and noodles. I mean pasta made from scratch with a homemade bolognese sauce and meatballs.”

“Ah, I see. That I can get behind as a favorite food.”

“My mom makes the best spaghetti and meatballs. I actually use her recipe in my restaurants.”

Adele arched a brow. “Restaurants? As in more than one?”

I nodded. I wasn’t one to brag, but I made a successful living. I lived a life most people only dreamed about, yet I would give it all up to have Cara back. “As of right now, I have three restaurants in the Vegas area. I’m actually hoping to expand to California soon.”

“Impressive,” Adele said. She took a sip of her beer, then laughed. “You have a successful career, and I haven’t even figured out what I want to do with my life yet.”

There was some sadness hidden away in her eyes, and I knew from looking at my own in the mirror each day that it wasn’t just some ordinary, everyday sadness. It was rooted deep inside, caused by something substantial. Pain recognized pain.

And for some reason, I wanted to find out what caused Adele’s and try to fix it.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” I said, trying to cheer her up. “And sometimes taking a trip can help bring some perspective to your life. Maybe you’ll figure out what you want on this one.”

Glancing up from her beer, she held my gaze. After a few moments, she gave me a small smile. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

I changed the subject, not wanting things to get too deep. “So, we should talk about logistics for this trip.”

Chuckling, she nodded. “Well, you planned everything out, so you tell me how everything is going to work.”

“Well, I’ll be catching a flight to Sydney late Friday morning to board the cruise that evening. The cruise departs at 6:30 p.m., so we should be there about two hours before to make sure we make it through customs and check in.” Even though it wasn’t necessary, I suggested, “We should probably take the same flight to Sydney just to be safe.”

Adele gave me a knowing smile. I couldn’t deny that I wouldn’t mind spending more time with her. “Okay.”

I took out my phone and handed it to her. “We should exchange numbers, too. So we can keep in contact before the flight.”

After Adele typed in her information, she handed my phone back to me. I quickly sent her a text so she would have my number.

Pulling up my internet browser on my phone, I went to the website of the airline I was using to fly to Sydney. “What’s your full name?”

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