Page 34 of Honeymoon for Seven

“Oh.” His mother snapped her fingers. “I almost forgot. I got a call from your sister. The weather on the island is finally clearing up. They’re booked to fly out tomorrow too late to meet the ship, but at the next port they should return on board. She also said the cruise line is reimbursing all of us for the cost of the cruiseandwe also will get a free cruise.”

“Wow, a two for one. Leaving so many passengers stranded must be a royal screw up.” Nick wished he could get the same deal for Ginnie; after all, she’d pretty much given up her vacation to help him keep up with the kids.

Another fun thing he had to admit about this trip: Phoebe was always cute, but every time she woke up from a nap and curled into his arms, laying her head into his shoulder, he swore he could melt. He’d gotten hugs before, but never the snuggles like the one that came after naptime.

With the kids all gathered together, they headed over to the toddler camp, but Phoebe refused to let go of her uncle’s neck. “Don’t you want to play with your friends?” he asked.

Laying her head down on his shoulder was her only response.

“I guess that’s a no.”

“Do you want to come with me?” Ginnie wiggled her fingers at Phoebe and with a big grin, the toddler flung herself into Ginnie’s arms. “I’m guessing that is a yes. This is a family event, she can join us.”

“I should have brought the stroller.”

“Nah.” Ginnie shook her head. “Folks would just trip over it. No one ever looks down.”

“I suppose.”

“Trust me.” She chuckled. “My sister Jo is always in a hurry to get somewhere and she never looks down. On our cruises she was constantly tripping over strollers and bumping into motorized scooters. Carrying Phoebe will be easier in the long run.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He almost saluted her.

When they reached the area for the start of the scavenger hunt, he wasn’t surprised by the crowd gathered around the central lobby. The same guy who had run the float races was explaining how the photo scavenger hunt worked. They were told to take pictures according to the instructions on the list they’d been given. The first being a family photo by the queen.

“I know!” Jake grabbed his brother’s hand and took off straight ahead.

Without a word, the girls followed quickly, with Nick and Ginnie scrambling to keep up. Down the hall, across the deck, and Jake was running down the stairs, two steps at a time.

Each kid spinning and jumping onto the landing until Jake stopped in front of a photograph. “Here she is. The Queen. Mom pointed her out the first day of the cruise.”

Yes, indeed. A portrait of the Queen of the Netherlands hung prominently on the wall beside Jake. The next trick was to get a selfie with all seven of them in it. As soon as they managed that, the kids were off running in search of the next clue.

Ginnie shifted Phoebe to her other hip and chuckling, looked up at Nick. “Your sister must be in great shape, because I think I’ve just found the perfect diet plan. Chase kids on a scavenger hunt.”

“You don’t need to diet.”

“And you, my dear friend, would make a wonderful diplomat.”

He smiled at her, but the word friend didn’t sit well with him. He was going to have to do something about that. And soon.

Chapter Fourteen

Staring into her closet, Ginnie wondered what the heck should she wear. It wasn’t like this was a real date…was it? No, Nick was probably just anxious for a little adult time without kids. She should not make a big deal about it. Still, she did want to look nice. Just not too nice. She didn’t want to scare him off, after all.

When Ginnie left Nick’s suite, all the kids except Jake had fallen asleep before the word “bedtime” had been spoken. The girls had been coloring on the floor and fell asleep right there and the younger boy fell asleep on the sofa beside Nick’s mom as she read him a story. The older boy helped his brother into bed while Nick carried the girls to their beds. Ginnie had helped him get the girls out of their clothes and into their pajamas. The surprising thing was that neither girl even blinked. Who knew an afternoon of photography scavenger hunting could wear kids out so much?

Though if she were honest, crawling into bed and getting a very long night’s sleep held a great deal of appeal, just nowhere near the appeal of time alone with Nick. Well, alone with a few thousand other people.

Wanting to dress up a little but still look casual, she settled for a royal blue sundress that always complimented her Mediterranean complexion, and for good luck, she put on her pearls. She’d barely stepped into her sling back sandals when a rap sounded at her door. Instantly, her heart soared. When she flung the door open, Nick stood on the other side in a neatly pressed, button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. Damn, that man looked hot. “Hi.”

“Hi.” The way his eyes sparkled when she smiled only added to how handsome he looked. The shirt didn’t hurt any either. “Ready to go?”

She nodded and stepping out into the hall, pulled the door shut behind her. “All set.”

Halfway down the hall, he stretched his arm out and snatched her hand in his. “Do you mind?”

Shaking her head, she smiled up at him. “Not at all.”

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