Page 35 of Honeymoon for Seven

His smile widened and she gave herself permission to hope that maybe, just maybe, whatever this thing between them was, would work itself out.

The ship had several different choices for nighttime entertainment. Singers and musical groups from a one-man band to classical harpists and popular trios played all over the ship, but Nick led them to one lounge in particular. Smaller than some, it had a wall of windows that allowed for a view of the ocean. Tonight the moon cast a stream of light, shimmering on the water. At the opposite side, a small bar with limited seating was a buzz of activity. Scattered around the small parquet dance floor, several tables and chairs were already spoken for, but several more were still available. At the piano a young man played tunes that had folks tapping their toes and occasionally singing along. In between sets, canned music played overhead. All of it perfectly suited for dancing.

Seated by the piano at the front of the dance floor, Ginnie toyed with her Marvelous Mango.

“Do you always choose fruity drinks like that?” Nick asked.

“Not really. At home, I love a good glass of chianti, but on the ships, they always make fun drinks. Each cruise I find one I like and then I stick with it. Even though this doesn’t taste at all like a mango, it’s tasty as heck nonetheless.”

“I’ll try and remember that.”

“You’re a really good uncle.”

“Thanks, I try. Especially since Chuck died. I hated seeing my sister go through hell.”

“I can’t even imagine.” She barely knew Nick and if anything happened to him, she already knew she’d be beyond heartbroken. The somber mood shifted as the piano player banged out one of her favorite tunes by Bill Withers and her toes started tapping to the catchy beat. “Oh, I love Bill Withers. Such an eclectic singer, but this is one of my favorite songs of his.”

“Shall we?” Nick stood and extended his hand to her.

Without a word she pushed to her feet and slipping her hand in his, followed him to the dance floor. The sweet beat justified him curling her into the fold of his arms and gently swaying as they moved around the floor.

“Seems you dance as well as you sing.” Ginnie lifted her gaze to meet his.

“You’re making me look good.”

That had her cackling out a low laugh. “My mother will be delighted to hear that all those years of dance lessons paid off.”

They remained on the floor for the next couple of songs until the piano player announced he was taking a break and they returned to their seats.

“Did you really take dance lessons?”

Ginnie nodded. “Starting at age four I took everything from ballet, jazz and tap, to ballroom dancing for cotillion in junior high.”

“I guess everyone does cotillion. My mother both threatened and bribed me to go.”

“From what I’ve seen on the floor, it paid off.”

He shook his head. “Nah, my grandmother taught me how to dance. My grandfather explained the fine art of leading, but it was Grams who would drag me into the living room at every family gathering and make sure I learned enough not to step on anyone’s feet.”

“I think I’d have liked her.”

“Maybe some day you can meet her. She’s eighty-nine and feisty as ever.”

“Oh, I love that!” A thump behind her chair startled her, making her look over her shoulder.

“Excuse me,” the man she’d noticed that first night at karaoke, apologized as he swayed toward the bar.

“Something tells me it’s not the ship rocking that has him swaying with the boat.” Ginnie couldn’t help but wonder what the deal was with this guy. If anything could lift a person’s spirits it was a cruise, and yet, not with him. She’d felt sorry for him the other night and nothing had changed.

“Guess he didn’t find anyone to help mend that broken heart.” Nick watched the guy slide onto a bar stool. “Too bad.”

“Yeah.” How come she was blessed to have stumbled into Nick and that poor man only had the drink in front of him, she didn’t know, but she’d never been more thankful in her life.

Nick couldn’t believe he had a legitimate reason to hold Ginnie in his arms. When the piano player took his break and they walked back to their seats, he prayed the canned music would give him a reason to take her back out on the floor.

Not even feeling sorry for the poor guy burying his sorrows at the bar could take away from how he felt being here with Ginnie. Somewhere in the last few days he’d learned that they only lived about forty-five minutes away from each other. Not quite around the corner but it beat cross country. He just hoped her acceptance of his invitation and her willingness to let him hold her hand as they’d walked to the lounge also meant she’d be open to seeing him when they got back home.

Overhead he recognized another Bill Withers tune. “Ready for another turn on the floor?”

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