Page 37 of Honeymoon for Seven

Still holding hands, Ginnie wracked her brains, trying to remember exactly when was the last time she’d seen Monica clutching her favorite stuffed toy. Coming out of the elevator banks, they cut across the ship’s deck. The wind blowing softly, the moon shining brightly, it was the perfect scenario for a romantic walk under the stars, except they had a mission. An important mission.

Halfway across, she spotted the heartbroken fellow sitting on a lounger, staring out at the sea. Fresh air was always a good way to sober up. Ginnie slowed her steps. “Good evening.”

At first the guy didn’t seem to even hear her, then his gaze lifted and the pain in his eyes almost made her gasp. Had she ever seen so much sadness. “Evening.” He cleared his throat. “You’re the lady I bumped into earlier. Sorry about that.”

“No problem.” She smiled, thinking maybe she could lift his mood. “I’ve bumped into all sorts of things on this ship.”

He nodded and shifted his gaze back to the ocean. The conversation was over. Something tugged inside her, but she was no psychologist; whatever had this guy all broken up wasn’t going to get fixed by her forcing a conversation. With a curt nod, she squeezed Nick’s hand and kept walking.

“I know you want to help, but sometimes a man just needs to be alone.”

“That’s what my father says. Especially in the middle of a football game when Mama decides she wants to chat about Sunday’s dinner menu.”

Nick chuckled. “I seem to remember similar conversations with my mother and father, except Dad was trying to watch hockey and Mom would think that was a great time to discuss an upcoming vacation or someone’s wedding.”

“I guess marriage is pretty much the same all around.” Though she couldn’t say that about her sisters. Those two seemed to have a crazy connection with their spouses. Or maybe they were just still in the honeymoon phase of life—perhaps football and hockey games might become more critical down the road a few years, but somehow, she couldn’t see it. Still, she wished being surrounded by so many happy couples she could have learned something brilliant to say and make that man feel better.

“He’ll be fine.”

She cocked her head at Nick. “How’d you know I was still thinking about the guy on deck?”

“You press your lips into a thin line when you’re thinking, and I was pretty sure you aren’t thinking about the weather.”

“I didn’t know I was that predictable.”

He shrugged. “Not predictable at all. You are a woman, after all.”

With a gentle smack of his arm, Ginnie chuckled. Nick did have a point—men were lousy at understanding women. Though, Nick seemed to be an exception. Much like her brothers-in-law. “Over there is where we caught sight of the staffer from Costa Rica. I do hope the bunny is around somewhere.” Practically tugging him behind her, she hurried to the corner and letting go of Nick’s hand, began searching under the tables, on the chair tops, in the corner. “Darn it. See anything?”

Several feet away from her, doing the same thing, Nick lifted his head. “Nothing.”

They puttered around, expanding the search area slightly and then sighed.

Ginnie placed her hands on her hips. “Hey, on our way to this last stop, the kids were running around the lounge chairs.”

“That’s right.” Nick snapped his fingers. “They were playing some kind of catch me if you can game. Maybe she dropped it then?”

Hurrying in that direction, Nick was only a few steps behind her. Reaching the first chair, she leaned over and tried to see underneath the lounger. The moonlight didn’t provide enough illumination to see well. If she’d brought her phone she could have used the flashlight app, but the only people who would try to call was her mother and she wasn’t in the mood for a day by day, blow-by-blow conversation of how the trip was going. Especially since right now she didn’t quite know what she would say about her relationship with Nick.Relationship. Glancing down the row a short distance where Nick was moving and turning chairs trying to find his niece’s favorite bunny, the sight brought a smile to her face. Before today, she would have said her crush on Nick was most likely one-sided. Now, she was pretty darn sure they had something, something she hoped wasn’t going to end when they docked in home port or she’d be just as miserable as Mr. Heartbroken.

Circling back to what she was doing here, she moved on to the next seat. Nothing. Where the heck had Phoebe dropped the darn bunny? On a sigh, she stood upright and looked around. Her gaze fell on the railing across the deck. Blinking, she squeezed her eyes and focused. What? “Oh my God.”

Nick’s heart stuttered at the panicked sound of Ginnie’s voice. The sight of her darting across the deck to the other side of the pool, practically vaulting over lounge chairs or anything else in her path, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

What the hell? Without hesitating a moment, he took off after her, finally seeing what she’d seen. Someone straddled the railing on the other side of the ship.

“Hello again,” Ginnie’s soft-spoken voice carried through the air as her steps slowed.

“Stay away!”

Nick recognized the voice. It was the man they’d seen just a short while ago on one of the lounge chairs. Mr. Heartbroken.

“Okay.” Ginnie put both her hands up. “I’m not moving, but that’s a pretty dangerous place to stargaze.”

What the hell was she doing? Nick searched left and right, anywhere in hopes of seeing a crew member. Nothing. It was just the three of them out here. A ship as big as a small town and they were the only three out here. Insane.

“That’s the whole idea,” the man snapped.

“It really is a lovely evening,” Her chin elevated, but her gaze fixed on the man, she barely inched closer.

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