Page 4 of Honeymoon for Seven

“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of her.”

Ginnie bobbed her head. “I’m going to guess since you and I look nothing alike, it was the yellow dress that confused her.”

His sister looked down at herself, as if she’d forgotten what she’d put on to wear that day.

“Oh, good.” Alan approached from the opposite direction. The place was starting to sound like a broken record. “Looks like we’re going to have to use the stroller on board or she’ll find herself halfway to Kansas when we’re not looking.” The guy had a pretty good sense of humor. At least Nick’s sister thought so as she leaned over and kissed her new husband’s cheek.

The way those two looked at each other, Nick was surprised they didn’t self combust, and once again he had to ask himself, why not leave the kids home with the grandparents for your honeymoon?

“Sorry.” Theresa blushed. “This is my husband Alan.”

“How do you do?” Alan extended his hand and Phoebe’s rescuer politely nodded.

“And these are our boys—” Theresa started, but the lady biting back a smile cut her off.

“Would I be too far off if I guessed, Chandler and Joey?”

Alan rolled his eyes and sighed. “Thankfully, no. Jake and Jeff.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself.” Ginnie smiled bashfully.

“No worries,” Theresa chuckled. “I probably shouldn’t have watched so many episodes ofFriends.”

Grinning to himself over the sitcom-worthy gathering of relatives, Nick turned his attention from all the family that had appeared, to the lady who had sort of rescued Phoebe. Her smile was so delicate and her eyes reminded him of caramel candies. Funny, he was usually partial to light eyes, but something about this woman’s gaze had him pulled in like a magnet to true north. Shaking his head, he brushed away the silly thoughts and returned his attention to the crazy crew he was supposed to help corral for the next eight days. “I hear there’s ice cream somewhere on this ship. I think we’ve all earned it.”

“On deck twelve. Take a left from the elevator. That’s the closest self-serve soft ice cream machine,” Ginnie volunteered.

“Thank you,” Theresa offered and Nick found himself wanting to invite the lady with the warm brown eyes to join them.

Unfortunately, he had a job to do, and obviously he was going to have to step up his game if he wanted to keep tabs on all five kids. Pity, he would really have loved some time to get to know Miss Brown Eyes better.

Chapter Three

The sun peeked through a narrow slit in the curtains. Just enough to tell Ginnie it was time to get out of bed. If that wasn’t enough, her stomach rumbled loudly, begging to be fed. She’d spent yesterday, her first day at sea, relaxing in the upper lounge with a book and view to die for. Sipping iced tea while nibbling on a plate of cheese, crackers, and fruit had made the book even more enjoyable. So much so that dinner time came around and she’d barely had time to change out of her shorts and into something more appropriate.

For her, the large and ornate dining rooms were especially inviting. Maybe it was because the dining room in the house she’d shared with her sisters had been converted to an office long ago, or perhaps it had more to do with her Italian heritage and her mother’s love of crushed velvet and massive furniture. Either way, she’d settled in at a table for eight. A mixed group at the table, the conversation had been steady, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Rather than dress and fight the crowds no doubt roaming about the upper deck before disembarking for the first island stop, she opted to wait for the majority of folks to disembark. To her delight, looking over the paperwork that came with her travel package, she realized that her company had included a few extra perks. The one she was most excited about was the gift card for the spa. Looking over the services, the massages sounded heavenly. Since she’d already been to today’s port on both of her previous cruises, the idea of a good foot rub held way more appeal than a bus ride to ancient ruins.

Besides, this port required the ship drop anchor and the passengers tender into town. While she didn’t mind riding the small crafts into the port, the lines and delays to come back at the end of the day were long, slow moving, and tiresome. Nope. A good hand, neck, and foot massage was the perfect plan for the day.

The need to hurry up kept nipping at her heels, urging her to get out the door sooner than later. Every few minutes she had to remind herself she was not at home, she didn’t have to beat the traffic, find a parking space, wait for the elevator. This was a vacation and she could eat breakfast any time she wanted. Looking in the mirror, she pinned her hair up on top of her head, thankful that wearing makeup and high heels were not part of the cruise ship morning dress code.

Stepping into her new kitten heel sandals, she reached for the lanyard she’d bought on the last cruise since carrying her keycard in a pocket or purse wasn’t very practical. The lanyard was efficient and pretty. Slipping it over her neck, she was ready to go. Taking one last look at herself in the mirror, not that anyone else would be looking, she nodded and headed out the door. Not more than two steps out, she realized she’d forgotten her coupon and stuttered to a stop, spinning in place, reached for her card, tugging too hard snapped the lanyard off, dropping it on the floor.

Squatting down, she grabbed the plastic portion that held the room keycard and it broke off from the lanyard. If this was a sign of how the rest of her day would go, maybe she should stay in her room. Keycard and broken lanyard in hand, she pushed to her feet but instead of rising, teetering on the new heels, she tipped back, arms flailing, wavering like a bobble toy, then landed on her derriere. Definitely should reconsider ordering room service for breakfast.

“Need some help?”

There was no need to look up, she recognized the smooth timbre of the voice from yesterday.

“Hi.” Shaking her head, she leaned forward and pushed to her feet, praying she wouldn’t topple forward and make more of a fool of herself. “And, no, thank you.”

Nick—funny, she’d remembered his name—bobbed his chin, smiled, and took a step back.

Had he smiled the other day? He mustn’t have or surely she would have noticed the dazzle that made her want to stare like a star-struck schoolgirl. “Are you on this deck?” She almost rolled her eyes at the stupid question. Why would he be here if his room weren’t. Way to go, Ginnie.

“No.” He shook his head, and held up the tall cup of specialty coffee in his hand. “I’m a couple of decks up, but the lines for the elevators and the crowds on the stairways is nuts. Decided to take a shortcut to the front of the ship in hopes that the other elevators will be less crowded.”

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