Page 14 of The Situation Ship
“I don’t drink while I’m working,” Isaiah said, placing his hand over the third glass as Mina swiped one and downed it in two gulps.
“Live a little. I doubt I’ll even need your services this trip,” Poppy said. “You can come and go as you please. There’s no need to stick by me. I can even arrange a new room for you.”
Isaiah narrowed his eyes. She was trying to get rid of him.
“I think I’m going to go unpack while you two talk.” Mina looked between them,clearly not wanting to get involved.
“All guests must have a bodyguard; I’m afraid it’s ship rules. You won’t even notice me,” Isaiah said, not giving her any wiggle room.Winning her trust was clearly going to be a challenge.
“I find that hard to believe. I suppose I could use you to block out the sun while I sunbathe,” Poppy joked, standing up on her tiptoes and barely reaching his shoulders.
“If that’s what you desire, I’ll happily oblige.”
“You aren’t going to budge on this, are you?” she asked, looking him up and down.
“I get the feeling that neither are you.” He resisted the urge to smirk as he stepped closer, forcing her to meet his gaze.“If we get to know each other, we might just get along.”
“Careful what you wish for.” Poppy downed the rest of her champagne and walked to her room.
Isaiah followed, nearly bumping into her when she stopped short in the doorway. They stared at the rose petals and heart-shaped bedspread on the bed.
“Clearly, they were expecting this to be a romantic getaway,” Poppy said stoically.
He expected her to be upset, but her resilience was admirable. Like a marble statue– breathtaking, but emanating a coldness that might cause him to turn to stone if he touched her. He shook away the thought and reminded himself that he washere to find out if she had anything to do with the murders, not about her rocky love life.
“I can call someone to have it all removed?” he asked.
She frowned. “Why trouble someone?”
“Given your recent breakup, it makes sense that you’d be upset,” he said, daring to poke to get some reaction from her.
“It’s only a few rose petals – nothing to cry about.” Poppy shook out the comforter, distorting the perfect heart shape. Then she disappeared into the bathroom, which could fit a family of four, and returned with a wireless hairdryer. Within seconds, the rose petals were blown away.
“Now it’s just another bed,” she said, tossing the hairdryer into a drawer under the wardrobe.
“Can I ask why you boarded after what happened at the dock?”
“Joshua and I had a mutually beneficial relationship, and now it’s over.” She shrugged. “You don’t have to worry about me breaking down in tears. Besides, regardless of what Joshua decided, I wanted a holiday. Tickets for theMidasare rare, expensive, and non-refundable. I wasn’t going to let them go to waste.”
“But given all you’ve been through lately, wouldn’t you rather be home in the States than surrounded by strangers here?”
She sighed. “Am I being interrogated? Or are you just really terrible at small talk?”
He pulled at his neck, not used to being called out. “Sorry, force of habit. You don’t have to answer. I thought this might be easier if we got to know each other a little.”
“Ireland is my home. I only lived in the States when my schedule called for it. As I’m sure you know, I don’t have any family left. Being around strangers is normal for me. If I were completely alone with my thoughts, I wouldn’t know what to dowith myself,” she said simply. “My turn. Why take this job? If you’re a detective, I’d assume you have bad guys to catch.”
“I’ve had some hard cases recently, and my captain thought it would be good if I took some time off,” he admitted. Some honesty might take some of her walls down, but he didn’t have to tell her everything.
“So you were ordered to take a holiday and instead you decided to work? We might have more in common than I thought. Neither of us knows how to relax.”
He grinned. “Eckells mentioned this would be an easy gig, and boarding theMidasis a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Like you, I can’t remember the last time I had a holiday myself; I’m not sure I even remember how.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever thought working for me is easy,” she admitted.
“Mina seems to like you.”
“She’s new.” Poppy chuckled, and it was the first time he’d seen her smile reach her eyes. He had a feeling she was being too hard on herself.
