Page 21 of Cruise in Love

“All right. Then let’s go.”

Knowing she couldn’t sit at the place any longer, she got up from the chair. But as soon as she stood, the world seemed to sway a little.

“Whoa! The waves must be huge,” she said. But she vaguely wondered why others weren’t having difficulty balancing when the cruise ship was rocking. The huge crystal chandelier on the ceiling barely moved either.

“The ship is fine,” he drawled. “You are drunk.”

She glared at him. “I’m not drunk. I don’t get drunk.”

He didn’t say anything. He led her out of the restaurant while placing an arm around her to steady her. She wanted to push his arm away, but she enjoyed the heat and the flutters his touch caused inside her stomach.

When they waited near the lift, she frowned. “Where are we going?” she demanded.

“To our suite.”

Her frown turned bigger. “No! I don’t want to go back to the cabin! I want to enjoy the cruise. It’s my vacation!”

“Where do you want to go?” he drawled.

She wasn’t sure. She looked at the shiny display next to the lift showing what each floor had.

“The casino!” she declared victoriously. “I want to go to the casino.”

When the lift arrived, she stepped in and pressed the floor that indicated the casino. She blinked as the floors flashed by and the lift finally came to a stop. When the doors opened, she stared.

“Ooh! Look at that! It’s a big fish tank!”

The casino was at the bottom floor of the cruise ship. And one side of it had a floor to ceiling glass wall that gave the illusion of being under the ocean. There was a pool of colorful fishes, turtles and even small-sized whales.

“That’s a hammer shark!” she said excitedly, pointing at the huge fish with a rectangular mouth.

“Good evening, sir and madam,” a pleasant voice greeted. “Welcome to Symphony casino.”

Sitara turned to look at the woman who was the hostess at the casino. The woman smiled when Aarav slipped out a card.

“I see that you have special access. Would you like your own table, sir?”

“No,” Aarav’s deep voice replied. “We won’t be here long.”

Sitara frowned and shook her head. “We will be here all night! I’m going to gamble all night.”

She stumbled slightly as she pulled away from Aarav’s grip and walked inside. She could hear the sounds of the slot machines, but she went towards the area where the wheels were spinning and several people were cheering and placing bets.

She sat at one of the tables. A moment later, a stack of chips was placed next to her. Just as she blinked wondering how they got there, a waitress approached the table with champagne and cocktail glasses.

“Would you like a drink, sir and madam?”

Sitara was about to reply, but a deep voice behind her replied.

“No.”

Annoyed, Sitara grabbed a cocktail glass.

“My wife is pregnant. She shouldn’t drink. Don’t bring drinks to her anymore.”

“Oh. Sure, sir.”

Sitara nearly choked on her drink. She was about to turn and blast the bossy jerk when the dealer spoke to her.

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