Toronto Collection Volume 2 (Toronto Series #6-9)

by Heather Wardell

  "Yes," he said. "I can be thrilling." Then, to my surprise, he winked at me, and I found myself curious how he dressed when he wasn't at work. Was this look just an act? "Now, your hair. You are wearing a veil?"

  I shook my head. I'd always assumed I would, but Owen thought they looked silly.

  "Good. Easier for me." He plunked me down in a chair, took out my ponytail, and lifted and dropped chunks of hair all over my head. "It's healthy," he said, sounding disappointed. "But you want a twist? So typical. Could we not do braids everywhere?"

  He pointed into the mirror where I could see a little of the back view of a woman having her wet hair bound into endless tiny braids.

  "No, we couldn't," I said firmly, suspecting Dimitri would require constant corralling. "I want a twist."

  "With a braid across it?"

  "No, just a-- wait, what?"

  "I show you."

  He did, too. In less than five minutes he had my hair swept into an elegant twist, with none of the 'bits falling out' or 'so tight you can't close your eyes' issues I usually had when putting up my own hair, and he had somehow managed to work a braid into the fold so it seemed to be what anchored the style.

  He held a mirror behind me. "There. Yes?"

  "Yes," I had to admit. "I love it."

  "Good," he said, with "of course you do" in his tone. "Now, color."

  I shook my head. "I like my color."

  "It's brown."

  "Yeah, and?"

  "No and. Just brown."

  I raised my hands to the twist. "I'll take it apart right now," I threatened.

  It wasn't much of a threat, and I knew it as I said it, but Dimitri gasped and said, "No, please, I like it that way."

  "Okay, fine. Then no color."

  "Give her highlights, Dimitri," someone said behind us, and I turned to see my mother-in-law with her hair bound into endless tiny braids. "Red ones."

  His eyes lit up. "And blonde too. Lots of colors but especially blonde. Yes?"

  Linda nodded but I said, "No. I like it brown."

  "Honey. Guys love blondes."

  Since I knew she liked people standing up to her, I said, "Owen obviously likes brunettes."

  "His last girlfriend was a blonde."

  Ouch. Direct hit. We hadn't discussed our pasts, at least not until we arrived on the good ship I've Dated Your Brothers, because he didn't want to know about mine and I didn't much care about his, and I didn't want to hear about his girlfriends from his mom.

  She patted me on the shoulder. "Sorry, darling. I'm sure he likes brunettes too." She laughed. "Guys just like women, straight guys anyhow. I'm sure he doesn't care what color your hair is."

  "Is true," Dimitri said. "Still, a little brightening up doesn't hurt." He caught my hand. "Like the nails, maybe?"

  Having it on all ten nails made the red seem even more electric than before. "You will not put that kind of red on my hair!"

  He laughed. "No, of course not. But intense like that. Vibrant. Alive!"

  I'd never colored my hair in my life and I'd always been weirdly proud of that. But maybe they were right. "Not today," I hedged. "When I bring Wendy in, we can talk again."

  "Okay." He looked disappointed, then perked up. "I can trim it now though, yes? Just a little clean up."

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "Only a little. I want it long. For the twist."

  "Yes, I like the twist too, with the braid in it. So no need to worry."

  He took my hair down and whisked me away to wash it, ignoring my mention that I'd just done that. His glorious coconut-and-pineapple scented shampoo and the amazing scalp massage he gave me as he washed and conditioned my hair meant I didn't protest, but I did hope Linda would be gone when we returned. I didn't trust her and Dimitri together.

  No such luck. She sat playing with her braids right where I'd left her.

  As Dimitri began cutting my hair, taking a few tiny snips then studying his work carefully before taking a few more, Linda said, "So, how did you and Owen meet?"

  Surprised, I started to turn toward her but Dimitri said, "No movement. Look in the mirror instead."

  "I assumed he'd have told you," I said to her reflection. "No?"

  She shook her head, setting the braids dancing. "A New Year's party. That's all I know. That boy doesn't tell me nothing. But you will, right? I hope it was wildly romantic."

  I felt my cheeks warming at the memory of Owen's champagne-flavored mouth locked to mine hard and hungry at midnight.

  She nudged me. "You're blushing. That's a good sign. Let's hear it."

  I gave her an edited version of how we'd met and fallen in love, and she especially liked the engagement-ring-in-the-box-of-chocolates routine. "That's my boy. He probably spent days planning that out."

  I started to agree but she said, "Hey, where's the ring now?"

  "In the safe in our room. I didn't think wearing it in the ocean this morning was a good plan."

  "Probably not. It's what, a carat?"

  "I don't actually know," I said, surprised. "But probably close to it, from what I've seen of other people's rings."

  "You didn't even ask him how big it was?" She chuckled. "The ring, I mean, not..."

  Her gesture at her crotch was the creepiest thing I'd ever seen, and given my years in the horror movie club that was saying something. "I didn't ask." Wanting to give her a taste of her own medicine, I added, "And I didn't ask him how big anything else was either."

  She burst out laughing and slapped me on the back. Ignoring Dimitri's muttered, "No movement," she said, "You're okay, Mel. I'm going to enjoy having you in the family."

  I smiled. She was a bit of a pervert, but at least my mother-in-law wasn't upset at how quickly Owen and I had gotten together.

  "So if you didn't ask about the ring, I guess you were okay signing the agreement?"

  "I... what agreement?"

  For the first time I saw my mother-in-law-to-be, who'd just made a joke about her own son's private parts, flustered. "Oh. I thought... never mind."

  I tried to think of what she could mean, and then it hit me. "A pre-nup? We didn't do one."

  "I can tell." She smiled at me but it wasn't as bright as usual. "It's sweet, actually. Maybe a little naïve, but sweet."

  I narrowed my eyes at her reflection. "You're not suggesting Owen needs protection from me, are you?"

  This smile came easier. "Honey, everyone needs protection from everyone. I got my money from my mother, who got hers from divorcing my jerk of a father who was so convinced everyone loved him that he didn't think he needed a pre-nup. Trust me, I've insisted on them for all my marriages."

  "But..."

  She waited for me to go on, but I wasn't sure how to say "But isn't that maybe why all your marriages failed?" without seeming a little obnoxious. I finally settled for, "Isn't that kind of unromantic?"

  She laughed. "It's practical. It keeps what's mine mine, and then I can be with a guy without worrying he's going to get anything I don't want him to have."

  Like I said, unromantic.

  *****

  Linda left to go visit her Raul, and Dimitri finished cutting my hair then put it back into its twist at my request. "There," he said when he'd finished. "Going to show your fiancé?"

  If I could find him. "Yup, and my friends too."

  "They will like. It's pretty."

  It was, actually. Not overdone, like a head full of braids, but sleek and elegant. I still wasn't positive the nails weren't too bright for me but I did love my wedding-day hairstyle.

  Almost three hours until dinner time. Wendy and Mark were probably still at the beach, and I considered going back but decided instead to take my ereader to the quiet pool. I hadn't done much reading yet, other than of my own book, and I wanted to.

  Owen wasn't in the stateroom, not that I'd expected he would be, and the silent emptiness of the place seemed somehow heavy enough to crush me.

  Not wanting to hang around, I quickly found my ereader the
n remembered the breezes on deck and traded my scarf for the gorgeous pale pink cashmere shawl Wendy had commissioned her friend Andrea to crochet for me for Christmas. Once I had the airy but warm thing wrapped nicely around my neck and shoulders, I scribbled a note for Owen in case he came back and by some miracle didn't go straight to the casino then made my way to the pool.

  When I arrived the pool area was almost entirely deserted, and to my delight the annoying shushing woman wasn't around. I took a chair close to the water, so I could look up occasionally and enjoy the sunlight dancing on its surface, then opened my latest book.

  I didn't read, though, not right away. Instead I stared vacantly at the screen and wished Nicholas were there. He so loved the pool and he was missing his chance to hang out without fear of shushes.

  But he was still at the beach with Nicole, no doubt.

  I knew I should work harder at liking her but I just didn't want to. She rubbed me the wrong way.

  She probably rubbed Nicholas the right--

  I forced the thought from my mind. Thinking about them together? I'd rather hang out with the shusher.

  To distract myself, I settled into my book. Within moments, I was caught up in the story again, and I read of ghosts and demons and the brave people fighting to save the world from them until I'd taken in the final words.

  I leaned back in my chair and sighed. Such a perfect ending. The people had in fact saved the day but there were surprises that somehow made the ending even richer. Could I find a way to end my own book that would be as satisfying to my readers? If I ever had readers?

  Nicholas walked into the pool area. He glanced around and our eyes met, and his smile warmed me more than a million cashmere shawls could have managed.

  I looked away and told myself to smarten up. I didn't want the surprises and plot twists in my own life, after all. Just in my book. Nicholas was less than two weeks from being my brother-in-law and being delighted by his smile wasn't appropriate.

  He took the chair next to mine. "How're you doing? Warm now?"

  More than you know. I fiddled with the edge of my shawl. "Perfect, thanks. Got tired of being at the beach?"

  "Nicole did, yeah. A little while ago. But she's got a massage appointment so we had to come back anyhow."

  I nodded then couldn't think of anything to say.

  We sat silent for a bit, then he gave a low chuckle and said, "Figures."

  I looked at him, confused.

  He jerked his head toward the chair where the shusher always sat. "We can finally talk and I can't think of anything to say."

  I smiled. "Me either."

  "Were you reading before I got here?"

  "Yup." I told him about the book I'd just finished, without spoiling the ending of course, and concluded with, "You should read it, I think you'd like it. Oh, and it was free when I got it Saturday morning."

  "I'll check right now." He too had connected his ereader to the ship's Internet connection, so I gave him the title to search and he typed it in. "The book's still free," he said after a few moments. "And now it's downloading."

  "Nice. Let me know what you think of it."

  "Will do."

  Again, silence.

  It should have been awkward, sitting beside my ex with nothing to say, but it wasn't. True, we had nothing to say, but I sensed we were both okay with that.

  After a few more minutes, he said, "Want to read for a bit?"

  I smiled at him. "Finally. I thought you'd never stop talking."

  He laughed. "I know, I'm annoying that way. Okay, I'm diving into your book. Don't let me miss dinner."

  "Don't you let me miss it. I'm no better than you are."

  He shook his head. "Two starving fools. But at least we'd have had the fun of reading. And maybe even talking a little."

  I shushed him in an annoying a manner as I could, and I thought I heard a faint snicker from someone across the pool but when I looked up nobody was looking in our direction or seemed likely to have snickered.

  Nicholas whispered, "Sorry. I'll be good."

  "You'd better," I whispered back.

  Just as we settled down to our books, someone came stomping into the pool area. We both looked up at once to see the shusher herself, clutching an armful of towels. She glared at us, but since we were silent there wasn't anything she could do but build her cocoon and slither into it.

  I glanced at Nicholas, to find him sneaking a look at me too, his mouth twitching.

  Giggles rose in me but I bit my lip to keep them back and mouthed, "Shhhh!" at him.

  He silently shushed me back, his eyes full of laughter.

  We grinned at each other for a moment, then one of my giggles escaped. I managed to turn it into a reasonably convincing cough, but even so I heard the woman make a disgusted 'hmmph' sound.

  Nicholas shook his head in mock disgust at my behavior, still grinning, and pointed at his ereader.

  I nodded, and we sat together reading in a companionable and blissfully shush-free silence.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Wendy didn't come find me at the pool as she'd said she would, but eventually Nicholas touched my arm. I looked up, startled, to realize we were the only ones on the pool deck.

  "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. It's quarter after six, so we should probably go get ready for dinner."

  I nodded. "I'll drop off my stuff and meet you there, I guess."

  I wanted him to say we could go together, since I hated walking into the crowded dining room alone, but he said, "Yeah, that sounds good. Got to find Nicole. Oh, and this book is great. Thank you. I love books where you can't see the monster or disaster right away."

  The book I was writing fit that bill, but I could hardly let him see it when it didn't have an ending, and besides I wasn't sure I wanted anyone to see it. "Me too. See you at dinner."

  He smiled and stood up, then sat back down. "Melissa? Thanks for a great afternoon. Really great."

  His awkward sincerity touched me. "Same to you. We'll have to do it again sometime."

  "Deal."

  We headed out together, although he left the elevator a floor before I did. We parted with smiles, but mine was gone before the elevator door closed again. I didn't want to go have dinner with them all. What I really wanted was time alone with my fiancé.

  I'd barely seen him on the trip. It should have been him telling me he had a great afternoon with me, not Nicholas. But Owen had spent his afternoon, great or otherwise, in some casino without me, and whenever I did have time alone with him we'd have to waste at least some of it talking about that, about how I didn't appreciate not knowing what was going on.

  Owen wasn't in our stateroom, so I dropped off my ereader and freshened up and made myself head to the restaurant alone.

  Owen was at the table when I arrived, along with our mothers and Nicholas and Nicole, and Derek lounged in the chair next to him.

  "I'll get out of your seat." Derek smiled at me. "Just figured I'd come meet your fiancé." He stood and held out his hand to Owen. They shook and Derek said, "See you all later," and headed off.

  "Hey," Owen said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders when I took my seat next to him. "How're you doing?"

  "Good," I said, surprised by the unusual public contact. No need to ask how he was doing: his face was glowing. "The tournament went well, I take it?"

  "Second place," he crowed, releasing me so he could slap his hands on the table. "My best finish yet. And the guy who beat me's a pro, so I can't feel too bad."

  "About what, abandoning Mel for the day?" Austin dropped into the chair next to me, sending a faint breeze over me as he did, and gave me a brilliant smile.

  "No," Owen said, frowning. "I came second in the tournament. And I didn't abandon her anyhow. She was with friends. Right, honey?"

  I did feel abandoned but I didn't want to admit it in front of everyone. "Friends and Austin."

  The man in question clapped his hand over his heart. "Ouch, Mel. What have I ev
er done to you?"

  I smiled sweetly at him. "Nothing. Why?"

  He winked and I had to laugh.

  Linda said, "So now we just need Wendy and Mark and we're ready to-- oh, there they are."

  We turned to see them, hand-in-hand, coming toward us. If Owen had looked lit up, they both looked electrified.

  They stood behind their chairs but didn't sit. "So," Mark said, "we have a little ann--"

  "We're engaged!" Wendy burst out.

  "--ouncement," Mark finished, laughing, as the rest of us began to react to her words. "Wendy, seriously. You have no sense of theater."

  "Maybe not, but I have this." She stretched out her left arm so we could see the stunning diamond ring on her hand. The stone was smaller than mine, but the ring looked like a piece of sculpture and a larger diamond would have been out of place. An exquisite ring, and exactly Wendy's style. I couldn't imagine it on anyone but her.

  We showered them with congratulations and questions about the proposal, but Mark just smiled and Wendy said, "It was on the beach, and I said yes. What else do you need to know?" then leaned into him in a way that made my heart clench.

  The love coming off them was overwhelming. I remembered Wendy saying she'd felt fire when she met Mark, and I could see its heat and light now.

  I jumped up and hugged her, then him. As I released him, she said, "I want both you and Andrea as my maids of honor. I couldn't pick between you guys. You'll do it, right?"

  I turned to her. "Try to stop me."

  "Matron, actually," my mom said. "Since she'll be married by then."

  "Ooh, unless you do yours on the cruise too," Nicole said. "You could even do it first!"

  Wendy laughed. "Then I'd be her matron of honor and I'm not a fan of that word. Feels old."

  "Plus, we think we'd like a fall wedding," Mark said. "Reds and golds and all that."

  "Well, whenever you do it, congratulations," Linda said. "Now, not to break the mood, but I'm starving. Let's flag down that waiter and order."