Miguel leaned over the console verifying that it indeed worked well. “And what do you mean about a prank?”
Vanessa pulled up another chair closer to the console and helped herself to a croissant. “Someone changed the settings on your keyboard. It’s called an alternative keyboard layout. In this case the Dvorak keyboard.”
They both looked at her with blank expressions and wrinkled brows.
Vanessa gestured toward the keyboard. “This keyboard on your console is a QWERTY, like most keyboards everywhere. A Dvorak keyboard has the keys used most often within closer reach of your fingers, supposedly to increase productivity and typing speed. When someone changes a QWERTY to a Dvorak, they also need to change the keys so the typing matches what you see on the screen.” She leaned back and took a sip of her drink. “From your reaction, I’m guessing you didn’t know any of this.”
Captain Romano stood from the console. “So you’re saying this was not an accident?”
She shook her head. “Whoever did this knew what they were doing.”
Another charged look passed between him and his firstmate.
Vanessa’s curiosity took over. “Who has access to this room?”
“Miguel and I are the only ones who have keys. Key cards, actually. Security is monitored remotely, and they record every time the door is locked and unlocked.”
“Which means you’d know if someone else has been in here.” Vanessa looked at the corners of the ceiling. Did they also have camera monitors?
Captain Romano followed her gaze. “And yes, we have security cameras as well.”
“Is it okay for me to be here?” Was someone looking at the live footage from the bridge of the Princess Catarina wondering who she was and what she was doing there?
The captain waved a hand and his expression relaxed. “Of course you’re fine. I invited you here.”
He didn’t say duh, but it was definitely implied. Vanessa nodded.
“What about those two young guys who follow you around?”
“Jaime and Pedro. They’re our assistants and junior officers. They also have other duties, but they take our place when one of us is not in here.” He gestured between himself and Miguel.
“Could someone have made this switch remotely?” Miguel asked.
“Absolutely,” Vanessa said. He meant hacking, even if he hadn’t used the word. “And it wouldn’t be too difficult either,” she added, anticipating his next question.
She stood and tucked the chair back in its place against the far end on the counter. “I’ll leave so you can return to work now that your keyboard is back in business.”
Miguel was already engrossed in whatever task required his attention.
Captain Romano opened the door and accompanied Vanessa onto the sun deck. “I can’t thank you enough for the help, Vanessa. I mean, Miss Clark.” He walked beside her as they moved on to the railing facing the river.
“You can call me Vanessa, Captain,” she said in a light tone. “And I was glad to help. Hope you catch the hacker who did this.”
For a moment, he looked at her with a puzzled expression. He turned to watch a small barge go by in the river and waved at the two men inside who held their arms up in greeting. The silence between her and the Captain stretched for a few minutes. Maybe she’d said something wrong and he didn’t want to comment on it.
He broke the silence. “I’ll call you Vanessa if you’ll call me Matias.”
Her heart jumped. An idiotic smile made a move to her lips, but she quickly put a stop to that. It was a reasonable request from him; nothing more. She had just called his firstmate by his first name, after all. It wouldn’t do anything to go reading more into his words.
“Even in front of the other passengers?” Everyone addressed him as Captain.
He seemed to consider it for a moment. “Well, maybe when there’s no one else around.”
As he looked straight ahead, the corners of his mouth rose in a lazy smile.
*
Matias bent over the schedule and the itinerary one last time. There were two excursions today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. With some adjustments and flexibility, he could accompany Vanessa ashore and make it back for departure.
If everything went well.
Miguel stood at the wheel, his feet planted apart and his hands firmly gripped. “Are you still looking at that schedule?” He glanced back at him. “You know I don’t mind taking the ship to the next port, if it comes to that.”
Matias nodded in reply. Most likely, it would come to that. After years and years of straightforward trips with nothing to report, karma had caught up with him. Only the third day, and already he’d had to write a page worth of reporting for each day of this trip. It wasn’t much consolation to be right when it involved extra work and added worry.
“Don’t over-think it, Captain.” Miguel said. “Just go ashore with her and have some fun.”
Matias straightened and stepped away from the counter. “That’s the problem.”
“Leaving the ship?” Miguel asked.
“Having too much fun.”
Miguel raised an eyebrow at him. “When was the last time you went ashore with a woman?”
Matias didn’t have to reply. Miguel knew the answer just as well as he did.
As Pedro walked in the door to keep Miguel company in the bridge, Matias put the phone in his pocket. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” he said to Miguel.
Miguel chuckled. “Yes, sir, Captain Romano.”
Miss Clark was not on the sun deck in her usual spot. He found her by the swimming pool on a chaise lounge, her enormous hat blocking her face, and a pair of oversize sunglasses perched on her nose. She wore a short-sleeve cardigan over a long dress and a pair of flip-flops. What was it with Americans wearing their flip-flops everywhere?
When she saw him, she rose and walked to the aft, far from the other passengers. Was it to get away from him or for more privacy? As much as he wanted to make a beeline for her, Matias took his time greeting everyone and making small talk with a few of the ladies. There’d still be comments of how he gravitated toward the American woman, and some might even accuse him of giving her more time than anyone else, but it was inevitable.
She glanced in his direction every so often as if to keep stock of his progress on his way to her, and every time she did, he found it harder and harder to pretend her presence didn’t affect him.
Why had he offered to take her ashore? It didn’t sound like a good idea anymore. They’d be spending time together without the other passengers as a buffer. Already the attraction he had toward her took too much space in his thoughts, and time alone with her only had the likelihood of increasing the attraction. But it was too late to retract the offer, even if he wanted to.
He finally stopped at the railing next to her.
“The weather forecast says it’s going to be hot today. You might not need that sweater.”
“This is not a fashion statement. It’s a necessity to prevent sunburn.” She removed her sunglasses and looked up at him. “I wasn’t blessed with the golden Portuguese complexion.” She dragged one foot against the deck. “Next you’re going to tell me I’ll trip in my flip-flops.”
Matias looked away and scratched the side of his chin.
She chuckled. “I can see that guilty look on your face. Don’t deny it.”
“I won’t confirm or deny anything.” He kept a straight face but when he chanced a peek at her, his mouth involuntarily rose in a small smile.
Matias pulled his phone out and checked the time. “Meet me at the reception desk at fifteen past ten.”
Her eyebrows scrunched in that expression of hers he was beginning to know better each day. “But the excursion ashore leaves at ten.”
“Yes, I know.” He resisted the urge to wink at her and stepped back from the railing.
She turned in his direction. “What do you have planned, Captain?”
“You’ll just ha
ve to wait and see, Miss Clark.”
Vanessa arrived at the reception desk a few minutes before the appointed time. The ship was unusually quiet. Most passengers had left in the tour buses heading toward the center of the small town of Régua and the local museum. The schedule called for lunch aboard and another excursion in the afternoon to a seventeenth century palace. Meanwhile, the captain, or perhaps Miguel, would navigate to the next stop and the excursion buses would deliver the passengers to a nearby wine-producing farm for a typical regional dinner before returning everyone to the ship at night. A day full of activities and most likely a low-key evening.
She turned at the sound of muted steps on the carpet. A man in aviator sunglasses walked in her direction. He wore dark jeans and a light blue T-shirt that accentuated his broad shoulders and lean physique in all the right ways. Vanessa stared, trying to remember if she’d seen him around. He smiled and removed his glasses as he approached, and she scolded herself for missing the signs.
“I hardly recognized you out of your uniform, Captain Romano.” It shouldn’t surprise her that he looked just as good in casual clothes. He probably looked fine in just about anything, but that was a mental picture she did not need right now.
He tucked the sunglasses in the neckline of his shirt, and Vanessa caught herself blushing at the sight of his dark chest hairs. Goodness, it was going to be a long day beside this man and whatever he had planned for them. She needed a distraction of another sort— something that didn’t spike her internal temperature or make her lose her good sense.
“Not captain. I’m simply Matias for the next few hours.”
“Hello, Matias. I’m simply Vanessa,” she said in a Barbie-doll tone.
He chuckled. “I have a feeling there’s nothing simple about you.”
What was that supposed to mean? “I’m not as bad as you think, you know,” she defended herself.
The receptionist approached with a backpack, and Matias thanked him. “Relax, Vanessa. It was a compliment.” He shouldered the backpack. “Let’s just forget about our past animosity toward each other and pretend we can get along like two normal people.”
“Whatever you say, cap—Matias,” she corrected herself. She didn’t even have to pretend. For all the awkward and uncomfortable exchanges between them, he was growing on her at a fast rate. Three days ago she didn’t know he existed, and now she was looking forward to a road trip with him.
When they arrived on dock, he walked toward the nearest parking lot and Vanessa followed. He clicked the remote key fob and a candy-apple-red convertible chirped back from under the shade of a large oak tree.
Her eyes widened at the sleek vehicle. “We’re driving that?” She hurried on to see the car up close. “It’s a Volkswagen. I love Volkswagen cars.”
He shook his head slowly. “I asked Miguel to take care of the rental.”
She touched the smooth paint. “Don’t tell me you don’t like it. I’ve always wanted to drive a red convertible.” Her words sounded a bit more wistful than she’d intended.
“So have I.” He dropped the backpack in the back seat and went around the front to open the passenger side door to her.
“Will you let me have a turn?” Vanessa rounded the back, appreciating all the fine details. “Please?”
“Sorry, the rental agreement is in my name.” He closed the door after she slid onto the smooth leather seat. “Can you even drive a stick shift?”
“It’s been a while, but yes, I can.” Her first car had been a late eighties jalopy with a lazy starter and a gearstick that stuck at the most inopportune times.
Matias turned on the radio, and started the car, smiling at the soft purr of the engine. “Are you ready?”
Vanessa tied the sun hat under her chin and tucked her low bun more securely, then nodded at him. “Are you going to tell me what we’re doing today?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Do you want me to catch up to the excursion buses?”
“Now you’re just being mean.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “Of course I don’t.”
Matias maneuvered through the town center and stopped at a red light. He had a nonchalant hand on the wheel and his elbow on the lowered window, and Vanessa hadn’t seen him this relaxed on the ship. Being ashore looked good on him. Her eyes kept straying to him, and he’d reward her with that half smile of his that she liked more and more.
She turned to look out the passenger-side window. As the breeze shifted, Vanessa pushed the sun hat farther down her forehead and kept a hand on it until Matias rounded another curve on the road. The landscape of rolling hills and small farms cascaded to the river in horizontal rows of various greens and fertile dirt. At the small port, the docked ship loomed large next to the smaller one-day cruise ships in the vicinity.
Once they reached the outside of town, Matias pulled over to a side road and parked in a rest area under the shade of linden trees.
He turned off the radio, then reached in the backpack and pulled out a map.
“You’re probably wondering why we didn’t take the excursion like everybody else, but I realized that it would be really hard to keep track of you among all the others. I also didn’t want the regulars asking why I was suddenly taking a trip to shore.” He pulled his glasses onto his head and looked at her. “It’s something I’ve never done before, and I don’t want to explain why I’m making an exception this time. Besides, I’m sure your grandfather wouldn’t want to call undue attention to your situation.”
Vanessa took off her sunglasses and untied the hat. “I still think he’s blowing everything out of proportion.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Matias said in a placating voice. “And I’m taking a guess here, but it sounded like he’s had bodyguards on you before. You should probably be used to it by now.”
“Wow. Assumptions much, Captain?” She leaned away from him and crossed her arms. “Why would you even think that?”
He held up a hand in a surrender gesture. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you. Forget I said anything.” He waited before adding, “Can you go back to calling me Matias if I don’t bring it up again?”
She tapped a finger to her chin and pretended to consider. “How good are you at keeping your promises?”
“Very good—I promise.” He didn’t even try to keep a straight face.
She wasn’t in the mood to argue. “I guess I’ll take your word for it,” she said in a mock stern voice. “Don’t make me regret it.”
Matias flashed a smile and picked up the map again. He unfolded it and pointed at a dot.
“This is Régua, where we docked this morning. We’re going to bypass the visit to the Museum of the Douro River and drive to the palace near Vila Real. Then we’ll drive straight to Pinhão just as the ship docks there and arrive before the buses deliver the passengers so we can avoid any questions about where we went.” He turned from the map to look at her. “Is that okay with you?”
“I don’t know anything about this area, so it all sounds good to me.” Vanessa bent over the map and followed the distance between the places he’d pointed at with her finger. “Will we have the time to drive there and back to the ship?”
Matias added his own finger to the map and traced along with hers, his head leaning close. Vanessa stilled at the proximity. Her heart sped up, and she dared not move. What was this energy again, this feeling of surprising happiness that flushed her face and filled her chest?
He went on, as if unaware of the effect of his nearness. “We’ll go north on this road to reach the palace and then southeast on the way back to the ship. Nobody will even know we were gone.”
As he smoothed a wrinkle on the map and tried to fold it, Matias bumped her shoulder and knocked her sun hat off her head onto the backseat. His right arm reached out to catch the hat and Vanessa leaned in the wrong direction, bridging the few inches between them. Matias locked eyes on her and, just as she had, he froze for a moment. Neither spoke.
How eas
ily could she touch her lips to his?
A car horn blared from the nearby road.
Vanessa leaned back against her seat, and Matias cleared his throat. She turned partially to the window and sighed, grateful for the timely interruption that had prevented an embarrassing situation.
What was she thinking? She’d been ready to kiss Captain Matias Romano. A kiss, for goodness’ sake. And the man worked for Grandfather. A double disaster narrowly missed.
He retrieved the hat and handed it to her. “We should get going.”
She placed it on her lap and gave him a small nod.
The key turned easily in the ignition, his touch quick and his hands moving firmly to grip the wheel. After waiting for a break in the traffic, Matias merged onto the road without a glance in her direction.
She probably deserved it.
*
He’d been ready to kiss her.
Matias gave himself a mental slap for the almost slip-up. No wonder Vanessa had turned to the window. She’d probably seen his intentions written on his face and hadn’t wanted to deal with him. He couldn’t blame her. He didn’t want to deal with himself or the situation either.
He flipped the radio on again and turned the volume on high. The speed limit on the national road was lower than on the highway, but it still made it hard to talk. One of the disadvantages of a convertible car. He’d apologize to her later and hopefully she wouldn’t hold it against him. They definitely didn’t need any extra tension between them.
As many times as he’d docked at the port of Régua before, he’d only made it as far as the local hotel, and he’d never been to Vila Real before. When was the last time he’d taken a road trip anyway? Nothing came up in recent memory. He always stuck to the cruise itinerary and never had a reason to go ashore. It was about time he changed his routine, even if it hadn’t been his idea. The smooth ride and comfortable car would soon have them at the palace, where he could take Vanessa on a walking tour of the beautiful gardens and ask her to forgive his earlier behavior. He’d make new memories, and she would be a part of them. And the next time he came this way, he’d think fondly of their time together. A sense of contentment rose in his chest. It was a good plan.
Meet Me At Sunrise (Destined for Love: Europe) Page 5