Life, Liberty, and Pursuit
Page 9
Her heart skipped, and she had a feeling of liquid warmth flow through her. She didn’t understand why, but he seemed to think he could confide in her.
“Your secrets are safe with me,” she said. He laughed, breaking the serious moment with his musical voice. She was sure she had a stupid grin on her face. She hoped that it was true, that he had not shared it with anyone else. Then she would have one thing that belonged just to her.
As they got up to leave, she was suddenly unsure of their plans. Before she could ask, David took her by the hand and started leading the way. They wound around stairways and decks, David purposeful in his mission. She was completely lost. Finally, they emerged out onto a deck at the very top of the ship. A cluster of antennas and strange looking instruments loomed above them. It was a lookout over the boat—deck after deck stair-stepped below them, teeming with people. There were only two other couples perched under the brilliant blue sky with them.
Where they a couple? She wasn’t sure at all what he thought. Or what she thought, for that matter. He turned, his back resting against the railing, and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and trapped her arms up against his chest. There was a slight wind coming from the movement of the boat, but tucked in close to him, she was sheltered and could look easily up at him. She looked away from the intensity of his eyes, to the horizon. “It’s beautiful up here.”
“Ty jesteś piękna,” he whispered in her ear. He smiled as she turned back to face him.
“What does that mean?” she asked, entranced.
“It means you’re beautiful, in Polish. But I’m fairly sure you are beautiful in any language.”
She felt the heat rise in her cheeks, unable to say anything coherent. He bent down and softly brushed his lips against hers. She hoped the sound of her gasp was lost in the wind whipping around them. He swept his lips down her jaw, to her exposed neck, and she felt her knees start to go soft.
When he reached just behind her ear, she gasped again. “David …”
He froze. “I’m sorry,” he whispered and then drew back.
“No, I just …” She cleared her throat, acutely aware of the other couples standing on the deck, although they were busy with their own activities. He held her fast.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” He seemed amused by that prospect.
“Well, if I keel over, it’s going to be embarrassing for both of us.”
He bent to whisper in her ear. “Is there seriously a danger of you keeling over from my kissing?” His breath was warm on her neck, and those words alone were making her knees soft again. It was simply unfair. She slid her hands up his chest, slowly and deliberately tracing his collarbones and neck with her fingertips, and finally running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. She reached up on her tip-toes, nuzzling his neck on the way up with her cheek and lips. She whispered in his ear, “Yes.” She could hear him draw in a sharp breath and reflexively hold her tighter. She placed two soft kisses behind his ear before drawing back and daring him with her eyes.
“Okay, you win,” he conceded, then pulled back to let a warm breeze blow between them. Her head started to clear a little, and she had to smile. Perhaps she had an effect on him after all?
The wind whipped small tendrils of her hair from the knot she had tied on top. She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and he held her. They enjoyed the wind and the sun warming them for a long time. She wished she could capture this moment and keep it.
Finally, she said, “You know, I told Johnny and Mia I would meet up with them later.”
“I suppose it is later.” He didn’t seem to want to go, but he took her hand and guided her through the maze that was the ship, down more decks than she could keep track of. Once inside the ship, the blazing glory of the day was hidden, and their time on the top deck seemed like a brilliant dream.
When they reached her cabin, she turned to say good-bye.
“I very much enjoyed our date,” he said.
“I’ll see you at dinner, right?”
“Yes.” He smirked. “Unfortunately, everyone else will be there, too.” With one hand behind her neck and the other in the small of her back, he pressed his lips and body to hers. Just as she started to feel light-headed, he released her.
“See you tonight.” He left her standing there, speechless. It simply wasn’t fair.
Chapter 8
Candlelight
The sweet taste of her lips lingered on his, and his heart was still hyped from holding her against him. David had a strange sense of anticipation—not for dinner, which they agreed they would simply have to endure—but a feeling of time running out. He wanted to know more about her, and he craved more time for holding, touching, kissing … He took a deep breath and felt like he was about to fall into a bottomless hole. Her effect on him kept getting stronger and stronger. It didn’t make any sense, but that didn’t stop him wanting it, just the same.
He checked on Tomasz, but he was gone. His parents’ cabin door was propped open, with Teagan inside. Bags were strewn all over the room, with Tea busy sorting her purchases from the day before.
“You bought all this before lunch?” He gave her a start.
“Ah! Don’t scare me like that.” She scowled, which made him smile.
“Dad’s lucky you weren’t able to shop the whole day.” He leaned against the doorway, smirking.
“This is just my half. Wait till you see the things I got for Eliza.” She sent a wicked smile back over her shoulder to him.
He frowned. “You weren’t supposed to force her to buy things, Tea. She was just helping you.”
“What do you think of this?” she said, ignoring him and holding up a golden dress that had only one sleeve.
“I think you got ripped off. Where’s the rest of it?” That earned him a dirty look.
“Fine! How about this one?” She held a deep green dress with golden threads against her slender form, fluffing out her riotous red hair to fall forward on it.
“Makes you look like a terrifying Celtic queen.” His smirk stretched across his face. She looked really disgusted now.
“If you keep this up, David, I’m not going to tell you what Eliza said about you while we were shopping.” She gave him an angry look and turned away.
What? His humor evaporated. “What do you mean?”
“Oh?” she inquired. “Are you interested?” A small smile was on her lips now.
He was definitely interested, but not sure how much to tell Tea. He never could keep secrets from her for long.
“Yes, I’m interested,” he said, with a small glare. “What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
“What?” He frowned. Tea didn’t usually play these kinds of games with him.
“It’s not what she said—it’s what she didn’t say.”
“Tea, you’re not making any sense.”
“Well, I mentioned that you didn’t have a girlfriend,” she started, speeding up at his wide-eyed look of anger, “and she pretended not to be interested. But trust me, David, she was very interested. So?”
“So, what?” He narrowed his eyes at her.
“So, are you going to get together with Eliza, or am I going to have to beat some sense into you?” Scooping up a bag, she pretended to beat him. He held up his hands in mock defense.
“Um, well, we had lunch today. And coffee,” he mumbled, knowing it was exactly what she wanted to hear.
“Yes!” She did a crazy little victory dance, making him smile. Flashing back to serious, she added, “You know Mom’s ready to adopt her, right?”
“What?” he asked, outraged again. “Tell me she’s not going to do something horrific at dinner tonight.”
“You know Mom.” Tea shook her head, fill
ing him with new dread for their upcoming family dinner. He would have to find his mom and try some damage control before dinner. Maybe he could avert some embarrassment for Eliza. It was going to be bad for him no matter what.
“She’s really great, you know,” Tea said quietly. “You’re not going to do anything to hurt her, are you?”
It took him a moment to realize she was talking about Eliza.
“Why would I hurt her?” he asked, frowning. He wanted to do a lot of things with Eliza, but hurting her was nowhere in the picture.
“I’m just saying she’s special. I like her.” Tea shrugged, and David realized that Eliza had won over more than just him. Tea busied herself with folding her new clothes, but quietly added, “I don’t want you to get hurt, either.”
“No one’s getting hurt here, Tea,” he said. “But I’m glad you approve, because heaven knows I couldn’t date someone without my little sister’s approval. You’d probably torch her hair or something.”
“Don’t you forget it.” She flashed a smile at him. “I’m going to help Eliza get ready for dinner tonight,” she added in that offhand manner she used when she was up to no good. “You’re picking her up to bring her, right?”
“Um, I guess so.”
“Good. Be there at six o’clock.” With that, he knew he was dismissed. He left, flipping open his phone to call his mom and maybe avert some of the disaster scenarios that tonight potentially held. They would have to endure dinner with the families, but after that, he was determined that he and Eliza would have some time together. Alone.
* * *
The deep purple dress that Tea bought hung next to the white one her mom had forced her to buy, looking equally beautiful and ridiculous. What do you wear to dinner with the most gorgeous family on the planet? She sighed. There was a quiet knock at the door. Baffled, she peeked through the peephole—Tea. She threw open the door.
“Hey!” Tea said. She scurried in the door, more shopping bags clutched in her slender manicured hands. “I’m here to transform you into the goddess you are!”
“Hi, Tea.” She smiled. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I think you’re setting your sites a little high with ‘goddess’—I’d be happy with ‘better than what the cat dragged in.’”
Tea gave her a disgusted look and then appraised her selections. “You’re wearing the purple one, of course.”
“Of course.” Eliza gave a small laugh.
“Well, you’re going to need these to go with it.” Tea pulled some impossibly high heels out of a bag. They were made of some kind of gossamer string.
“Tea, I’m going to break my leg if I wear those.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tea said. Eyeing Eliza, she added, “Well, we have plenty of time to practice with them before David picks you up.”
“David’s picking me up?”
“Six o’clock, so we better get hopping!” Tea started unpacking bobby pins and various beauty items that Eliza couldn’t identify. She didn’t think dinner was formal enough to require this much ado, but Tea talked her into putting up her hair. As Tea fussed with yet another pin, Eliza remembered something.
“Tea, guess what? I have a friend who’s going to Monterey Bay this fall.”
Tea’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? That’s fantastic! What’s she like?”
“Well, she’s kinda serious, like me, but she’s really nice. Her name’s Addison.”
“If she’s anything like you, doll,” Tea gave her a little squeeze, careful not to mess up her hair, “I’m going to adore her.”
It was really impossible not to love Tea.
“Speaking of adoration …” Tea continued. “I hear that you and David had lunch.”
“News travels fast.” Eliza wasn’t sure who was supposed to be adoring whom.
“Well, his eyes are going to pop out when he sees you tonight.” Tea grinned. She busied herself with Eliza’s hair, only stealing a small glance at Eliza in the mirror. “You know he really likes you, right?”
Eliza wasn’t sure what to say. Did he? “What makes you think that?” She tried not to sound too eager.
Tea stopped pinning Eliza’s hair and looked at her in the mirror. “I’ve never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you, Eliza.” That warm, liquid feeling was running through her again. She desperately hoped that Tea was right.
“You are going to make an adorable couple tonight!” Tea said, all seriousness gone. It gave her a thrill to think of David and her as a couple. She smiled at Tea through all the rest of the hair preparation, even though it took far more time than seemed necessary.
* * *
A glorious red filled the sky, with orange and yellow streaks following the sun as it dipped into the water and blazed an end to the day. Sometimes, out on the open water, sailors claimed to see a “green flash.” If the atmospheric conditions were exactly right, the final dying rays of the sun would separate into all the different wavelengths of light, and for a brief moment, a green flash could be seen in the setting sun.
It was rare and beautiful, and could only be seen at the moment the sun disappeared below the horizon. He was watching, waiting until his appointed time to pick up Eliza and hoping he might see it, but there was nothing other than the normal splendor of a sunset at sea.
Tea had laid out new dinner clothes for him, having replaced the tie he ruined in the storm with a violet one. He wove his way through the decks, making note of places he wanted to bring Eliza. There was a brief pang when he thought about the looming end of the cruise. His pace quickened. He didn’t have any time to waste.
He arrived at Eliza’s door a few minutes early. He paused, uncertain if Tea would still be there. Deciding it didn’t matter, he knocked softly, hoping his early arrival wouldn’t catch Eliza unprepared. A short moment later she opened the door, and he stood there speechless.
A vibrant purple dress skimmed her knees and seemed to be held up by wishful thinking. The tiniest of thin spaghetti straps sliced a line across her otherwise bare shoulders. Her hair was up, artfully arranged so that small wisps fell and danced around her face. Her long legs ended in high heeled sandals that seemed to barely exist, made of thin strips of ribbon that must be sturdier than they looked. Her pale skin and warm eyes glowed against the backdrop of that amazing dress. He definitely needed to thank Tea for this.
“Hi,” he finally managed to breathe out.
“Hi.” A whisper of a smile graced her face, then faltered as he looked her up and down again. “Is this okay? Tea picked it out.”
“It is far better than okay.” Still breathless, he moved to plant a kiss on her cheek. “You are stunning,” he whispered into her ear. She blushed that delightful color again. He wished he could take a picture at that exact moment. He doubted he would ever see something as beautiful again.
The stupid grin was back on his face as he gave Eliza his arm. “Are you ready?” When she curled her fingers around his arm, he was surprised how good it felt.
They wandered hallways to dinner, neither in much hurry to get there. Their dining room tonight sparkled white, with linen draperies and white dishes and silverware, but it was just as formal and full of passengers as their previous family dinner. He had reasoned with his mom, with some small success, that the best way to thank Eliza for her bravery was to not mortify her at dinner. However, as a precaution, he would be sure to sit next to Eliza, on guard to defend her from awkward encounters with his family.
Tea spotted them first, running up to them and taking a picture before he had a chance to protest.
“You look perfect!” Tea took Eliza’s other arm and guided them to the far end of the dining hall. He didn’t see any exit doors, but was hopeful they would be unnecessary. The ocean was as smooth as glass tonight. The only turbulence would be around the table. He sighed.
“Eliza, dear, I am so glad you’re here!” his mom said. Tea and he both released Eliza as his mom encased Eliza in her arms. “Look at you—you’re absolutely gorgeous!” She held Eliza back by the shoulders. He was about to intercede when his mom wrapped an arm around Eliza, steering her toward the table and talking quietly in her ear. “I can’t thank you enough for bringing my boys back to me. Anything – anything—I can do for you, dear, please let me know.” Eliza smiled nervously.
At this point, he nearly leaped in front of them. “Mom, please. Eliza just wants to have dinner.” He gently pried Eliza from her grasp, holding on tight to her arm. He wasn’t going to let her go until they were safely seated at the table. He had prearranged with Tea to sit next to Eliza, to protect her other flank—as if he could have prevented them from sitting together in any case. Before they could find their seats, Tomasz intercepted them. David eyed him, but was completely surprised when Tomasz practically tore Eliza from David’s arms, wrapping her in a hug.
“How’s my hero?” He had a giant grin plastered on his face. Eliza’s timid smile was back. “That was a seriously cool thing you did,” Tomasz said in a lowered voice, earning a more genuine smile from her. David looked at Tomasz as if he were deranged and retrieved Eliza’s hand, steering her towards the closest seat. They needed to sit before any more family weirdness popped up.
“I’m sorry about that,” he whispered to her as they sat.
“It’s fine,” she whispered back. Tea magically appeared in the seat next to Eliza, beaming happiness and saying something in Eliza’s ear. David greeted everyone else at the table as they sat. Johnny was looking suspiciously at him, and Eliza’s mom looked even happier than David’s. He glanced at Eliza to silently ask her what was going on with her parents, but Tea had her attention. His father was giving him wary looks as well, although he smiled warmly at Eliza when she greeted him. David sighed again. It was going to be a long dinner.