What if I Fall: The Pocket Watch Chronicles

by Ceci Giltenan

  After he had asked her how they would explain his memory loss, she looked up as much as she could about Benjamin Talbot, his family, and Talbot & Company. Maybe there was a way for him to fake it enough. It was only for sixty days.

  “You know, Benedict, by the looks of things, maybe you won’t have anything to explain. Benjamin doesn’t seem close with his family.”

  “So it appears. It doesn’t look like he’s involved in the family business in any way.” There was something almost wistful in the way Benedict had said that.

  Sara nodded. “That’s always been my impression at least. I don’t think he cared to learn anything about the business. He once told me the company employed experts for everything and he saw no reason to waste his time on it.”

  “Waste his time? How could it be a waste of time? I would want to know everything I could about any business I would inherit. Even if other people do most of the day-to-day things, understanding how they should be done is important. It’s what I had to do.”

  “You inherited your shipbuilding business?”

  “Yes. In fact, I was very young at the time—both of my parents died when I was eighteen.”

  “Really? Mine did too. Well, I was a little older—twenty-four—but still it’s something I never expected.”

  “I didn’t either. But after they passed, I had to spend every waking minute learning everything I could about the business or risk losing my stake in it.”

  “I guess Benjamin believed Talbot & Company is well enough established that he doesn’t have to worry.” She frowned. “It’s rather a moot point now. When you use the word to take you home, Benjamin will die.”

  “Still, I would love to have the opportunity to learn about modern ship building. There might be some skills I could take back.”

  The conversation had moved on to other things, finally circling back to Sara’s plan to leave the cruise. That is what had prompted Benedict’s current brooding silence.

  Finally, he turned to face her. “You’ve given me a lot to absorb and think about today. I really do appreciate your help. And I understand why your first instinct is to leave this situation. Honestly, I do. The thing is, you told me earlier that you’ve wanted to take a cruise like this for years. You called it a ‘dream come true’.”

  “I think I said, ‘A dream come true that has turned into a nightmare’.”

  “Right. Which means before it became a nightmare, it had been a dream come true. And if you go home tomorrow, it will be forever ruined. I suspect you will avoid even the idea of ever going on a cruise again.”

  “I’m certain I will.”

  “But why give them that power then? Why let them spoil something that seems quite wonderful?”

  Sara frowned, looking away. “I guess I just can’t face seeing them when I feel like such a fool. Mark played me. I thought he loved me and he’s been sneaking around with her.”

  “Why do you suppose they did this?”

  “I have no idea. Frankly, I always thought she was trying to become Mrs. Benjamin Talbot.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s rich.”

  “But you said she has known them since they went to, I believe you called it, ‘prep school’ together. You said only wealthy people sent their kids there.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then that would mean that both Daphne and Mark must come from wealthy families.”

  “They do. I mean, I don’t know anything specific about Daphne, but she would have to be from a similar kind of family to have gone to that school. And Mark’s family has millions.”

  “Then she wouldn’t need to marry for money.”

  Sara laughed. “There’s money and then there’s money. The Talbots are billionaires. They make the likes of Mark look nearly destitute. I’m sure Daphne sees Benjamin as a much better catch.”

  “Exactly. And now she has lost him, that is to say, me forever. What’s more, as far as everyone can tell, you have…uh…caught me.” He grinned. “You have no reason to feel like a fool. She played with fire and got rather badly burned, if you ask me.”

  Sara’s brows drew together. “I suppose so.”

  “Look, Sara, I know Mark hurt you, but you have nothing of which to be ashamed and whatever game they were playing backfired.”

  “You think I should stay on the cruise?”

  “Yes, I do. But to be honest with you, I have another reason, a personal reason.”

  “What is it?”

  “I want to stay here in this time, the full sixty days. I want to learn everything I can that might help me build better ships when I go home. It seems, as Ben, I have a massive amount of information available to me at my fingertips.”

  “Except he’s not interested in the business. It will be odd if he comes back after a few days wanting to learn everything he can.”

  “Yes, it will. But if he doesn’t come back after a few days and when he does come back, it is with a new attitude, perhaps as a result of spending time with you, it might not be as odd.”

  “Maybe…”

  “Then too, if I’m going to be Benjamin Talbot for sixty days, I need a lot more help. The two weeks away will give me an opportunity to learn more about Ben, as well as this century and everything in it. We will have time to make plans. If it becomes necessary, we might even figure out a way for me to have an accident that results in memory loss. But if we go back tomorrow, we won’t be able to do any of it.”

  “I see your point.”

  “There is one other benefit, and this one is for you. You want to write a story about time travel to Venice. I can give you exquisite details about life in Venice in the eighteenth century. I can help you with your book.”

  Sara hadn’t thought of that. Holy God. She would have a source of information at her fingertips that no author had ever had. For this kind of research, she could endure anything. Even Mark and Daphne.

  “You’re right. We both have a priceless opportunity stretching before us. I won’t throw it away.”

  Benedict’s face split into a broad warm smile. “Precisely. And this is my promise to you. I will not allow Mark or Daphne within hailing distance of you, unless you wish otherwise.”

  Sara considered this for a moment, before nodding. “Yes. I think I could stay on the cruise with you and even enjoy it if I don’t have to interact with them at all.”

  “So, my lady,” he made a gallant bow, “will we start with dinner together? In one of the public dining establishments?”

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowing. “Yes. As hard as it might be for me, I think that’s the best thing. At least we don’t have assigned seating at dinner on this cruise. We won’t be forced to eat every meal with them.”

  “Excellent. May I also suggest that you allow me to appear smitten by you?”

  She chuckled. “Smitten? It’s hard to imagine Benjamin smitten over anyone, but yes, I think that will explain our continued relationship when we get home. And unless we decide that some sort of memory loss is required, you might need me until you return to your own time.”

  He smiled, a devilish glint lighting his eyes. “Well, that too, but I figure it will be more than a minor annoyance to Mark and Daphne.”

  Sara laughed. “You’re right. Considering the depths to which Daphne was willing to sink to convince you I was lying, it will definitely get under her skin.”

  “Then we have a deal?”

  “We have a deal.” She stood resolutely and opened the sliding door to the cabin. “Let’s unpack and get dressed for dinner.”

  This was one of the semi-formal nights on the cruise. Sara laid out Benjamin’s suit and everything that went with it for Benedict before stepping into the bathroom to do her make-up and slip into the little black dress she’d brought. She put on an antique crystal necklace that had belonged to her grandmother. As she affixed the set of crystal earrings she’d purchased years ago to go with the necklace, she smiled. She loved them, but probably wouldn’t h
ave worn them tonight if she were with Mark. He’d always complained when she wore them. He thought she should wear diamond studs. She frowned as she looked in the mirror. Funny, as often as he complained, and as wealthy as he was, he’d never gifted her with a single piece of jewelry, diamond or otherwise.

  She stepped out of the bathroom and could barely contain her shocked gasp at the sight of Benedict. She’d never really thought of Benjamin as attractive. Oh, he had all the right ingredients to be handsome. He was tall and lean with broad shoulders. He had a strong jaw, shiny dark hair, and eyes as blue as a clear summer sky. But those eyes had never held any warmth, and the expression on his handsome face usually held a haughty superiority that Sara found off-putting.

  Benedict, in precisely the same body, was infinitely more attractive. His relaxed, friendly demeanor removed Benjamin’s hard edge. Benedict was clearly an entirely different man, with a gentle, compassionate nature.

  Sara smiled to herself. She thought she might quite enjoy spending more time with him.

  When they returned from dinner that night, Sara was absolutely certain she was going to enjoy spending time with Benedict. He was genuinely charming. She now realized that Mark’s brand of charm was all grand gestures and overwhelming gallantry, intended to unbalance her and sweep her off her feet. She’d told Gertrude that Mark wasn’t like the other men she’d dated; that he was attentive and not afraid to tell her he loved her. She now realized it was all an act and she had fallen for it.

  By contrast, Benedict’s quiet charm seemed to flow naturally. He looped her arm over his as they walked. He held doors and chairs. He was attentive, appearing interested in the things she said. But perhaps most notable was how she felt in his company. She felt attractive and desirable but not because of the words he said. He never once called her “Gorgeous” or “Beautiful” which was standard for Mark. With Benedict, it was a collection of subtleties. Sure, when she was dressed for dinner, he said she was “perfectly lovely.” But it wasn’t the words alone that made her feel beautiful. He wore an admiring expression as he looked at her and there was a touch of awe in his tone of voice that left her left her feeling breathless.

  And then of course, there was the fact that he had single-handedly saved this vacation. True, it wasn’t likely to be the cruise she’d dreamed about, but this lovely eighteenth-century man was indeed making it the cruise of her dreams.

  Benedict was absolutely unlike any man she’d ever met. And for a very good reason, Sara. He lived over two centuries ago. You must not fall for him. He will most certainly leave you.

  Chapter 7

  Throughout the rest of the cruise, they avoided Mark and Daphne as much as possible. Funnily enough, this was easy to do. Mark and Daphne didn’t go to the public bars or the main dining room. Sara knew they wouldn’t. Not mingling with other passengers, except perhaps other suite passengers, appealed to Mark and it clearly had been Benjamin’s goal. She suspected that he and Daphne drank in the concierge lounge and ate at the specialty restaurants. She was also pretty sure they expected Benjamin to be in those places or at the very least, the casino.

  So she and Benedict only had to behave as ordinary people, mingle with the other passengers and avoid the casino in order to steer clear of Mark and Daphne. They didn’t go to many of the shows either, preferring to spend the evenings talking. But they went on many of the ship’s excursions. Another choice Benjamin wouldn’t have made. Sara knew he’d intended to hire private drivers to take the four of them wherever they wanted to go. It amused her to discover how effective hiding in plain sight really was.

  It had actually been fun, as had teaching Benedict about the twenty-first century. Sara absolutely loved introducing him to modern food. On the second day of the cruise as they sat by the pool, two elderly ladies walked by with ice-cream cones in their hands. Sara nudged him and inclined her head towards them. “That’s cute. No matter how old they are, nothing makes someone look quite as much like a kid as an ice-cream cone.”

  “A what?”

  “An ice-cream cone. Like those ladies are eating. Wait, you’ve never tasted ice-cream, have you?”

  “No, I haven’t but I like the sound of ice and cream.”

  “Oh, we must remedy this immediately. Let’s go to the buffet. There’ll be an ice-cream machine there. Soft serve is the absolute best.”

  She took him inside and got them both small vanilla ice-cream cones. When Benedict tasted it, he looked as if he had glimpsed heaven.

  “By all that’s good and holy, this is remarkable.”

  After he had finished the vanilla cone, she got him a chocolate cone. “I quite like chocolate, but I have never imagined consuming it like this. It’s wonderful.”

  After that, they indulged in ice-cream every afternoon.

  And then of course, there was modern entertainment. His reaction to modern music was initially hesitant. But as there was background music everywhere on the ship, he became acclimatized. One afternoon she caught him humming “Brown-Eyed Girl”, and when she pointed it out, he admitted that his opinion was changing. “It rather grows on one, doesn’t it?”

  Sara laughed. “Yes, it does.”

  “But I especially want to remember that song.”

  “‘Brown-Eyed Girl’? Why?”

  He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. “I should have thought that would be obvious. It’s because it reminds me of you, my brown-eyed girl.”

  Maybe this was Benedict pretending to be a smitten Benjamin Talbot, but there was no audience. The romance author in her swooned. Sara herself damn near swooned.

  This should have been a warning sign. Perhaps if she had paid attention, she would have reined in her love of romance and reminded herself that this could not be her happily ever after. By all that was holy, she knew from the very first moments he was going to leave at the end of his sixty days and that she should not allow herself to fall in love.

  But she didn’t heed the warnings.

  Spending time with him was—there was no other word for it—delightful. Little things he did, seemingly without any prior thought, touched her.

  Most afternoons, she took an hour or so to work on her next novel. Even if it was just to capture some details about eighteenth century Venetian life he’d shared that she wanted to make certain to include in the book. On the first day, she apologized profusely. “I’m sorry. I know it’s boring and probably rude for me to bury myself in my laptop. Mark always hated it if I spent any time writing when we were together, but I won’t capture it the way I want to if I wait too long.”

  On the second day when she started to apologize again, he put a finger to her lips. “Stop. I am simply amazed that you can do what you do. You take a tiny thread of an idea and weave it into a complete story. Your fingers fly over those keys and words spill out of your imagination onto the screen. It leaves me in awe. I’d like to read one.”

  Christ almighty. No guy she dated had ever said anything close to that. “Are you serious?”

  “Of course I’m serious. It might give me some ideas about details of Venetian life that would be helpful. Do you have one of your books with you?”

  “I have all of my books with me on my Kindle.” She pulled up one of her historical romances and showed him how the e-reader worked.

  He was amazed. “You can carry an entire library with you wherever you go. And it’s smaller and weighs less than a single book.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I like it. Some people still like paper books, so my books are available both ways, but I love electronic books. You’re sure you want to read one? Romance’s aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.”

  “Yes, I want to read one. I want to understand what you write, even if it isn’t my cup of tea. But I expect I’ll enjoy it, because you created it, and I find you fascinating.”

  And there went her inner romantic swooning again.

  He also learned right away that she enjoyed iced-coffee in the afternoon. While she was writing, he’d
disappear and return with an iced-mocha from the ship’s specialty coffee shop. More often than not, he also picked up something delicious for her to nibble on too.

  Mark would have been more likely to say, “Hey, gorgeous, would you mind bringing me a coffee when you go get yours?”

  Going on shore excursions with him was a blast. He knew a huge amount of Greek history, so he usually had something interesting to tell her about the places they visited. But even more fun were the active excursions they took. She was an excellent swimmer and loved snorkeling. Of course, snorkeling was new to him. Initially he was shocked by modern bathing suits but as soon as he recovered from that, he caught on quickly and really seemed to enjoy it too.

  As they were taking off their gear on the sailboat after their first snorkeling adventure, Sara chattered away about the things they had seen. “And sea turtles. I can’t believe we saw sea turtles. I have always loved them but I’ve never seen one in the wild. That was just amazing.”

  She realized he was gazing intently at her while she talked. Suddenly self-conscious, she pushed a strand of wet hair off her face. “I guess it’s pretty obvious why snorkeling is never a great first-date activity, but for that matter, no water sport is.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Well, my hair’s a mess, all of my makeup has washed off and of course, having a mask imprint on one’s face isn’t particularly attractive.”

  He cocked his head to one side. “Funny, I hadn’t noticed any of that. What I see is a girl who takes great pleasure in everything she does. To me, nothing is more attractive than joy, and you take joy in so many things. Little things that most people don’t even notice can bring a happy smile to your face. I love that.”

  No one had ever said anything quite so wonderful to her.

  Then one evening near the end of the cruise he kicked the top of the “wonderful meter” up several notches. They were dressed for dinner and on their way to the main dining room, but when they got on the elevator, he pushed the button for the sixth floor.