Farewell Seas

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Then why do you want me to be careful?”

  “Because, as much as I believe your father is trying to protect you, there’s always the chance that he’s not the man you thought he was,” Quinn replied, opting for honesty. “I believe he’s a good man because you’re a remarkable woman. You came from him, so he must be good.

  “That’s not always the way the world works, though,” he continued. “Your father could be a reprobate. He could be bringing trouble to our doorstep. I want you to get everything you need from him, but you have to be careful. You can’t run headlong into this and assume things are going to work out the way you want them to.”

  Rowan chewed on her bottom lip. His words made sense. “So ... what are you saying? Should I treat tomorrow like a normal day? Should I head to the lobby and take photographs of the authors as if nothing out of the ordinary is happening?”

  “That’s exactly what you should do.” Quinn didn’t mince words. “Even if your father is completely altruistic and left to protect you — which is what I truly believe — there could be danger associated with this trip. I want you to be hyper-vigilant.”

  “That doesn’t sound like fun.”

  “Well, I promise to make sure you get your fun in other places.” He tickled her ribs to cajole a giggle, the sound warming him to the very soles of his feet. “I plan to keep my word and make sure you have a good time amidst all the emotional upheaval.”

  Rowan was breathless as he continued tickling her. “I have an idea what you’re talking about and think that’s a fabulous idea.”

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.” He kissed her, warm and hard, relishing the way her body shifted to mold to his. “I love you,” he whispered, gazing into her eyes. “Nothing is going to change that. I need you to work with me on this, though. Don’t try carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Share the burden with me.”

  She nodded, touched by the sentiment. “I love you, too. I’m sorry for all of this. I really am. I don’t know what to do about it, though. I’m a basket case.”

  “Don’t be sorry for this. I love you because of what you are, who you are. This is part of it. We’ll figure it out together. I promise you that.”

  “I know you mean that.” She slipped her arms around his neck and rubbed her cheek against his. “How about we get a head start on the fun, huh? We can grab some dinner at one of the restaurants close to the ship and then hunker down in my quarters for the rest of the night. How does that sound?”

  “Like the best offer I’ve had all day.”

  “Somehow I knew you would agree.”

  “You know me best.”

  She did ... and Rowan would be forever grateful to have him in her corner. Their world was about to shift, but they had each other, and that would be enough to get them both through the upcoming days.

  That was the one thing she had absolutely no doubts about.

  2

  Two

  True to his word, Quinn managed to distract Rowan for the bulk of the evening. By the time morning rolled around — and a full day of work beckoned — she was even in relatively good spirits ... but he could read the nervous energy pooling around her as she snuggled next to him before climbing out of bed.

  “It looks like it’s going to be a nice day,” Quinn commented as he stroked her morning-mussed hair. “We’re both going to have a full afternoon. You’re going to be in the main lobby taking photos for a good three hours or so, right?”

  Amused despite herself, Rowan cocked an eyebrow. “Are you worried about me?”

  “Yes.” He refused to lie. It would belittle them both. “I think this would be too much for most people to take on and a lot for the strongest people in the world to take on. I consider you the strongest person I know. It’s still going to be a lot.”

  She sighed as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “That was a really nice thing to say.”

  “I meant it.”

  “That’s what makes it so nice.” She paused for a beat. “You can’t spend your day worrying about me. This conference is a big deal. There’re going to be a lot of famous authors on the ship ... and a lot of less famous authors on the ship ... and your job is to provide security for them, not worry about me.”

  Quinn didn’t like her tone, and he hated the words even more. “You’re my priority.”

  “It can’t be that way.” She was serious. “It simply can’t. I’m a big girl. I’m supposed to take care of myself while you take care of the guests. You can’t spend the day worrying about me.”

  He sighed, frustrated. He understood what she was trying to say, but he had no intention of abandoning her to face this without backup. It simply wasn’t going to happen. “Ro, don’t push me on this, okay?” He kept his voice low. “I love you, would do anything for you, but I’m not abandoning you today.

  “I promise to do my job and not crowd you,” he continued. “I’m going to be checking in with you regardless, though. What’s happening today is a big deal.”

  “Yeah.” She furrowed her brow. “Do you think he’ll be early or late for check-in?”

  “I don’t know. He’ll probably be in the middle, because he won’t want to draw attention to himself.” Quinn shifted lower in the bed so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “I need you to keep a few things in mind when you finally do see him. The biggest is ... don’t call out to him. Don’t yell ‘Daddy’ and run toward him. That won’t be good for any of us.”

  Rowan made a face. “I’m not going to call him ‘Daddy.’”

  “You know what I mean. He’s incognito here. Even if you do see him, we’re going to have to set up a time where we can talk in private, away from prying eyes.”

  “Right.” Understanding dawned on Rowan as she ran the scenario through her head. “I didn’t even think about that. It makes sense, though. I’m not going to get answers this afternoon no matter how badly I want them.”

  “You might get some answers,” he hedged. “You have to be really careful, though, sweetheart. You can’t make people suspicious. If you see him, take his photo or whatever is natural for the situation, get whatever name he’s staying under, and call me. We’ll take it from there.”

  “You want me to call you to deal with my father?”

  “I want you to call me to be with you,” he clarified. “I have no intention of letting you go through this alone, Rowan. That is not going to change. I don’t care how brave you are.”

  “Okay.” She thought about it. “That makes sense. I’m glad you’ll be there with me.”

  “Good.” He gave her a soft kiss. “We’re going to figure this out. It’s going to be a really long day. We’re both going to feel off our games. We simply have to get through it. We can’t control what’s about to happen, but we can mitigate it.”

  “Yeah.” She bobbed her head and sucked in a breath. “I’m totally freaking out, by the way. I’m trying to put on a good show for you, but I don’t know if it’s working.”

  Quinn chuckled as he pulled her tight against his body and gave her a kiss. “Do you want me to distract you before we get going this morning? I have an idea about something that might take your mind off things for a bit.”

  She nodded without hesitation. “That would be great. Show me what you’ve got.”

  QUINN DID HIS ABSOLUTE best to put on a good show, and when he hit the deck to handle safety protocol issues shortly before people started docking, he was mostly relaxed. The feeling didn’t last long, and when the welcome staff opened the gate and allowed people to start boarding, his nerves raced back with a vengeance and he found himself entranced with the faces embarking on the ship rather than his duties.

  “You seem intense,” Demarcus Johnson, the head bartender, noted as he handed Quinn a bottle of water about an hour after people began arriving. “Is something wrong? Rowan is okay, right?”

  Quinn cracked a smile at the mention of his girlfriend. “She’s fine. She’s in the lobby taking photos.”


  “Is something else wrong?”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Because you’re watching the people boarding the ship as if they’re criminals and you’re about to thwart a jewel heist.”

  Quinn wanted to argue with the assessment, but ultimately couldn’t. Demarcus was right. He was agitated, and it was showing. “I’m fine.” He deliberately forced himself to relax and he flashed a smile for Demarcus’s benefit. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m just excited to have a bunch of authors on the ship.”

  That was a complete and total lie. In truth, even though he enjoyed reading, Quinn couldn’t get worked up over famous people. He didn’t care who visited the ship, as long as they behaved themselves. For this particular cruise, however, he was only truly interested in one guest ... and he had no idea when the man was going to finally make an appearance.

  He’d seen photographs of Paul Gray. Rowan had a few in her possession, one she kept in a frame close to her bed. It was one of the last photographs taken of her father. Rowan was a teenager and they stood together in front of a pretty lake, Rowan beaming at the only parent she had left. Just thinking about the photograph made Quinn’s heart hurt.

  “I understand they’ve asked you to make theme drinks,” Quinn noted, changing the subject. “How does that work?”

  “Oh, the drinks coincide with famous books. Like the James Fraser is Scottish whiskey and coke.”

  Quinn made a face. “Who is James Fraser?”

  “Outlander.”

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  Demarcus snickered. “It’s a series of books that they turned into a television show. If you want to get Rowan’s hormones racing, show her the television show and then simply sit back and absorb the sexual energy she puts out in return.”

  Quinn was officially confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “Watch the show. You will.”

  “If we have time, we’ll give the show a shot,” he said. “Anything else?”

  “I expect the authors to be rowdy,” Demarcus replied, opting for honesty. “Creative types are always hard partiers. I think we’re going to have more than one row this go-around.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “They’re authors. That means some are more successful than others. There’s always going to be pushback when someone is more famous than someone else.”

  Quinn hadn’t really considered that, his mind busy with other things. “Well, we’ll deal with it when it happens. Don’t hesitate to call if you think something is about to go down. We’ll do our best to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  ROWAN MANAGED TO SLEEPWALK through her duties, but it wasn’t the easiest of days. The authors weren’t necessarily keen on having their photos taken, and since some of them were operating under pen names (but registered under real names) things quickly got confusing.

  “I don’t understand,” Rowan hedged as a pretty woman with pink hair insisted on holding up a book in front of the backdrop she’d arranged for the welcome photos. “You want your book in the photo with you?”

  The woman nodded without hesitation. “It’s like free advertising when you publish the photograph.”

  “But ... I’m not going to publish the photograph.”

  “Of course you are.” The woman was matter-of-fact. “Why would you take photographs if you’re not interested in publishing them? That makes no sense.”

  Rowan tugged on her limited patience. “I’m taking the photographs so you can have the option to purchase them as a souvenir of your trip. I upload them to a portal, where you can flip through them and purchase copies of whatever you want.”

  The author — and Rowan legitimately couldn’t remember the name she insisted on going under because it was absolutely ridiculous — maintained a blank expression. “I don’t understand.”

  Rowan heaved out a sigh. “Smile and hold your book higher. You want to make sure it gets prominent placement in the photograph.”

  “Definitely.”

  Rowan snapped the photo and was thankful when the woman disappeared. She was starting to feel the effects of the day, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  “Isn’t this exciting?” The next woman to move in front of the backdrop was bursting with nervous energy as she shifted from one foot to the other, the handle of her suitcase clasped in her hand. She seemed in awe as she stared around the bustling lobby. “I can’t believe the people who are here. I mean ... we’re talking famous authors that I’ve been reading since I was a kid. They’re here ... and I might get to meet them over the next few days.”

  Despite her own nerves, Rowan was amused by the woman’s reaction. She looked to be twenty-two or so — and could’ve passed for a teenager if so inclined — and her eyes were the size of saucers as she scanned the activity.

  “Aren’t you an author?” Rowan asked. “Isn’t that why you’re here? Or ... wait. Are you an assistant? If so, just tell me who you’re assigned to and I will make sure all your photos end up in the same place as those of your boss.”

  “Oh, I’m not an assistant.” She beamed “I’m Emma Packer.”

  The name sparked something in the back of Rowan’s mind. “You wrote that dystopian book, about the thinking zombies, right? The one that everyone was claiming was the new Hunger Games and is being made into a movie.”

  “I did.” Emma bobbed her head, seemingly delighted. “Did you read it?”

  “No, but my boyfriend has a stack of books he plans to get to — he’s old school and doesn’t like e-readers, which I don’t get because our rooms are really small and books take up a lot of space — and I know that one is in the stack. I’m considering reading it when he’s done.”

  “That’s exciting.” Emma was so bubbly Rowan had a hard time not returning her smile. “I’ve never been on a cruise before.” She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I’ve never been invited to a conference before either. I have no idea what to expect. I don’t even know if I’m doing this correctly.”

  “Doing what correctly?” Rowan was puzzled. “So far you’ve only been required to get your room keycards and have your photograph taken. There is no right or wrong to either of those tasks.”

  “I feel as if I’m behind everyone else,” Emma admitted. “They’ve been around a lot longer than me. I’m the new kid on the block and ... well ... I’m terrified I’m not going to be able to make friends.”

  Rowan took pity on the woman. There was something lovely about her, honest. She wanted to reward that. “You’re going to be fine. You’re the big phenomenon this year. Everyone is going to want to get close to you. You’ll be surprised how easy things will be once you relax and get into the flow.”

  “I hope so.” She didn’t look convinced and chewed on her lip as she returned to staring. “What am I supposed to be doing right now?”

  Rowan smirked. “Just stand in front of the backdrop — although leave your suitcase over here so it doesn’t become a distraction. There you go. Now stand right there and smile.”

  Emma did as she was told, waiting until Rowan snapped several photos before blinking. “Is that it?”

  “That’s it. I’ll load some photos into the portal later, and if you want anything, there are instructions in your room packet that tell you how to purchase them.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” Emma’s enthusiasm was back. “I should get going to check out my room. Um ... I guess I’ll see you around.”

  Rowan nodded. “You definitely will.” She waited until the young woman disappeared toward the elevator bank to chuckle, and she almost jolted out of her skin when she felt Quinn swoop in beside her.

  “You scared the crap out of me,” she complained lightly as she playfully smacked his arm. “I thought maybe you were a handsy author trying to make a love scene from a book come alive or something.”

  Quinn narrowed his eyes. “Have these guys been hitt
ing on you?”

  “Not really. They seem much more wrapped up in themselves than anything else. I’ve noticed that even if the author isn’t necessarily famous, that doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t believe that they’re a big deal.”

  Quinn chuckled, legitimately amused. “I haven’t gotten up close and personal with any of the authors yet, but I’ll take your word for it.” He absently ran his hand up and down her back before focusing on the line of people checking in at the front desk. “Any luck with faces?” He kept his voice low as he asked the question.

  Rowan was expecting it so she immediately started shaking her head. “No. It’s weird. I find myself staring at every single man who comes through the door as if he’s an extra from a Mission Impossible movie. I picture the face with prosthetic makeup, or one of those silicone masks that they rip off their faces. I know that’s ridiculous, but I can’t stop myself.”

  “It’s not ridiculous. I’ve been staring a little hard at some of the passengers, too. This whole thing is a big deal and there’s no reason not to be excitable. This is one of the biggest things that’s ever going to happen in your life — heck, in my life, too — and we can’t simply pretend it’s not happening.”

  “I wish I would see him. Even if I can’t talk to him until later, it would be a load off knowing he’s here.”

  “I get that. He might already be here. There’s always the possibility that he’s so well disguised that you won’t recognize him.”

  “I think my heart will recognize him.”

  Quinn’s stomach twisted at her earnest expression as she repeated his previous words back to him. “Of course it will. I’m sorry if I’m saying the wrong things, sweetie. I don’t know how to make this better for either of us.”

  She grinned despite his somber frown. “It’s okay. There is no right or wrong way to do this because I don’t know that anyone has ever had to face this exact situation. You were right when you tried to talk me off the ledge earlier. I can handle this ... just as soon as he gets here and stops torturing me.”