Chapter 16
I zip upmy carry-on and wonder what to do about my luggage. Will the cruise ship help me disembark or will I have to lug it by myself? Or should I wait for Jordan to help me?
His things are still scattered around our cabin, and he also has stuff next door where he’d been staying in Sven’s old room.
I check my watch and my anxiety kicks in. If Jordan doesn’t hurry back, he’s not going to have a chance to pack.
Maybe I should do it for him.
After all, we’re going to be starting a new life together. It’s not like I’m going through his things or being nosy.
I grab a gym bag and go into the small bathroom. Half of his toiletries were contaminated with glue, teething gel, denture powder, and lube, so I toss them in the wastebasket.
I stuff whatever clothes he left into a duffel and sweep all of his miscellaneous bags and packages into his suitcase. With fifteen minutes to go, I roll and push the luggage out to the corridor and knock on the door to Sven’s room, in case Jordan is back.
The door swings open, and my heart stops in my throat.
Instead of Jordan, it’s Stephen.
“What are you doing here?” My head whips around wildly, and I almost pinch myself, wondering what nightmare I woke up in.
Stephen puts his hands on my shoulders and beams at me like he’s still my fiancé and happy to see me. “Dani, I’ve got good news for you.”
“Good news?” My jaw has rug burns from scraping the floor. “I don’t get it. I didn’t know you were on board.”
“You weren’t supposed to know. Will you now apologize for embarrassing me at my bachelor party?”
“Whoa, wait. I don’t have time to chat. I apologize. Everything.” I back away from him and wobble down the hallway with my luggage, Jordan’s duffel bag, and his suitcase.
Stephen grabs my bags and instead of helping me, he drags them toward an elevator. “I have a penthouse suite for us. On the top deck with an expansive ocean view. We’re having dinner with the captain tonight. Let me call for a bellhop to transfer your luggage. I’m so glad you passed my test.”
“But, wait, I’m…” My eyes dart up and down the corridor, but there’s no one other than a family returning from an excursion.
The ship’s horn blows its last call. There’s no way I’m going back with Stephen. Not now. Not after all the bridges we burned. Not with the way I feel about Jordan and the unpredictable life we’ll have.
I yank my carry-on from Stephen and run.
“Excuse me. Excuse me.” I push past people and whirl around at every tall man with dark hair, expecting Jordan’s lopsided grin.
By the time I get to the gangway, it’s already retracted, and the ship is pulling away from the dock.
“Jordan!” I yell. “Jordan. Where are you?”
I hear a loud snicker behind me and find Alice and Sylvester hanging near the railing.
“What’s wrong?” Sylvester asks. “You lost Jordan?”
“I was supposed to run off with him. He was supposed to meet me on the dock. I…”
By now, a crowd of acquaintances are gathered around. The fortieth-year reunion group, the Singaporean men’s water polo team, and the women I met doing yoga and crafts.
“Never mind.” My spirits deflate like a used hot air balloon. I rush to the railing and lean over, squinting at the scattering of people waving from the dock.
Jordan is standing at the end of the berth. Our gazes meet, but he doesn’t wave or shout. He’s still and stands alone, unmoving like a sentinel.
I stare after him until my eyes blur and I can no longer make him out.
What happened? Did he take too long with the arrangements he was making and miss the boat?
