“Or maybe I mistook a perfectly innocent moment for something else,” I told them.“All the man did was move her hair behind her ear.”She had looked so happy as they gazed at each other.“Maybe she’s just a flirt.”
“Maybe,” Ezra agreed.He held his hands out, palms up.“Maybe not.”
“If you see this guy again, point him out,” Pippa demanded.
I snorted.“You betcha.”However, there were hundreds of people on the ship.What were the odds we’d run into the guy again?
A few hours later,we were seated at the dinner table in the main dining room.The décor felt expensive with its crisp white linens, beautiful creamy magnolia centerpieces surrounded by glass-incased pillar candles, along with gold chairs and crystal chandeliers.There was an elaborate fountain at the center of the room of a sea maiden holding a vessel above her head as water poured over her and into a pool at her feet.
Ezra pulled out my chair before taking his own seat beside me.The soft hum of conversation and clinking glasses filled the air.A runner in a white uniform offered water to the table, and once glasses were filled, we began our introductions.
The woman with soft blonde hair curled neatly to frame her face smiled warmly.“Carl and Augusta Franks,” she said, her voice gentle and friendly as she touched the locket on the gold necklace she wore.“We’re celebrating our fortieth anniversary.”
“Congratulations,” I said.“Forty years is amazing.”
Next to them, the young couple leaned in eagerly.The woman, barely in her twenties, had a sweet, sunburned face and bright eyes.“I’m Helena, and this is Jasper,” she said, her voice bubbling with excitement.“We’re on our honeymoon.It’s our first time out of the country.”
Jasper nodded, his arm slung affectionately around her chair.“We met in college.Never thought we’d end up in a place like this.”His grin was easy and contagious.
“Congratulations,” Pippa said sincerely from across the table.“The first big trip together is always special.”
Callie and Sebastian, went next.She barely looked like the same woman we’d seen earlier.Her sleek chestnut hair was styled into a glossy bob, her makeup was Hollywood-perfect, and there was a confident, poised air about her that hadn’t been there when she’d been on the balcony.Her emerald-green dress matched her eyes perfectly.
“Callie Caldwell,” she said with a nod, gesturing to the man beside her.“My husband, Sebastian.”
Sebastian, who looked like he belonged on a yacht catalog cover, gave a brief but polite nod.“Nice to meet everyone.”His strongly accented voice was smooth, but his tone felt detached, like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“We met earlier,” I told her.“We’re your neighbors.”
Her eyes lit up with recognition before her cheeks colored in a way that even makeup couldn’t cover.“Oh, yes, that’s right,” she stammered.
I smiled at the older couple to my left.“Hi, I’m Nora, and this is my partner Ezra.First time cruisers, and our first big trip together as well,” I said, giving a nod to the honeymooners.
“I’m Pippa, and this is my husband Jordy.”Pippa gave a friendly wave.“Same as Nora.First big trip.First cruise.”
“Good evening,” a man in tight black pants, and a white shirt that hugged his chest greeted, drawing our attention.“I’m Ramone Reyes, the ship’s dance instructor, and we’ll have our first class in the ballroom tonight after dinner.”He set a short stack of cards on the table.“I hope you will all join me.”
I had to fight to keep the look of O.M.G.out of my eyes as I turned to face Pippa.She was beaming a smile at the tall, dark-haired, handsome Ramone, so I had to hold my stare until she finally glanced my way.
Her brows dipped as our eyes met.
Mine raised a little as I shifted my eyes toward Callie then back to Pippa.
Her eyes widened when she picked up what I was putting down, and I gave a barely perceptible nod of confirmation.
This was the guy.The one who’d been intimately close with Callie in the perfume shop.Callie acted as if it were the first time she’d met Ramone.Her performance was natural and convincing.If I hadn’t seen her earlier in the day with him, I would’ve bet good money they’d never laid eyes on each other before this moment.It told me one very important thing about the woman.
She was a liar and a good one at that.
ChapterThree
After Ramone moved on to the next table, I picked up the menu and scanned the courses.There was a list of starters, main courses, and desserts.At the top of the menu was the chef’s recommendation of scallops topped with butter, crab, and bacon crumbles starter, blackened grouper over wild whole grain rice as the main course served with roasted asparagus and topped with mango salsa, and, for dessert, chocolate lava cake with tequila lime coconut macaroons.All the options sounded like winners to me.
I couldn’t help but muse about how Callie and Ramone interacted.Their body language had carried the casualness of two strangers...so casual that I began to doubt what I’d seen earlier.Maybe it hadn’t been the dance instructor in the shop with her.Perhaps it had been someone else entirely.My eyesight was twenty-twenty thanks to corrective surgery, but the shopping area had been crowded, and I’d only glimpsed Callie and the man through a glass partition.Could I have been mistaken?
Ezra’s hand slid onto my knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.When I looked over, he nodded toward Augusta, seated with her husband to our left.That’s when I realized she’d asked me a question.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my face warming with a flush of embarrassment.“I totally spaced out.It must be jet lag.My brain’s all over the place.”
