“Harry deserves someone so much better. Shame he’s with that arsehole,” Evan muttered to himself.
“Oh, he does, does he?” Amber said from beside him.
“Shit.” He nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to find himself the recipient of one of Amber’s pointed looks. Raising one of her immaculately contoured eyebrows was all it took. “Did I say that out loud?”
“You sure did, buddy. But you’re right. John’s a first-class jerk. Poor Harry.”
Poor Harry indeed.
6
Harry exitedthe elevator and headed directly for the coffee shop. He mentally thanked the coffee gods when he saw the queue wasn’t too long. He took his place at the end of the line and smothered a yawn.
“Big night?”
Harry nearly jumped in surprise at the words but smiled when he turned to see Evan’s grinning face. “Hi there.”
“Good morning.” Evan’s dimple flashed as he gave Harry the once-over. “At least I hope it is. You look like you want to crawl back into bed.”
He warmed under Evan’s perusal, then a vision of John drooling on the pillow filled Harry’s mind. “Ew. That’s the last thing I want.”
Evan raised a brow.
“Ah… I just mean I need coffee. Stat.”
Evan laughed. “NowthatI can understand. I can’t function until I’ve had at least one, and a strong one at that.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” said the girl behind the counter. “What can I get for you?”
Harry turned and gave his order—a large flat white coffee for himself and a shot of espresso for John. Evan placed his order, and after swiping their cruise cards, they both stood to the side, waiting for the barista to work his magic while the girl continued taking orders. The guy was obviously good at his job based on the pace the line was moving, and as much as Harry craved that first cup of caffeine, he was almost disappointed at the barista’s competence, not wanting his time with Evan to come to a close.
“Are you looking forward to today?” Evan asked.
“Not really,” Harry mumbled through another yawn.
“Not a morning person, I see?” Evan said with a laugh.
“Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” John had kept him awake by watching a couple of movies in the cabin, complaining that the jet lag was still mucking with his sleep patterns. Personally, Harry thought he’d be better off dealing with the jet lag by at leasttryingto get some shut-eye, but John, of course, wouldn’t listen. “I guess I’m not used to sleeping on the ship.”
“That’s a shame. I slept like a baby. I think the motion rocked me to sleep. I haven’t slept that well in ages.”
“You look great.”Oh, Jesus, smooth.“I mean you look well rested.” And he did—a healthy glow to his complexion and eyes bright, hair artfully tousled, unlike Harry’s own half-asleep-just-out-of-bed-look. He suddenly felt self-conscious and wished he’d taken an extra moment or two to spruce up before rushing out the cabin door with the excuse of coffee.
Evan chuckled. “Thanks. Truth be told, I’m amazed I slept so well. I was fully expecting to feel the effects of seasickness, but the movement of the ship was surprisingly calming. Not even Amber’s snoring right next to me kept me awake.” He chuckled again and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “But don’t tell her I told you anything about her snoring. I don’t want her to get a complex.”
Harry didn’t want to picture Evan in bed with Amber. He blinked away the image. “The secret’s safe with me.”
“Ah, coffee’s ready.” Evan’s eyes lit up as he tilted his head towards the counter. “Thank God. I was getting desperate.”
They collected their drinks, Harry happily inhaling the tantalising aroma.
“Hey, did you want to stop and drink them here?” Evan grasped a large cardboard cup, and his gaze swept across the two cups Harry was holding. “Oh, that’s right, you need to head straight back to the cabin.”
Suddenly the last thing Harry wanted to do was go back to that tiny space that felt like a prison cell—he’d much rather enjoy his morning coffee with Evan. “No, not at all. That’s a great idea. John can wait. He’s probably gone back to sleep anyway. Let’s grab a table.”
Once they were settled, Harry took a fortifying gulp of his coffee. He stared out the window and took another sip. The sea was a series of small waves, the water reflecting the morning sunlight and white caps breaking up the expanse of blue. There were more clouds than the day before, but it didn’t look as if there was any rain on the horizon.Another perfect day in paradise.Harry almost said something about the weather but bit his tongue at how clichéd that would be. He turned his focus back inside and met Evan’s gaze. Evan lowered his coffee cup and his lips turned up in a small smile that reached all the way to his eyes—a real smile, not fake or put on, a smile that gave Harry that funny feeling in his solar plexus.
“Um… so… how are you finding the cruise so far?” Harry asked. It was still a mundane question, but his brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders yet, so witty repartee would have to wait.
