The whole idea of the show was worse than the thought of seasickness. But now it was his turn to reassure Amber regardless of his dread.
“You would have done the same for me,” he said.Plus, Monique wore me down with her endless pleas to help out her best friend.
Amber hummed in agreement, and Evan smiled, pleased to see a some of the tension leave her face, although he knew she still had doubts. She felt guilty for dragging him along, but there was no way he’d have declined her request even without his sister Monique’s hounding. The three of them had known each other as long as he could remember, Amber becoming best friends with Monique back in the first grade. He’d watched her grow up and finish school. He’d seen her start her career, been there for life’s major events, including witnessing her get her heart broken by that jerk Martin.
“Can I be honest?” she said.
Evan raised a brow. “Of course.”
Amber took a long sip from her cocktail before placing the glass on the table. “Now we’re here, I feel a bit stupid,” she admitted. “But when he dumped me for that girl from his office, it seemed so important to keep going in the competition without him. I didn’t want to let him take everything from me.”
Evan shrugged. “Then don’t. Let’s just have fun and forget all about the reasons why and how we got here.” He made a mental note to do exactly that himself—to make the most of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He smiled, this time a genuine grin. “I’m happy to play the role of your doting boyfriend,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Speaking of which”—Evan held up his now empty glass—“how about another one of these?”
Amber nodded with enthusiasm. “I won’t say no.”
“Good.” Evan winked as he stood. “Back in a minute.”
Evan placed his order with the barman and leaned against the bar while he waited. The crowds were starting the thin, but it was still busy.How on earth do all these people fit on the ship?There were thousands of passengers, and goodness knew how many crew members. He’d read that there were ten restaurants and a similar number of bars on the ship, not to mention the gym, swimming pools, a casino, and the huge theatre. But he wasn’t sure how much of all that he’d get to enjoy. Being on the show meant certain obligations. They’d been given a general outline of what was involved, and there would be a detailed briefing on day one, so he guessed he’d find out soon enough.
He turned and looked at Amber, who gave him a small wave from across the bar. With her long blonde hair, cornflower-blue eyes, and slender body, most people thought Amber had it made, but he knew her life hadn’t been a bed of roses. She’d fought hard for everything she had. Her family had very little money, certainly not enough for more than the basics. She’d often worn his sister’s hand-me-down clothes and had worked her arse off to put herself through uni. She hadn’t been on many holidays—certainly not any overseas trips—and this trip was a big deal for her.
The bartender pulled him from his musing by returning with fancy cocktails adorned with fruit and bright plastic monkeys hanging from the rims. Evan scanned his cruise card, charging the drinks to his onboard account.That was simple.But he hated to think how easy it would be to rack up a huge bill.
He returned to his seat. Amber took her cocktail, and he touched his glass to hers.
“Here’s to an epic adventure.”
2
Harry wandered around the cabin,opening doors and pulling out drawers. There was a hell of a lot of storage for such a small room, including cupboards above the bed and in every nook and cranny, but John had taken over most of it, leaving very little room for Harry to unpack. He huffed as he emptied a drawer of John’s T-shirts and shoved the items into the drawer above.
“What are you doing?” John said. “I’ve already unpacked.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” he said, raising his eyes to glare at John. “I’m making some room for my things.”
Harry shoved a pile of his own folded T-shirts into the vacant drawer. He pushed it closed, unsatisfied when it glided home and didn’t even make a noise. Somehow the idea of slamming a door seemed a great way to let out his frustration with the whole situation, but the soft-close mechanism robbed him of that joy.
Why, oh why did I let him convince me to come on this stupid cruise?
John sat on the bed and bounced a few times, speaking as if to rub salt into Harry’s wounds. “You don’t mind if I take this side, do you? I want to be close to the bathroom.”
“Of course you do,” Harry muttered under his breath.
At least I’m close to the balcony and can always throw myself overboard if I need to.
He used a foot to slide his still half-full suitcase under the bed and took his toiletries to the tiny bathroom. At least John hadn’t unpacked his personal items yet, his toiletry bag still sitting on the small counter. As Harry put his things away in half the available space, he thought back on the events that had led him to be in this horribly awkward situation.
He and John had dated for almost a year, and things had initially been good. They’d enjoyed many of the same things—photography, hiking, the beach—until it became clear that their enjoyment of those things was for very different reasons. Harry liked the outdoors. He enjoyed exercise and hiking to see spectacular views, but John’s outdoor exploits were more about getting the right shots for Instagram, not about enjoying spending the day with Harry and making the most of the gorgeous locations they visited on their weekend trips. The first cracks had just started to appear when John had suggested—no, insisted—they go on theSea of Lovegame show. Harry had reluctantly agreed, but that was back in the days when he still had hope for the two of them and thought they could work through their differences. He gave himself a mental shake.Was I really that blind? That naive?
He’d confronted John about their relationship, and they’d talked through his concerns, mainly that they didn’t have the same goals in life and were two totally different people. John had gone on and on about how opposites attract, then pulled out all stops to be the guy Harry had first met, and they’d somewhat found their feet as a couple again. He saw the old John, the guy who wasn’t so self-absorbed. They’d even broached the subject of moving in together because Harry found himself needing to find a new apartment when his lease wasn’t going to be renewed. But then Harry had started seeing the different side of John again—things that made him begin to doubt their relationship. It was almost as if agreeing to find an apartment together had given John permission to let down his guard, to not try to hide his true motivations anymore. Now John “had” Harry, he didn’t need to try so hard. It became clear John’s focus on social standing was more than fleeting, it was an obsession and outranked any opinion Harry had.
Harry immediately put the brakes on, not prepared to move in with someone who was so self-absorbed and obviously didn’t love him—at least, not the way Harry wanted to be loved. He wanted someone to love him forwhohe was, not for what he could bring to the relationship. He didn’t want his every move, including where he worked, where he lived and what he did in his spare time, orchestrated to capture social standing and the perfect Instagram photo, and he most definitely didn’t care about followers and likes.
When John had signed the lease on an apartment that was well outside a price range Harry had agreed and could afford, despite Harry’s objections—“but it’s in the best suburb, babe, and the building is so hard to get into”—it was the last straw. But when Harry had broken off the relationship, John had been pissed. Harry was sure the cause of John’s anger wasn’t the relationship breakdown itself but because he needed someone to front half the exorbitant rent and because he needed a partner for the stupid game show.
However, when push came to shove, John didn’t try to convince Harry to stay with him in a relationship; rather, he focused on the commitment Harry had made to the show. Despite not being a couple anymore, John had begged and pleaded—he had no one else who could give him the best chance of winning—and Harry had allowed himself to be guilted into coming along. After all, everything had been arranged, and his name was on the show application too.
John had been ecstatic when they were selected, but not because of the truly unique experience. He was happy, because along with the prize money, winning meant the chance of becoming insta-famous, and that what it was all about for John. He relished the idea of fame and couldn’t wait untilSea of Lovewas beamed into lounge rooms across the country.
