Harry glanced around. “He’s here somewhere. I’m sure he’ll find me soon. His name’s John.”
“It’ll be nice to meet him. How lucky you guys ran into each other.” She looked between Evan and Harry. “Perhaps we can get together outside the filming? Maybe have dinner together or see one of the theatre productions? I hear they have an awesome cabaret show—dancers, singers, acrobats—it should be amazing.”
Evan had mixed thoughts. His heart soared at the idea of spending time with Harry, but watching him with his boyfriend sounded like torture. Harry, on the other hand, seemed much happier at the prospect, grinning from ear to ear as he and Amber noted each other’s cabin numbers and started chatting about everything there was to do on a ship of this size.
* * *
Harry couldn’t believehis good fortune in running into Evan. He pushed aside the disappointment that Evan was with Amber. Instead, he took comfort in the idea that at least there were nice people he could hang with on the boat. The idea of only doing the scheduled filming stuff and then spending the rest of his time with John made his skin crawl. But now he had an alternative. Sure, maybe he would have met other people and been able to socialise with them, but Evan…wow.
Harry was listening to Amber, who was expressing her excitement about theSea of Loveexperience, but his attention was on Evan. God, he was gorgeous—all flashing teeth and dimples. He had one of those smiles that lit up his whole face, his eyes creasing with merriment. It was just a shame that the amusement was due to something Amber was saying. Harry would love to see that smile directed at him. What were the odds? His work fantasy turning up here, of all places?
Evan met his gaze, and Harry felt the blush heat his cheeks at being caught staring.Thank God he can’t read my thoughts!
“Harry?”
His eyes lifted to John’s.Uh-oh. He doesn’t look happy.
“Hey.” He forced brightness into his voice. “I was wondering when you’d find me.”
“I shouldn’t have to find you. Where have you been?”
“Sorry,” Amber said before Harry could answer. “I’ve been hogging his delightful company. I’m Amber.” She smiled at John and placed a hand on Evan’s knee. “And this is my partner, Evan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Evan mumbled with a nod.
It gave Harry a strange pleasure to see Evan narrow his eyes at John, but maybe he was just reflecting the look John gave him. John’s lips were tight as he looked from Amber and Evan back to Harry.
“Sorry,” Harry said, his tone reconciliatory. He couldn’t bear the thought of John’s arsehole behaviour alienating Amber and Evan. The last thing he wanted was for the two of them to avoid his company because of John, not when he’d finally been looking forward to some aspects of the cruise.
“Please join us,” Amber said. “That is, unless you’ve got somewhere to be.”
John stared at Harry.
Harry plastered on a smile and patted the seat next to him. “Here. Sit down. Let me get you a drink,” he said.
John nodded curtly but thankfully sank into the seat. “That’d be great, babe.”
Harry cringed at the endearment, but he had a role to play. He stood. “Can I get anyone else a refill?”
“I’m fine,” Evan said. “But thanks.”
Amber indicated her half-full flute. “All good here, too.”
By the time Harry returned from the bar with a cocktail for John, the three of them were engaged in conversation. All signs of John’s previous pissed-off attitude had disappeared and, miracle of miracles, he actually looked as if he was enjoying himself. He’d lost the stiff posture and had relaxed in the chair, forearms on his knees as he leaned towards the couple on the other side of the table.
“Here you go.” Harry passed over the glass.
John took it without a word, his attention focused on Evan. Evan, on the other hand, nodded at Harry as he sat back down and tried to draw him into the conversation. “We were just taking a guess at the sort of contests we’ll be facing over the coming days.”
“Yeah?” Harry smiled. “And what’s the consensus?”
“To be honest,” Amber said, “we have no idea. I thought it would mainly be some quizzes. How else would we show how well we know each other?”
“I’m sure they’ll come up with some creative activities,” Harry said.
“Yeah, they’ll need it to be entertaining for the television audiences,” Evan agreed. “And the application form asked for information about physical limitations—”
“And don’t forget the medical disclaimer.” Amber laughed. “Goodness knows what we’ll be asked to do. It’s going to be crazy.”
