“Thanks, Bro.” A reprieve, if only a small one. He’d take it.
They looked up to see Ria exit the Elite door, marching in a straight line toward them both. The fire in her eyes told him things hadn’t gone well with her mother.
“You don’t have to tell me,” Cam said as she got close. “Your mother doesn’t want to call off the arranged marriage.”
Ria inhaled deeply and exhaled her ire. “That is correct.”
“Did she realize you’d been gone and off the ship for the last ten days?”
She smiled. “Nope. That’s the only good news.”
Axel said, “Did she say she asked for the return flight to be tonight instead of tomorrow?”
Ria frowned. “No. Why? Is the ship leaving tonight?” She looked at Cam and her eyes glistened with tears.
Cam nodded. “My brother here told Director Patmore that we have a fuel shortage and won’t be able to refuel until tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Axel.” Ria hugged him around his neck.
He patted her on the back and gave Cam a sheepish look. “You two go have fun while I see if I can delay the fuel shipment as long as possible.”
Cam led Ria to a coffee shop in the way station. They sat across from each other, sipped coffee and stared into each other’s eyes for quite a long time without saying anything.
After a lengthy quiet, Cam broke the silence, wanting to hear her voice. It was probably sappy, but at this point he didn’t care. “What else did you tell your mother?”
Ria shrugged. “I told her that I didn’t like Douglass. I don’t want to marry him and if she forced me I’d be miserable for the rest of my life.”
“And she said?”
“She seemed surprised.”
“Why?”
“I guess she thought that I’d been sneaking out to see him all through the whole trip and that we were getting along well. I can’t imagine why. Your aunt and her friend were obviously not going out to see Dirt Bag.”
“Knowing my aunt, she was probably out gambling. She calls that her guilty pleasure for entertainment. Either that, or she gets up on her high horse and labels it a possible chance to earn free money for the old folks’ home in town.” Cam straightened. “Did you happen to see my aunt or her friend aboard or near your room?”
“Nope. I stopped by my suite on my way to see my mother, but the place looks exactly like I left it.”
“Maybe we should find my aunt Dixie and discover what she did on the trip.”
“Obviously, she did a good job of being me, because my mother was completely fooled.”
“What did your mother say about your hair?”
Ria laughed. “Oh! Shockingly, she wasn’t a fan.”
“Thatisshocking.”
“I believe her exact words were, ‘Good heavens, Alexandria, what have you done to yourself?’ And then she gave me her typical disapproving-parent look.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Cam spotted someone moving toward them at a fast clip. He turned as a well-dressed, obviously very wealthy young man approached.
“Alexandria,” the man said. “There you are! Where have you been?”
Ria paled and stood up. Cam stood with her.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box as he came to a stop at their table.What is he doing?
