Shane looked at the sad picnic on the floor of his room. He’d convinced the chef to give him two dinners in to-go boxes, swearing that one was for Nicole. Dessert was a mini-cake from the onboard “extras” shop. A fancy name for a place that had candy bars, soda, toothbrushes and soap.
It wasn’t much but it was something.
He’d downloaded ten new movies before they left port. With any luck, he had something Nicole would like. He rubbed his hands down his shirt. There was no reason for nerves. They’d slept together every day for almost a week.
She didn’t care about the debt.
Because she never plans to walk down the aisle again.
That shouldn’t bother him. He’d made the decision when he realized how deep his parents had sunk his future. But there was something about her admission that stung.
He turned when a knock echoed on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone besides Nicole and she hadn’t knocked since they’d started sleeping together.
Opening the door, he raised a brow. Nicole stood in front of him, dressed in a soft blue sweater dress. It wasn’t designed to be sexy—not like the red number she’d worn dancing—but his mouth watered anyway. The woman was simply stunning.
“You knocked?” He stood back to let her in.
“This is a date. It seemed like the right move.” She lifted on her toes and pressed her lips to his. “So, what's the surprise?”
“I fear it's going to be a letdown. A picnic in the room.”
“You got Chef Palmer to give you to-go boxes?” Her eyes widened as she looked at the boxes on the blanket. “The man hates to let anything out of the cafeteria. No waste. The mantra he tells everyone.”
Shane pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, I thought he might make me swear on a holy book that you were eating here and I didn’t just want two dinners for myself.”
Nicole laid her head against his chest. “I’ve never been on a picnic before.”
“Never?” Shane's folks had stolen money from him, but they’d had picnics. The good memories blending with the bad end were part of the reason it had been so difficult to accept the betrayal.
“My parents weren’t around much. I had a host of nannies, but my mother was convinced if they stayed too long, my father would stray.” Nicole stepped out his arms and slid down onto the blanket.
Shane wasn’t sure what to say about that as he sat next to her. His parents were united…even in their crimes. And they had always been present. “Sorry.” The word popped out.
“Why? You didn’t ignore me.” Nicole lifted a soda bottle. “To first dates.”
No way to make it clearer that they were moving on in the discussion. Lifting his own soda bottle, Shane smiled. “To first dates.”
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