Page 5

“W elcome to Lady Maria !” someone called.

Everywhere I turned, there was someone in a navy blue polo and white shorts handing out whatever you could have needed. Seriously, if I could think of it, there it was. Brochures. Drinks. Candies. Shops. The ship wasn’t all that big, considering there were luxury cruise ships with dozens of tiers that towered above the Lady Maria, but that just meant there were fewer people. You wouldn’t have guessed it by looking at the boarding area, though. It seemed that all of the employees had been pulled out for this one.

“What are we going to do first?” Cody asked, coming up behind me and slinging an arm over my shoulder.

“Swimming?” Taylor suggested.

“How about we head to our rooms first and drop off our extra luggage?” Dex said.

I nodded. That sounded like a good idea. I looked down at my floral sundress. I’d probably need to get changed as well. Dex grabbed a boat map from one of the employees milling about and led the way, the rest of us trailing along behind him. The scent of salty ocean air infiltrated my nostrils, making me smile as I tipped my head up towards the sun. All too soon, though, we were heading inside.

We passed rounded bars, a customer services desk, and more than our fair share of cleaning carts as we headed towards the elevators. We found them, and thankfully, no one else was waiting to board. It might have been a little bit more crowded than I was comfortable with if we had tried to squeeze four athletes and me and then more people onto an elevator. I shuddered at the thought as the bell dinged and the doors opened.

“What floor are we on?” Taylor asked.

Dex glanced up from the map as Cody leaned forward, his hand hovering over the button. “Top floor,” he said.

I narrowed my gaze on him from the corner of my eye. “Isn’t that the fancy floor?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It’s just the top floor.”

Darren’s shoulders stiffened but he didn’t say anything. Cody frowned but pressed the correct button. A tense silence settled over us as we slowly ascended. Dex sighed and put the map down.

“I don’t want you getting the wrong idea,” he started. “This was a gift.”

“Did you pay for it?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. Like I told you before, my family owns stock with this company.”

“How much stock?” I asked.

Dex leveled his eyes on me, but true to Dex’s character, he didn’t blush or flinch away as he finally admitted it. “All of it,” he said. "It's a private cruise line. We own it."

I groaned.

The elevator doors opened and the five of us exited. Dex led us down the hall. No one said anything more until we found the door to our room and Dex slid a keycard in and unlocked it.

Before I could utter a singular angry word, I froze, my mouth hanging open. I didn’t know what I had been expecting. A hotel on the ocean maybe. I mean … it was like that, but it was also so much more. It was a veritable luxury suite with a living room, a kitchen, and rooms on either side.

“There are only two bedrooms,” Dex explained. “One with a king and the other has double beds; the couch pulls out into a sleeper.”

“Huh,” Taylor said, moving further in with his arms crossed behind his head as he examined the area. “For a rich guy, I’m surprised you didn’t ask for the presidential suite. Those would have had more rooms.”

“Taylor!” I snapped.

He glanced back at me with blinking owlish eyes. “What?”

I shook my head at him.

“The presidential suite was already taken,” Dex admitted. “This is the Duchess suite.”

Taylor whistled. “Whoa. Outbid on your own ship, huh?”

“It’s not my—” Dex stopped himself and huffed. “It’s not my ship,” he finished. “And I wasn’t … exactly…” He gritted his teeth in irritation and then cast me a look of apology. “I meant it when I said we got the suite for free. I didn’t pay a damn cent.”

I caught the meaning, though, in his gaze. I grimaced. “Okay,” I said, “what’s the catch then?”

He sucked in a breath, closing his eyes and scrubbing a hand down his face. “My family is on the ship.”

“What?” Shock and horror and fear ricocheted through me. In the past two years, I hadn’t even seen a picture of Dex’s family. He didn’t seem overly fond of them, and now, we were expected to spend a week with them—trapped on a boat?

I turned around and picked up two of the bags the guys had dumped just inside the entryway. “Come on,” I said quickly, “let’s get off this ship before it’s too late.”

“Uh…” Darren said, “I think it’s too late.” He raised his hand and pointed out towards the balcony where the buildings behind the docks were slowly moving by. No. The buildings weren’t moving. We were!

“Dex!” I half shrieked, dropping the bags and whirling on him. “This was a bad idea. Make the ship stop!”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. Once we’ve left the docks, the ship has to stay on schedule.”

“Forget the schedule,” I said, panic clear in my tone. “I’m not ready to meet your mother yet. I’m not ready to meet your father. I didn’t bring any fancy clothes! Also, what are we going to tell them? Do they know about…” I trailed off, but gestured around to the others, knowing he would understand my meaning.

Dex sighed once more and then approached me slowly. “Jamie,” he said, “baby, you’re worrying over nothing. It’s going to be okay. I doubt we'll even run into them. It's a decent sized ship."

Not decent enough by my standards, but I didn't say so. There wasn't enough room on this damn ship for us, Dex's family, and my anxiety. What if they didn't approve of me? What if they hated me on sight? What if they thought I was a gold digger? I mean, I hadn't even known how rich Dex was when we'd originally started dating, but I knew now and it was really more of a don't ask, don't tell kind of policy. I didn't ever want to make him feel awkward and I never asked for expensive things. It just didn't feel right.

I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage as Dex's hands slid up my bare arms. I stifled the urge to hyperventilate. As if sensing my impending meltdown, Darren and Cody started grabbing bags and booked it into one of the rooms, mumbling something about unpacking. Taylor strode out onto the balcony and let the sliding glass door close behind him.

Cowards, I thought.

“You should have told me,” I stated, glaring up at Dex. It wasn’t like him to not tell me.

“I know,” he said. “But I didn’t find out they were coming until last night.”

I frowned up at him. “How—?”

“I was informed that we’d been moved to a new suite and when I demanded to know why … well, I had to call my mother. She’s not happy that I didn’t go home for the last break.”

“And your dad?” I asked, curious.

He shook his head. “It’s just my mother … and Stephan.”

“Stephan?”

“My brother,” he clarified.

I stepped away from him then. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother?” I asked. I stared at Dex, reeling. I didn’t know that his family owned a cruise ship or that he had a brother. What else didn’t I know about him?

“I’m not … close with my family,” Dex said. His eyes settled on a spot behind me and stayed there as if he couldn’t bring himself to look me in the eyes. I’d be a little uncomfortable looking my girlfriend in the eyes too if she found out that I had deceived her.

“I’m closer with you and the guys,” Dex continued. “I just wanted us to have a good spring break. We’re graduating early next December. It’ll be our last one.”

“I just feel really stupid,” I admitted.

Dex’s eyes finally found mine, his mouth dropping open. His hands gripped my arms and pulled me into his chest. “No, baby, you’re not stupid.” His breath tickled the top of my hairline. “I’m just … a fucking idiot. I should have told you, but I was scared if I did then you wouldn’t have wanted to come.”

That was a logical fear, I realized. I wouldn’t have wanted to come. But now we were here and we were stuck. There was no running away. I couldn’t exactly jump ship and swim back to shore. Even I wasn’t that good of a swimmer.

“ Dex .” I stressed his name.

“It will be fine. Like I said before, it’s a decent sized ship; you don’t have to meet them if you don’t want to.”

I paused at that comment. Tipping my head back, I looked at him. “Do you want me to?” I asked.

“Do I want you to meet my mom?”

I nodded.

He inhaled and then breathed out. “Only if you want to,” he finally answered. Which meant he did. I bit my lip.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t already met Taylor’s parents. And Cody’s. Darren’s … were … well, there was a reason he didn’t go home much. But Dex’s … I just didn’t know if they would like me. I wasn’t from a rich family. I wasn’t the most fashionable. I wasn’t … a lot of things. Things that they probably expected me to be. Dex, on the other hand—I glanced back up at him as he watched me, curious. If he thought the world of me then I should at least give it a shot, right?

“Okay,” I said, forcing the tension from my shoulders as I blew out a breath.

“Okay?” he repeated.

I nodded. “I’ll meet her. If you want me to … well, we're already here. I lifted my arms and let them flop back down. "There's no running away. I guess … I mean we might as well, right?"

Dex’s mouth stretched into a smile and he leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “Thank you, Baby.”

“You’re lucky I love you,” I muttered.

“That I am,” he said, opening his mouth to lick my lower lip. “That I am.”