Page 2 of Cruising with You (Swenson Sweethearts)

Nora

“ H ey!” Gem greets me through my cell.

“Hey! I’m picking up everyone’s coffee for the meeting, but Bertie won’t answer my text. What does she want?”

“I dunno. Just grab her one of the seasonal drinks. We all know they’re the best.”

Chuckling, I pin my cell between my shoulder and my ear while digging in my purse for my wallet. “That’s because the seasonal drinks are your favorite, but that doesn’t mean they’re everyone’s favorite.”

“Fiiine. I’ll go ask,” Gem whines before her voice is muffled for a minute. I glance up at the menu before moving up in the coffee line as the next customer is served. “She said she wants a black coffee today.”

“Just like his soul!” Bertie shouts, her voice echoing through the speaker.

I laugh. “His soul?”

“Yeah. Apparently, Bertie had a bad night with what’s his name. Good thing we’re hosting a single’s cruise, eh? Besides, I already told you never to date a Leo. They’re bad news, Bertie. Come on.”

Evidently, she’s done talking to me and will now be scolding Bertie for the next fifteen minutes.

“Look. I gotta go,” I tell Gem as I step up to the counter. “Don’t chew her out too much. I’ll be there in a few.”

“Bye! But seriously, Bertie––” The call goes dead, and I’m left rolling my eyes at my astrology-loving friend as I give our orders.

Balancing four coffees with one arm, I swing open the glass door to Polished Magazine ’s headquarters, then lift my chin at the receptionist, Bertie.

“You are a freaking lifesaver. You know that, right?” she tells me.

The girl is decked out in a black Beatles shirt with a black blazer on top, black pants, and––you guessed it––black stiletto heels that could easily stab her ex’s jugular if she was feeling particularly feisty.

Which, based on her attire and coffee choice, I’m going to say is very possible.

“How you doing, Bertie?” I ask.

“Gem’s right. I never should’ve dated a Leo.”

“Please tell me you’re not actually drinking the zodiac Kool-Aid, Bertie.”

“I’m sorry, but have you seen all the memes floating around? They’re like…almost never wrong.”

“ Almost being the key word,” I jest.

“Come on. Gem’s right. Leos are suckers for all the attention, and if they’re not getting enough from you, they’re going to go elsewhere and find it in the bed of one of your friends.”

I gasp. “No. He didn’t.”

“Oh. But he did,” Bertie grits out before nabbing the coffee from my hands.

With the cup hovering an inch from her mouth, her eyes narrow into thin slits. “Did you add sugar?”

“And sweeten the black coffee that matches your ex’s soul?” I clutch at my chest dramatically. “Of course not.”

There’s a ghost of a smile on Bertie’s face before she covers it with the lip of her cup and takes a deep pull from the liquid of the gods. After an appreciative hum, she adds, “Good girl.”

The phone on her desk rings. Bertie purses her lips before plopping back into her black leather chair and answering it with a syrupy, sweet voice that makes me cringe.

“ Polished Magazine , how can I help you?”

Waving my fingers through the air in a silent goodbye, I head straight to the conference room where our meeting is being held.

The entire floor is decorated with straight lines, black furniture with gray and silver accents, and glass walls that leave little room for privacy.

Still, it’s my home away from home, and I kind of love it here.

“Hey, guys. Sorry, I’m late.” I hand Gem her pumpkin spice latte, then give Jess her usual iced mocha.

“You’re actually five minutes early,” Gem points out. “But even if you were late, you’d still be forgiven because you brought caffeine. Thanks for the coffee. How much do I owe you?”

“Nah, you’re good. I got it covered.”

“Nonsense,” Jess interjects. “If you didn’t put it on the company card, then ask for reimbursement. You’re too damn nice, Nora.”

“Agreed. You’re making the rest of us look bad,” Gem adds before taking a sip of her drink.

Raising my hands in surrender, I sit at the cool granite conference table, then tap my fingers against the surface. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard this all before. I’ll put in the paperwork for the twenty dollars’ worth of coffee later today. Happy now?”

“Why, yes. Yes, we are,” Jess quips. “Now. Let’s get this meeting started, shall we? How are sales for the cruise going?”

My best friend opens the Macbook Pro in front of her. The clicking of her keyboard is the only response she gives before looking up and grinning. “They’re looking really good. My only real concern is the ratio between the men and the women.”

I grimace. “Yeah…that would be pretty sucky if Polished Magazine’ s first-ever Written in The Stars Singles’ Cruise was flooded with women who purchased their tickets hoping they’d meet their soulmate while on the ship, only to find out there aren’t any men to meet.

I’m pretty sure that would be a disaster. ”

“Agreed,” Jess pipes in. “Which means we need to figure out a way for the cruise to appeal to more men.”

“I was actually thinking about that on the way in. Gem had mentioned the sales earlier this week, and we’ve been doing a little brainstorming,” I explain. “What if we do a few giveaways, or maybe even drop the price super low, but only advertise the reduced rate in our brother company, Volt .”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Jess answers.

“I also think we should downplay the whole astrology piece in the ad so that we don’t scare away any potential customers who aren’t into it,” I add.

Gem huffs. “If they don’t think they’re into it––”

“Then they don’t know what they’re missing,” I finish for Gem. “I know. I know. They’ll have plenty of opportunities on the ship. We just need to get them there before we dazzle them with the stars.”

“And the solar eclipse,” Gem adds with a wink.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. And the eclipse.”

“I’m gonna make you a believer, Nora,” Gem gloats. “Mark my words; by the end of this event, you’ll meet your knight in shining armor.”

“Because the stars told you I would?”

“No, because it’s a Cancer eclipse. And you know what eclipses do, right?”

I’ve heard this a million times, but it’s Jess who answers for me. “She might know, but I don’t. What do eclipses do?”

“They open new doors while slamming others shut. Astrologists are saying this one is going to be particularly potent when it comes to love, and if you’re a Cancer, better buckle up, Buttercup. It’s gonna be a wild ride.”

“Is that what you wrote in your column, Gem? Buckle up, Buttercup, I mean Cancer signs!” I say in a syrupy, sweet yet commanding voice. Bertie must be rubbing off on me. “Get ready to meet your soulmate and fall in love forever on a cruise that’s sure to knock your socks off!”

“I should’ve,” she returns, just as snarkily. “If I knew there was a Gemini eclipse that promised meeting the love of my life, I’d be all over that shit.”

Laughing, I joke, “You’re going to be all over that shit, regardless.

” Her brows furrow before I raise my hands in defense and add, “Hey, I’m not judging.

If anything, I’m jealous that you can let your hair down so easily and just…

enjoy the opposite sex. Pretty sure my brother and his failed relationship with the love of his life ruined me.

If those two couldn’t make it, then what are the odds that I ever could? ”

Striding around the table, Gem bends forward and wraps me in a quick hug. “Challenge accepted, my young Cancer. By the end of this cruise, I shall find you the love of your life, or at least some hands-on experience.”

“Alright, ladies. Enough of this chatting,” Jess interrupts, though she looks more amused than annoyed by our bantering.

“Gem, I want you to contact someone from Volt and get an ad taken care of. Instead of doing a full giveaway, just give them a promo code for a discounted drink card or something, along with a killer rate. We need to get the male numbers up a bit. Keep me updated on sales, and if either of you needs anything else, let me know. This is going to be a hit.”

Then she clicks her manicured fingers along the table and leaves in pure Jess fashion.

“She’s such a Sagittarius sometimes,” Gem notes. “So, now that the boss is out of the room…. How are your brother and nephew?”

In true Cancer fashion, my eyes well with tears almost instantly.

“What’s wrong?” Gem pulls me into a hug. “Is Owen okay? What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I try to laugh through the onslaught of emotions.

“Dude, you just burst into tears, which I know is one of your go-to moves, but still. What happened?”

Another pathetic laugh bubbles out of me before it turns into a whimper. “It’s stupid. Owen and Grady are totally fine. They’re moving back to my hometown in New Hampshire, but it’s a total bummer because I’m going to miss the crap out of them.”

Rubbing her hand against my back, she consoles, “Aww, honey, that’s a perfectly acceptable reason to be crying. You and your brother are super close. Hell, you’re practically Grady’s second mom.”

“ Only mom,” I correct her. “Someone had to step in since his birth mom was such a b-word.”

“Bitch, Nora. She’s a bitch. Little ears aren’t around, so you’re allowed to say it.”

Giving her a wary smile, she releases me from her bear hug. “Fine. She’s a bitch.”

“With a capital ‘B.’ But you’re right. You’ve always been a caregiver. And you’re a damn good one too.”

“Thanks. I guess I’m just struggling to accept that they’re leaving. So, there’s that whole mess, and then….”

“Then what?” she prods.

“I guess I kind of met someone, but it already blew up in my face. I just can’t quite figure out why.”

With a quirked brow, Gem crosses her arms and waits for me to spill.

I sniffle. “I was engaged.” She gasps before I add, “For about five minutes.”

Shoving my shoulder, Gem shrieks, “You scared the crap out me! What happened? And tell me the whole story before I have a heart attack.”

“Sorry, I just kinda wanted to see your face ‘cause I’m pretty sure it was similar to mine.” She glares at me, then plops down in the seat across from me. “It’s not that big of a deal or anything. I shouldn’t even be crying about this; it’s so stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. But you better start talking, or I swear––”

“Fiiine,” I appease her before she has an aneurysm.

“It happened at the game I went to with Owen. He and Grady went to grab some food or something, and while they were gone, a group of guys came and sat down in the empty seats by me. One of them was really cute and started talking to me. He was totally drunk,” I add with a laugh.

“But still, super cute. He proposed because, ya know, that’s what any sane person does while under the influence of alcohol.

When I didn’t answer him, he got the whole crowd involved in pressuring me into saying yes.

It was a total joke, but it felt nice to be… wanted. Ya know?”

With her elbows on the table and her hand tucked under her chin, she practically swoons.

“First, that is the sweetest story ever. Seriously. I’ve got goo-goo eyes for the guy, and I haven’t even seen him.

Second, you’ll always be wanted by me, but I get what you’re trying to say.

Having someone else’s attention on you like that…

.” She fans herself. “And third, do you have any idea how jealous I am right now? I mean, your future kids are going to love that story!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I interrupt. “There will be no future kids because I haven’t finished the story yet.

He told me he left his phone somewhere and had to go get it so that we could exchange numbers, but he never came back.

It was like he ghosted me or something. Hell, I can’t believe it really even happened, ya know? ”

Pursing her lips, Gem taps her manicured finger against her chin. “Hmmm….”

My eyes narrow. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“That one.” I point to her face. “I know that look. It’s your reporter look.”

“I don’t have a reporter look.”

“You do, and you’re wearing it right now. Don’t do any digging, Gem. Seriously.”

With a wistful sigh, she slouches in her chair and stares up at the ceiling. “But can you imagine how epic it would be if we found him? That would take this already awesome story to the next level––”

“No. Gem, it’s fine.”

“But the eclipse––”

“Means nothing for my love life. Let’s just….” I wipe beneath my eyes to erase the last of my sadness. “Let’s just move on and have a blast on this cruise. It’s an all-expenses-paid vacation on a boat that’ll be visiting at least three amazing beaches. Let’s keep it at that, okay?”

Eyes narrowing, she stands back up and crosses her arms over her chest. “I love you, which is why I won’t be making any promises. However, I do have some work to do, so we’ll catch up later.”

The mischievous smirk and pep in her step are more telling than her half-assed attempt to convince me that she needs to get back to “work” when we both know she’s going to use her investigative skills for something much less productive.

Wiggling my fingers at her retreating form, I mutter, “Bye.”

Now, I need to get to work too.