Page 17 of Hearts Aweigh
A brISK, EARLY-MORNING brEEZE ruffled the playful waves rolling past the MS Buckingham as the Shippers observed their latest client. The four ladies sat at a shaded table. Abby stood before them, her arms full of picture books. Gerry opened her laptop and signaled for Emily to begin the debriefing.
Emily motioned to an empty chair. “Sit down, dear.”
“I’d love to, but I can’t.” Abby shifted the books to free up a hand. “I’m due at the childcare center in fifteen minutes. Mr. Masterson is meeting me there. I told him he could leave Maddie with anyone, but he insists on turning her over to me before he leaves for his business appointment.”
“Who makes business appointments on a cruise ship?” Althea asked. “Are you sure he’s not getting a massage?”
“Unfortunately,” Daisy drawled, “I can confirm he has a business appointment. Family business. With me.”
Emily refrained from giving her opinion on a man who treated his own mother like an employee. She suspected the woman’s relationship with her son required more than one conversation to mend, so she’d focus on a more pleasant topic—matchmaking.
Gerry tapped a few keys on her computer. “How did your date go, Abby?”
“Did he kiss you?” Althea wiggled her shoulders.
“What? No!”
“Strike one,” Gerry said.
Abby waved her free hand. “Norville was, um, considerate. And he has super good manners.”
“Strike two.” Gerry’s laptop keys clicked in disapproval.
“Manners. That bad, huh?” Althea unwrapped a gooey piece of candy and popped it in her mouth.
“He … he’s a very nice man.”
“Strike three.” Gerry snapped the laptop shut.
“Nice? That’s the death knell to romance.” Emily shuddered. “All the qualities you mentioned are positive but uninspiring. What young woman prays for God to send her a nice, attentive, well-mannered man?”
Abby dropped her gaze and toyed with a book jacket, confirming Emily’s suspicions. If the chemistry was missing, there was no use shoving the couple together. Abby needed someone who put a sparkle in her eye.
A bell chimed. Abby pulled out her phone and swiped the screen.
The corner of her lips quirked, and she shook her head.
“My temporary employer must be anxious to spend time with his mother. He sent a text that sounds like it’s straight out of a legal brief.
” She gathered her mouth in a surly pout, waggled her head, and spoke in a deep voice.
“Punctuality is the height of professionalism. Blah, blah, blah.”
Emily raised a brow. There it was. A sparkle in Abby’s green eyes. If only it weren’t because she was meeting the unwelcoming but undeniably handsome Spencer.
Another chime.
Abby checked the screen. “Daisy, your son asked if I saw you to give you a reminder. You’re meeting in the tearoom at 8:15.”
Daisy sighed. “And y’all wonder why I refuse to carry a cell phone. Can you imagine the unpleasantness I would deal with?” She rose from her chair and gathered her sweater and pocketbook. “I must go to the cabin and freshen my makeup first.”
Althea patted her arm. “You hurry along, baby. I’ll save your spot till you get back.”
Daisy made her elegant way along the deck in anything but a hurried fashion.
Abby lowered her phone. “I’m on my way to meet Maddie. She’s one of the sweetest children I’ve ever met. I just want to squeeze the stuffing out of her.”
Emily studied their client. Perhaps her enthusiastic eyes weren’t for the man but his daughter. That would certainly make things easier. Even if an obvious chemistry existed between Spencer and Abby, matching them together was impossible as long as Daisy rejected the idea.
But no didn’t always mean never .