Page 71 of Just Another Silly Love Song

“Almost instant for everyone except you.” She laughed.

True, I hadn’t liked her one bit, and that was before I had even met her in person.

But I had been completely wrong about her.

Of course, I wasn’t going to tell her all that, but I would tell her something.

I shrugged. “There are lots of egos in the entertainment business, I’ll be the first to admit it.”

“Nooooo,” Lori said. “A man with an ego? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

I chuckled. “Hey—I’m not just talking about men. I want you to admit that you have an ego, too.”

Lori shook her head. “Never.”

“Come on, you can do it.”

“I’ve never even heard of the word.” Lori laughed and covered her hand with her mouth. “Let me try that again without laughing.” She opened her mouth, but before something could come out, she started laughing again. “Okay, this is more difficult than I thought.”

I leaned to the side to analyze her face. “Are you drunk already?”

“Not yet, but I’ll let you know when I need to be cut off. And I will admit that women do have egos, but they are much smaller than men’s.”

I smirked. “There may be some truth to that, but don’t let it go to your head.”

“Ahoy, matey!” A man dressed up as a pirate approached us.

“Ahoy,” I said. “Who are you, Johnny Depp?”

“I am a freebooter, a buccaneer, a seadog.”

“A man with many titles.”

“You got that right. Are you enjoying yourselves so far?”

Lori nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Good, because if it’s not to your liking I’ll make you walk the plank. You don’t want to be shark bait, do ya?”

“I don’t.” Lori pointed to me. “Do you?”

I shook my head. “Not before I have more stuffed mushrooms. Where did that waiter go?”

“They’ll all be back around,” the pirate said. “And make sure you explore the rest of the ship.”

Lori and I both nodded.

“You’re lucky enough to be standing on a rare iron-hulled ship built in eighteen sixty-three! The first launch was five days before Abraham Lincoln’s infamous Gettysburg Address, and this lady has sailed from Great Britain to India and New Zealand! She’s sailed around the world twenty-one times.”

“Wow,” Lori said. “That’s quite impressive.”

“And if you want to see something even more impressive, take a gander at the San Diego Bay sunset upstairs on the poop deck.”

Lori laughed. “The what?”

“The poop deck.” The pirate pointed to the deck above us. “And make sure you take a picture in the photo booth while you’re up there.”

“Up where?” I just had to hear him say it again.