Page 31 of Mister Daddy

I count back twenty-five years and write the year on the sheet, proud that I had insider information to know the answer.

We don’t win, but we come in fourth, and the host gives us branded Frisbees for playing.

The girls and I decide to go back to the room to relax for a few minutes before we hit the deck again.

“I can’t believe I knew a trivia answer because of Carter,” I say once we’re inside our room. “What a funny coincidence.”

“Oh my God, Abby!” Caitlyn exclaims. “Stop talking about Carter! It’s like he’s the only thing you know how to talk about anymore.”

“What? I don’t talk about him that much.”

She laughs bitterly. “Carter took me to dinner, Carter loves water, Carter bought me a yummy soda, Carter told me his life story. We get it! Now shut up about it.”

“Wow, whatever. Sorry you’re so jealous of my love life that you can’t hear about it.”

“You’ve known the guy for like two days, Abby. You don’t have a love life; you have a cruise fling. Once we get off the ship, he’ll forget about you.”

That hurts. What I share with Carter is more than just a fling, I know it. Caitlyn’s just being a bitch. “You’re wrong.”

“No, she’s not,” Jessica says. “You’re basically obsessed with this guy, and he’s only going to break your heart. But hey, if you want to spend more time with him than with us, then do it. We’re not going to stop you.”

“You’re not my boss, so you couldn’t stop me if you wanted to!”

Caitlyn winces. “Yeah, you’re right. It would just be nice if you wanted to spend time with your friends. We shouldn’t have to stop you. You should stop yourself.”

With that, she disappears into the bathroom. I don’t have anything left to say to Caitlyn or to Jessica, so I grab my bag and stomp out the door. If my friends aren’t going to be supportive of me, then I don’t want to be around them.

Without realizing it, I find myself outside of Carter’s door. I knock lightly, hoping he’s inside. He answers wearing his normal outfit of a button-down shirt and black business pants.

“Abby? I thought you were spending the day with your friends?”

That’s all it takes for the tears I’ve been holding back to spill from my eyes.

“My friends hate me,” I sob into his shoulder. He gently leads me to his bed and sits me on the edge. “They think I’m being stupid.”

“What happened?”

I tell him everything, the tears drying up the longer I talk. Carter listens patiently and offers me a tissue. No guy I’ve ever been with has listened the way he does. It just solidifies how in love with him I’ve fallen since we first met.

“I’m sorry your friends are mad at you,” he says quietly when I’m done with my story. “They’re wrong, though. You’re not just a fling.”

That makes me smile. I had hoped, but his confirming it feels amazing. “Thanks for listening, Carter.”

“Any time,” he says. He bends his head down to meet my lips in a tender kiss, confirming once and for all that my friends were wrong about what we have.

13

Abby

Carter and I have spent the last two nights together. I only venture into my room to gather clothing when I know Caitlyn and Jessica are out.

I guess you could say I’m avoiding them.

Not that it bothers me. They’re not supportive of my new relationship, and this extra time with Carter has given us time to get to know each other.

Yesterday, we went diving again when we were at our last stop, another beautiful Caribbean island. This time, we brought underwater cameras with us to capture the trip. They were just those dinky ones you buy from the cruise gift shop – basically a wind-up camera wrapped in plastic – but they worked okay. I can’t wait to see how the photos come out.

We have today and tomorrow at sea, and then we’re back at the dock in Miami. And Carter will continue on to wherever he goes next, while I return to my landlocked desk at an accounting firm.