Page 149 of The Friends and Rivals Collection

“Sweetheart.”

A blond woman, her hair in a low ponytail and crinkles in the corners of her eyes, taps my shoulder. She holds the hand of a young boy, who has light locks, too.

“Yes?”

“Would you like something for your girlfriend’s seasickness?”

“Oh, she’s not my?—”

Henley lifts her face off my shoulder and blinks at the woman. “Do you have something?” Her voice is weak. She’s been resting on me since we got back on the ferry after re-boarding in Staten Island.

“Dramamine. My son gets motion sickness, too. I keep it with me, just in case.”

“I’d love one,” she says, and holds out a palm to the woman.

“Take two,” the mom instructs, as she reaches into her big blue shoulder bag and grabs a box.

She taps it against her palm and a few pills spill out.

She hands a pair to Henley. “They’re chewable.

They work best if you take them before you get on a boat, but they should help ease the symptoms some. ”

Henley sighs deeply. “You’re a lifesaver.” She pops them in her mouth and chews.

“They taste yummy, don’t they?” the boy asks.

Henley nods with wide eyes. “Like I’m eating an orange.”

“I love them.”

His mom squeezes his shoulder. “Ben, they’re not candy.”

Then she turns back to Henley. “Seasickness is the pits. As soon as I saw your face out there on the deck, I had a feeling. The weird thing is you’re actually better off staring at a fixed point in the distance than sitting down.

The fact that you were looking at the statue might have helped prevent it from being worse. Vomiting is no fun.”

A look of horror fills Henley’s eyes. “Lady Liberty was watching over me.”

“She was indeed. Feel better soon.”

“Thanks so much for stopping to help,” I say.

“Bye-bye,” the boy says, and they return to the deck.

Henley waves to their backs and says, “Yes, my non-boyfriend appreciates you very much.” She pats my thigh. “Good thing you clarified right away that I’m not your girlfriend.”

I roll my eyes. “I see the motion sickness hasn’t dampened your fire.”

“Why, of all the things you could say, would you say that first?”

I sink back in the chair, dragging a hand through my hair in frustration. “You’ve recovered quickly, haven’t you? You’re all piss and vinegar again,” I say, crossing my arms and wishing the Henley who’d rested her head on my shoulder was back. This is the Henley who hates me.

But wait—why the fuck do I want that sweet version of her to resurface? We’re enemies. We’re rivals, and whether she has motion sickness or not doesn’t change a thing.

“I’m more honey and cinnamon. And I’ll have you know I’m an excellent girlfriend.” She nudges me. “Want to know why?”

“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”

“One. I won’t ask my man to give up poker night with his friends.

In fact, I’ll make you some of my amazing sandwiches and then make myself scarce so you can hang with the guys.

Two. I don’t nag. Three. I’m super independent.

Four. I believe in mutual respect, and five—” But there’s no five, because she slams her palm to her forehead and moans. “Oh God.”

I snap to attention, forgetting the current battle. “You okay, Tiger?”

“My head hurts so much,” she says in a whimper. “Everything is spinning.”

I don’t think. I act.

I take her in my arms, wrapping them around her slim shoulders. I don’t know that this is a cure for a headache or her dizziness, but it’s all I can do. I gather her close and brush my hand over her hair. “We’ll get you home, Tiger. You can tell me number five on the way.”

She tucks her head against my chest. Her face is buried in my shirt, her cheek against my pecs. “Max,” she says softly, “sometimes it’s fun to give you a hard time.”

“You definitely give me a hard time,” I say, and the double meaning is not lost on me.

“Max?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re tall.”

“I am.”

“Are you six-three?”

I nod against her hair. “Nailed it.”

“Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Your chest is really firm.”

“Thanks.”

“Max?”

“Yes, Henley?”

“That’s a nice feature in a non-boyfriend.”

“Feel free to make full use of it.”

And she does for the next ten minutes as the vessel slows near the tip of Manhattan Island. By the time it docks, I have a warm spot on my shirt from her cheek, and I don’t want to get up.

“Can I just curl up and sleep on you all day, please?” she asks.

“That’s number five in what makes a good boyfriend. Letting you sleep here all day.”

A tiny laugh falls from her mouth as she sighs against me. “I like number five.”

“Me, too,” I say, bringing her closer, since she seems to need it right now.

We stay like that for a little longer as the other ferry-goers rise and shuffle off the big boat.

“How’s your head? Still dizzy?”

She nods against me. “A little, yes. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

When the tinny announcement sounds over the loudspeaker that it’s time to exit, I help her up, keeping an arm around her the whole time. Her boots click loudly against the metal ramp as we join the crowds leaving the ferry, slowly making their way to shore.

She inches closer to me, her side pressed to mine. I wrap my arm tighter around her shoulder, protecting her from a businessman jostling his way down the ramp in a rush. She sighs then loops her arm across my lower back, her hand curling over my side.

This feels way better than it should.

When we reach the sidewalk, I tug her out of the way of the crowd. She looks up at me, opens her mouth, and yawns, the hugest yawn I’ve ever seen, and it comes with a soundtrack as she murmurs something that suggests sleep is imminent.

Then it hits me. Dramamine makes you drowsy as fuck. I need to get this chick to her apartment, stat. I hail the next cab I see, making sure to beat out the other guys trying to snag one. I’ve got a woman to take care of, whether she’s my girlfriend or not.