Page 86 of Tiger's Voyage

“Thanks,” I said softly.

He laughed. “Thanks for what? The sprinkles?”

I shook my head. “Thanks for making me happy.”

“Anytime.” Kishan hugged me, and we stood there in the wind long enough that we started sticking together. “Want to go for a swim in the ocean and get all this stuff off?”

“You’re on.”

As we strolled down to the dock, taking the back stairs so we wouldn’t muss the carpet, he said, “That woman is crazy. How could anyone live without sugar?”

I grinned and twined my fingers through his as he draped his arm across my shoulder. “I don’t know. What’s life without something sweet?”

He nodded in agreement.

Kishan and I managed to avoid Ren and Randi the next day by having picnic meals using the Golden Fruit. For breakfast we ate egg sandwiches while our feet dangled over the railing, and for lunch we climbed on top of the wheelhouse. Kishan had the Scarf make comfortable cushions and surrounded them with silk flowers.

He placed a heavy linen napkin on my lap and used another napkin to blindfold me. He then hand-fed me a variety of scrumptious foods, making me guess what they were. Some were easy, especially the fruits. Dips were hard. He included a pear torte from Shangri-la that I hadn’t yet tasted. I did the same for him and I giggled mischievously choosing weird dishes like tuna surprise. He just smacked his lips saying each one was better than the last. After we were full, we sipped sparkling grape juice and leaned back against the cushions to watch the clouds.

We’d planned to swim during the afternoon, but I found Randi sunning herself at the pool in a tiny red bikini held together with thin gold chains. I mentally groaned in disgust. Kishan and I would have to swim later. I turned to exit, but she’d spotted me.

“Oh, there you are! I’m so glad you’re here. Can you be a dear and ask that serving girl, Nilima, to come here?”

“Nilima is not a serving girl.”

Randi waved her hand in the air and flipped over onto her back, talking in great detail about a certain kind of lotion shemusthave. Her top barely covered her heaving bosom.

They looked too perfect to be real and I briefly wondered how much something like that cost.Wow. What if one pops?I giggled.

“It’s not funny,” she languished. “If you cared about your skin atall, you would understand why I need to have that lotion. It would be so much easier to have blotchy, uneven skin like yours. Why, no one evenexpectsyou to look pretty. You don’t have the same pressure that I do. Wrinkles might not matter to you, but they do to me.”

Kishan strolled to the pool area and kissed my cheek.

“Kelsey would look beautiful in wrinkles.”

Randi’s expression changed immediately. “Isn’t that justsweetof you to say something like that, but the truth is women don’t age as gracefully as men do. In the blink of an eye, men move on from their forty-year-old wife to a twenty-year-old.”

Kishan frowned. “I would never do that.”

She gushed, “Oh, I knowyouwouldn’t. But so many men do. A girl just has to do the best she can with what she has.”

“Can’t you ask Ren for what you need?” Kishan asked. “We’re busy.”

She sniffed, “He was here, but he disappeared.”

“We’ll find him for you and make sure he gets your lotion.”

She smiled coquettishly. “Thank you so much. Such considerate men in one family. Your mother must be so pleased.”

“She was,” Kishan said abruptly and turned me around. “How about a workout and a massage instead of a swim?”

“Sounds good.” We left and started walking toward the gym. “Aren’t you going to go find Ren and tell him she needs him?” I asked Kishan.

“Nah. I’m sure he already knows. If I were Ren, I’d be avoiding her too.”

On the way, I ran into Nilima, who was furious with Randi.

“She’s so demanding! She’s insulted every member of the crew. The chef, who I had to beg to come here, has been demeaned in front of his staff. The captain has taken to locking the wheelhouse, and Grandfather refuses to come out of his room until she’s gone. If she’s not infuriating them, she’s flirting with them. She uses every trick at her disposal to get what she wants. I don’t care why Ren invited her here. I want heroffthe ship!”