Sophie scowled. “Only a sprain? I’m stuck here and missing out on everything.”
There was a knock on the door and Sierra went to answer it. Sophie heard Trevor’s voice.
“Brought something for the patient,” he said.
“She could use some sweetening up,” said Sierra the sympathetic.
She ushered Trevor back into the room. “Vitamin C,” he said to Sophie, and held out a chocolate bar. “Dark chocolate, nuts, Rainier cherries.”
“Wow,” breathed Sierra.
He handed Sophie hers, then reached into his coat pocket and brought one out for Sierra, too.
“Thanks,” she said, sounding like he’d just offered her gold. Almost as good, that was for sure.
“That’s really sweet of you,” Sophie said to him. “Thanks. And thanks for carrying me back. I hope you didn’t get a hernia.”
“Nah. I’m buff.”
Yes, he was.
“I guess you’re down for the count, huh?” he said to her.
She sighed. “Yes. What a poopy way to spend my first day of the cruise.”
He reached into another pocket and produced a deck of playing cards. “You girls play cards?”
“As a matter of fact, we do,” Sophie said.
“Gin rummy?” he asked.
“You guys go ahead and play. I’ll see if I can find some food,” Sierra offered, and slipped out of the room.
The ice was working. The painkiller would be soon, as well. She suddenly didn’t feel quite so bad. “Sounds good,” she said, unwrapping her candy bar. So did the prospect of playing cards with Trevor.
* * *
“Shall we enjoy a light lunch in the lounge?” Rudy suggested as the group made their way back down the hall.
“Yes, let’s. I’m ready to relax,” Catherine said, and the others fell in with them.
They’d just made their way to the casual dining area when she spotted Sierra coming toward them. “Did you get your sister all settled?” Catherine asked her.
“Yes, Trevor’s with her and they’re about to start a card game. I’m going to bring them some food a little later.”
“Maybe you’d like to join us for lunch,” Catherine offered.
“That would be nice actually. I think right now I’d be a third wheel back in our room.”
“It’s a shame your husband couldn’t join you,” Catherine said as they got into the food line. “It’s nice to be able to make these memories together.” Sierra’s face dropped. Oh, dear. Clearly that was a sore subject. “My husband and I had talked about taking a cruise after he retired,” she hurried on, rushing past the awkward moment.
“You didn’t get to?” Sierra prompted.
Catherine shook her head. “He died before we could.” She sighed. “I’m afraid we never did much of anything exciting. We were too busy when the kids were younger. You know, work, sporting events, school projects. Even after they moved out there was always something—caring for our aging parents, a surgery or two.” She shrugged. “It seemed like time for us always got put on the back burner. We’d just gotten passports and were starting to make plans when he died.”
“That’s awful,” Sierra said.
“It was,” Catherine said. “I was looking forward to doing things together.”
“So were my wife and I,” put in Rudy.
Catherine had been so busy talking with Sierra she’d momentarily forgotten he was next to her, hearing all about her less than stellar life. She could feel a warmth stealing over her face.
“How did your wife die?” Sierra asked. “If you don’t mind my asking.”
“I don’t. Melanoma. I wish I’d caught it. She was a California girl, spent lots of time in the sun. I’d sent her to a dermatologist for regular skin checks, but then one year...” He shook his head. “By the time we caught it, it was too late.”
Now his daughter jumped into the conversation. “You can’t blame yourself, Daddy. You were a wonderful husband. My mother meant everything to him.”
“Lucky her,” Sierra said wistfully. Then, to Rudy, “I hope you’ll find someone else wonderful one day.”
Athena didn’t look happy at the idea of that. “I think Daddy knows there’ll never be anyone like my mother.”
She was looking at Catherine when she said it. It was hard not to take the hint.
That was okay, though. Catherine wasn’t looking. But if she was, Rudy would be perfect.
They got their food and settled in the little dining area at the bow of the ship. Rudy managed to position himself and Catherine a few seats away from Athena.
“My daughter means well,” he said to Catherine in a low voice.
“Of course she does. She’s a good daughter.” Catherine wondered if her own daughter would look out for her as scrupulously.
He shook his head, looked a little embarrassed. “Sometimes she thinks she’s my mother.”
“I think it’s sweet that she’s watching out for you.”
“I guess I can’t blame her. She’s afraid I’ll do something stupid. But I’ve got to say, booking this cruise was one of my smarter ideas. It sure beats sitting home, looking at four walls and being lonely.”
“Yes, it does,” Catherine agreed. Bill may not have been the most perfect man in the world but he’d been her man. She missed eating dinner in front of the TV together, watching a mystery or lying side by side in bed at night, each of them with a book. Missed those good-night kisses. Missed having someone in the house with her. Sometimes it felt like she was rattling around in a giant mausoleum.
“I don’t think anyone should have to be alone if they don’t want to be,” Rudy said emphatically.
“I agree,” Catherine said, then saw the hopeful expression on his face. “But sometimes circumstances prevent you from doing what you really want.”
He shook his head. “I don’t buy that.”
He would if he knew her circumstances.
“You know, I’m feeling a little tired,” she said. “I think I’ll go to my room and rest.”
He looked confused, probably wondering if what he’d said was chasing her away.
“I need to charge my batteries,” she added.
“Of course,” he said. She got up and he, too, stood, like a gentleman. “I hope I’ll see you later.”
“I’m sure you will.” It was a small ship. They, of course, would see each other. What if they continued to see each other, spent more time together? What could come of that?
Nothing, most likely. He’d already lost a wife to cancer, had suffered right alongside her. Catherine doubted he’d want to endure that kind of battle again with another woman. She shouldn’t encourage him any more.
It was awfully hard to be noble when you were with a man who was such good company. Catherine hadn’t felt this happy in a year and a half.
She went to the room, stretched out on her bed and tried not to waste time imagining how pleasant life would be if she was stretched out in a bed every night with Rudy Nichols next to her. She failed.
* * *
Sophie Miles was more intoxicating than fine whiskey, and carrying her to the cruise ship had been a sweeter treat than any chocolate concoction Trevor could create.
Sierra had brought them rolls and cold cuts from the buffet, then disappeared again, and they’d sat there munching and playing progressive gin rummy for hours, though he was finding it hard to concentrate on what card was wild. Her hair kept falling in front of her face, and he wanted so badly to tuck it behind her ear for her. And that smile was irresistible.
He watched as she tapped her lips with a finger while she inspected her card hand. How soon before she’d let him kiss her?
Good Lord, he had it bad. But who wouldn’t? She was pretty and sweet and her laugh was like champagne bubbles.
She rearranged her cards, grinned and then laid them down. “I’m out,” she chortled, discarding.
He frowned and looked at the mess in his hand. “You’re killing me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, not the least repentant.
“Yeah, I can tell.” He finished his play, then tallied up the points she’d caught him with and groaned. “You caught me with fifty points, for crying out loud. Where’d you learn to play cards like this?”
“It’s a gift.” She picked up the piece of cruise line stationery and added fifty more points to his column.
“I should take you to Vegas.”
He could picture them in Las Vegas, eating at one of those high-end restaurants, watching the fountain show at the Bellagio. Staying at the Bellagio. Playing craps in the casino, her blowing on the dice for luck with those kissable lips.
“I’ve never been to Vegas,” she said.
“Me, neither. Let’s go and I’ll stake you at the poker table.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah? Are you a gambler?”
“Total high roller. I play poker with my brother and a couple friends once a month for some pretty high stakes. Quarters.”
She snickered. “You are a high roller.”
“I know, right? I guess when it comes down to it I don’t like to risk losing my hard-earned money.”
“Me, neither,” she said, and began shuffling the deck. “Except wasn’t starting your own business a gamble?”
“In a way I guess it was. But I’d done my research, worked hard. I felt like it was a pretty sure thing. You started your own business, too, so it looks like you did some gambling.”
“Not really,” she said. “I didn’t have to invest a lot of money in my business other than business cards. And I was still working at a paying job.”
“Oh, yeah? What did you do?”
“I was a waitress. It was good money. I worked nights and made pretty good tips. It got me through two years of community college. But all that being on my feet. I didn’t want my arches to fall.”
She’d been worried about falling arches?
She must have read his expression because she frowned and said, “You have to take care of yourself.”
There was that. “And, might I say, after seeing your foot, that you’re doing a very good job keeping those arches in tip-top shape?”
“Now you’re making fun of me,” she said, shaking her head at him.
He half smiled. “Maybe just a little.”
“Anyway, I was able to make my business a success. I get to work with some really nice people and I get to shop to my heart’s content without spending any of my savings. I’d say that makes what I do an ideal job. I enjoy going to work each day. I bet you feel the same way about what you do,” she added.
“You’re right, I do. Hard to balance work and life sometimes, though.”
“But there’s more to life than work,” she said.
Which was a perfect lead-in for the question he wanted to ask. “Like fun, friends...boyfriends. Why aren’t you on this cruise with a boyfriend?”
“I could ask you the same question,” she said.
“I like girls.”
“So where’s yours?” She focused on shuffling the cards.
“Before this cruise I’d have said I haven’t found her yet.”
Her cheeks turned pink and she kept her eyes on the cards as she dealt them. “Okay, up to thirteen and kings are wild. This is your last chance.”
“I hope not.”
That sent the blush all the way down her neck. He knew she was attracted to him. He could feel the electricity thrumming between them.
But he could also tell she wasn’t ready to plug into it yet. Okay, he could be patient.
Being patient sucked, he decided later as he wrapped her ankle so they could go to the lounge before dinner. He wanted Sophie Miles, and he was beginning to suspect that he might even want her for keeps.
8
By Sunday evening Sophie’s ankle was feeling better and, with it wrapped, she was sure she could manage to walk to the lounge after dinner for the promised evening music trivia game. By the time she’d taken more ibuprofen and limped into the lounge, leaning on Trevor’s arm, Sierra following behind, the seats around Rudy were taken. His daughter was on one side and Catherine sat on the other. Denise was there with her friend Charlie and another man. Even the neighboring seats were occupied by two couples. Denise saw them and waved.
Frustrating. Was the universe trying to tell Sophie something? They found three seats around a coffee table and Trevor was quick to prop her foot on the table with a sofa pillow under it. He was sweet and considerate. Why, oh, why couldn’t he have been a doctor? That would have made him perfect.
There was one seat free in their conversation area, and the man with glasses who’d been shepherding the students around slid in and took it. He looked a lot like Trevor.
No wonder. “This is my brother, Kurt,” Trevor said, and introduced Sophie and Sierra. “You okay to leave the children for a while?” he asked Kurt.
“Yep. They’re all stuffed from dinner and happy.”
Kurt looked over to where the students sat in two groups, spread along the windows on the opposite side of the lounge. Sophie followed his gaze and saw that the girl who’d been on hand to make unwanted comments when she’d fallen was looking in their direction and frowning. Prime seats in the lounge were, obviously, hard to find.
“Harriet was asking where you were at dinner,” Kurt said to his brother.
Trevor kept his gaze averted from the other side of the lounge. “That’s nice.”
“You’re breaking her heart,” Kurt teased.
“For five minutes. She’ll recover.”
Kurt chuckled. Then he said to the sisters, “So, ladies, tell me a little about yourselves.”
“Not much to tell,” Sierra said. “We’re from Seattle.”
“Love Seattle, especially Fremont,” said Kurt. “The troll under the Aurora Bridge is the best.”
“Portland’s pretty cool, too, though,” put in Trevor. “We’ve got Voodoo Doughnut and Powell’s, best bookstore in the country.”
“We’ve been to Powell’s,” Sophie told him. “It is incredible. I’ve never been to Voodoo Doughnut, though.”
“Come down and I’ll take you,” Trevor promised.
“Lots of stuff to do in Portland,” Kurt said. “I even hear there’s a chocolate company there you can tour. What the heck’s the name of that place?” He grinned at Trevor. It was plain to see he was proud of his brother’s accomplishment.
“I bet we can guess,” Sophie said, and held up the latest chocolate offering from Trevor.
“Is he bribing you to hang out with him?” joked Kurt.
“No bribes necessary,” Sophie said. Trevor was ridiculously easy to like.
Elsa had a mike in hand now and was filling them in on the next day’s activities. “Tomorrow we will be offering you all shore excursions to Cologne, where you will find many lovely Christmas markets to shop in. We offer you an optional excursion that will take you to the top of Cologne’s astonishing cathedral with a local guide. Or you may wish to join the buses that will give you a tour of the city. You may visit the Old Town with all its attractions. Then, later tomorrow afternoon, we will have a guest lecturer here in the lounge who will discuss the daily life of a modern German citizen and share with you information about the culture. Of course, before you return, I most highly recommend you visit the market at the Dom, which is in front of the cathedral. You will certainly find some lovely Christmas gifts there, and I know you will want to sample some Glühwein, which is our favorite drink this time of year when we are meeting friends and shopping. It is a spiced hot wine and it is delicious.”
Sophie sighed. “It sounds so fun. I hope I’ll be able t
o walk by tomorrow.”
“You probably shouldn’t risk it,” said Sierra.
Sierra was always trying to talk Sophie out of her various illnesses, so seeing that even her sister was taking this injury seriously felt somehow vindicating. But it was also disheartening. Sophie didn’t want to miss out on all the Christmas market fun.
“Well,” Trevor said thoughtfully, “we’re getting bused there so you’ll be off your feet for part of the time.”
“Maybe we can find some crutches somewhere,” said Sierra.
“Or you can lean on me,” Trevor offered. “We could always shop a little and then find a place to sit and eat until the next bus back to the ship arrives. Ice up as soon as you get back on board.”
“I like that idea,” Sophie said. “Except if you want to go do stuff don’t let me hold you back.”
“I want to do stuff,” he said. “With you.”
Trevor March was the kind of man you wanted to do things with. And there’d sure been nothing wrong with his bedside manner. She had to be practical, though.
So far that wasn’t exactly working out. Honestly, life shouldn’t be so complicated.
“And now,” Elsa said, “it is time for our trivia contest. We have some questions for you, and Jacques will be helping us out at the piano. So form your teams and then I need someone from each team to come get a form.”
“Are we a team, ladies?” Kurt asked.
“Why not?” Sierra said with a smile, and Sophie was glad to see her sister enjoying herself in spite of the fact that she still hadn’t heard from her husband.
Teams were formed and the fun began, starting with picking a name. “Let’s be the Chocoholics,” Sierra suggested. “I think Trevor’s turning my sister into one.”
“Nothing wrong with that kind of addiction,” Trevor said, clearly happy with the name choice.
“Here is our first song,” said Elsa. “Can you name it and tell me what group sang it?”
Jacques began to rock out at the piano. Kurt leaned forward and said to Sierra, who was in charge of writing down their answers, “‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ Nirvana. Loved that group.”
One Charmed Christmas Page 11
