Lily's Story: The Complete Saga

by Christine Kersey

  “Where are you from?” he asked as he slid into a seat across from Alyssa, Ty, and me.

  Enjoying his attention, I smiled, and told him the name of the small town an hour south of Sacramento.

  “Is that so?”

  “What about you?” I asked.

  “I actually don’t live too far from you. I’m just up in Sacramento.”

  I nodded, not terribly surprised, since we’d left from the same airport. “Have you ever been to Alaska?”

  “No. But I understand this is a good time of year to go. What about you?”

  “No. First time in Alaska, and this is my first cruise too.”

  He smiled, which deepened the dimple on his cheek. “Well, maybe I can show you some of the fun things to do on the ship.”

  My smile grew as he made his intentions clear. “I’d like that.” I paused as a thought occurred to me. Most likely he didn’t know I had a baby. Would that change his mind about spending time with me? Natalie was part of me, so there wasn’t much I could do about it, but I thought it would be better to make the truth known up front. “I guess you don’t recognize me.”

  He looked puzzled. “No. Why? Have we met before?”

  I laughed, secretly worried about his reaction. “Sort of. You sat next to me on your flight this morning.”

  “I did?” Then he looked confused. “But I sat next to a woman with a baby.”

  I pointed to Barbara. “Yes. Alyssa’s mom is holding my daughter.”

  His gaze went to Natalie, who was watching the people around her, then focused back on me. He laughed, but he seemed uncomfortable. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t pay attention on the flight.”

  “That’s okay.”

  He didn’t say anything for a moment, then he looked at Ty and asked him a question, effectively dismissing me. Though I kept a smile on my face, disappointment shot through me that his interest had shut off like a light switch the moment he’d found out I had a baby. Oh well, I thought. It’s probably for the best. Then I turned to Alyssa. She frowned at me, like she understood what had happened, then we talked about her wedding plans.

  As we talked, my gaze wandered to Cameron several times, and twice I noticed him looking at me. Inside I smiled, wondering if maybe there was hope there after all.

  “It’s time for the ship to leave,” someone said.

  “Let’s go to the upper deck,” Alyssa said to the group.

  Everyone got up, including me, and I took Natalie from Barbara. “Thanks for holding her. Sometimes it’s nice to eat without a baby on my lap.”

  She laughed. “They like to grab, don’t they?”

  “Yes, they do.”

  “I’m happy to help you out with her this week, if you’d like.”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

  She smiled warmly. “I’ve been on this cruise before, so if you want to do any of the excursions, I’d be happy to babysit.”

  I considered her offer. “Are there any excursions you recommend?”

  “My favorite is the whale watching.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “It really is. You should consider it.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  I put Natalie in her stroller and followed the group to the elevator, then went up one level to the sun deck. We walked to the railing and I took Natalie out of her stroller, then gazed at the view. The weather was perfect and I pressed my cheek to Natalie’s as the ship slowly moved away from Seattle. Alyssa stood next to me, with Ty at her side.

  “Are you going on any excursions?” I asked her.

  “Well, the wedding is in our first port, but in Juneau I want to do the whale watching trip.”

  “Your mom was talking about that. She said it was her favorite excursion.”

  “Yeah, she’s the one who suggested it.” She smiled. “Are you going to go on it?”

  “It sounds like fun. And your mom offered to watch Natalie if I went.”

  Alyssa’s grin widened. “Do it. Come with us.”

  I smiled. “Okay. I will.” After a while, Natalie started getting restless and I turned to Alyssa. “I’m going to take her back to my room.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll probably just see you at dinner.”

  “Sounds good.” She gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you came, Lily.”

  “Me, too.” When I got back to my room, I played with Natalie until she started rubbing her eyes, which meant she was getting sleepy. I put her down, then lay on my bed, and we both napped. When we woke, we still had a while before dinner—Alyssa’s party had all signed up for the later dinner time. I put Natalie in her stroller and took a walk around the ship, getting myself familiar with the layout.

  When it was time for dinner, I went to the dining room and the steward showed me where my table was. I would be sitting there every night with Alyssa and Ty’s group, and when I arrived, most of the group was already there. Alyssa had saved me a seat next to her—which I really appreciated since I didn’t really know anyone else in the group yet.

  Our waiter brought a high chair for Natalie, which I placed between Alyssa and me, and she seemed content to watch everyone. I’d fed her just before coming, so she wasn’t hungry. The seat on the other side of me was empty and I wondered who would sit there, and hoped it would be someone I would enjoy talking to. It was noisy in the dining room, so talking to someone on the other side of the ten-person table would be difficult.

  “Mom says the food here is really good,” Alyssa said.

  “Well, I’m starving, so I’m sure whatever I eat will taste good.”

  A moment later Cameron arrived. The only empty seat was the one next to me and he smiled at me as he sat. I wondered what, if anything, he knew about me. Surely Alyssa had filled Ty in on what had happened to me with Trevor, but I wondered if anyone else knew.

  The waiters handed out the menus and I read over the choices. There were several appetizers to choose from, as well as entrees, and everything sounded delicious. “I can’t decide between these two,” I said, showing Alyssa the appetizers I wanted.

  “Get them both,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Yeah. You can, you know.”

  “Oh.”

  “I know I’m getting these two,” Cameron said, showing me his menu.

  “I don’t know if I can eat that much.” I smiled at him, glad his initial friendliness seemed to be returning. “I’d better just choose one appetizer.”

  He grinned. “Just make sure to save room for dessert. I hear the melting cake is really good.”

  “If chocolate’s involved, then I’m sure I’ll love it.”

  “Oh,” he said. “You’re a chocoholic.” He leaned toward me and whispered, “Me, too.”

  I smiled, enjoying his attention.

  I chatted with Alyssa during the meal, but didn’t want to monopolize her attention—she was the star of this cruise, after all. I turned to Cameron, who seemed to be focused on eating his entree. “So on the flight today,” I began.

  He looked at me and his face reddened. “Yeah, sorry that I totally ignored you.”

  I laughed. “It’s okay. I was just wondering what you were working on. You seemed really focused on your laptop.”

  “I was trying to get a slide show finished for work before we set sail.”

  “Oh. What do you do?”

  “I’m in marketing. I work for a software company and we’re getting ready to launch a new product.”

  “Software, huh?” I paused. “I’m working on a degree in Information Technology.”

  His interest seemed piqued at this. “Oh, yeah? When do you finish?”

  I laughed softly. “Not for a while. I got a little sidetracked with having Natalie, so my degree’s on hold for a little bit. But in the meantime, I’m building webpages for some small businesses in my community.”

  “Really? That’s cool.”

  “Yeah. I like it a lot. And I love that I can work when it�
��s convenient for me.” Natalie started fussing, so I took her out of the high chair and held her on my lap.

  Cameron looked at her. “How old is she?”

  “Eight months.”

  His lips quirked into a smile. “I don’t know much about babies.”

  “Well, I’m lucky that Natalie is a particularly easy baby.”

  A look of guilt washed over his face. “I have to admit, when I got on the plane and saw that the only empty seat was next to a baby, I was kind of worried.” He frowned. “No, I was really worried. I’ve been on flights before where babies scream the whole time, so I wasn’t very happy that I had to sit next to you.”

  I frowned. “I know.”

  Alarm spread across his face. “Don’t misunderstand me. It turned out okay. I was wrong about your baby. She hardly made any noise at all and I was able to get my work done.”

  I laughed at his obvious concern that he had offended me. “Don’t worry about it. I know how it is. I’d feel the same way, but I already knew—at least I’d hoped—that Natalie would be fine. It was actually kind of entertaining to watch everyone get on board, take one look at me and Natalie, and then move on. I have to admit, I kind of felt sorry for you when you got on and no seats were left.” I pursed my lips at him. “I guess if you’d gotten there earlier, it wouldn’t have been an issue.” I paused. “Like tonight. You got stuck sitting next to me again.”

  He grinned. “Turns out it was okay, just like on the flight.” A look of chagrin filled his face. “I have to apologize, Lily.”

  Confused, I asked, “What for?”

  “For kind of blowing you off earlier.”

  I recalled the way I had felt a little hurt when Cameron had seemed to lose interest in me the moment he’d discovered I had a child. I shook my head. “It’s okay.”

  He shook his head too. “No, it’s not.” He sighed. “Ty told me a little about what you’ve been through and I feel like a jerk for blowing you off just because you have a baby.”

  Now I felt awkward. “You don’t have to pay attention to me out of pity, Cameron.” I paused. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  He looked sort of stunned. “There’s no pity involved, Lily. Just an initial moment of panic when I found out you had a baby.” He gazed at me a moment and his blue eyes seemed to darken. “I want to get to know you better. Not only are you a beautiful woman, but your story kind of intrigues me.” His face reddened a little, and his dimple showed as he smiled. “That is, if you want to get to know me.”

  I gazed at the sincerity in his face, and remembered Alyssa’s comment that he was a nice guy, and thought about how I’d failed to listen to her before regarding both Trevor and Justin. Maybe I should listen to her this time, I thought. A smile slowly lifted the corners of my mouth. “I’d like that.”

  He grinned. “Now, are you ready to try some of the melting cake I was telling you about?”

  My smile widened. “Absolutely.”

  A short time later the waiters brought out the desserts we’d ordered. Balancing Natalie on my lap, I scooped out a small spoonful of the melting cake and added a bit of ice cream to the spoon, then put it in my mouth.

  “Well?” Cameron asked, watching me. “What do you think? Does it satisfy your chocolate cravings?”

  “Wow. You were right. It’s delicious. So rich. I’m glad they only give you a small serving of it.”

  “I wouldn’t mind a larger serving,” he said, smiling. “But I have to watch my figure.”

  I laughed. From what I could see, he was in fantastic shape. “Have you signed up for any excursions?” I asked.

  “A couple. How about you?”

  “Not yet. But it sounds like the whale watching in Juneau is a must, so I was going to do that one.”

  “I haven’t signed up for that one. I hear it’s cheaper to do some of the excursions if you wait until we dock and then sign up with people on shore.”

  “Really? How does that work?”

  “When you get off the ship, there are booths where you can sign up to do excursions with local companies. I’ve been on one other cruise and it was definitely cheaper to use the local companies.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know about that.”

  “Stick with me, Lily. I’ll show you how it works.”

  I smiled at the implied invitation. “With the baby, I won’t be able to do very many excursions. But Alyssa’s mom offered to watch her while I do the whale watching, so I do want to do that one at least.”

  “There’s some stuff you can do with her. Like the train ride in Skagway.”

  “That would be nice.” I tilted my head to one side. “How do you know so much?”

  He grinned. “I just did a little research.”

  “That was smart. I guess I just assumed I wouldn’t be able to do much since I had Natalie with me. Which is fine—I’m here for Alyssa’s wedding, after all. But I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to Alaska, so it would be nice to do a few things.”

  “Hey,” Cameron said. “I just thought of something. Maybe Ty’s younger sister can babysit for you if you want to do something on the ship. You know, there’s lots to do at night.”

  I glanced at Ty’s sister, who was sitting on the other side of the table. She looked like she was about fourteen, which seemed old enough to babysit, but I’d never left Natalie with a sitter. “I’m not sure.” I glanced at Natalie, then back at Cameron. “I’ve never left her with a sitter before.”

  His eyebrows went up. “You’ve never been away from her?”

  I thought about the hours she’d been away from me when Trevor had kidnapped her with the plan of keeping her, and felt my heart pound. “Just once, but it wasn’t my choice.”

  He looked confused, and I wondered how much detail he really knew about me.

  “It’s a long story,” I said.

  “Well, it’s up to you, obviously. But if you change your mind…”

  “Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll think about it.”

  Chapter 10

  When Natalie and I got back to our room, I was pleasantly surprised by the cute towel animal our room steward had placed on the bed. It looked like a walrus.

  “Look at that, Natalie,” I said as I placed her next to it. She reached out and touched it, then giggled. I picked up the schedule for the next day, which the steward had set beside the towel animal, and looked over the activities that would be available on the ship the next day—we would be at sea all day as we traveled north toward Alaska. I set the schedule on the desk, and got Natalie ready for bed.

  After I tucked her in, I thought about Cameron. He really was a nice guy, just like Alyssa had said, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, but I knew my time with him would be minimal. I was sure he wouldn’t want to be stuck with me as I was limited in what I could do. Then I thought about Marcus and how much he enjoyed Natalie, and wished that he wanted our relationship to move beyond friendship.

  He’d been such a good friend to me—he’d even been there when Natalie had been born. But he was stuck in the friendship mode. Then I thought of his new girlfriend, Chelsea. He certainly wasn’t stuck in the friendship mode with her.

  Jealousy that she had something that I didn’t bloomed inside me, but I tamped it down, not liking the way it made me feel. I had no claim over Marcus—he could do what he wanted. I’d told him how I felt about him and he’d turned me down. Clearly, he wasn’t interested in anything beyond friendship.

  The night I’d told him I really liked him, he’d told me he didn’t think I was ready for anything more than friendship either. He’d said he thought it was too soon after all that had happened. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn’t ready for more than friendship. Even so, I would enjoy my time with Cameron. At least he didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas about what I was or wasn’t ready for. He was just interested in getting to know me better. He’d even come right out and said that. I smiled in remembrance at the man who had already been vett
ed by Alyssa and Ty. He was Ty’s best friend, after all. I felt safe spending time with him. I knew Alyssa would never lead me astray.

  As I got ready for bed and climbed between the covers, I pushed all thoughts of Marcus out of my mind, and instead focused on Cameron—the man who actually had an interest in me. I smiled as I drifted off, excited for what the next day might bring.

  The next morning when I was about to go to the dining room and have breakfast, Alyssa called my room phone.

  “Are you up yet?” she asked.

  I laughed. “I’ve been up for a while. That’s what babies do to you—they make you get up early.”

  “That’s kind of what I figured. Some of us are going to breakfast now and I wanted to know if you wanted to meet us in the dining room.”

  “Sure, that would be great.”

  “I want to hear about the conversation you had with Cameron at dinner.” She laughed. “I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but you seemed like you got along.”

  “Won’t he be at breakfast? I don’t want to talk about him if he’s right there.”

  “No. Ty called his room, but he wasn’t ready to get up yet. He’ll meet up with us later.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you in the dining room in a few minutes.”

  We hung up and I carried Natalie out of our room and to the dining room. Alyssa, Ty, and a few other people I hadn’t talked to yet were just arriving. Someone led us to a table and brought a high chair for Natalie.

  “So?” Alyssa said as she sat next to me.

  I smiled, remembering how much I enjoyed talking to Cameron. “Well, I have to admit, you were right. He’s a nice guy.”

  Alyssa grinned. “I told you.” With mock-sternness, she said, “When it comes to men, you should always listen to me, Lily.”

  I nodded. “I know that now.”

  “Good. Better late than never.” She paused. “I was a little worried though, with the way he reacted yesterday when you pointed out Natalie.”

  I nodded. “My guess is that he’s not comfortable around babies, and seeing her scared him.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense. I guess he got over it though. You guys seemed to talk a lot at dinner. Did you guys make any plans to do stuff together?”