The Companion

by Chelsea Hale

  He cleared his throat. “I better go. Sorry to interrupt your celebrating. I’ll see you at the end of your break with Grams.” He walked away abruptly before she could respond.

  She sat there, her mouth half open like she was about to still say something to the man who made such a hasty exit. She watched him turn the corner, and her stomach knotted. Ten minutes ago she was perfectly capable of celebrating her birthday by herself, but Derek not wanting to stay, to be her friend even, opened up an emptiness she didn’t know she carried around.

  What was with her? Sure, she got attached to her companions. But not their grandsons. Never their grandsons. Her relationships didn’t last long because she was gone too much to build them properly. Why any of these thoughts continually ran through her head baffled her. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. At least not with Derek. This whole having a companion’s grandson tagging along to their activities was throwing off her groove. She needed to get her head back where it belonged.

  She sat for the remainder of her break, finishing her cupcake and watching the ocean waves, determined not to think of Derek again.

  You’re an idiot. Derek’s mind repeated the phrase as his foot hit every step on the stairs from the top deck down to deck four where he started to wander. When Grams had told him she’d let Mandy have her free time this morning, Derek thought it might be a good time to bury the hatchet as it were and move on.

  He should have apologized yesterday during their excursion or at lunch after when they were alone, but he found himself sharing his past with her and then the timing felt off. She was genuine at her job and she enjoyed traveling with elderly women and making them happy.

  He knew part of her passion for being a traveling companion stemmed from her lost opportunity with her own grandma, and a wave of guilt took over, almost drowning him with realization. If not for Mandy, he still wouldn’t have made the time to come on a trip with Grams. He’d still be in his office, working deals, and Grams would still be waiting to travel.

  Jealousy engulfed him like a salty surf when he thought of Grams preferring the company of a complete stranger to him. But he let that tide recede. Had he spent more time with Grams, she wouldn’t have felt the need to find Mandy as a companion. And that would be a shame.

  The more he thought of Mandy, the more he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her sassy short blonde hair, her intoxicating blue eyes, her full lips. Her curves. Her artistic style. Everything about her.

  He wandered aimlessly around the deck, using the walking path. He breathed in the salty air deeper each time he did a lap. His chronically tight shoulders seemed to loosen, and he took in the view of sun and ocean on each side. How had he never done this before?

  He focused back on Mandy. He’d been wrong about her and still needed to apologize. He’d made her job harder than it had to be, and had thrown so many barbs, it was no wonder they weren’t on friendly terms, not really.

  He grabbed the rail and took in the view from the aft, knowing that six decks above him was Mandy. He’d wanted to tell her all of this. He’d planned to do just that. And then he saw her celebrating, by herself. And a pang of understanding shot through him. Most birthdays he didn’t even celebrate. Life had gotten away from him.

  Watching her with her cupcake and her card and empty box he finally believed her when she said that this trip wasn’t a vacation for her. Grams didn’t even know it was her birthday. And Mandy hadn’t bothered to share that. Why? Because this trip wasn’t about Mandy at all. Or maybe it was because of him that she hadn’t told them. Because even after finding out about her background check he’d made a big deal about her punching in and out on her breaks and feeling the need to micromanage the approval of Grams to let Mandy take a break. Grams had switched her time off from the afternoon to the morning and Mandy hadn’t complained, just celebrated her birthday, by herself.

  You’re an idiot. He knew that. But what could he do about it? His mind raced. What would his assistant do for a client? Ugh. Forget client. What would he do if Mandy was someone he cared about? He’d surprise her with…something. He wandered through the gift shop. He fingered the price tags of the purses, feeling an irony that he was now willing to spend more than she could have possibly swindled out of his Grams, on Mandy.

  “May I help you?” a woman asked him.

  He hoped so. He had no idea what Mandy would like, let alone what her style was. Maybe this was a bad idea. He ran his hand through his hair. “I-I need a birthday present. To celebrate a birthday today.” It probably sounded as bad to her ears as it did to his own.

  The woman’s eyes widened. “All this time to plan a trip, and you forget what you’re celebrating.” She tsked and showed him the purses and perfume, but nothing looked like Mandy. Though he was hardly an expert.

  “Does she like jewelry?” The woman took him over to the lit glass case. “Does anything catch your eye?”

  Of course it did. Everything sparkled. But how in the world would he know what was Mandy? She had worn a few things on the cruise, but, this was why he had an assistant.

  The woman pulled out a few pieces, and then Derek saw it. “How about that one?” he asked, pointing to an anchor necklace with diamonds encrusted through it. The woman nodded, replacing the other choices back in their glass case, letting Derek focus only on this piece. “It’s perfect.”

  Before he knew it, she wrapped it up in a decorative box. His gaze darted around the room, suddenly aware that Grams or Mandy could see him in such a prominent place in the store. Should he buy something else so he’d have a reason to have a bag? He couldn’t fit the box in his pocket.

  The woman helping him seemed to sense the shift in his mood. “Would you like the present delivered? Name the date, time and location and we can hold it for you until then.”

  A wave of relief washed over him. “At dinner tonight,” he said, writing down the information.

  The woman smiled warmly. “I’m sure she’ll love this necklace.”

  Derek left the store feeling on top of the world. He’d show Mandy that despite their rough start, the next week could be better.

  His steps felt lighter as he went down the stairs. Next stop, he needed to talk to the chef and see if he could arrange a birthday cake to be made with her name on it. Sure there was just the three of them at their table, but they’d share if the cake was too big. He only needed one big enough for a few candles and her name. The cake would lead naturally into the necklace.

  Less than an hour later, he walked away from guest services, having arranged not only a birthday cake, but waiters singing around their table, and one of the ship’s photographers to be there. When guest services heard his plans, they added some of their own, among other things, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries to be delivered to Mandy’s room with her turn-down service.

  He needed to talk to Adam about being more involved in arranging the gifts he gave for holidays and birthdays. This was fun. He’d get to dinner early and couldn’t wait to see the happiness reflected in Mandy’s face. Her blue eyes would dance at having a big celebration, and her lips would quirk slightly, like she was holding in a laugh. It would be perfect and he only had to wait a few more hours.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mandy spent the afternoon with Alice and Betty. They talked like old friends recounting years of time together. Alice had found a great friend on the cruise and the thought warmed Mandy.

  She took out her sketchbook and drew Alice and Betty talking with the rest of the deck in the background. It was a perfect moment. She titled the sketch and signed it. She’d give it to Alice on the last day of the cruise. And maybe she’d draw one of Alice and Derek together to put with it.

  As it neared dinner time Mandy went to change for dinner. Wearing capris and a bright pink tank top hardly passed as cruise casual in the formal French restaurant.

  Alice had been in a knee-length dress, and Betty was in dress slacks, so they said they’d meet up with her at dinner. Th
at was fine. She could change quickly.

  Mandy vacillated between outfits, finally settling on an airy blush-pink blouse and black skirt. She paired it with her wedges and fastened on the new charm bracelet from her roommates.

  She walked through the main doors of the restaurant on deck three, surprised to see only Derek at the table and just one other place set on the table of four. Where was Alice? She squeezed her hands into balls, steeling herself for the lecture from Derek she knew would be coming. She was late, and she wasn’t with Alice. A great combination.

  Better to defend the punches before he threw them. “Sorry I’m late. Where’s Alice? She said she was going to meet us here with Betty.”

  Derek stood when she approached the table. Probably he was going to go look for Alice. No matter. Mandy could dine alone. But instead he took the server’s spot and pulled out her chair for her. She did a double take, her heart rate speeding up as he scooted her in at the place directly across from where he’d been sitting.

  “Grams came by a while ago. She and Betty decided to skip the formal dinner tonight. There is a trivia game they wanted to get to. I tried to convince them to stay.”

  Mandy caught the disappointment in Derek’s tone at being left with just her for dinner. If she hurried now she could grab a sandwich and salad from the pool deck and join Alice. She didn’t want to miss the meal, but she knew Derek would poke fun at her if she didn’t stay with Grams. “I’ll catch up with them.” She glanced at her watch, she’d only be ten minutes behind them, maybe fifteen. She wouldn’t let Derek have any grounds for saying she was shirking her responsibilities.

  “Stay.” He gestured to the surroundings. “This is your favorite restaurant.”

  She raised an eyebrow at him.

  His eyes held hers so intently. “I’ve paid attention to where you like to eat. Besides Alice isn’t alone when she is with Betty. We’ll join up with her later.”

  What was with that? She shrugged. “I don’t want you to think I’m neglecting Alice.”

  “I told her I’d keep you company while she went to trivia.”

  Ah. So that was it. He expected her to stay. She nodded. He’d loosened up from his New York businessman look every other casual day, but tonight he wore a sport coat. Nice. He wore expensive well.

  She smiled. “As long as you don’t mind me staying…”

  “I prefer it,” he said so quickly that her eyes shot up from her menu to his.

  Heat colored her cheeks, at the thought that he really might want her to stay, to enjoy her company. She inhaled slowly. When Derek wasn’t in work mode, hyper aware of every minute passing by, he was actually good company. And maybe she’d get him to open up a little more without Alice here.

  They ordered their food. Derek fidgeted while they waited for the first course.

  “What’s wrong? Something on your mind?” Mandy asked.

  “I owe you an apology. You’re not what I originally thought. I’ve been a jerk and I’m sorry.”

  “I’m a little lost.”

  “When your grandma goes off with a stranger on a two-week vacation, you get nervous.”

  “I’m dangerous?” She raised her eyebrows.

  He coughed. “In a lot of ways, but not in the stealing money from old ladies way I originally suspected you of.”

  “Ah, so you’ve done more investigative work to check my story, did you?” When he didn’t answer she shook her head. “Well, at least you know I’m not a threat now. Hopefully that will make the rest of the cruise together better.”

  “Can you see it from my perspective? I haven’t been the most present grandson since my grandfather died. I was worried for her. I had to be sure she was okay.”

  Mandy forced one side of her mouth upward as Derek watched her. He was trying. “I get it. It’s one of the challenges I face with this job. Glad you found the answers you needed.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “So, I was worth a hiring a private investigator for?”

  “Lucky for me, I have people on staff.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re ruining this apology.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. How about a change in subject?” She smiled at him.

  “So, it’s your special day today,” Derek said.

  Mandy nodded. Surely they weren’t going to talk about this morning, were they? He’d made it clear this morning they weren’t friends, and he didn’t want to celebrate. She hadn’t even brought it up to Alice and wasn’t going to.

  Derek cleared his throat. “I know it’s rude to ask how old you’re turning.” He cleared his throat again. “Did you have a good birthday?”

  “Yes. Minus the cupcake before lunch and opening a present, it wasn’t much different from any other day on the cruise.” The way it should be when she was focused on work.

  He nodded, a smile on his lips. She did a double take. His smile reached his eyes. Her breath hitched in her throat. Dumb throat making it hard to breathe. It was a smile. But a smile on him with his collared shirt unrestricted with a tie was a good look on him.

  Something was different about him today. Maybe he’d found a way to actually relax on the cruise. Maybe he’d figured out the gift for his assistant, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, but she’d wanted to help him. She decided to broach the subject. “So I’ve been thinking about your gift…”

  He looked like a panicked deer in the headlights, almost spilling the water he was drinking. He coughed and sputtered. “The gift?”

  “For Caden. I’ve come up with a few ideas.” Actually she’d come up with quite a few. She’d sketched several art pieces for a baby nursery, adding in different simple animals and baby phrases. She’d added textures into her idea notebook, but when she made them to hang on a wall, she’d add in the color and tie in the room in a custom way. After Derek crashed her cupcake party, she needed to draw to get her mind off it, and she’d come up with close to twenty unique designs.

  His eyes registered understanding, and he nodded. “Right. That gift. Uh, I think I want to come up with something myself. You know, make it really personal, like you were saying. I’d forgotten how much fun it is to pick something out for an individual, instead of just ordering the same prepackaged gift boxes for everyone.”

  She smoothed over her disappointment. She’d use the designs sometime. Her roommate, Liz just got married, and who knew, she could have a baby in the next couple of years. But she wondered if Derek had never really wanted her help in the first place. Like he was just giving her an idea and wasn’t sincere about wanting help. She bit her lip. It was his assistant, not hers. Derek should pick out the gift himself. He should be invested in it. It wasn’t like she was planning on doing it all for him.

  The appetizers, soups, and salads all came and were eaten with the conversation focused on the flavors of the food, the cruise activities, and plans for the next day.

  It was all surface conversation and Mandy wanted to learn more about him. “What do you do to celebrate your birthday?”

  “Now or when I was a kid?” His forehead wrinkled.

  “Both.”

  “When I was a kid, my birthday was always celebrated in a tux and tails. Big elaborate birthdays at my grandparents’ house. Now, I don’t have much time for celebrating.”

  Mandy nodded. That seemed like him. He asked her about her birthday memories and she shared her favorites. Some were funny and Derek joined in laughing when she told about her inability to blow out the sparklers on her cake.

  When they finished dinner, the server came and removed the crumbs from the table, setting out dessert utensils. Had she been with her roommates they’d have had cake with ice cream sundaes on the side to celebrate her birthday.

  But with Derek it seemed out of place. She’d already had a cupcake this morning. No need to draw it out and order cake. Maybe she’d just get an ice cream sundae on the deck later and watch the stars after Alice went to bed. She placed her napkin from her lap on the table.
“You know, I think I’ll skip dessert tonight.”

  Derek’s surprise was almost comical. “You don’t want dessert? Aren’t you the one always suggesting Grams and I get a couple each?”

  “Maybe I’ll grab something later on the top deck.” And maybe Derek would finally tell her what dessert he liked the most up there.

  He nodded slowly. “We can go then.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean you can’t have dessert.” She felt stupid. Of course she hadn’t expected him to eat dessert alone. She was going to sit at the table and keep asking him questions. She put the napkin back on her lap. “Maybe there will be something on the menu that catches my eye after all.”

  She looked through the dessert menu, not in the mood to make Derek annoyed. She could find something. The cake was calling her name, but no, it’d be too cliché on her birthday. She didn’t want to overdo it in front of Derek in case he thought she was drawing attention to herself. It was between the crème brûlée and the chocolate soufflé when she became aware of the noise around her.

  Waiters clapped through the restaurant and surrounded them. Then a huge chocolate molten lava cake was transferred from a platter to their table. A waiter motioned for Derek to move, and Derek sat next to Mandy. The chair Derek had been sitting in and the one next to it were removed from the table, and a photographer came to take their picture.

  “What’s all of this?” Mandy looked at Derek for an explanation. He didn’t look as shocked by all this attention as she felt.

  There was that smile that changed his stormy gray eyes into tranquil ones. “Happy birthday,” he said, then dropped his voice and whispered, “Even someone who doesn’t celebrate much knows that it should be a bigger deal than a cupcake.”

  How thoughtful of Derek. Arranging custom desserts took time. The cake had roses around it and on the plate. The word happy was written in chocolate on the edge of the plate. The photographer took another picture, and a tenor sang them a French song. It didn’t quite sound like Happy Birthday like she was used to, but it was beautiful, and the singer’s vibrato was clear. At the end of the song he waited expectantly, looking between Mandy and Derek.