Page 25 of Cruising for Christmas
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” He watched her for a beat before turning around and taking the small step back to the table where their food sat. “I got us waffles.”
Norah’s heart twinged. She had been ordering waffles at every breakfast. Did he notice or did he pick a random breakfast food, which also happened to be her favorite?
She thought back to the breakfasts they had together, and she couldn’t recall him eating waffles at any of them.
“Yum,” she said softly.
She sat down at the table and put whipped cream and fruit on her waffle, that was provided in a small dish.
“Is that the best way to eat them?”
Norah looked up at Ian, who watched as she smeared the whipped cream over the top. “Have you never had a waffle with whipped cream?”
He shook his head. “No. I usually just stick with syrup.”
She cut a chunk off her waffle, made sure she covered it in whipped cream and speared a strawberry slice with it before holding her fork out for him. “You have to try it.”
He gave her a lopsided smile before leaning forward and wrapping his lips around her fork.
She. Was. Mesmerized.
Her eyes zeroed in on his mouth as he pulled back, leaving the fork clean, and chewing up his bite. A zing shot through her body and her body clenched.
Down, girl.
“That is delicious,” he said.
“What?”
“The waffle. It’s delicious.”
She shook her head to clear it of the dirty thoughts that poured in and smiled. “It’s my favorite.”
They ate the rest of their meal in silence, and Norah nearly sighed in relief when she finished and could get ready for her excursion without attempting to make small talk. Despite them sharing several days together already, today felt even more awkward than ever.
* * *
Ian had sleptlittle and spent most of the morning on the balcony waiting for Norah to wake up. He had placed a breakfast order before they went to bed, knowing that with how much she had drunk, they likely wouldn’t make it to breakfast. Ian knew he should have gone to breakfast without her, but with an excursion booked that morning, he wanted her to get some food in her stomach.
Ian hadn’t planned any excursions for the cruise like he usually did. This trip he planned to spend each day at the beach when they were at port. But after finding out that Norah was going kayaking with Shay and Ryan, he didn’t want to miss out.
Only because he didn’t want her kayaking with a stranger.
Or so he told himself.
“What are you doing today?” Norah asked, as they made their way down to the gangway to disembark.
“I’m going kayaking,” he said.
She looked back at him and frowned. “Kayaking?”
He nodded.
“I am, too.”
He cracked a smile. “Well, how about that? What a coincidence.”
