Page 4 of Cruising for Christmas
“I wouldn’t say I’m ugly,” a male voice said.
Norah’s head whipped toward the door where a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed man stood with a backpack slung over one shoulder as he looked between the two of them. A lump lodged in Norah’s throat. He certainly wasn’t ugly. Far from it. He wore a pair of tan shorts and a fitted T-shirt. She suspected he didn’t have an ounce of body fat on him. Despite his lack of a smile as he frowned at his sister, she could see the hint of a dimple in one cheek.
“Shay, who is this? And why are you in my room?”
Shay stood and walked over to her brother, hugging him briefly before stepping back. “Ian, it’s so good to see you. It feels like forever. A funny story, really.”
Norah rolled her eyes. “Not that funny,” she muttered.
“Norah’s family decided not to get together for Christmas, and I invited her on the cruise. When I added her on, Misty said there weren’t anymore rooms available, but you had space in your room.”
Ian deadpanned. “So you just tacked her onto my room.”
“So I just tacked her onto your room,” Shay repeated, lightly punching him in the arm like she was in some sort of happy family sitcom.
Ian looked at Norah. “Would you excuse us a minute?”
“Gladly.” Norah walked toward the door and waited for Ian to step out of her way before she walked into the hallway, letting the door shut behind her. With nowhere to go, she leaned against the wall next to the door and let out a long breath.
Shay was known for performing stunts that would shock most people, but never would Norah have expected this. Shay tended to avoid pulling Norah into her shenanigans. Although, Norah wondered if maybe she should have expected it. But this was ballsy, even for Shay.
“What were you thinking?” The muffled voice came through the door, clearly being Ian’s.
“Oh, come on, Ian. I really wanted her to come, and you are rooming alone.”
Norah knew she shouldn’t be listening in, but she couldn’t help it. She moved a little closer to the door.
“You can’t just put a strange woman in my room.”
“She isn’t strange. She’s one of my best friends.”
“But I don’t know her.”
Norah wanted to burst through the door and say, “Exactly what I said!” But refrained.
“How are we even going to fit on this bed? You couldn’t even bother to get us two?”
“There were supposed to be two. Maybe we can see if there’s something they can do.”
“This bed is tiny.” The next part was muffled as they moved away from the door, but she caught the word giant being muttered.
Norah looked down at herself wearing black leggings and a baggy T-shirt. She knew she wasn’t the skinniest person in the world. Hell, she was a little bigger than average, but that just meant there was more to love. She had never been described as giant by anyone before. She swallowed the lump in her throat. If she was fast enough, maybe she could disembark the ship before it set sail. This cruise be damned. The last thing she needed was some man thinking she was too huge to share a bed with.
She turned to walk back to the elevator bank when an announcement came over the intercom system.
“Hello travelers!” The cheerful voice of a man said. “Welcome onboard the Tropical Seas Adventure. I am your captain, and we are pulling away from the docks right now. Please proceed to the nearest safety meeting. This meeting is required to be attended by all passengers. We hope you enjoy your stay during our Christmas cruise. Bon voyage!”
The door to her,their, stateroom opened and out walked Ian and Shay. Norah’s eyes met Ian’s briefly, and he looked just as miserable as she felt.
“Alright, friends! Let’s go on an adventure,” Shay said, looping her arm through Norah’s and pulling her to the elevator bank.
Norah glanced back to find Ian trailing behind with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Adventure my ass.
3
Norah avoided the stateroom at all costs. She lugged around her purse, knowing she should have left it in the room. But when Ian asked to speak to Shay, she didn’t want to leave it with the assumption that they would keep rooming together. It was his room, after all, and she felt like a stowaway.
