At the time, it had made Jenna furious, now she could understand that loyalty. And even appreciate it in a way.
“How’ve you been?” Jenna smiled as she asked, determined to keep the friendly tone that Teresa had begun.
“Busy.” The older woman shrugged. “You know the boss. He keeps us hopping.”
“Yes,” Jenna mused. “He always did.”
A long, uncomfortable moment passed before Teresa said, “So, you know about the cabins on the Riviera Deck being sealed.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Jenna said, shooting a glance up and down the long, empty hallway. “I saw Mary Curran earlier, she told me she and her husband had been upgraded. And then I went to my cabin and couldn’t get in. Jeff at information sent me here.”
“Good.” Teresa nodded and her short, dark hair didn’t so much as dip with the movement. She pointed behind Jenna to the end of the wide, plush hall. “The Currans’ suite is right along there. And now if you’ll come with me, I’ll take you to your new cabin. We can talk as we go.”
They headed off in the opposite direction of the Currans’. Walking toward the bow of the great ship, Jenna casually glanced at the artwork as she passed it and tried to figure out what was going on. Being escorted by the owner’s assistant seemed unusual. Shouldn’t a steward have been put in charge of seeing her to her new accommodations? But did it really matter? Jenna followed along in Teresa’s wake, hurrying to keep up with the woman who seemed always to be in high gear.
“You can imagine,” Teresa said over her shoulder, “that Nick was appalled to find out the cabins on the lowest deck had been rented.”
“Appalled, huh?” Jenna rolled her eyes. Clearly Teresa was still faithful to the boss. “Then why rent them at all?”
Teresa’s steps hitched a little as she acknowledged, “It was a mistake. The cabins below were supposed to have been sealed before leaving port for this maiden voyage. The person responsible for going against the boss’s orders was reprimanded.”
“Shot at dawn? Or just fired without references?” Jenna asked in a low-pitched voice.
Teresa stopped dead and Jenna almost ran right into her.
“Nick doesn’t fire indiscriminately and you know it.” Teresa lifted her chin pointedly as she moved to protect her boss. “You lied to him. That’s why you were fired, Jenna.”
A flush stole through her. Yes, she’d lied. She hadn’t meant to, but that’s what had happened. And she hadn’t been able to find a way out of the lie once it had begun. Still, he might have listened to her once the bag was open and the cat was out.
“He could have let me explain,” Jenna argued and met that cool green stare steadily.
Just for an instant the harsh planes of Teresa’s expression softened a bit. She shook her head and blew out a breath. “Look, Nick’s not perfect—”
“Quite the admission coming from you.”
Teresa smiled tightly. “True. I do defend him. I do what I can to help him. He’s a good boss. And he’s been good to me. I’m not saying that how he handled the…situation with you was right—”
Jenna stopped her, holding up both hands. “You know what? Never mind. It was more than a year ago. It’s over and done. And whatever Nick and I had has ended, too.”
Teresa cocked her head to one side and looked at her thoughtfully. “You really think so, hmm?”
“Trust me on this,” Jenna said as they started walking again. “Nick is so over me.”
“If you say so.” Teresa stopped in front of a set of double doors. Waving one hand at them as if she were a game show hostess displaying a brand-new refrigerator, she said, “Here we are. Your new quarters. I hope you like them.”
“I’m sure they’ll be great. Way better than the Riviera Deck anyway.”
“Oh,” Teresa said with a smile, “that’s certainly a fair statement. You go on in, your things have been unpacked. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again.”
“Okay.” Jenna stood in the hall and watched as Teresa strode briskly down the long hallway. There was something going on here, she thought, she just couldn’t quite puzzle it out yet.
Then she glanced at her wristwatch, saw she had less than an hour to get ready for her dinner with Nick and opened the door with the key card Teresa had given her.
She walked inside, took a deep breath and almost genuflected.
The room was incredible—huge, and sprawlingly spacious, with glass walls that displayed a view of the ocean that stretched out into infinity. The wide blue sky was splashed with white clouds and the roiling sea reflected that deep blue back up at it.
Pale wood floors shone with an old gold gleam and the furniture scattered around the room looked designed for comfort. There was a fireplace on one wall, a wet bar in the corner and what looked to be priceless works of art dotting the walls. There were vases filled with glorious arrangements of fresh flowers that scented the air until she felt as if she were walking in a garden.
“This can’t be my cabin,” Jenna whispered, whipping her head from side to side as she tried to take in everything at once. “Okay, sure, upgraded to a suite. But this is the Taj Mahal of suites. There has to be a mistake, that’s all.”
“There’s no mistake,” Nick said as he walked easily into the room and gave her a smile that even from across the room was tempting enough to make her gasp. “This is my suite and it’s where you’ll be staying.”
Four
“You can’t be serious.” Jenna took one instinctive step back, but couldn’t go anywhere unless she turned, opened the door and sprinted down that long hallway.
“Damn serious,” he said, and walked toward her like a man with all the time in the world.
He wore a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt, open at the collar, sleeves rolled back to his elbows. His black slacks had a knife-sharp crease in them, and his black shoes shone. But it was his eyes that held her. That pale blue gaze fixed on her as if he could see straight through her. As if he were looking for all of her secrets and wouldn’t give up the quest until he had them.
“Nick, this is a bad idea,” she said, and silently congratulated herself on keeping her tone even.
“Why’s that?” He spread both hands out and shrugged. “You came to my boat. You tell me I’m the father of your children and insist we have to talk. So now you’re here. We can talk.”