He played with her radio until he found an oldies station. “I still don’t think this is the best idea.”
“What?”
“This whole thing. Why can’t you tell the guy your boyfriend can’t come?”
“Yeah. That’d be convincing.”
He couldn’t argue, and besides, he’d committed to this course of action. He’d see it through. And Charles was right. He needed to be out of town when The Council came calling. Alex might be able to wrangle him out of the arranged bonding, but it would be more difficult if he were easily accessible. It would take Alex time to change their minds. Vampires—especially ones as old as those who graced The Council—did not easily alter their paths.
And he didn’t mind Alice’s company. Of course, that was the heart of the problem.
They drove most of the way to the cruise ship in companionable silence. He did his best to ignore the smell of apples, and beneath it, the fresh scent of her skin. A short time later, they were making their way through the boarding line.
“How many people are coming to this cruise wedding?” he asked Alice while they waited for an elderly couple in line in front of them to check in.
“Hundred and twenty-five. Something like that.”
“That’s a lot of people to coordinate.”
“Well, not everyone is attending everything. She’s left the activities pretty open. The wedding party has more required things to go to—that’s us, by the way—but for the most part, people are on their own except for the wedding and reception.” She tucked a chunk of hair that had escaped her clip behind her ear. Again the urge to yank the clip and release her long hair to tumble down her back hit him.
“What things do we have to attend?” At least the salty smell this close to the ocean made her scent fade to the background.
She reached out and took his passport from his hand, her fingers brushing his ever so slightly. A spark of heat ran up his arm from her touch. She stepped away to hand their identification to the young woman behind the registration desk.
“The rehearsal dinner, of course. Cindy will have a few other things for us to do, too. I’m sure she has an itinerary mapped out with games, activities, that sort of thing. And the bachelor and bachelorette parties, of course.”
“I have a little bit of a sun allergy, so I’m not sure—”
“Not to worry, I think most of the planned stuff will be indoors. For stuff that’s not, I’m sure I can get you a doctor’s note.” She winked at him and then took back their identification. She paused before handing his back. “Sun allergy, huh? What are you, some kind of vampire?”
He gritted his teeth and forced a small smile onto his face. “Something like that.”
His irritation must have shown, because a frown swept away her good humor. “I’m sorry, Noah. That was thoughtless of me. I shouldn’t have made light of your condition.”
“It’s fine. Not like I haven’t heard that joke before.” He hadn’t, because he’d never used such an excuse before, nor had he needed to. He didn’t spend enough time with humans to require an excuse to avoid the daylight. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. Besides, if she felt guilty, she was less likely to push him for more information about his “condition”.
“Well, let’s go ahead and board. We’re supposed to meet everyone in an hour at,” she consulted a computer printout pulled from her purse, “one of the buffet areas, looks like, for a late lunch. Not sure we’ll have time to stop by the room. Let’s just send all the bags to be delivered.”
Arguing about the bags seemed like a good way to make her suspicious, so he decided against it. He opened his mouth to ask about her family, so he’d know what to expect, but then snapped it shut. Asking about them might give the wrong impression. Like he was interested. Which he wasn’t.
Their bags disappeared with a promise that they’d be delivered, and he resisted shooting a nervous glance after them. He chastised himself for even bothering to worry. If they were scanned or even rifled through, the blood would look like nothing out of the ordinary in what appeared to be old shampoo and conditioner bottles. And they wouldn’t leak, because the bottles—despite their commonplace appearance—were specially designed to carry blood.
He walked with Alice through the windowed walkway and onto the ship. The lines had grown while they checked in, and he was glad she’d thought to arrive early. The idea of an hour in a line like that, surrounded by people, made him itchy.
The cruise ship was exactly what he’d expected: gaudy, brilliant, and fake. Brass colored metal bars ran everywhere, keeping patrons from falling to their deaths off walkways into common areas. Purple and maroon carpets, beaten down by the feet of thousands of travelers, covered the floors.
He loathed it.
But Alice grinned at the false luxury surrounding them, and even laughed at the sight of a garish fountain that sported a lion’s head with a stream of water cascading from its roaring mouth. For a brief moment, he wondered if he’d misjudged her.
No. Bad taste and all, she was still dangerous.
“God, isn’t this terrible?” she asked, pointing out an abstract sculpture of geometric designs crisscrossing, brightly colored to match the decor surrounding it.
“I thought you were enjoying the place.”
“Oh, it’s horrible. I love it.”
The opposing sentiments of her words didn’t seem to bother her, so he didn’t push for clarification. If she could love and hate it, who was he to call her crazy?
They turned the corner into the dining area, and a loud scream sounded from across the room. A tall blonde, at least six inches taller than Alice’s five-foot-three inch frame, flung herself into Alice’s arms. And high-pitched chatter, streaming almost too fast for him follow the actual words, filled the air.
A couple of minutes passed while he stood awkwardly next to Alice and the woman he assumed had to be her sister. Feeling forgotten, and more than a little annoyed with himself for the spike of loneliness that followed, he crossed his arms and did his best to look like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Cindy, this is Noah. Noah, this is my sister, Cindy. The bride.”
Cindy’s smile was vibrant, like her sister’s. But her eyes were serious when she shook his hand and examined him. She looked a lot like Alice. The same blonde hair adorned her face—albeit in a shorter, more modern cut than Alice wore—and she had the same brown eyes. But he didn’t feel the same energy in her, the same vibrancy.
Cindy Shepard was a more cautious soul than her sister.
“Nice to meet you, Noah.”
“Likewise,” he replied, “and congratulations.”
“Thank you.” Cindy turned to Alice and added conspiratorially, “Wait until you see the young hunk Mom brought.”
“Lucinda!” A high-pitched voice called from only a few feet away.
Cindy winced. Noah stepped back to avoid being trampled by the slight woman that rushed past him. An older version of Cindy pulled the bride into her arms, then Alice.
Alice made the introductions after extracting herself from what turned out to be her mother’s arms, introducing Noah as a friend. The woman gave him a big hug that forced his breath from his lungs. He stiffened in her embrace and patted her awkwardly on the back. A soft yearning touched his chest, and he wrestled with the temptation to relax into the hug.
When was the last time someone had hugged him?
He stepped away from Edna Shepard and shook himself mentally. He needed to keep his shit together. This wasn’t his family. It was an acting gig.
“It’s so nice to meet a friend of Alice’s,” Edna said. Her words dripped with speculation, and she reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “She’s been hinting around about bringing you for weeks, of course, but getting details out of this girl is impossible. She’s so tight-lipped.”
Noah stifled a laugh. Alice and tight-lipped didn’t belong in the same sentence, so she must have blurted her intention to bring a friend, and then spent weeks finding someone to fill the position. He shot Alice a glance and there was a warning in her eyes. Didn’t her mother know his presence was a farce?
“Now that I see you though, I can see why.” She eyed him up and down, and he felt an inexplicable blush crawl up his neck. “You are a prince, aren’t you? If I were a couple of decades younger—”
“Mother!” Alice and Cindy said simultaneously.
“Don’t fret, he knows I’m teasing,” Edna said, but the glint in her eye belied her words, and he couldn’t help the real smile that forced itself onto his face. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, and she laughed and made her way to the next group of family members.
Alice tugged on his shirt and led him to a buffet that seemed to be for their party alone, if the chatter amongst the guests was any indication. He selected a couple of things he particularly enjoyed: fresh fruit and a turkey sandwich. He didn’t have to eat normal food to survive, and it didn’t do much for him, but keeping up appearances was important. And he still loved the taste of strawberries.
He glanced at Alice’s plate when they sat down at a table full of her cousins. A large hamburger and French fries. And a giant slice of chocolate cake.
“What’s so funny?”
“You don’t believe in healthy eating, do you?” he asked, but when her smile faltered, he regretted the words. “I’m not saying you need to,” he found himself clarifying, “you’re in great shape.” His eyes flashed over her sundress-adorned body, now mostly blocked from his view by the table between them. But every delicious curve was burned into his memory. He felt himself start to harden in his jeans and whipped his focus back to her face.
“Thanks,” she muttered, her attention on her food.
“I’m not saying—”
“Drop it, okay?” Yep. She definitely thought he’d been critiquing her appearance. Dammit. He should clear the air, but that could be misconstrued. And he couldn’t afford for her to think he cared. She might get it in her head to pursue him.