9. In Which Sunglasses, a Hat, and a Conversation Take Place in a Bar
Chapter 9
In Which Sunglasses, a Hat, and a Conversation Take Place in a Bar
Day 2 Aboard the Epic of the Seas
E llie sat with a book in her lap and one foot tucked up under her. She found the piano bar after breakfast, preferring the quiet dignity of the oversized club chairs and large wooden bar more to her liking than the bon voyage party on the top deck. Avoiding the crowds and loud music suited her fine. To circumvent strangers who insisted on engaging her in conversation, she occupied a seat off to one side to read her book. To the casual observer, it would seem Ellie was oblivious to the world once she opened the pages.
A shiver ran down her spine the moment she sensed his gaze on her from a table in the back. He was intently studying her movements, as she licked her finger and turned the page, unaware that she was studying him. Ellie had mastered the art of observing while simultaneously looking uninterested. Earlier, she noticed him when she passed by in the hallway. He was leaning against a wall, engaged with a man several inches shorter. From the banter, it was clear they were friends. His interest in her as she passed seemed mere curiosity until he took a seat in the corner. Ellie hated being the object of someone’s fascination, so she decided to make him pay for the obvious lack of James Bond level spying.
With one foot tucked under her, the other left to dangle, she bumped it against the chair and turned a page. Pretending to absent-mindedly pick up a curl and twirl it slowly between her fingers, Ellie formed her little plan.
Motioning for a server to come over, her eyes momentarily met his from across the room.
Evander heard her say, “Iced tea, sweet if you have it,” with that soft southern drawl.
Encircled in the dark green of the chair that highlighted the scarlet plaid dress she wore Ellie turned another page. The dress came demurely down past her knees, nipped in at the waist, and tied in bows at her shoulders. A vision with shades of auburn hair and fifties fashion amidst the sea of jean shorts and flip-flops.
Maximus reached across Evander and drank his beer.
“Funny, I don’t recall purchasing anything for you.” He swatted Max’s hand away.
“Keeping tabs on the target, I see.” He motioned for a server and ordered a beer for himself and Liam, who had chosen that moment to saunter over from the bar.
“Aye, someone should, don’t you think?” Liam said with a playful jab to Evander’s ribs as he sat down.
Evander ignored both of them as his gaze slid over to Ellie. In a room half-filled with all kinds of people, Ellie chose the corner. Instead of moving about the room and talking to others, she read her book, blissfully unaware of the goings on around her. Her total disregard for her surroundings bothered him. Evander scanned the bar again, looking for anyone out of place, but the crowd seemed genuine.
“I think you need to relax a bit.” Liam leaned over and took a scoop of nachos the server brought.
“How do you mean? I’m relaxed.” Evander’s scowl deepened as his body tensed. He leaned back in his chair, trying to appear casual.
Liam scoffed. “Aye, no, ya aren’t sound. You’re staring at her like you’re sizing up her skin for a pair of lampshades you’re making later. Take it down. Have a pint.” Sliding a full beer over to Evander, he snorted as Evander scowled. He tried once more to act nonchalant, looking around the room. As his gaze swung back to his table, Maximus met him with a sly smile.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Maximus gave his head a shake.
“This is for you, gentlemen.” A server set down a round of drinks with a thud and clink of glass. The men shared the same bewildered look. “Compliments of that lady there.” She pointed at Ellie, who never looked up from her book.
“Well done!” remarked Liam and grabbed the beer.
“She asked me to give you this.” The server shot Evander the broadest grin he had ever seen, laying down a pair of cheap plastic sunglasses and a newspaper. “She told me to tell you that the next time you’re in a bar, maybe try a disguise when you’re being creepy in the corner.” The words barely came out before she was cackling. She walked away laughing and wiping her eyes.
Befuddlement scrawled across Evander’s face as he stared at the gifts. First, down at the newspaper and sunglasses and then over to Ellie. Slack-jawed, he looked from the newspaper to Ellie twice more. Maximus and Liam were unceremoniously quiet before they burst into riotous laughter. Liam slapped Evander on the back.
“I told you; you weren’t subtle.”
His jaw tightened, eyes darkening as his friends laughed at his expense. While he didn’t appreciate being the butt of a joke, he had to hand it to her; well played, Miss Ellie. That’s when he saw it. The slight uptick of the edge of her mouth, the raise of an eyebrow, the mischievous countenance she let slip just long enough before she concealed her enjoyment and flipped the book page.
Maximus nodded at the other two men. “Perhaps we should formally introduce ourselves.”
With one last sip of his beer, Max got up, took another round, and headed towards Ellie. Groaning, Evander followed.
She felt the weight of a stare before she looked up from her book. Shifting, Ellie acted as though she didn’t notice their advance, pretending to be engrossed in her book. Raising her eyes, she met the wall of men standing before her, careful to keep her face expressionless.
“Gentle—Mr. Lucci?” Ellie blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same, Miss Whitemore?” A debonair smile met her when she looked up. Ellie blinked at him, reactionless.
“Did you know I was going to be on this ship?”
Max grunted. “No, but it is an odd coincidence, don’t you think?”
It was Ellie’s turn to grunt. Something about Maximus Lucci being on the same cruise sent a strange shiver down her spine. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she didn’t exactly like it.
Over his shoulder stood two men who rivaled Maximus in the hot department. The creeper had chiseled cheekbones that looked carved out of stone. He stood as tall as Mr. Lucci, but his stance was serious, more foreboding. His face stoney from her little prank. The newspaper and sunglasses in his tight grip.
Serves you right.
Next to him stood an equally handsome man with mischief written on his features. He was still grinning at her antics.
Ellie heard handsome men travel in packs, but she had never seen the group herself. Had she been the heroine in the novel she was reading, she would have swooned. Maybe she should now, just to see what their reactions would be. Suppressing the urge to grin, she bit the inside of her cheek. Composing herself, she looked past Mr. Lucci.
“I see you got my gift,” she addressed him. “Although I am sad to see you aren’t wearing the sunglasses.” She produced a bookmark from the pocket in her dress and closed the book, laying it on her lap. Her lips twitched.
“We appreciate the extra pint, thank you. Well played, Miss Whitemore,” Maximus said, moving to grab a chair, while motioning for the others to do the same.
Ellie waved her hand. “No need for that. I enjoy my alone time. Peacefully. I don’t need company.” She leveled her gaze at the blond in the back. “Or someone to leer at me from across the room.”
Maximus froze mid-action as she dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Ellie could tell he didn’t like that.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Let me ask you, gentlemen. What part of a woman sitting in a bar, alone, at a table, alone , reading a book, alone ”—her eyebrows rose at the last alone— “says she wants any form of company?”
They stared back at her. Her annoyance at being leered at evident on her face. Her hackles had been up since the pretend spy entered the bar. Ellie didn’t know why exactly; it wasn’t like he was following her around the boat, but something about it: his stares, his presence, had set off alarm bells. Mr. Lucci was still hunched over. What looked like the younger one was biting his cheek to keep from laughing, his eyes dancing merrily. The one in the back just stared; a mix of disbelief and something else, something jarring, ran across his face. Ellie stood, pulling herself up to her full five-foot-two-inch height, and pursed her lips.
“Let me answer for you, since you seem to be dumbstruck. Nothing. Nothing about me says I need company. Do you think that’s by accident?” She was on a roll. She grasped the book to her chest. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, y’all go drink your beer. Good day, gentlemen.”
She flopped in the chair, and roughly opened the pages of her book, staring blankly. Ellie didn’t enjoy confrontation, desperately willing her hands not to shake. However, she was also not one to back down, not anymore. She’d done that far too often in the past. She had allowed Penn to lure her in and accepted any treatment he threw at her in the name of keeping the peace. But Penn wasn’t here anymore, vanished into thin air. She wasn’t going to let anyone else make her feel small again. Ellie bravely looked over the edge of the book to see if the men were still there. They were. Sighing, she placed her bookmark and met their stares.
“I am sorry we assumed,” Maximus began. “We wanted to thank you for the beers and, of course, the newspaper and sunglasses. I was going to suggest we sit here and talk amongst ourselves. You could read and ignore us.” Maximus’ grin widened slightly. “I was hoping to discuss Alexandria more with you, but I see now that my assumption was wrong. I apologize for the intrusion. I look forward to seeing more of you on this trip.” He sauntered off, friends trailing behind him. Quickly, they found a group of young women, and before long, they were laughing and teasing each other at the bar.
Ellie watched them enjoying each other’s company. She tried to return to her book, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had somehow misjudged Mr. Maximus Lucci and his posse. She didn’t want to be interrupted, that much was true, but something about how he approached her had differed from how he approached the women who now encircled his little group. He had been softer and kinder, if a tad intrusive. He may just be on this boat by coincidence after all.
She looked up from the book she was pretending to read and saw one of the three glancing back at her. He caught her stare over his shoulder. He winked at her and returned to his conversation. Something in that wink sent a warm tingle down to Ellie’s toes.
Hours later, after the night activities and dinner, Evander found himself on one of the lower decks with Camulos and Maximus. Liam had charmed some pretty brunette on the dance floor and was no doubt halfway through coaxing her out of her impossibly tight dress. Evander swirled the ice in the bottom of his glass and took the last sip of water. Maximus was conversing with Camulos, and the two were forming a plan for when the boat docked in Athens.
“Evander.” Maximus’ voice snapped him out of his thoughts. “I trust you will keep a close eye on the sharp-tongued Ellie.”
“Are you disappointed? Or is it shocking that one woman doesn’t fawn all over herself around you?” Evander smiled into his drink.
“I wish I was with you when you ran into her. I’d have liked to see the woman who is no bigger than a toddler give Max here a dressing down.” Camulos pointed at Evander with his thumb. “Or give this one a veritable disguise.”
“It wasn’t as bad as all that. She just made it known that she preferred reading.” Maximus raised his hand in surrender.
“Reading, sure. That’s apparently more preferable than talking to you,” Evander quipped.
“Me? You were the one leering at her.”
Evander waved the white napkin his drink was on in the air. Camulos choked on his drink and laughed.
“Strike two, I suppose,” Maximus said. “I think you might have a better rapport with her. I was going to take the lead, but obviously, we aren’t compatible.”
“Obviously,” Evander joked, placing his glass on the table. “Why me? Do you think she’ll talk to me after this afternoon?”
“You will be better than Liam at acquiring the book.” Maximus shared a look with Camulos. “You can better compartmentalize the job. Once you have the book, we can return to the realm. The goddess may even be happy and grant us a real vacation.”
“Is it compartmentalized? Or do you not trust Liam to not ruin us all by going against Athena’s unwritten rule?”
Maximus snorted and raised his hands in surrender. The three sat discussing every possible angle before Evander headed to his room. He would need to get close to her and wasn’t sure how to even do that. Charm her? Surely not . He could just wait until she was out of the room to sneak in and steal the book.
No, that wouldn’t work. She might return while one of them were searching.
He would have to get her to trust him enough to keep her occupied so the others could search. That would be the best way. And the worst. Evander hated this. The sneaking around, the lying, was one reason he had chosen a life of celibacy all those years ago. He never wanted to begin something with a lie. Humans were too fragile and needed protection. Now, the success of their entire plan relied on Evander keeping a woman like Ellie distracted.
The sense that there was something more to all of this settled in him. He couldn’t explain it. Hypatia showing up on his doorstep hadn’t alleviated the persistent gnaw either. He wrestled between keeping to the shadows and rushing to her room to protect her from Valerius. And scaring the living shit out of her.
The curse needed to be broken, that he was sure of, but at what cost?
Back in his room, Evander paced around his balcony, trying to talk himself into staying put. Ultimately, his conscience won, and he decided sleep was a better option.
His rest was fitful. While his body relaxed, his mind kept swirling thoughts of her through his dreams. Her sweet southern drawl filled his head. Evander dreamed of her, her hair flowing down her back, her lips parted in a sigh before he claimed them for his own. The calling of something deep in his head, as if his very soul whined for her. Her body in his hands, soft and welcoming as he ran his hand down her curves. But it was her eyes. Those gray eyes, the color of a storm about to roll in, were fixed on him. He saw himself reflected in her eyes: light and happiness and love.
Her eyes turned to orbs filled with swirling fire and smoke. He was falling deeper and deeper into a void as the world around them both burned. Evander thrashed in bed, trying to climb out of the smoke-filled cavern. He called for Ellie, but his voice sounded hollow in the darkness. She was somewhere beside him, just out of reach. His eyes watering from the smoke, lungs burning as ash fell softly to the ground like snow. He gasped as Ellie rose out of the disarray dressed in white chiton, the trim purple. Her dress shimmered in a light all its own, wrapping around and held together at her shoulders by gold pins, an emblem on them unknown to him. On her head lay a golden crown of laurel leaves and crystals, sapphires, and malachite. She grasped a well-crafted bow expertly in her hand as she rose from the flames and ash, a quiver full of solid-gold arrows strapped to her back. She looked fierce and threatening. Her hair whipped around her in the wind as she stood over him, looking off into the distance. She was just above him as he lay choking in the smoke—large wings ablaze, glowing red and orange, as fire dripped from the ends. Ash rained down on him as they slowly flapped, lifting her off the ground. She swung her body around and aimed her bow; the golden arrow glimmered in the low light. Aiming at someone in the distance, she had perfect form as she pulled the bowstring to her chin. Ellie cast him a glance before letting the arrow fly, her hand staying next to her chin as it soared, intent on its mark.
Evander woke with a start, his body slick with sweat, his heart pounding, his breath ragged. He could still smell the smoke and feel the ash falling on his skin. He sunk into his pillow and rubbed his head. As his hand fell back to the sheets, a puff of ash shot into the air. Scrambling to sit up, Evander looked around him. On his covers lay a perfect outline of his body in ash. He held a pinch between his forefinger and thumb; it sparkled and shimmered in the dark.