Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
A lexander was waiting on the pier when the young man he’d paid earlier walked up with a large box in his hands. He held the base steady as Alexander lifted the top and looked at the contents with a smile.
"Are you trying to sneak contraband aboard, Mister Wen?"
Laughing at Martina’s school-marm tone, he showed her the contents of the box.
She smiled at one item and looked askance at the other. "Interesting."
Alexander held out a bill to the young man who tried to refuse. "No," he assured him, "I want you to have it. You did a great job, and I thank you."
The young man helped Alexander close the box and gave them a friendly wave as he jogged off toward the parking lot.
Now that they were alone, he had a feeling she was going to have a few things to say to him.
And he didn’t mind it in the least. He, too, had something he wanted to talk to her about, but he wasn’t sure how the heat would affect the contents of the box. He gestured at the pathway to the ship and they both started in that direction.
"The flowers are beautiful," she began, "but the hat?"
They were nearing the shadowed entryway and Alexander was hoping there would still be enough
light for him to see Martina’s expression.
"It’s not for Blair."
Surprisingly, she didn’t have much of a reaction to his words. If they decided to play poker on board, he was going to have to get Martina to be his partner. She had an excellent poker face.
"Well, I was actually trying to find you to talk about Blair."
He didn’t hear anything in her voice that would make him worry that there had been an
emergency with her health, so-
"She left the ship while you were out."
Alexander set the box down on a table in the entryway. "Is she okay?"
"Health wise," she assured him, "she’s fine. That’s not… give me a moment." Reaching into her shoulder bag, Martina removed her cell phone and cued up a video. As they stood there, side by side, she hit the play icon and he listened to the video message.
It shouldn’t have shocked him as much as it did. He’d planned to track her down that evening and explain where his feelings were, but from what she explained, she’d already realized a few things herself.
"… my head and my heart just aren’t in the same place right now. Yes, I want to find love, but I need to make my mark on the company so I can prove that I’m the right person to lead it when my dad steps down.
"And to do that, I need to live and breathe this job every second of the day. So, I hope you don’t hate me for this, Alexander, but I have to get back to New York. Martina said she’s going to try
to find you another match, but I have a feeling that you might not need help finding the right woman.
"Maybe all you need is a light push in the right direction. Enjoy the time you have on the ship and I hope that you’ll let me take you both out for a celebration when you come back to New York."
The video ended and Alexander looked over at Martina.
"That was," he cleared his throat, "a little surprising."
"Surprising that she left? Or that she knew you might be interested in someone else?"
"Both?" He reached out a hand and pushed his fingers through his hair. "She was so busy with business, I didn’t think she’d noticed… I didn’t even really think about it until today."
Martina’s laughter wasn’t mean, but it pricked his pride nonetheless. "Women multitask, Alexander. That’s not a skill to take lightly."
He nodded. "No kidding."
"So, the flowers and that hat are for-"
"Tatum."
"Okay then." Martina nodded. "Glad to know you’re as smart as I thought you were."
He had the box tucked under his arm before he realized exactly what she’d said.
"Wait." Alexander saw the glint of humor in her dark eyes. "You matched me with Blair."
"Yes." She gestured with one hand. "But I also matched you with Tatum. When I saw your video, I knew I had to give you what you asked for. And Blair Sexton knows what she wants. She wants that ‘right man’ but I worried she wasn’t going to be able to put in the time to connect with that man. She was, exactly what you’d asked for."
"True." Alexander had to admit she was exactly right. "And Tatum? You really brought her for me?"
She half-shrugged and half-nodded. "I was already going to ask her to be on staff. She’s a stellar teacher and a more incredible dancer. I knew that having her here would be a real coup, but when I saw your video something just clicked for me."
"So, when I told you I wanted to talk about something… you knew it was going to be about my… situation."
"I met with Ben and Pearl when they came back from the tour. They were just gushing over you two. If you’re not careful they may try to adopt one or both of you."
"Well, I’m glad they enjoyed themselves. They deserved it."
"And they said you deserved a lot of credit for giving up your spot."
"No, no." He laughed. "I was perfectly happy to do it. I had a feeling Blair wasn’t going to
show up and they really wanted to go. I couldn’t see going by myself and taking up the space."
"I don’t think you need to tell me what you did with your time on the island."
He shook his head. "It’s no secret. We worked our way through a bunch of food stalls and had a nice conversation. I think you know how wonderful that is for me. I didn’t feel like either one of us was in control or needed to be. Having some time alone with Tatum was the best day I’ve had…" he tried to think back as far as he could, "for as long as I can remember."
Martina reached out and touched his arm. "I’m happy for you, Alexander. Just remember that this is just the beginning."
"Oh, I know." He gestured to the box, "and I’m not about to let things fall to the wayside. So, I think I should ask you if you have any issues with me dating one of your staff members."
"Issues?" She took a moment to think. "Not on my end as long as you don’t keep her from teaching her class. I’m fine."
"And dinners? I’m more than happy to pay for any costs for meals or other activities."
Martina held her hands up. "Hey, it’s all fine."
"Great!" Alexander let out a breath and felt like the air he took back in was different. Cleaner.
Full of life. "I don’t have Tatum’s phone number. I forgot to ask earlier."
"You forgot to get her number?" Martina shook her head. "You know I can’t just give it to you."
"I know, but you can ask her to meet me for dinner. I don’t know where her room is."
Martina gave him a look and nodded. "Okay. I’ll ask her to meet you for dinner in the restaurant."
She turned and started to walk away, only to stop when he called out to her. "Yes?"
Alexander looked her straight in the eye. "I had worries that I’d come on this cruise and it wouldn’t work for me. That first night when Blair was ducking out on dinner to answer her phone, I was seriously thinking about going home, but then I met Tatum in the kitchen. We had a whole conversation, and I didn’t even know her name. Thank you for everything so far. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the cruise goes."
"I’m glad you gave yourself this chance. Now, go and get ready for dinner. I’ll see you there."
G etting ready for dinner hadn’t been that big of a thing on board. The first night of the introductions, Tatum had dressed up to help Martina with errands or things that might pop up, but this was different.
Tonight, instead of being a member of the staff, she was having dinner with Alexander Wen.
So much had changed in a little bit of time.
And she hoped that it kept changing.
Ending her professional dancing career was a difficult choice, but she was getting tired of the things that hadn’t bothered her much at the beginning. She wanted to change where her life was going. And leaving the stress of ballroom competitions behind her was the best first step she could think of.
It had been a perfect storm when she’d bumped into Martina again. They’d known each other for years and yet there hadn’t been much of a chance for them to spend much more than a lunch together here and there.
The opportunity to jump on a cruise ship and see the sights with a few hours of work a day had been the kind of offer that had her holding out her arm and asking Martina to pinch her.
Just the memory had her rubbing her hand over her arm.
She didn’t have to worry about twisting up her sleeve since she’d gone with a sleeveless dress in a deep garnet color. It wasn’t an attention-grabbing color, but it complimented her coloring and that made it perfect.
There was one person who she wanted to impress, and she hoped this dress would be just the thing. The alarm on her phone beeped and she pressed one hand over her heart to keep it from leaping out of her chest.
She could tell herself that she was fine, but obviously she wasn’t as composed as she thought she was. Dropping her key into her purse, she took one last look in the mirror and left her room.
Dinner was a delight.
The salmon was a big favorite at their table, but Tatum had quietly admitted to Alexander that the meal, after their afternoon of spices, seemed to be missing something. Alexander had leaned in close, his hand smoothing along her forearm. "Are you saying you want to stop into the kitchen later and see what the chef has made for you?"
She heard the laughter in his voice and added in her own. "How did you know?"
He grinned and got up from the table, laid his napkin beside his plate, and took hold of the back of her chair.
If his gentle touch hadn’t been enough to warm her heart, holding her chair and helping her stand up from the table made her warm from her head to her toes. He offered her his arm and when she set her hand on his sleeve, he covered it with his own.
As they walked through the dining room, heads turned to watch.
Tatum leaned against his shoulder, whispering under her breath. "I bet they’re all wondering how I managed to steal you away from Blair."
"They’re wondering," he whispered back, "how I was lucky enough to have you agree to dinner with me. Now, relax and we’ll go see your friend."
They both pushed on the kitchen door and stepped inside.
"Ah, there she is!"
The chef quickly moved around the counter and gestured to the table. "Come, sit. I have prepared
something special for you."
Both Alexander and the chef had a moment of confusion as both of them tried to hold out her chair. Sitting down she lifted a hand to touch the back of it to her forehead as she sighed dramatically. "No, no! Don’t fight over me!"
The chef took hold of the hand and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. "We’ll be fine," he assured her, "as long as he understands that I cooked for you first."
Alexander shrugged. "I haven’t cooked for her, so I guess you win on that count."
The chef shook his head. "Never admit defeat, sir. Not when a beautiful woman’s heart is at stake."
Tatum turned toward the table and gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"
Gesturing at the table, the chef nodded. "Your gentleman stopped in after you two returned from
your adventuring and told me that you hadn’t had any luck finding any arroz con leche. Lucky for you, they brought me a box of coconuts from the market, so I was able to make up a batch of just that coconut pudding before dinner."
She looked into the bowl and saw the cinnamon sprinkled over the otherwise pristine surface of the pudding. Leaning over it, she inhaled the heady scent before she beamed up at the Chef. "You make every day worth living."
Alexander laughed and sat back in his chair. "You certainly know how to make a guy worry that all it takes to turn your head is a well-made dessert."
"To turn my head? Maybe." She sighed, her hands moving over the tablecloth as she spoke. "But to really steal my heart, he’d have to have a spoon. But I’m not above using my fingers in this pudding!"
The chef chuckled and walked away, whistling a strange little tune.
"Seriously?" She grimaced as her stomach growled. "Even my stomach is making fun of me. I need a spoon!"
Alexander cleared his throat and reached under the napkin sitting before him on the table and produced a spoon, twisting it one way and then the other so it glimmered in the light. "You mean this?"
Gaping at him, she lifted her own napkin and found nothing. "What?" She was laughing at the whole situation. "Are you getting me back because I only let you have a teeny tiny piece of my crème br?lée?"
He shook his head and reached out a hand to cradle the bowl of pudding in his hand. Leaning over, he looked down into it and scooped out a bite sized bit. "I do get to return this favor from the other night."
She watched him hold out the spoon, extending it until the curved edge nearly touched her lip.
Closing her lips over the bowl of the spoon she pulled every bit of the chilly coconut heaven that the chef had created for them. "Mmm." She looked at Alexander and shook her head. "It’s heaven. Pure, heaven. You need to have some." She reached for the spoon, but he pulled it away. "You’re having too much fun, aren’t you?"
He didn’t say a word, but she could see the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes as he held back his laughter. Lifting the spoon, he scooped up another bite and held it out. "Ready?"
She rolled her eyes then and gave him what she hoped was a sassy look. "You have no idea."
Tatum parted her lips and waited for him to give her another delightful taste.
She didn’t have to wait long.
The world, it seemed, had turned on its head, and she was actually looking forward to discovering how this new adventure was going to turn out.
Tatum looked across the small table and gave Alexander an impatient, raised brow. "Don’t stop now," she grinned, "I can’t wait to see what’s next."