Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
T here was one last surprise for her that night. Another amazing moment to add to the list that Alexander was writing for her. Another surprise that lifted her heart and gave her hope that she just might have stumbled on the most amazing man she’d ever met.
Stepping off the dance floor, her face flushed with joy, she felt a rush of excitement as the feel of Alexander’s hand pressed gently up against her back. Everywhere she looked, there were smiling and happy couples.
And contrary to what she’d worried about, no one seemed all that shocked that Alexander had taken to her. No sideways glances that she could see. No whispered comments. It seemed that all of Martina’s clients were as amazing as she was. When they reached their table, Ben and Pearl were there and in Pearl’s arms was a bouquet of orchids. They were long stems of blossoms that Tatum had seen before, but only in the most elegant hotels or the mansions of people who had been her sponsors in the past. And yet the blossoms in her friend’s arms were even more
beautiful than any in her memory.
"Those are lovely, Pearl." Tatum turned her gaze to Ben. "You are certainly a man among men! What a thoughtful gift."
The couple shared a smile before Pearl stepped forward. "These are for you, my dear."
"Me?" There was a strange sensation that rushed through her. A blush on her cheeks met with the cool sensation of tears gathering on her lashes. "You didn’t have to."
"Oh, we didn’t," Ben’s voice was deep and carried a great distance in the room, "these are from your thoughtful young man."
Turning her head toward Alexander she saw his own understated smile and the look in his eyes. "I wanted you to have something as beautiful as you are."
And right at that moment, she lost the battle to hold back her tears. Pearl placed the bouquet over her arm and gave her hands a squeeze before she moved back to Ben’s side.
Tatum traced her fingertip along the paper-thin edge of one of the petals and she knew in a heartbeat that she’d never touched anything so delicate or perfect in her whole life.
"My mother, like my grandmother before her, cultivated orchids." Alexander’s voice was gentle
and warm, matching the delicate circles his hand skimmed over her lower back. "I saw a vendor today with these blooms and asked him to deliver two bouquets to the ship."
"Two?"
Pearl gave her the answer. Her soft giggle turned Tatum’s head in her direction again. "I have
one in my room."
Ben set his arm around Pearl’s shoulders. "And if I wasn’t sure that your man here was focused
solely on you and gaining your affections, I’d call him out for a duel at dawn."
They all shared a laugh and Tatum leaned against Alexander’s arm. "They are so very beautiful."
When she looked up into his eyes, she wondered if the emotions she saw in his were the same she felt deep down inside her heart.
Looking at the clock, she knew that the evening was at an end, but she really didn’t want it to be over, even though she had class in the morning. If there was a way to spend just a few more minutes, she would probably take it. There was just this incredible lightness that she felt around Alexander. She was afraid that it was going to somehow slip through her fingers if she didn’t hold onto it for every second she could. "Thank you, Alexander. I’ve never had any flowers as unique
as these."
Everyone quietly stepped away and left them alone beside the table.
"You really like them?" His smile was soft and almost bashful, and she was able to see the man he was in his heart. Just as uncertain as she was.
"I really do. The fact that you arranged for the flowers to be delivered to the ship, and that you arranged for a second bouquet for Pearl?" She lifted her free hand and touched her fingertips to his cheek. "Sorry," she blushed and lowered her hand.
His eyes narrowed, confused. "Why are you sorry?"
"I wanted to make sure that you were real. Live, flesh and bone. I couldn’t resist the chance to
feel your warmth against my fingers."
Alexander reached down and took her hand in his, lifting it back up to his face. Turning his head,
he touched her palm to the side of his face, leaning his cheek into her hand.
"You don’t have to feel sorry about wanting to touch me, Tatum. I would never stop you from touching my skin or reaching out to hold my hand.
"Having you reach out to me, to touch your hand to my face, makes me feel like a king. Like the
luckiest man in the world. So, please, if you want to reach out to me, do it. I think you’ll find me reaching out to touch you right back."
Her heart was beating so hard, she was nearly out of breath.
"It’s so fast…"
As soon as the words were loose from her tongue, she regretted it.
"Oh, Alex. I’m making a mess of things."
His shoulders shook, punctuating his soft laughter. "You’re not. I know what you’re feeling, Tatum. This is all happening so fast."
She heard the words, as if they were a memory of something she’d said before. But, the
instant the thought formed in her head she knew it was wrong. She’d never felt like this with anyone.
Maybe it was the sun she’d absorbed that day, or the excitement of the evening that wrung her
energy from her.
"I should go and get some sleep before I blurt out something else I don’t really mean."
Tatum lifted her gaze to meet his own. She was frightened of what she would see.
But, like so many times before, in just these few days, he made her feel… understood.
"The best thing about this cruise is that we’re going to have the time to get to know each other. And before you start worrying that I don’t know you well enough to know that I want to spend this time with you, or that just because we’ve connected this quickly that it might not be ‘real,’ I want you to remember that we’re standing here together, after an amazing day in San Juan."
"So, you’re telling me not to worry so much?" Her smile deepened.
"That’s just it. Let’s see where this cruise takes us." He wrapped her arm around his and tucked
her against his side. "I’ll walk you to your cabin and we can both get some rest. I’m looking forward to class in the morning. I hear the teacher is really talented."
She walked beside him, trading little jokes back and forth. When they reached the elevator banks
there was an elevator ready almost immediately. Alexander stepped in after her and asked her which deck. He looked surprised when she didn’t mention one of the upper decks.
As the elevator descended, he gave her a curious look.
"What?" She shook her head. "I’m a minor member of the crew. So, I have a crew cabin along with
the same people who work in the kitchens and do the entertainment shows."
"What kind of a view do you have in your room?"
Her laughter was punctuated by the soft DING of the elevator. When the doors opened, she stepped out. "You can leave me here and go up to your deck. That’s just fine."
Alexander reached out and held the door open with his hand. "I’m walking you to your door."
Tatum gestured at the open elevator door. "Here’s the door."
He stepped off of the elevator and shook his head at her. "It’s ‘a’ door, but not ‘your door.’"
"I should know better than to argue over words with a man in publishing."
He grinned at her. "Thank you for proving my point exactly."
She rolled her eyes and adjusted the bouquet laid over her arm to make sure it wouldn’t suffer
from the narrower hallways below deck. "Fine. Come on, my room’s down this hall."
Their conversation was soft as if they had instinctively lowered their voices just in case they could be heard. Some of the crew with the early morning duties were likely asleep.
There was something about Alexander’s demeanor that was shifting the further they moved
down the corridor.
Maybe it was too much to wish that he just might kiss her goodnight, but a girl could hope.
Right?
Reaching into her pocket for the key, she unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Do you want to
see how the ‘other half’ lives? You can take a look if you’d like. I think I left it fairly clean."
She knew the moment she turned around to look at him, that she was really hoping for a kiss.
It didn’t have to be passionate in any way, but she really wanted to know what it felt like even if it was only for a moment.
The way he looked at her.
The subtle shift as he leaned closer.
And the way that his eyelids lowered as he looked down into her eyes, all of it felt like she was hovering, levitating just a tiny bit above the floor. And to keep the world from spinning around her, she closed her eyes.
But the kiss wasn’t on her lips, it was on her forehead and then her cheek.
When she heard his voice, it startled her ever so slightly and her eyes opened, and she could
see him out of the corner of her eye.
"Tomorrow," his voice was lower than before, "I’ll see you tomorrow."
She must have been in a daze, because when her brain finally put his words together like
puzzle pieces, he was gone and she could hear the soft DING of an arriving elevator.
"Well," she struggled to understand what had just happened, "that was… strange."
Closing the door to her room, she let the silence echo around her, and let the last few moments
replay in her head over and over again.
Something had changed between them, shifting sideways or upside down, she couldn’t tell.
She would have to wait until the next day and see.
Things would be clearer then…
Right?