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.“Just once, but it wasn’t my choice.”He looked confused, and I wondered how much detail he really knew about me.“It’s a long story,” I said.“Well, it’s up to you, obviously.But if you change your mind…”“Thanks for the suggestion.I’ll think about it.”Chapter TenWhen Natalie and I got back to our room, I was pleasantly surprised by the cute towel animal our room steward had placed on the bed.It looked like a walrus.“Look at that, Natalie,” I said as I placed her next to it.She reached out and touched it, then giggled.I picked up the schedule for the next day, which the steward had set beside the towel animal, and looked over the activities that would be available on the ship the next day—we would be at sea all day as we traveled north toward Alaska.I set the schedule on the desk, and got Natalie ready for bed.After I tucked her in, I thought about Cameron.He really was a nice guy, just like Alyssa had said, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, but I knew my time with him would be minimal.I was sure he wouldn’t want to be stuck with me as I was limited in what I could do.Then I thought about Marcus and how much he enjoyed Natalie, and wished that he wanted our relationship to move beyond friendship.He’d been such a good friend to me—he’d even been there when Natalie had been born.But he was stuck in the friendship mode.Then I thought of his new girlfriend, Chelsea.He certainly wasn’t stuck in the friendship mode with her.Jealousy that she had something that I didn’t bloomed inside me, but I tamped it down, not liking the way it made me feel.I had no claim over Marcus—he could do what he wanted.I’d told him how I felt about him and he’d turned me down.Clearly, he wasn’t interested in anything beyond friendship.The night I’d told him I really liked him, he’d told me he didn’t think I was ready for anything more than friendship either.He’d said he thought it was too soon after all that had happened.Maybe he was right.Maybe I wasn’t ready for more than friendship.Even so, I would enjoy my time with Cameron.At least he didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas about what I was or wasn’t ready for.He was just interested in getting to know me better.He’d even come right out and said that.I smiled in remembrance at the man who had already been vetted by Alyssa and Ty.He was Ty’s best friend, after all.I felt safe spending time with him.I knew Alyssa would never lead me astray.As I got ready for bed and climbed between the covers, I pushed all thoughts of Marcus out of my mind, and instead focused on Cameron—the man who actually had an interest in me.I smiled as I drifted off, excited for what the next day might bring.The next morning when I was about to go to the dining room and have breakfast, Alyssa called my room phone.“Are you up yet?” she asked.I laughed.“I’ve been up for a while.That’s what babies do to you—they make you get up early.”“That’s kind of what I figured.Some of us are going to breakfast now and I wanted to know if you wanted to meet us in the dining room.”“Sure, that would be great.”“I want to hear about the conversation you had with Cameron at dinner.” She laughed.“I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but you seemed like you got along.”“Won’t he be at breakfast? I don’t want to talk about him if he’s right there.”“No.Ty called his room, but he wasn’t ready to get up yet.He’ll meet up with us later.”“Okay.I’ll see you in the dining room in a few minutes.”We hung up and I carried Natalie out of our room and to the dining room.Alyssa, Ty, and a few other people I hadn’t talked to yet were just arriving.Someone led us to a table and brought a high chair for Natalie.“So?” Alyssa said as she sat next to me.I smiled, remembering how much I enjoyed talking to Cameron.“Well, I have to admit, you were right.He’s a nice guy.”Alyssa grinned.“I told you.” With mock-sternness, she said, “When it comes to men, you should always listen to me, Lily.”I nodded.“I know that now.”“Good.Better late than never.” She paused.“I was a little worried though, with the way he reacted yesterday when you pointed out Natalie.”I nodded.“My guess is that he’s not comfortable around babies, and seeing her scared him.”“Yeah, that makes sense.I guess he got over it though.You guys seemed to talk a lot at dinner.Did you guys make any plans to do stuff together?”“Not exactly.But he did suggest that Ty’s sister could watch Natalie so I could do something with him on the ship.”“And?”I bit my lip.“I’ve never left her with anybody before, so I’m a little nervous about it.”“Haley’s great with kids.I’d highly recommend her.”“But doesn’t she want to do stuff at night herself? They have a place for kids her age to hang out, right?”“That’s true.I guess the only way to find out is to ask her.I think she’s coming for breakfast in a little bit.”“I’ll think about it.” We ordered our food and my stomach rumbled in anticipation.“How are you feeling, Alyssa? Your wedding’s in two days.Are you ready?”“Yes, I’m so ready.And it’s nice that the staff here are taking care of everything so I can just enjoy myself.” She paused.“I would have liked to have you as one of my bridesmaids, but we hadn’t really spoken much recently.”“That’s totally fine.I’m just glad I can be here.”A few minutes later Ty’s sister, Haley, joined us.“Come sit by Lily,” Alyssa said, and Haley sat in the empty chair on the other side of me, which was next to Natalie’s high chair.“You’re the one with the cute baby,” she said as she touched Natalie’s hand.“Hi, baby,” she murmured to Natalie.“Her name’s Natalie,” I said, pleased to see her interest.“Hi, Natalie.”Natalie smiled at her, then banged on the tray of her high chair.“I think she wants me to hold her,” Haley said, smiling.“I think that’s a great idea.” I glanced at Alyssa, a smile on my face, then took Natalie out of her high chair and gave her to Haley, who seemed very comfortable with her.Seeing them together, I warmed to the idea of asking her to babysit once or twice.It would be nice for me to be able to hang out with the grown-ups.Our breakfast came a few minutes later, and Haley ordered her breakfast.When Haley’s food arrived, I took Natalie back.“Haley, would you be willing to babysit Natalie for me once or twice at night while we’re on the cruise?”Her face lit up.“Really?”I smiled at her enthusiasm.“Yes.”“I’d love to.”“I don’t want to keep you from doing any activities that you want to do, though.”“Oh, don’t worry about that.It would be fun to babysit.”“If it’s at night, she might be sleeping most of the time you’re babysitting.”Her smile dimmed.“Oh.” She paused.“But that’s okay.I still want to.”“Okay.I’ll let you know when I need you.” Happy that I’d been able to make arrangements for Natalie that I felt good about, I enjoyed the rest of my breakfast.“What are you going to do today,” I asked Alyssa.“I’m not sure.I think Ty wants to hit the slot machines for a little while, but that’s not really my thing.” She paused.“What about a massage in the spa?”“I can babysit,” Haley quickly said.I smiled at her, thinking this would be a good chance for me to see how she did when Natalie was awake.“Okay.”“Great,” Alyssa said.“I’ll see when they have openings today and I’ll let you know.”Later that morning Alyssa brought Haley to my room so she could babysit while we went to the spa.“I just fed her,” I told Haley, “so she should be fine as far as that goes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.“Just once, but it wasn’t my choice.”He looked confused, and I wondered how much detail he really knew about me.“It’s a long story,” I said.“Well, it’s up to you, obviously.But if you change your mind…”“Thanks for the suggestion.I’ll think about it.”Chapter TenWhen Natalie and I got back to our room, I was pleasantly surprised by the cute towel animal our room steward had placed on the bed.It looked like a walrus.“Look at that, Natalie,” I said as I placed her next to it.She reached out and touched it, then giggled.I picked up the schedule for the next day, which the steward had set beside the towel animal, and looked over the activities that would be available on the ship the next day—we would be at sea all day as we traveled north toward Alaska.I set the schedule on the desk, and got Natalie ready for bed.After I tucked her in, I thought about Cameron.He really was a nice guy, just like Alyssa had said, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, but I knew my time with him would be minimal.I was sure he wouldn’t want to be stuck with me as I was limited in what I could do.Then I thought about Marcus and how much he enjoyed Natalie, and wished that he wanted our relationship to move beyond friendship.He’d been such a good friend to me—he’d even been there when Natalie had been born.But he was stuck in the friendship mode.Then I thought of his new girlfriend, Chelsea.He certainly wasn’t stuck in the friendship mode with her.Jealousy that she had something that I didn’t bloomed inside me, but I tamped it down, not liking the way it made me feel.I had no claim over Marcus—he could do what he wanted.I’d told him how I felt about him and he’d turned me down.Clearly, he wasn’t interested in anything beyond friendship.The night I’d told him I really liked him, he’d told me he didn’t think I was ready for anything more than friendship either.He’d said he thought it was too soon after all that had happened.Maybe he was right.Maybe I wasn’t ready for more than friendship.Even so, I would enjoy my time with Cameron.At least he didn’t have any pre-conceived ideas about what I was or wasn’t ready for.He was just interested in getting to know me better.He’d even come right out and said that.I smiled in remembrance at the man who had already been vetted by Alyssa and Ty.He was Ty’s best friend, after all.I felt safe spending time with him.I knew Alyssa would never lead me astray.As I got ready for bed and climbed between the covers, I pushed all thoughts of Marcus out of my mind, and instead focused on Cameron—the man who actually had an interest in me.I smiled as I drifted off, excited for what the next day might bring.The next morning when I was about to go to the dining room and have breakfast, Alyssa called my room phone.“Are you up yet?” she asked.I laughed.“I’ve been up for a while.That’s what babies do to you—they make you get up early.”“That’s kind of what I figured.Some of us are going to breakfast now and I wanted to know if you wanted to meet us in the dining room.”“Sure, that would be great.”“I want to hear about the conversation you had with Cameron at dinner.” She laughed.“I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but you seemed like you got along.”“Won’t he be at breakfast? I don’t want to talk about him if he’s right there.”“No.Ty called his room, but he wasn’t ready to get up yet.He’ll meet up with us later.”“Okay.I’ll see you in the dining room in a few minutes.”We hung up and I carried Natalie out of our room and to the dining room.Alyssa, Ty, and a few other people I hadn’t talked to yet were just arriving.Someone led us to a table and brought a high chair for Natalie.“So?” Alyssa said as she sat next to me.I smiled, remembering how much I enjoyed talking to Cameron.“Well, I have to admit, you were right.He’s a nice guy.”Alyssa grinned.“I told you.” With mock-sternness, she said, “When it comes to men, you should always listen to me, Lily.”I nodded.“I know that now.”“Good.Better late than never.” She paused.“I was a little worried though, with the way he reacted yesterday when you pointed out Natalie.”I nodded.“My guess is that he’s not comfortable around babies, and seeing her scared him.”“Yeah, that makes sense.I guess he got over it though.You guys seemed to talk a lot at dinner.Did you guys make any plans to do stuff together?”“Not exactly.But he did suggest that Ty’s sister could watch Natalie so I could do something with him on the ship.”“And?”I bit my lip.“I’ve never left her with anybody before, so I’m a little nervous about it.”“Haley’s great with kids.I’d highly recommend her.”“But doesn’t she want to do stuff at night herself? They have a place for kids her age to hang out, right?”“That’s true.I guess the only way to find out is to ask her.I think she’s coming for breakfast in a little bit.”“I’ll think about it.” We ordered our food and my stomach rumbled in anticipation.“How are you feeling, Alyssa? Your wedding’s in two days.Are you ready?”“Yes, I’m so ready.And it’s nice that the staff here are taking care of everything so I can just enjoy myself.” She paused.“I would have liked to have you as one of my bridesmaids, but we hadn’t really spoken much recently.”“That’s totally fine.I’m just glad I can be here.”A few minutes later Ty’s sister, Haley, joined us.“Come sit by Lily,” Alyssa said, and Haley sat in the empty chair on the other side of me, which was next to Natalie’s high chair.“You’re the one with the cute baby,” she said as she touched Natalie’s hand.“Hi, baby,” she murmured to Natalie.“Her name’s Natalie,” I said, pleased to see her interest.“Hi, Natalie.”Natalie smiled at her, then banged on the tray of her high chair.“I think she wants me to hold her,” Haley said, smiling.“I think that’s a great idea.” I glanced at Alyssa, a smile on my face, then took Natalie out of her high chair and gave her to Haley, who seemed very comfortable with her.Seeing them together, I warmed to the idea of asking her to babysit once or twice.It would be nice for me to be able to hang out with the grown-ups.Our breakfast came a few minutes later, and Haley ordered her breakfast.When Haley’s food arrived, I took Natalie back.“Haley, would you be willing to babysit Natalie for me once or twice at night while we’re on the cruise?”Her face lit up.“Really?”I smiled at her enthusiasm.“Yes.”“I’d love to.”“I don’t want to keep you from doing any activities that you want to do, though.”“Oh, don’t worry about that.It would be fun to babysit.”“If it’s at night, she might be sleeping most of the time you’re babysitting.”Her smile dimmed.“Oh.” She paused.“But that’s okay.I still want to.”“Okay.I’ll let you know when I need you.” Happy that I’d been able to make arrangements for Natalie that I felt good about, I enjoyed the rest of my breakfast.“What are you going to do today,” I asked Alyssa.“I’m not sure.I think Ty wants to hit the slot machines for a little while, but that’s not really my thing.” She paused.“What about a massage in the spa?”“I can babysit,” Haley quickly said.I smiled at her, thinking this would be a good chance for me to see how she did when Natalie was awake.“Okay.”“Great,” Alyssa said.“I’ll see when they have openings today and I’ll let you know.”Later that morning Alyssa brought Haley to my room so she could babysit while we went to the spa.“I just fed her,” I told Haley, “so she should be fine as far as that goes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]