“I’ll bite.” Angie followed the maître d’ back to the podium to assign a new seat. “What happened?”
“Nothing really. For a split second I thought that man at the table was going to be my father. It hit me that I really do need a plan before I run into him, and I’m not going to form one making polite conversation with two strangers at my side.”
If he thought about it, three including her. “Why don’t we skip this formal scene?” she suggested. “There’s a great little pizza place upstairs and a handful of tables just outside on deck. It takes people a couple of days to scope out the pizza joint, so it probably won’t be busy.”
One eyebrow rose high seconds before the second one did the same. “You cruise a lot, do you?”
She laughed. “Hardly. But I was on this line’s sister ship a couple of years ago for a friend’s wedding. The pizza place was great for getting away from the crowds. And if there’s one thing a cruise ship is always, it’s crowded.”
“Then pizza it is.” Dev made their excuses to the dining supervisor and gestured for Angie to lead the way. “After you.”
Across the promenade and up the elevator, neither said a word, but both had surveyed every inch of the massive ship. It wasn’t the shooting fountains, zealous sales people hawking the goods inside their little shops, or pubs and snack spots in their paths that held their interest. What each of them studied carefully were the people. Scanning all the faces, looking for the two couples that had been their entire reason for coming aboard in the first place.
At the small pizza joint, seated at one of the few café tables, Dev lifted his slice of pepperoni pizza. “If you’d chosen the one with pineapple I would have had to work this out on my own.” Smiling, he took a bite.
“I can handle meats and veggies but plain cheese or pepperoni are my go to. Otherwise it stops being pizza.”
Between bites, they discovered both lived in neighboring counties in a middle of nowhere state, both had grown up in small towns, both worked longer hours than they cared to admit, neither had taken a vacation in too long to count, both had benefited from happily married role models, and both had been blindsided by their parents’ announcement they were running away to get married, probably to people intending to scam them out of their money.
“The grown up in me wants Mom to find someone. Understands that she’s too young to spend the rest of her life alone.”
Dev nodded.
“And I really do understand, and don’t mind. At least, I don’t think I do.” Angie reached for her drink and took a sip.
“It’s hard,” Dev agreed. “Some days I still expect to find Mom in the kitchen and it’s been forever since we lost her.”
“There are a lot of things I could maybe overlook, but what bothers me is why marry so fast? Why no time to let me meet him?”
Swallowing his last bite, Dev nodded. “Exactly. Why not give me time to get to know the bride-to-be? What’s there to hide?”
She leaned in and lowered her voice. “I wonder if any more of the weddings planned for this week are suspicious?”
“I honestly hadn’t considered that. I just assumed my father was an isolated incident. Now hearing your story and seeing so many more couples, I wonder.”
“Do you think this organized wedding company has something to do with both our parents rushing to marry someone they haven’t known very long?”
“I honestly don’t know. Everyone in the group we saw seemed perfectly normal. And even in love. I didn’t notice anything odd. It doesn’t fit with a whirlwind, let’s hurry up and marry relationship. Though I have to admit, the little glimpse I caught of Dad, he did look awfully happy. Really seemed to be enjoying himself.”
Now Angie felt guilty. Her mom had been smiling too. Not just a polite smile but the kind that reached all the way to her eyes. Even in the dimly lit and crowded room, Angie could tell her mother was having a good time. “So are we making too much of this?”
Dev shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I want my dad to be happy and I don’t want him to live the rest of his life alone, but this is just too fast. It doesn’t feel right.”
Good. Not being the only one to think that way made her feel a little better. A little less stupid for jumping on the first flight to Florida and splurging on a cruise cabin all to herself. “So if I know you and I are both right about this situation and our respective parents, why am I still afraid I’m going to be the one who comes up looking like a lunatic when I try one more time to tell my mother she’s behaving like an adolescent?”
A grin spread across his face. “Safety in numbers.”
“What?”
Elbows on the table, weaving his fingers together in front of him, he steepled two fingers. “We helped each other sneak into the welcome affair tonight. Why not stick together when we find our parent and then I can back you up and you can back me up.”
“Sort of like moral support and a character witness all rolled into one?”
“Exactly.” He nodded his head sharply.
She reached for her cola and felt her cheeks tug at the edge of her lips. “I like it. Safety in numbers. That’s a plan I can get on board with. So we find our parent and then we’ll help each other convince them that they’ve lost their minds.”
“You may not want to phrase it that way when you talk to your mother.”
“Right. If Mom’s behaving like a teenager, she’ll probably just dig her heels in even more just to be contrary.” Tossing her napkin onto the paper plate, Angie leaned back in her seat. “If we run into them at tonight’s karaoke, we’ll have the element of surprise on our side. Otherwise, we could wait till morning and call. The desk won’t give me my mother’s room number but they will connect a phone call. Except, if I do that Mom will have time to shore up her excuses.”
“I think the element of surprise is a good tactic. It’s what got each of us this far. Now we have a more solid plan. The element of surprise and safety in numbers. It’s a big ship, but if we can follow Destiny’s itinerary, we should be able to find them.”
“And no time like the present to continue the hunt.” She pushed to her feet, taking her trash with her and dropping it into a nearby receptacle. She could do this. She had to find a way to convince her mother that this rushed marriage was a childish mistake. Maybe Dev was just the leverage she needed, or maybe it would just plain be more fun with a man who could make her forget her own name when he kissed her.
The small upper deck club had wonderful sea views even in the pitch of night. Dev made a path through the scattered tables and chairs until he and Angie could see the red corded area. Once again, the freestanding sign reminded guests that this was a private event reserved for Destiny’s Destination Weddings. On the other side of the velvet rope representatives from the cruise line and the Destiny operation sat behind a table on either side of the entry way. The difference between this activity and the welcome party was that the staff appeared to be paying attention to who crossed into the area.
“Oh, dear.” Angie’s steps slowed. “Looks like we might need more than a little togetherness.”
“Would you rather sit out here by the elevators? If they go in, we’ll be able to see them.”
“Unless they’re already inside.” Angie spun about and snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute. If they are checking off names from the Destiny group, Mom and I have the same last name. Maybe that’s all we need to sneak in?”
“Same goes for me too.” He stretched out his arm and wiggled his fingers at her. “Only one way to find out.”
“Here goes nothing.” Her hand slipped into his.
He could almost hear them holding their breath as they approached the roped off area.
Inside the velvet cords, a smiling brunette with plenty of bubble in her personality waved a pencil at a large book to her side. “These are all the songs we have available. Sign your name and your fiancées name on the line here, let us know what song you want to sing, and we’ll notify you when it’s your turn.” Her hand swung back to point to a line on the binder in front of her with her pen.
“We’re not singing,” he said without consulting Angie.
“I’m sorry,” the woman at the table looked perplexed, “didn’t you get the activity description?”
Shaking his head was easy. Didn’t matter that he wasn’t supposed to get the instructions.
The brunette reached into a bag at her side and pulled out a double-sided page. “Glad I brought extra. For this couple’s event, everyone who joins us needs to pick and sing one song. Part of building togetherness.”
From where he stood, he could hear one of the cruise company staff mutter to another staffer beside him, “Or the last straw.” Dev was inclined to agree. The way Angie’s eyes popped, she clearly didn’t want to do this anymore than he did.
The brunette nudged the song book in his direction. “You can take the binder with you and look it over, but don’t take too long, we only have a few and are expecting a nice crowd.”
In a single move, without letting go of her hand, he scooped the book up and steered them toward the back corner and up the steps to a small table with a view of the entire place.
“What are the chances they’ll forget all about us?” Angie let go of his hand and slid into the half moon booth.
Slipping in beside her from the other side, his gaze lifted to the front table and the line of couples growing. “Slim comes to mind.”
“This is ridiculous. Who ever decided that singing together—in public—brings couples closer?”
“I gather you can’t carry a tune.” He bit back a smile. “I wouldn’t let that bother you. I don’t think actually being able to sing is a requirement for karaoke.”
She shook her head. “I sing just fine.”
Something about the nonchalant response and the way her gaze danced about the room made him think maybe that wasn’t the problem.
“I’m here to talk some sense into my mother, not entertain the masses.”
A waiter came by and set a napkin in front of each of them. “What can I get you?”
“Diet cola please,” Angie ordered, then returned her gaze toward the front door.
“Just ice water please.” So far Dev hadn’t seen any sign of his dad and he wondered if either of their parents would show up before they got roped into singing. “We probably should at least pretend to be looking for a song.”
Her fingers already on the cover, she nodded. Great minds think alike. Stall as long as we can went through my mind too.
The brunette at the entry table stood, and pivoting in a near perfect semi circle, slowly surveyed the surrounding crowd.
Fingers tapping at the tabletop, Angie shook her head. “Wanna bet she’s searching for the songbooks?”
“Never take a sucker’s bet.” Just for effect, in case anyone really was keeping tabs on them, he flipped a page back then forward again.
The waiter reappeared with their drinks and even though Dev didn’t have a clue what was on it, continued flipping through the song lyrics pages.
Her gaze not moving from the lounge’s entrance doors, Angie took a long swallow of the drink and set the tall glass back down. “If she’s not here, where could she be?”
It was all Dev could do not to spit out the first thing that came to mind. Somehow, Angie didn’t seem the type to appreciate any suggestion of her mother and company letting nature take its course. “Maybe she’s enjoying a late, uh, dinner.”
“I suppose.” Her gaze drifted around the room and back. “Any sign of your father?”
Dev shook his head. Even with his attention divided between the songbook, the cute way Angie nibbled on the edge of her lower lip while staring at the front door, and the growing crowd of soon-to-be-newlyweds mulling about, there was no sign of his father and the gold-digger. “Something tells me this may be a long night.”
One of the uniformed crew trotted onto the small stage. “Welcome, Destiny couples. We’re so glad to have you share your wedding adventure with us.”
“Adventure?” Angie mumbled out of one side of her mouth. The same side she’d been nibbling on moments ago. “I didn’t realize karaoke constituted adventure.”
The man on stage continued, “What better way to build on the foundation of a lifetime than to make music in front of your fellow lovebirds.”
“Oh, talk about a sugar overload,” Dev muttered. Never mind a long night. If he couldn’t convince his father, and quickly, that this whole spur of the moment wedding thing was a really bad idea, all this saccharin-induced couple bonding would make for a very long cruise.
“If you haven’t told our team which song you want to perform, please take a minute and get on the list. I’m sure you’ve noticed tonight’s choices are all about love. For our first performance tonight, we have Alice and Jeremy performing ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’.”
Fortunately, Alice and Jeremy both carried a decent tune. Still, there was no risk they’d be topping the charts anytime soon, but at least they weren’t painful to anyone’s ears. They weren’t so lucky with the second tune. Dev vaguely remembered hearing the song in a movie when he was a kid, but the way the two singers cooed and batted their lashes and nuzzled cheek to cheek, he didn’t doubt any minute they really would “Say Something Stupid Like I Love You.”
Blowing out a heavy sigh, Angie kept shaking her head. “Mom is just going to have to wait till tomorrow. There’s no way I’m getting up there and making a fool of myself batting cow-eyes at you.” Her eyes suddenly widened and her head whipped around to face him. “Nothing personal or anything.”
He almost burst out in a roar of laughter. For a second he’d thought she’d spotted her mother, then he realized she’d merely been concerned that she might have hurt his feelings. The idea of it was both uniquely entertaining and highly endearing.
Another set of couples came and went and Angie’s gaze darted more desperately to the front door and back, followed by a vehement head shake.
The announcer returned on stage. “If you’re having trouble picking a song, our team is quite good at this.”
“Glad someone is,” she muttered, once again looking to the door.
“So,” the man continued, “when it’s your turn, if you still haven’t made up your mind, a song will be assigned to you. Makes for lots of fun and helps get us out of here before tonight’s lounge act needs the floor back.”
Most of the people in the room laughed with the man, but Angie’s face went slightly ashen. “Assigned to us?” She mumbled so low he barely heard her.
“Are you okay?”