My Last(42)

“Well I think I can help with that situation.” She stated.

His expression told her that he thought the help she was offering entailed much more than what she intended. Not that she would mind helping like that, but...not here.

“Chelle.” There was that warning tone again. She was actually starting to think it was really cute the way he kept saying her name like that.

She smiled and his eyes grew even more intense, she chuckled and shook her head “I wasn’t talking about that.” She wished she was though. “I’m really gonna help.”

One of his eyebrows shot up, “How?”

“My brother called yesterday. He wants you to call him.” Riley groaned and his head fell back.

She looked down at his lap. Sure enough, mentioning her brother had done the trick.

“See? Told ya.” She patted his arm, laughing, as she got up and they made their way down to the lower deck.





Chapter Twelve


People were packed into the small glass-encased room like sardines. Chelle normally didn’t like small, confined places but this time it wasn’t so bad. The difference? In this case, the overcrowding caused her to be pressed tightly to Riley, so she liked it just fine.

Riley ran his hands up and down her arms. His touch caused shivers to run through her body like a wild river. He must have mistaken this response as her being cold, because he said he was going to go and get her a cup of hot cocoa.

She smiled and nodded, mostly because she didn’t trust herself not to burst out in tears. He was just so thoughtful, always noticing things about her, and constantly trying to take care of her.

No one had ever done that for her. Well, no guy anyway. Katie had always been like that, but it felt a lot different coming from a man – and, hell, this was not just any man. This was Riley Sloan!

As he moved away she saw that there was room on a bench in the far corner of the room and she went to go snag it. Now that Riley wasn’t standing behind her for support, her legs did feel a little wobbly as the ship made its way through the choppy waters.

She asked the woman who was sitting at the end of the bench with a child asleep across her lap if the spaces were taken. She shook her head no and Chelle quickly sat down.

The dark-haired woman turned and nodded as she smiled at her, “You’re quite a lucky gal.”

Chelle eyes followed where the woman tipped her head to and saw Riley standing in line at the small beverage bar.

When he caught her looking his way he smiled and Chelle felt it down to her soul, breaking open just a little bit more of her heart.

Good lord, she was in trouble!

“When’s the wedding?” The woman asked.

Chelle returned her attention to the woman, “Excuse me?”

The woman looked down at Chelle’s left finger and Chelle realized that she was still wearing David’s ring. She had just gotten so used to having it on her finger. She hadn’t even noticed it she still had it on.

What did that say about her?

Wouldn’t the normal reaction when an engagement was broken be to take the ring off of your finger? Immediately? In a rage? And then fling it into a lake...or...sell it on eBay? Something?

Why hadn’t she done that?

Maybe it was because she wasn’t one of those girls that had always dreamt of a big diamond ring. She had never really given the ring itself much thought after she and David had gotten engaged.

But, still. How had she literally not noticed it on her hand these last couple of weeks?

“Is something wrong?” The woman asked, concern lacing her voice.

Chelle nodded her head up and down. She remained silent, lacking both the will and the ability to find the words which would explain her odd behavior.

“What’s wrong?” Riley was there, standing next to her.

She glanced back at the woman who had asked about the ring and she was looking out the window watching the water, obviously not wanting to intrude.

“Chelle?” He sat down and his concerned tone made her feel the way only Riley had ever made her feel…special. She thought it was really sweet but she really didn’t want to make a big deal out of this.

“Nothing, thanks for the hot cocoa.” She smiled up at him as she took the cup from his hand.

He looked into her eyes, searching for some clue that she was not, in fact, okay. She did her best to mask any internal turmoil by leaning down and blowing on the surface of the hot drink before bringing it to her lips and sipping it.

She decided it was probably best to change the subject. She smiled brightly, “Did you want to grab a bite when we get back to the pier?”

He shook his head. “Actually, I need to go see my buddy Tommy. He and his wife just had a baby. I was originally supposed to meet up with them the night before I was scheduled to fly home, that’s why I was headed to San Francisco.”