The Secret Affair(50)

                He headed for the bathroom to shower.

                Tonight couldn’t get here fast enough.

                * * *

                “Welcome, senorita, may we assist with your mask?”

                Jillian lifted a brow. “Mask?”

                The tall crewman dressed in a crisp white uniform smiled down at her. “Si. Tonight’s theme is a Spanish masquerade ball,” he said, offering a red feathered mask to her.

                She took it and slid it across her face. It was a perfect fit. “Thanks.”

                “Your name?” he asked.

                “Jillian Novak.”

                “Senorita Novak, dinner will be served in a half hour in the Madrid Room; someone will come escort you to your table.”

                “Thanks.”

                She entered the huge lounge that had beautiful rosettes hanging from the ceiling and several masquerade props in the corners of the room for picture taking. Flamenco dancers encouraged participation in the middle of the floor and several men dressed as dashing bullfighters walked around as servers. When a woman wearing a gorgeous quinceañera gown offered her a beautiful lace fan, Jillian smiled and took it.

                “Would the senorita like a glass of rioja?”

                “Yes, thanks,” she responded to one of the servers.

                Jillian took a sip and immediately liked the taste. It wasn’t too tart or tangy but was an excellent blend of fruits. As she sipped her wine she looked around the room. It was crowded and most of the individuals were coupled off. Immediately, she felt like a loner crashing a party, but forced the feeling away. So what if there were a lot of couples and she had no one? She’d known it would be like this but had made the decision to come anyway.

                “Excuse me, senorita, but someone asked me to give you this,” the woman wearing the quinceañera gown said, while handing her a single red rose.

                “Who?” Jillian asked, curiously glancing around.

                The woman smiled. “A very handsome man.” And then she walked off.

                Jillian felt uneasy. What kind of very handsome man would come cruising alone? She’d seen a movie once where a serial killer had come on a cruise ship and stalked single women. No one had known just how many women he’d killed and thrown overboard until the end of the cruise. For crying out loud, why was she remembering that particular movie now?

                She drew in a deep breath knowing she was letting her imagination get the best of her. The man was probably someone who’d seen her alone and wanted to state his interest by giving her a rose. Romantic but a total waste of his time. Even the woman’s claim that he was very handsome did nothing for Jillian since she wasn’t ready to get involved with anyone. Even after a full year, she compared every man to Aidan. That was the main reason she hadn’t dated anyone since him. On the other hand, she would bet any amount of money Aidan was dating someone and probably hadn’t wasted any time doing so.

                She drew in a deep breath, refusing to let her mind go there. Why should she care in the least what Aidan was doing or who he was doing it with? Deciding not to think of an answer for that one, she glanced around the room, curiosity getting the best of her. She tried to find any single men but all she saw were the bullfighters serving drinks.

                Jillian glanced at her watch. She’d deliberately arrived a little late so she wouldn’t have long to wait for dinner. She’d grabbed breakfast on the run to catch her plane and because she’d come straight from the Barcelona airport to the ship, she had missed lunch altogether.