Never Say Never Read Free Page B

to wear to eat with the captain. The schedule clearly stated that the first night was not formal, so she finally decided on a soft floral cotton gauze dress. She liked the way the full skirt swirled around her legs. It made her feel feminine. Why that made any difference tonight, she didn’t know.
    Before leaving the room, they studied the map to see where the main dining room was located. Charlotte folded the map and stuck it in her tiny shoulder bag in case they needed it later. They took the elevator up to deck four. A cruise employee waited to show passengers the way. When they arrived at the dining room, Chelle handed the maitre d’ the invitation. He immediately led them toward a table on a raised platform surrounded by railings. Charlotte glanced around, taking in the burgundy plush carpeting as well as the muted draperies on the windows. Or were they portholes? But they weren’t round. The high-ceilinged room was open in the middle with balcony seating on the deck above. This dining room was like an upscale restaurant on land, except that the floor was not completely steady. Charlotte had trouble with the movement of the ship for about an hour, but now she’d found her sea legs.
    When the maitre d’ pulled out her chair, she glanced at the other people at the table. Five besides herself and Chelle—a couple who held hands as if they were newlyweds, an older couple, and the captain.
    Charlotte couldn’t believe her eyes. That man on the deck, the one with the piercing blue eyes, was the captain, and he sat right beside her. Suddenly, the comfortably air-conditioned room felt too warm and something inside her quaked. She worried that she wouldn’t be able to eat a thing with her stomach acting this way. Charlotte had been sure she wouldn’t have a problem with motion sickness, but now she wondered.
    â§
    Gareth hoped that what he felt earlier in the afternoon had been a one-time thing, but when the two Halloran women swept into the room, he knew it wasn’t. Charlotte. Doug said the woman’s name was Charlotte. Her hair was pulled back on the sides and held by combs with pearls, which gleamed among those shiny ebony curls. A becoming blush stained her cheeks with just the right amount of color to set off her blue eyes accented by long lashes. Filmy fabric covered with light-colored flowers floated around her like a cloud as she walked across the room, inspecting everything in it along the way. Then she sank into the chair beside him, and he felt her presence as if she were touching him, but she wasn’t. What in the world was wrong with him?
    â€œMrs. Halloran, welcome to my table.” Why did it sound so intimate when he welcomed her, and it hadn’t when he welcomed the other two couples? “Is this young woman your sister?” Why had he asked such an inane question? He knew she was her daughter. An idiot could have thought of something better to say.
    â€œMy name is Chelle.” The girl giggled. She was even younger than he had guessed.
    The blush in her mother’s cheeks darkened.
    â€œOther people have asked us that before, Captain,” Chelle answered. “Mother has always looked young for her age.”
    â§
    Charlotte had heard that often, but this time it made her sound so ancient. She glanced at the captain. He looked intently at her, just as he had earlier in the day.
    â€œAnd is Mr. Halloran on the cruise with you?” A feminine voice interrupted Charlotte’s thoughts.
    For a moment, she wondered who asked the question. The older woman on her right was smiling at her.
    She gulped back the sob that threatened. “I’m a widow.”
    â€œOh, dearie, I’m so sorry.” The woman patted Charlotte’s arm. “Don’t mind me. My husband is always telling me I’m too inquisitive.” She smiled up at the man seated on her other side. “We’re the Watsons. And these young folks are our