Eating alone in the dining room had been pretty much what Luke had expected. Fast and boring. A few nearby passengers glanced his way, then quickly averted their gazes if he caught them staring. That didn't bother him. Neither did eating alone. What did bother him was that it bothered them. Ludicrous logic but somehow he found himself feeling sorry for them wasting their nice dinners feeling sorry for him. Maybe tomorrow he'd try room service.
Nodding a silent thank you to the waiter and his assistant—who seemed to have made an extra effort to get Luke his food more quickly than the surrounding passengers—Luke made his way through the maze of tables to the exit doors. Noticing an older woman blatantly staring, he winked, and then, when she blushed a schoolgirl grin, he flashed her his best appreciative smile. If there's one thing he'd learned from having sisters, every woman, no matter how young or old, likes to feel pretty.
The new question was where to now? At only 7:00 p.m., he was not ready to call it a night. Besides, Sophia was expecting him for the music trivia later. Taking his time across the ship, he paused at one of the smaller lounges where the Latin trio played tunes that reminded him of warm nights on leave in Cadiz. And the Spanish beauty he'd shared them with. Now that would have been an interesting place to have returned for a vacation. Good food, good sherry and beautiful women. Everything a man could ask for. Unbidden, his thoughts immediately shifted to this afternoon's trivia game and the brief moments with Sharla in his arms. Maybe not everything a man could ask for.
Using the casino for a shortcut across the ship, he paused at the crap tables, almost expecting to see Sophia tossing dice and squealing with delight. A brief stop at a blackjack table had him nearly sitting to play a few rounds, but the way things had been going since he had boarded the ship, he'd probably only succeed in dropping a wad of cash. Maybe another night.
On the other side of the ship he found himself back at the Leeward Lounge and searching for signs of Sharla. When a couple stood up from one of the tables, he hurried to claim the spot. Ten minutes later another group stood to leave, and he commandeered one of the chairs adding a fourth seat to his table. Still unsure if George and his wife, Gloria, were joining them, Luke debated whether or not to pilfer two more chairs when Herbie came up beside him and took a seat.
"Piano player's pretty good."
Herbie was right. The guy was as good as any mainstream artist on the radio. Maybe better. "Affirmative."
"Navy?"
"Not anymore."
Herbie's brows formed a pensive V over the bridge of his nose. "I would have pegged you for career military."
"State Department."
"I see." One side of Herbie's mouth tipped up in a knowing smile.
"And you?"
"Marine Corps. Ten years. Decided I wasn't up to moving around for another ten so I signed up with Philadelphia PD."
"Is that home?"
"No. Military brat. Didn't have a home. Philly offered me a contract first, so I took it. But after twenty years I'd had enough. One day I got in my car and started driving toward warm weather. Stopped at a gas station in the middle of Nowhere, Georgia, at the same time as a couple of cocky kids from Atlanta got the bright idea that robbing a backwoods gas station would be easy. Next thing I knew, I was the chief of police, and, for the most part, the only time I had to deal with senseless death was when I had a good catch on Lake Oconee. Retired now."
"Still in Georgia?"
"Florida. A man can only take so many years of fishing." Herbie flashed a brief smile that told Luke the old coot had probably been a catch himself in his better days.
YOU ARE READING
Shell Game
RomanceHe's High Risk... She's High Stakes. Tricked into taking a Caribbean cruise, Navy SEAL Luke "Brooklyn" Chapman is expecting free-flowing booze, bikini-clad women, and an abundance of recreation. Hardworking Sharla Kramer has her hands full keeping h...