Harold Lowe has managed to claw his way up the career ladder of the British merchant marines, rising from a ship's boy to a master mariner with one of the world's elite passenger lines. Along the way, he's learned to master not only his craft, but...
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"Why is that officer looking at you like that, Corr?" asked Katie warily.
Corrine was frozen. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had just been thinking about him seconds ago... and there he was, materializing as if out of thin air - and staring straight at her.
"Corr!" Katie prodded her with her elbow. "Good God, love, what is going on?"
"Er... I... we met yesterday, in Southampton," Corrine stammered, not able to take her eyes off of him.
And then, with a whirl, he disappeared.
Disappointment lanced through her. Surely he had recognized her, right? She thought maybe he might wave, or smile... but no, just that intent stare, and then he vanished as suddenly as he had appeared. Silently, she berated herself for even bothering to get her hopes up. She had obviously mistaken his curiosity for something more. Maybe he was just trying to place where he had seen her before, and once he did, he had quickly lost interest.
She groaned out loud for being such a fool and turned to walk back toward the door to the staircase and the lower decks. Katie, still mystified, quickly stepped in front of her. "Exactly what was that about?" she demanded. "What aren't you telling me? He was looking at you like-"
She stopped and caught her breath. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," she breathed, staring at something behind her. Corrine turned around... and saw him standing behind the gate at the top of the stairs to the second-class promenade on the port side.
If anything, he was even better-looking than her mind had remembered - and she had conjured him up enough in her head the past few hours to know. His face was unreadable, but his dark eyes... well, they registered a mixture of confusion, surprise, and pleasure.
Behind her back, Katie nudged her. "What are you waiting for, love?" she hissed impatiently. "Go over there and see him!"
Her heartbeat racing, Corrine glided across the deck toward him as if drawn by an invisible but powerful string. "How do you do, Mr. Lowe?" she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs, taking care to appear unruffled and keep the giddiness out of her voice.
"I don't believe it," he said slowly as she approached. "It is you!" She watched as he fumbled with the lock on the gate, seemed to curse under his breath, and finally got the mechanism to release. He descended the flight of stairs until he was halfway down. "I thought- I never thought I'd see you again, and yet here you are!" He suddenly blushed, as if realizing that he sounded too eager. His tone changed. "Why didn't you tell me you were sailing on Titanic, too?" he demanded. "You never thought to mention that detail yesterday?"
She suppressed her internal mirth at the return of his feistiness. "Well, to be fair, you never asked," she said innocently, disarming his bluster with a charming smile.
