Kiss Me Maybe (Princess Cruises Presents: Kindle Love Stories) by Heather Burch Read Free Book Online Page B

beautiful. There was a real world where she lived on solid ground and swam in the lake where she might come up out of the water with dirt and bits of floating leaves and other debris in her hair, compliments of the frequent Ozark Mountain storms.
    There was no Neptune’s Pool, no Sabatini’s. No perfect fruity drinks with umbrellas perched on the edges. No Alexander.
    Her heart ached at the thought. He was a fairy tale wrapped in flesh and if she could grab Aquanna by the throat and punch her in the face right now, she’d do it. She could. She had taken four months of karate. She had mad fighting skills.
    But, Megan could hardly blame Aquanna. It was Megan herself who opened her heart to the man from Arkansas who—despite his obvious wealth—just seemed like a good ol’ boy. One who rode horses on his grandfather’s farm. One who could enjoy the fireworks at a small-town display and eat cotton candy at a local fair. And one who could take her to Paris on a whim. So many conflicting thoughts surged through her mind, she stepped onto her balcony and stared out over the water.
    When something flashed alongside the ship, she craned her neck to see. Could it be Aquanna? Or just a school of silvery fish? She lifted her hands in question, as if the sea would part and there Aquanna would rise from the depths to offer her advice.
    “I mean, it’s obvious that Richard is perfect for me,” she whispered as if the seawitch were right there and ready to hear Megan’s plea. “He’s from my hometown, even if he doesn’t live there now. We know all the same people from high school. Of course, he never bothered to go back . . . or let folks in town know he’d survived the ordeal years ago. Still, he’s a hometown boy. Plus, he loves the water.”
    Megan glanced at the clock and realized she was already running late. She hurried inside the stateroom and—for a woman who had a lot of monumental choices to make—she felt strangely calm as she prepared to go meet Alexander. Tonight’s dinner was at Crown Grill so she’d dress in formal attire. Her grandma had sent her with a beautiful antique gown that had tiny pearls sewn on the bodice. She shimmied into it and realized . . . there was no way to fasten the tiny buttons on the back. Megan chewed her cheek. Alexander was right next door . . .
    No. She shook the thought from her mind and rushed to the phone, the soft lace of the gown swishing as she moved. She grabbed the receiver and punched a button.
    “Room service, how may I help you?”
    “I . . . uh, well . . . I need someone to button my gown. It’s an antique thing and—”
    “No worries, Miss Cooper,” the attendant said with a lovely accent that Megan could have placed if she were a more worldly kind of girl. “I will send someone immediately.”
    Megan breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I have dinner reservations.”
    “Of course.”
    Within fifteen minutes she was buttoned, retouched her makeup, and headed out the door feeling like Cinderella on the way to the ball. She’d left her purse in the stateroom; who needed one? No one. It was the beauty of being at sea, a complete departure from life and all its responsibilities.
    It wasn’t until she was stepping out of the elevator that she made a startling discovery. Megan lifted the hem of her dress and stared down at her bare feet. A sound that was neither a cough nor a huff escaped her mouth. How on earth had she left without her shoes?
    Two of the ship’s officers were just walking by as she lowered her gown.
    They stopped when she didn’t answer their customary friendly greeting. “Miss, are you okay?”
    If she tried to get back to the stateroom, she’d certainly be late. “I have dinner reservations,” she fumbled through the words.
    One officer frowned. “Can we help you find your dining room?”
    “Uh.” She shook her head. “No. I mean I left my purse, everything in the room.”
    They both nodded, knowingly. “Yes, once the