Ship of Dreams by Brenda Hiatt Read Free Book Online

come.
     
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    What on earth was the matter with him? Kenton fumed silently as they left the cabin. Of course the same arguments he'd just used against her departing in Panama would apply equally in New York. He didn't have the faintest idea what he was going to do about it, either.
    At lunch he'd told himself that he would somehow get out of this tangle before reaching home—and his family and fiancée—but how? By then, he and Della would have been pretending for nearly a month. It would look stranger than ever if they were to part company abruptly.
    A tiny voice also told him that a lot could happen in a month. Much as he disapproved of her, he couldn't deny that Della Gilley was both attractive and charming. After weeks in her close company, would he want to let her go?
    "You're being awfully quiet," she commented as they took the same seats they'd occupied for luncheon. They were among the first to arrive, with most of the others still on deck enjoying the fine weather.
    "I have a lot to think about," he said tersely. Of course he would be willing to let her go! She wasn't his sort of woman at all—and Caroline most definitely was. His fiancée shared his background, his social sphere, his views. Her mother and his had been lifelong friends, and their engagement had been presumed for years before he finally proposed—at his mother's urging—before leaving for California. Caroline would be exactly the sort of wife a man in his position needed.
    But how would he ever explain Della to her, should this matter come to her attention? Reluctantly, he realized Della's original plan had made more sense from the start. He should have let her find a spot in steerage and explained her away as a hoax at the outset. No doubt she'd have helped him come up with a plausible story, one that would have satisfied Sharpe and the other investors. Perhaps it was still not too late ...
    "Have you finally realized that I've been right all along?"
    He turned in surprise to find her regarding him with barely concealed amusement. Had she read his mind, or just his expression?
    "Of course not," he snapped, his only thought to wipe the amusement from her face. He succeeded—but at what cost? Still, he couldn't bring himself to give her that satisfaction. "I won't allow you to make me look like a fool—here, or in New York."
    "I suspect you'll do a fair job of that all by yourself, if you persist in being so stubborn." Her green eyes glinted with sudden anger.
    "If I do, that's my affair—not yours." What was he saying? He was behaving completely out of character. Where was the calm, unemotional reasoning on which he prided himself? The events of this day seemed to have robbed him of rationality.
    The logical thing to do was to confess that she'd been right, and to explain to everyone what they'd done—now, before they got in any deeper. Before they spent a night alone in his cabin. He opened his mouth to do just that, when Della rose to greet the Pattersons, just joining them at the table. He'd missed his chance—again.
    Supper was an even livelier meal than luncheon had been, with the passengers eager to share their impressions of the ship and their first day at sea. As before, Kent and Della were surrounded by newlywed couples.
    "I declare, being at sea has given me such an appetite," exclaimed Virginia Birch. "Is it the salt air, do you think?"
    "Whatever it is, I'm glad to hear it," said her husband Billy, suggestively. "For I've quite an appetite myself—one I'll sate after the meal." He waggled his brows up and down so comically that everyone at the table laughed. He sketched a mock bow from his seat, while Viginia blushed prettily.
    That began a series of humorously veiled comments by the gentlemen, designed to elicit blushes from their own ladies. Kenton chuckled along with the rest, but felt distinctly uncomfortable. If Della felt the same, she hid it remarkably well, he noticed