A Change of Plans (3 page)

“Thank you.” I turned to Braedon, mortified. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, still chuckling.

I walked from the room, hoping I didn’t look as ridiculous as I felt and praying I could make it down to the Show Lounge without another blunder.

Elle was waiting for me, sitting among some of her new friends. I waved hello to them and sat in the chair she indicated.

“Where did you find Jori?” she asked.

“I know, right?” I peered around her to see if he had come.

“He was feeling seasick, so he went back to his cabin.” Elle looked at me. “He seemed interested in you.”

I leaned my head back and shut my eyes for a moment before glancing at her from the corner of my eye. “How many guys do you plan on playing matchmaker with?”

She made a face. “Just flirt with them. You can date a guy without marrying him—” Elle snapped her mouth shut when she saw the pain in my expression. “I’m sorry. But you know what I mean.”

I sighed and squeezed her hand. “I do. Have you given that job offer anymore thought?”

Elle made a face. I wasn’t surprised. She had worked at half a dozen different things since high school. Recently, she had gotten her Colorado court reporter certification. I had told her that sitting invisible in a corner would never suit her. Evidently, now that the job offer had made that a reality, she was having second thoughts.

“Then don’t take it,” I said.

She leaned her head back. “I wish I could be my own boss, doing something I like.”

“Play to your strength—people.” We had been over this
before, but fear of failure kept her from starting an Etsy business with some online friends. It was the same problem she had with guys, but I wasn’t going to go there.

At the end of the show, the members of Elle’s group who hadn’t gotten seasick wanted to go to the Crow’s Nest, the ship’s dance club.

“You’re coming, aren’t you?” Elle asked.

I shook my head, thinking of my mishap with Braedon. “I’d prefer to wait until the deck is steadier before going dancing.”

Elle put on a martyred expression. “Well, based on the stormy weather forecast, you’ll have to get used to it. I’ll let you go today, but tomorrow you
will
come.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “Night, everyone.”

CHAPTER 3

T
HE SHIP’S
rocking was so much gentler in the morning that I felt it was safe enough for a workout. Though I arrived at the gym early, two guys were already there on the treadmills. I went to the workout floor near the entrance and took off my hoodie and shoes.

I sipped some lime-flavored water and took a couple of minutes to admire the view of the ocean. I couldn’t help but notice the nice physique of the shirtless man jogging on the treadmill. He must know what he was doing when he lifted weights; it took time and knowledge to get such a defined build without the grotesque bodybuilder look.

I suddenly realized it was Braedon and choked on my water. Embarrassed, I turned away, trying not to draw attention to myself with my coughing.

While I did my sensei-required thirty minutes of stretching, I focused my attention on the list of books I planned to read on the cruise, refusing to look at the treadmills again. Once finished, I took a long drink and allowed myself one peek in
his direction. He had moved on to the weights. I tried not to remember my humiliation at falling all over him last night.

I began the kata, starting with yellow belt forms, and lost myself in the movements. When I completed the forms for the brown belt, I took a break. Braedon stood by a young guy and a pretty Hispanic girl I had seen at dinner last night, apparently giving them instructions on how to use the weight machines. I scrutinized Braedon, curious about what kind of teacher he might be. Our eyes met before I had a chance to look away. Busted! My face went hot.

I spun, stumbling a little over the first moves of the black belt kata, so I had to start over. I could almost feel Braedon’s eyes on my back as I returned to the beginning position. I closed my eyes and slowly did the opening bow, forcing my thoughts into the next move. After a pause, I exploded to the right, performed a right strike and Haku kick, stepped into a left stack, and followed with a right augmented block. By the time I moved forward to do the next block, I had found my zone.

After completing the six required forms one after the other, I was drenched in sweat. I grabbed my towel, wiping my face. Water bottle in hand for a refill, I didn’t see him until I turned around.

Braedon leaned against the wall, watching me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. A towel hung loosely over his shoulder, his skin glistening with a faint sheen of perspiration. He straightened. “Karate?”

“Yes.” I moved toward the water cooler.

Braedon followed. “Are you a black belt?”

“First degree.” I bent to fill my bottle. “I should be ready to test for my next level by fall.”

The lanky guy Braedon had helped joined us, the girl following closely behind. “You’re Elle’s friend Lyn, right?” He thrust a tanned hand forward. “I’m Jimmy Hewitt and this is Maria Sandoval.” His eyes lit up. “Was that Kung Fu stuff you were doing?”

With that accent, he had to be from the south. Texas, maybe. There was something so likeable about him that I couldn’t help smiling. “It’s karate.”

“I’d love to learn some moves sometime.” Jimmy glanced from me to Braedon.

Maria moved closer, taking Jimmy’s arm. “Elle and a bunch of us are meeting for breakfast. You two coming?”

“I’m heading to the first class in that series about Hawaii, so I won’t have time.” I threw my canvass bag over my shoulder and headed toward the elevator, followed by the others.

“I’ll have to pass too.” Braedon reached his arm past me and pushed the elevator button. “I’m meeting my family for that same class.”

“Oh, okay.” Jimmy nodded. “Hey, I was wondering—”

The elevator opened, and we stepped aside to let out the people, Braedon’s hand on the frame to keep the door open. I looked at Jimmy. “Yes?”

“Well, see, I play the guitar, and I’m looking for other people who play instruments.”

I glanced at Maria, who was watching him in obvious adoration. “Why?” I asked him.

Jimmy’s face glowed. “I’m trying to talk the cruise director into letting us have a passenger talent show.”

I hoped Elle hadn’t told him that I played the piano and the guitar. I was on vacation and had no intention of performing. “I’ll let you know if I find any.”

Jimmy gave me a big grin. “Wicked. Thanks!” He headed toward the stairs.

“Hang on a sec,” Braedon said to me. He let the elevator door go and dashed toward the buffet by the pool area. He grabbed a few things and hurried back, handing me a muffin. “After that workout, you can’t skip breakfast.”

“What?” I laughed and pushed the elevator button again. “Are you a doctor or something?”

He nodded. “Surgeon.”

That explained the cell phone obsession, but he looked too young to be a doctor. “General surgery or did you specialize?”

“I’m a thoracic surgeon.”

“Wow. How old are you?” I blurted and immediately covered my mouth in dismay. “Sorry. It’s just I know that involves an extra four years after medical school, so it’s what? Fifteen years of training
after
high school?”

Braedon blinked. “I
am
younger than most in the field.” The elevator door opened again, and we entered. “I graduated early from high school with an associate degree, so I had a head start.”

“How old were you when you graduated?”

He paused. “Fifteen.”

“You graduated from high school at fifteen
with
an associate degree? I’m ... speechless.”

Braedon chuckled, but there was a hint of bitterness to it. “You wouldn’t be if you’d known my mother.”

The doors opened to our floor, and we stepped into the narrow hallway.

“Did your mother push you to graduate early?”

He shrugged. “No more than I pushed myself.”

Cocking my head, I lifted one eyebrow.

“What?”

“I’m a high school teacher. Even graduating at eighteen with an associate degree is a big deal. Did you do
anything
but study?”

“My mother was a very determined woman, and she knew how to get what she wanted ... and, to be honest, what I wanted. I had a rigid schedule, but I did have a social life.”

The smile left his face. “She wanted to keep me from growing up to be like my father. He’s a rancher in Montana, and she knew how much I loved to be out on the range with him. So when I expressed an interest in medicine, she jumped on it with a vengeance and made sure I never had time to change my mind.”

He winced. “I’m sorry. You don’t need to know all this.”

Yet at that moment, I wanted to know the whole story. “Did you ever? Change your mind, I mean.”

He shook his head.

“How did your dad feel about you becoming a doctor?”

Braedon snorted, but his expression softened. “He can be really hard on people, but he supported me in whatever I wanted—as long as it was my choice. Dad’s not one to trust people who aren’t family. After the divorce, my mother was no longer family.”

Being caught between them must have been tough. My heart swelled at the thought of my own parents. “Your mother and father sound like they’re from two very different worlds.”

“It’s amazing they ever got together—the cowboy and the debutante. Their story was the stuff of a chick flick ... if there’d been a happy ending.” He lifted his chin toward me. “What about you? How did you get into martial arts?”

“There’d been a rash of rapes around campus, so I registered
for karate. I loved it and kept going even after the police caught the guy.”

“I studied Taekwondo in school—traditional, not sport. I only got up to my red belt, though. Other things became more important to me at that time in my life.” He gave a soft chuckle. “Like cars and girls.”

“Cars and girls. Makes me think of my brother.” I grinned and paused when we reached his door. “So you didn’t go beyond red. What level is that? I’m not familiar with Taekwondo’s belt colors.”

“In my dojo, it was just before black.”

Elle stuck her head out of our door a few feet away. “There you are!” Her eyes widened when she noticed Braedon.

“See you,” I said to him and nudged Elle into our cabin.

I had to give her credit for trying to hide her smug expression. “You coming to breakfast?” she asked.

Stepping out of my gi pants, I nodded toward the day’s itinerary on the desk next to her. “Don’t you remember I said I wanted to go to the briefings?” I took a big bite out of the muffin.

She scanned the paper and frowned. “But there are five days of them. All first thing in the morning.”

“You want to come with me?” I tried not to push too hard. Elle hated sitting through lectures, and I figured she would decline this time too. We had learned to respect our differences and accept the give and take.

She surprised me by considering my offer, and my hopes rose, but she finally made a face. “No, but you’ll still come to the hula class after lunch, won’t you?”

“Of course. I love making a fool of myself in front of others.” Grabbing my clothes, I headed to the bathroom.

“We’ll have company. Jimmy’s coming,” Elle called as I shut the door.

I
T WAS
probably safer for me to go to the briefing without Braedon since I was finding him a little too interesting for my comfort. I had survived the last eleven months by removing all evidence that Jace had ever been a part of my life. Mentally, I had known it would take me time to get over him, but the betrayal confused everything. I had set progress markers to prove to myself I was moving on, like finally eating at our favorite restaurant or accepting a Facebook friend request from someone in high school we had both known. My pride had demanded it. Like a racehorse wearing blinders to avoid distraction, I had refused to see anything but getting past the anniversary of Jace’s death ... and all that had followed. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to consider my raw and wounded heart. That would come. Eventually.

Braedon’s cabin door opened just when I was about to pass it. He grinned. “Good timing. Do you mind if I walk with you?”

“No,” I lied. Kind of. He smelled fresh from his shower and had put on that yummy cologne again.

“What’s involved in your belt test?” he asked as we walked down the corridor.

“I have to do all my degree kata. Sensei will have me choose one of my favorites from any color belt, and he’ll choose one or two for me to do too.”

Braedon frowned. “So you have to remember all the forms?”

I nodded. “And there’s unpadded sparring—three against one—plus a bunch of self-defense techniques.”

We had reached the auditorium, where a crowd of people gathered at the entrance, slowly making their way inside. In front of us was the elderly gentleman from the drill. Braedon’s eyes flicked to me, and the corner of his mouth twitched. If I had known him better, I would have smacked him. Instead, I laughed.

The old man looked back over his shoulder, his eyes sparkling in recognition. He nodded to us and turned back to another elderly man. “What was it you said?”