Love At Last (Lily's Story, Book 3) (8 page)

We chatted for a while longer, then I noticed Natalie waking up. “I need to feed her, then I’ll be ready to go. Do you want to wait or do you want to meet somewhere?”

“I can wait. I’d like to see this baby of yours.”

“Okay.” We went back into the room and I gave Natalie some baby food, then nursed her.

“I can’t believe you’re a mother. You seem like you’re really good at it too, but it’s just weird.”

I laughed. “It was weird for me at first too, but now that she’s eight months old, I can hardly remember what it was like when I didn’t have her.” I pressed her against my shoulder and rubbed her back. “Do you want to hold her?”

Alyssa held out her hands. “Yes.”

I handed her over and Alyssa cooed over her, and Natalie smiled. “I got her to smile,” Alyssa said, obviously pleased.

“She’s a really happy baby. I’m lucky.”

Alyssa gazed at her, then looked at me. “She has Trevor’s eyes.”

I smiled wistfully. “I know. Even though I knew I couldn’t be with him anymore, I loved him once, and I’m glad our child has beautiful blue eyes like his.”

Alyssa nodded, and after a moment asked if I was ready to go.

“Yes.” I put Natalie in the stroller I’d rented, placed the diaper bag over the handle, then followed Alyssa from the room.

She texted Ty to find out where he was—we were still in port so the cell signal was good. Then we took the elevator to the Lido deck, where the wedding party was gathered to eat from the buffet. I smiled as I looked at all the food laid out—I hadn’t eaten in hours and was really hungry.

“There they are.” Alyssa pointed to a large group sitting at several tables next to the window.

When we stopped next to the group, a man walked over to Alyssa, a smile on his face. Alyssa turned to me. “Lily, this is my fiancé, Ty.”

“I’m so glad to meet you,” I said.

“I’m glad you were able to come.” He drew me into a brief hug, then pulled away and looked at me. “I know your being here has made Alyssa really happy.”

I smiled at Alyssa, then looked at Ty. “I’m glad it worked out. I’m excited for your wedding.”

Alyssa’s parents, Paul and Barbara, came over to meet me. I lifted Natalie from her stroller and held her on my hip.

“What a cutie,” Barbara said, touching Natalie’s arm. She smiled at me. “Would you like me to hold her while you get something to eat?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.”

“No. I love babies.” She held out her arms for Natalie and I placed her there. Natalie seemed okay with Barbara holding her, which made me feel better.

“I’ll go with you,” Alyssa said. “I haven’t eaten yet.”

Alyssa, Ty, and I walked around, seeing what food was available, then got in one of the lines.

“That was nice of your mom to take Natalie,” I said to Alyssa.

Alyssa laughed. “She really does love babies. My older brother’s given her two grandchildren, and I know she’s hoping I’ll produce some too.”

I thought about Trevor’s parents and their desire to spend time with Natalie, and felt guilt slice through me. They’d barely met my baby, and I’d run away from their party before they’d had a chance to get to know her. But I’d promised them I’d come for a visit in a few weeks, which helped to assuage the guilt.

We picked up our trays and selected our food, then went back to the group. I sat across from Barbara, who had given Natalie a shiny necklace to play with. As I ate, I listened to the conversation around me and looked forward to getting to know Alyssa and Ty’s friends and family over the next week. I’d only met a few of them so far, and my gaze wandered among the group, trying to memorize who belonged.

As my eyes skimmed over the faces at a neighboring table, I recognized the man who had sat next to me on the flight from Sacramento. He didn’t seem to notice me as he chatted with the people sitting near him. He’d hardly acknowledged me on the flight, so he probably wouldn’t recognize me anyway. I watched him for a moment, taking in his perfectly straight, white teeth, and the dimple that appeared on the left side of his face when he laughed.

“Who’s that?” I whispered to Alyssa.

Alyssa followed my gaze, and smiled. “That’s Cameron. He’s Ty’s best friend.”

Cameron must have felt our gaze on him, because he turned and looked our way, and when our eyes met, I felt a jolt. His eyes were the same vivid blue as Trevor’s had been.

Chapter Nine

Like I expected, he didn’t seem to realize I was the same woman he’d sat next to on the flight from Sacramento, as I saw no spark of recognition. He’d been completely absorbed in his laptop during the flight, so he probably hadn’t even registered my presence, except to note that I had a baby with me.

Now, however, he seemed to take notice of me, which did something funny to my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it was his attention, or the fact that his eyes reminded me of Trevor, but when his gaze met mine, I felt exposed somehow, vulnerable.

“He’s single,” Alyssa whispered in my ear.

I broke my gaze with Cameron and looked at Alyssa. “That’s nice.”

She tried to hide a smile. “And so are you, my dear.”

I laughed. “Are you going to try to play matchmaker again?”

“Hmm. I guess that didn’t work out so well the first time, did it?”

“Maybe I should have listened to you when you were pushing me toward Justin.” I paused. “What’s he up to, anyway?”

Alyssa smiled. “He’s doing great. He and Pamela got married.” She looked at me with a question. “Did you ever meet her?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“He wanted to come on the cruise, but it just didn’t work out.”

“Hey, buddy,” Cameron said to Ty, who was sitting next to Alyssa. “How’s it going?”

I looked at him and noticed him glancing at me.

“Hey, Cam,” Ty said. “Come sit with us.”

I felt Alyssa nudge me in the leg, and I bit back a smile. Then I thought about Marcus and how much I cared for him—maybe even loved him. Then I thought about his new girlfriend, and how our future together was so murky. I had no obligation to Marcus. Besides, it would be fun to get to know more people on the cruise—it was just a week of fun before going back to my everyday, hum-drum life. I needed to expand my circle of acquaintances, and this would be the perfect opportunity.

“Cam,” Ty said, then motioned to me. “This is Alyssa’s friend, Lily.”

Turning to look at him, I smiled.
 

“Hey,” he said.
 

“Hi.” I could see in his eyes that he found me attractive and it made me feel desirable. For the past eight months I’d been so focused on being a mother that I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to have a man show that kind of interest in me.

“Where are you from?” he asked as he slid into a seat across from Alyssa, Ty, and me.

Enjoying his attention, I smiled, and told him the name of the small town an hour south of Sacramento.

“Is that so?”

“What about you?” I asked.

“I actually don’t live too far from you. I’m just up in Sacramento.”

I nodded, not terribly surprised, since we’d left from the same airport. “Have you ever been to Alaska?”

“No. But I understand this is a good time of year to go. What about you?”

“No. First time in Alaska, and this is my first cruise too.”

He smiled, which deepened the dimple on his cheek. “Well, maybe I can show you some of the fun things to do on the ship.”

My smile grew as he made his intentions clear. “I’d like that.” I paused as a thought occurred to me. Most likely he didn’t know I had a baby. Would that change his mind about spending time with me? Natalie was part of me, so there wasn’t much I could do about it, but I thought it would be better to make the truth known up front. “I guess you don’t recognize me.”

He looked puzzled. “No. Why? Have we met before?”

I laughed, secretly worried about his reaction. “Sort of. You sat next to me on your flight this morning.”

“I did?” Then he looked confused. “But I sat next to a woman with a baby.”

I pointed to Barbara. “Yes. Alyssa’s mom is holding my daughter.”

His gaze went to Natalie, who was watching the people around her, then focused back on me. He laughed, but he seemed uncomfortable. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t pay attention on the flight.”

“That’s okay.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, then he looked at Ty and asked him a question, effectively dismissing me. Though I kept a smile on my face, disappointment shot through me that his interest had shut off like a light switch the moment he’d found out I had a baby.
Oh well
, I thought.
It’s probably for the best
. Then I turned to Alyssa. She frowned at me, like she understood what had happened, then we talked about her wedding plans.
 

As we talked, my gaze wandered to Cameron several times, and twice I noticed him looking at me. Inside I smiled, wondering if maybe there was hope there after all.

“It’s time for the ship to leave,” someone said.

“Let’s go to the upper deck,” Alyssa said to the group.

Everyone got up, including me, and I took Natalie from Barbara. “Thanks for holding her. Sometimes it’s nice to eat without a baby on my lap.”

She laughed. “They like to grab, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do.”

“I’m happy to help you out with her this week, if you’d like.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

She smiled warmly. “I’ve been on this cruise before, so if you want to do any of the excursions, I’d be happy to babysit.”

I considered her offer. “Are there any excursions you recommend?”

“My favorite is the whale watching.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“It really is. You should consider it.”

“I will. Thanks.”

I put Natalie in her stroller and followed the group to the elevator, then went up one level to the sun deck. We walked to the railing and I took Natalie out of her stroller, then gazed at the view. The weather was perfect and I pressed my cheek to Natalie’s as the ship slowly moved away from Seattle. Alyssa stood next to me, with Ty at her side.

“Are you going on any excursions?” I asked her.

“Well, the wedding is in our first port, but in Juneau I want to do the whale watching trip.”

“Your mom was talking about that. She said it was her favorite excursion.”

“Yeah, she’s the one who suggested it.” She smiled. “Are you going to go on it?”

“It sounds like fun. And your mom offered to watch Natalie if I went.”

Alyssa’s grin widened. “Do it. Come with us.”

I smiled. “Okay. I will.” After a while, Natalie started getting restless and I turned to Alyssa. “I’m going to take her back to my room.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll probably just see you at dinner.”

“Sounds good.” She gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you came, Lily.”

“Me, too.” When I got back to my room, I played with Natalie until she started rubbing her eyes, which meant she was getting sleepy. I put her down, then lay on my bed, and we both napped. When we woke, we still had a while before dinner—Alyssa’s party had all signed up for the later dinner time. I put Natalie in her stroller and took a walk around the ship, getting myself familiar with the layout.

When it was time for dinner, I went to the dining room and the steward showed me where my table was. I would be sitting there every night with Alyssa and Ty’s group, and when I arrived, most of the group was already there. Alyssa had saved me a seat next to her—which I really appreciated since I didn’t really know anyone else in the group yet.

Our waiter brought a high chair for Natalie, which I placed between Alyssa and me, and she seemed content to watch everyone. I’d fed her just before coming, so she wasn’t hungry. The seat on the other side of me was empty and I wondered who would sit there, and hoped it would be someone I would enjoy talking to. It was noisy in the dining room, so talking to someone on the other side of the ten-person table would be difficult.

“Mom says the food here is really good,” Alyssa said.

“Well, I’m starving, so I’m sure whatever I eat will taste good.”

A moment later Cameron arrived. The only empty seat was the one next to me and he smiled at me as he sat. I wondered what, if anything, he knew about me. Surely Alyssa had filled Ty in on what had happened to me with Trevor, but I wondered if anyone else knew.

The waiters handed out the menus and I read over the choices. There were several appetizers to choose from, as well as entrees, and everything sounded delicious. “I can’t decide between these two,” I said, showing Alyssa the appetizers I wanted.

“Get them both,” she said.

“What?”

“Yeah. You can, you know.”

“Oh.”

“I know I’m getting these two,” Cameron said, showing me his menu.

“I don’t know if I can eat that much.” I smiled at him, glad his initial friendliness seemed to be returning. “I’d better just choose one appetizer.”

He grinned. “Just make sure to save room for dessert. I hear the melting cake is really good.”

“If chocolate’s involved, then I’m sure I’ll love it.”

“Oh,” he said. “You’re a chocoholic.” He leaned toward me and whispered, “Me, too.”

I smiled, enjoying his attention.

I chatted with Alyssa during the meal, but didn’t want to monopolize her attention—she was the star of this cruise, after all. I turned to Cameron, who seemed to be focused on eating his entree. “So on the flight today,” I began.

He looked at me and his face reddened. “Yeah, sorry that I totally ignored you.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. I was just wondering what you were working on. You seemed really focused on your laptop.”

“I was trying to get a slide show finished for work before we set sail.”

“Oh. What do you do?”

“I’m in marketing. I work for a software company and we’re getting ready to launch a new product.”

“Software, huh?” I paused. “I’m working on a degree in Information Technology.”

His interest seemed piqued at this. “Oh, yeah? When do you finish?”

I laughed softly. “Not for a while. I got a little sidetracked with having Natalie, so my degree’s on hold for a little bit. But in the meantime, I’m building webpages for some small businesses in my community.”