Tears fell from my eyes as I pushed my way back across the room and out the door, praying that Ally and Knox didn’t see me. I shoved my way out the door, then took off. I knew exactly where I needed to go.
24
EVAN
Once Ally and Kassidy went to the bathroom, Knox and I kept dancing, but eventually, Knox wandered away, too. I didn’t want to leave the spot where I was, worried that Kassidy wouldn’t be able to find me again, so I tried to stay in the same place. The crowd kept growing, though, and everyone kept moving, trying to make room for others, and it didn’t take long for me to end up closer to the other side of the room. I decided to look for an exit so I could circle around and wait for Kassidy, but as soon as I started moving, a slow song came on, and a woman grabbed my arm and started dancing with me.
“I’ve been watching you all night. You’re an amazing dancer,” the woman said into my ear.
Objectively, she was a good-looking woman, but I had no interest in her. The only woman I had eyes for was Kassidy. I was falling for her, had been falling for her, and I didn’t want anyone else. Hell, a supermodel could walk up and try to take me to bed right now, and I’d find them repulsive compared to Kassidy.
“Thanks, but I’m taken,” I said, removing the woman’s hands from around my neck. I moved to step back, but before I could, the woman kissed me. For a moment, I was so shocked that I was frozen. That quickly changed to disgust and anger, though, as I pulled away from her. “What the hell? Why did you kiss me?”
The crazy woman didn’t answer, and I turned and walked away from her. I made my way out of the room and circled around to the other doors, finding not just Knox, but also Ally, just inside.
“Where’s Kassidy?” I asked, alarms immediately going off. Kassidy and Ally were supposed to be together.
“She was going to find you on the dance floor, last I saw her,” Ally said with a frown.
“Well, she didn’t find me. Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Ally said, her eyes getting wider.
“Let’s split up and look for her. Meet me outside these doors in ten minutes,” I said, turning back and once again moving through the throng of people. There was no sign of Kassidy, and when I met back up with Knox and Ally, they hadn’t found her, either.
“I’ll check the bathroom again,” Ally said, but she came back a minute later, not having found her.
“Maybe she went back to the room?” Knox asked, and I went to check, while Ally and Knox went to the buffet area to see if Kassidy had gotten hungry and gone up there.
We couldn’t find her anywhere. I thought about where else she could be, and suddenly, I had a realization.
“I know where she is. The sauna,” I said, feeling like an idiot. “That’s her safe place. I should’ve tried there first.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Ally said, but I stopped her.
“Let me go talk to her by myself. If she isn’t there, I’ll come right back here and we’ll keep looking for her. If I’m not back to the rooms in 15 minutes, that means I found her, and you can stand down.”
Ally looked like she wanted to argue, and Knox looked worried, but they nodded, letting me find her on my own.
I opened the door to the sauna, and to my relief, Kassidy was inside. She looked up when I opened the door, but once she realized it was me, she looked away again. Obviously, something was wrong, and I needed to talk to her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone— two older women sat together on one of the benches, and they were gawking at me.
“Kassidy, can I talk to you privately?” I asked, but she didn’t answer, or even acknowledge me.
“Young man, either come in our stay out. But either way, shut the door. You’re letting all of our steam escape,” one of the women lectured me.
It only took me a second to make a decision. “Yes, ma’am,” I responded politely, then looked at Kassidy. “I’ll be right back,” I promised, closing the door. I stripped off my shirt and shorts, stuffing them into a nearby cubby, then grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist, adding another layer to the boxers I was wearing. Once the towel was secure, I returned to the sauna and went inside, sitting down next to Kassidy.
“Why are you in here? I was waiting for you. We’ve been looking all over the ship for you,” I said softly. She still didn’t answer, but when I reached out and grazed my knuckled over her cheek, I realized she was crying. I cursed under my breath, suddenly realizing what had happened. “Did you see that woman kiss me?”
She didn’t speak, but she nodded, which was enough.
“I’m guessing you didn’t stay long enough to see me push her away and storm off,” I said, but Kassidy continued to look at the ground, and everywhere else, except my eyes. “I don’t know who that woman was, and I don’t want anything to do with her. Honestly, she’s lucky I didn’t report her, because what she did was assault. But the bottom line is, why would I want to kiss her, when I’m taken by someone a thousand times more amazing than she is?”
That got her attention, like I’d hoped. “You’re taken?” Kassidy asked with confusion, looking up at me for the first time since I’d walked in.
“Well, not officially, but I’m hoping to change that,” I said, taking Kassidy’s hand and lacing her fingers in mine. I was watching her expression closely, but so far, she wasn’t giving anything away, her face carefully blank. “See, I met this woman who makes me completely crazy. She argues with me all the time, and she seems to have a death wish. And she claims she’s Finnish, but I’m not sure that’s true, since she has red hair and freckles, and an Irish last name. But she’s also selfless, and brave, and kind. She’s completely gorgeous, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. She makes me happy, and makes me laugh more than anyone else. And I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“You better be talking about the woman you’re sitting next to, or else you’ll be answering to Mary and me. They won’t believe a couple of old ladies like us would throw a man overboard, but we’ll do it,” one of the women threatened, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, ma’am. I am definitely talking about this woman next to me. Kassidy O’Neill.”
“Me?” Kassidy asked, sounding surprised, but at least she was still looking at me, her face finally hopeful instead of sad.
“Yes, you,” I said, scooting even closer to her. “But if there’s another woman out there who meets that description, I don’t want to know. I can only handle one of you.”
“Oh, shut up,” Kassidy said, smacking my arm lightly, but she was smiling.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Kiss her!” One of the women—possibly Mary—said.
“May I?” I asked Kassidy, waiting for her permission first, unlike the crazy woman from the nightclub. It seemed to take forever, but finally, she nodded. “Thank God,” I breathed as I grasped the back of her neck, pulling her closer.
I kept the kiss easy at first, just light brushes of my lips against hers. Like our other kisses, though, the heat between us was too much, too intense, and it was impossible to hold back. I let out a growl, pulling her even closer, and cupping her face with both of my hands as I told her without words how I felt about her. She kissed me back with just as much passion, and we were both panting when I eventually pulled away.