“I make whiskey.”
“I love Irish whiskey!” she exclaims. “I prefer it to Scotch. Too peaty. What’s it called?”
“Killcurragh,” he says.
“Well, color me purple. It just so happens that’s my favorite.”
He laughs. “Is it?”
“It is now,” she says.
He cracks an infectious grin. “I’d forgive you if you’ve never heard of it. I’ve only been at it six years or so. I sold my company, left Dublin to look after my mam, and needed something to do to keep from going mental.”
“You’ll have to give me a tour next time I’m across the pond.”
“You often find yourself passing through County Cork, do you?”
“Constantly,” she says. She licks her ice cream off the back of her spoon like a cat.
She’s clearly enjoying herself, and he is clearly eating it up.
“Well now, Lauren and Hope, I’m late to meet the lads for a game of snooker. I don’t suppose you’d like to join a group of sad Irish corkers for supper this evening?”
“I’m afraid we’re spoken for tonight,” she says, very obviously regrettingaccepting an invitation from her cha-cha partner. “But perhaps you and the sad Irish corkers could teach us snooker some other time?”
“I don’t suppose you’d want to give me your number to arrange that?” he asks.
She holds out her hand for his phone. “It would be my pleasure.”
Once he’s excused himself, she locks eyes with me and waggles her eyebrows. “That was promising,” she says.
And for the first time in ages, I detect genuine excitement in her voice at the idea of a potential date.
She doesn’t even get out her phone to post about it.
Felix
“You like that girl,” Prue announces as we leave the dance class. “You should ask her out.”
“Out where?” I ask, not bothering to deny it.
“You could take her to the fancy Italian place for dinner,” Prue says.
“Invite her on an excursion,” Pear suggests, elbowing into the conversation.
“It doesn’t really matter what you do, does it?” Prue says. “You just have to let her know you fancy her.”
I know she’s right. I haven’t so much as invited someone on a coffee date since getting sober. Nor wanted to.
But maybe this is a good chance to try something casual. After all, the remaining eight days of this cruise is too small an interval to risk a dalliance disrupting my life and sending me back to the edge.
And I’m drawn to Hope in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time.
Which leaves the question of how to approach her.
The previous version of me would have downed a few drinks first. Liquid courage.
I suppose the current version will just have to white-knuckle it and express interest.
