J.J. was dressed and waiting at the purser’s desk at the appointed time. He wasn’t sure if he was glad or insulted that Diana hadn’t figured out he was the Phantom.

She was on the phone laughing, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. The call must be important if she was ready to spend that kind of money.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he moved a bit closer; she waved to him and put up a finger to indicate she’d be done soon.

His day had been ruined when he wasn’t able to find Diana and spend it with her. He’d been in his room all day. If only he’d found Diana first. Anything was better than what he’d did.

“—that’s fine. I love you too! See you soon.”

J.J.’s stomach sunk. Who was she talking to?

Hunter and Manda strolled by.

Diana waved. There was a beautiful blush on her cheeks as if she’d spent time in the sun. Or had she been with someone else? No, not after the passionate night they’d spent together.

Hunter waved as he and Manda headed for the dining room.

J.J. waved them over. He had to know if she was in a relationship.

As the couple approached, Hunter gestured, “I love you man, but I’m eating with Manda, alone. Find your own date. Speaking of, where’s Diana?”

“She’s making a ship-to-shore call. But that’s what I wanted to know. Is she involved with someone?” J.J. looked from Hunter to Manda.

Diana joined them, making it impossible for Hunter to respond.

Hunter said, “Good luck.” He shook his head in response, then he and Manda made their way to the Blanc Dining Room requesting a cozy table for two.

J.J. and Diana followed right behind. He, too, requested a private table for dinner.

Dinner was lovely. The food was exquisite, the service impeccable, and the company was perfect.

He managed to convince her to take an after-dinner stroll on the deck, stopping to listen to the band playing by the pool.

They were in the middle of the second dance when the purser found them.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s another call for you,” he informed Diana.

“I’ll be right back,” she said.

The one thing he noticed was that Diana didn’t seem interested in him. She spent most of the dinner scanning the passengers. Convinced she hadn’t put two and two together so far, he decided to drop little hints when she returned.

Five minutes turned into ten. After fifteen minutes J.J. made his way to the purser’s desk. Diana was still on the phone, gesturing like an angry New York taxi driver.

“I am not incompetent.” She slammed the phone down and walked away.

He tried not to stare, but she was shaking. “Are you all right?”

“No.”

Her clipped answer worried him.

She forcefully looped her arm through his and guided him to the elevator. “Come on. Let’s continue our walk.”

He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he wanted to take her mind off her problems. And he meant to do just that.

Diana’s breathing as they finished the first lap on deck was nothing short of a marathon, but he kept up easily. On the second lap, she slowed to a fast-paced jaunt. By the third lap, she was almost back to normal.

He knew enough about women not to ask what was wrong. So, when she no longer looked ready to deck him, he took a chance trying to pull her into a conversation. “Want to get an ice cream cone? I’ve built up a bit of a sweat.”

Diana whirled on him.

He stepped back, waiting to see if she’d hit him with a right cross or a left uppercut.

Instead, she laughed. “Nice going, Diana.” With another burst of laughter, she paced in front of him. “I am so sorry. I had the most magnificent night last night, and today was even better. But one ill-timed call, and I lose it.”

“Been there myself. I know exactly what you mean.”

“Thanks for commiserating with me, but I’m sure you don’t. You’re a nice guy and all, but I have to tell you, I had the best evening with the most wonderful man, and now he’s disappeared. I can’t find him anywhere. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but we don’t have a chance.” She glanced down then gave him a hesitant grin. “I’m sorry, I don’t date musicians or boys in a band.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, again, I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t help it, he had to taunt her. “In that case, may I suggest that you have that lovely butterfly removed and replace it with a hornet or something equally painful?” He turned and walked away, doing everything in his power not to burst out laughing.

The fast-paced clip-clop of her high heels rang on the deck as she raced around in front of him. Diana put her hand against his chest as she asked, “How do you know about my tattoo?”

J.J. threw his head back and laughed, “It was kind of hard to miss when you undressed in front of me last night.”

“That was you?” Diana spun away. “I am so embarrassed.” Then she rounded on him and went off on a tirade. “I looked for you everywhere. Why did you leave last night?”

“Because I didn’t want you to feel bad if you woke up and had regrets.”

“Regrets? Are you kidding? I woke up planning to spend the day with you, but you were gone.”

“Then it’s my turn to apologize. What did you do today?”

Diana grabbed his hand. “Can we keep walking? I need to work off some nervous energy.”

“Sure, we could do that, or we could go back to your room and continue where we left off last night. How about one more lap and you can tell me what you did today because after we get back to your room, I seriously doubt I’ll remember to ask about it.”

“I agree.” She snickered then grabbed his hand, swinging it gently as they did their final lap. “I swam with the dolphins.” She shared the experience with such vivid descriptions. There was no doubt she thoroughly enjoyed herself.

By the time she finished, J.J. was sorry he hadn’t found her sooner. He wasn’t the dolphin enthusiast she was, but she made it sound so enticing.

“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” he asked.

“I was planning on going zip lining and maybe some tubing. Sounds like fun to me.”

Good thing he brought plenty of money and plastic because the excursions she planned to do were all relatively expensive. “I’m game. I love a good adrenaline rush. What else did you have in mind for the rest of the trip?”

For some reason, Diana hesitated to respond. Maybe that was too much time together.

“Well, I have some work to do, but I guess there’s no reason you can’t do it with me.”

“Work? On vacation?”

Again, she hesitated. “I write reviews about cruise excursions.” Her face blushed, and she looked away.

Why was she lying?

“What do you do for a living?” he asked.

“Ah—I—work for a hotel. It’s my job to check out the excursions and present my experiences and findings so we can steer the customers toward the safest and best tours.”

They continued their walk then stopped by the bar for a nightcap before turning in for the evening.

There was something very strange about her, but after the way her phone call ended, the last thing he wanted to do was to cause her any other grief by questioning her.

Besides, they had better things to do in her room.