Page 17 of Under the Radar

Mac hurried to catch up with Mo as she waited for the crystal elevator. He inserted a key into the service lift around the corner. As the doors slid open, he flipped the STOP switch, scooped Mo into his arms, and disappeared into the service lift. The doors slid shut as he pushed her floor number.

“Mac, put me down.” She squirmed and wiggled to get out of his arms.

“Maureen, be reasonable. We keep the floors on this ship in pristine condition, but you’re in bare feet where thousands of people have walked. I’ll take you to your room.”

“Put. Me. Down.” She shoved at his chest and slid down his torso, landing on her feet. She flipped a clump of sticky hair out of her face. “What are you doing here?” Her cool, gray eyes nailed him.

“I’m working security. I texted you that I needed to do a favor for my father. I’ve been reviewing security on ships for the past three weeks.” The doors slid open, and he scooped her into his arms again, walking down the hallway.

Mo rolled her eyes. “I can walk, you know.” She locked her hands around his neck. “I had no idea your father was in the cruise industry.”

Of course, she didn’t. He hadn’t told her a thing. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” He adjusted her weight in his arms to avoid a laundry cart.

She sniffed his neck. “You smell good, Mackenzie.”

“So do you, Maureen.” He chuckled. “Lemon-lime soda, my favorite. Not.”

She grinned. “I weigh about a buck-forty, and you’re not even breaking a sweat. I think you deserve to sweat seeing as you haven’t even bothered to call me since the wedding.”

He frowned. “If you’d check your messages, you’d see that I did call and text you—repeatedly.”

Mo laughed out loud. “No, you didn’t. By the way, my room is all the way at the end of this long hall. It’s a very large ship.”

“I know exactly where your room is. I work security, remember?” He’d never tell her that he’d paced this hall the past two nights, resisting the urge to knock on her door.

“How long have you known I was on this cruise?”

“I saw you at the security checkpoint on the gangplank.” He nodded at a passing room steward.

“And you recognized me?” Her fine brows drew together.

“Right away. I saw your name on the screen, looked up, and there you were.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

He set her on her feet, ran his passcode across her door, and opened it. “You tell me, Maureen. Why wouldn’t I say anything to you?” He gave her a gentle nudge into the stateroom.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d been waiting to hear from you for what seemed like f-o-r-e-v-e-r.” She yanked a pair of flip flops from the closet and slid them on her feet.

Mac placed his hands on his hips and barked a sarcastic laugh. “You can’t hear from someone once you’ve blocked them, Maureen.”

She gasped. “I didn’t block you.” Her cheeks blushed pink.

He folded his arms. “I was worried when you didn’t answer my calls or texts. I looked into it.”

She took a step backward. “I’m going to contact my cell company the minute I get home about their privacy settings.” She crossed her arms. “Did you hack my phone?”

“No, I didn’t hack your phone. I called my cell phone provider to see if your number was still in service. They asked me a few questions, and I described what was happening when I called and texted you. Imagine my surprise a minute later when the guy on the other end of the phone told me I’d probably been blocked.”

She shook her head. “Mac, you only texted me once, and I replied back. Then you dropped off the face of the earth for twenty-one freaking days. I figured you’d forgotten about me, moved on to somebody else.” She reached into the bathroom and grabbed a towel.

“I texted you repeatedly and called at least five times over the course of two weeks. You never answered.”

She scowled. “That’s not true. I only received one text, and I felt like an idiot watching my display like some lovesick schoolgirl.”

“Lovesick, huh?” He smiled and leaned against the desk.

Mo stopped mid-motion and cast a pouty smile in his direction. “Well, the rose on the pillow was a nice touch. You can’t blame a girl for hoping.” She crossed her arms.