13. Marina

Is it ready? Marina asked the woman in charge of the laundry.

Thankfully, the ship was equipped with dry cleaning equipment because Marina wouldnt have entrusted Jasmines beautiful dress to regular washing even though the label said that it could be handwashed. The dress probably cost a fortune, and if it got ruined in the laundry, Marina would have to pay Jasmine back. Not that she was destitute now that she was earning a decent salary for her work at Safe Haven, but it would be a shame to deplete her savings for something as stupid as not being careful with a loaned dress.

It is. Aina turned around and took one of the hangers off the rod. Good as new. She handed the plastic-covered garment to Marina.

Thank you.

Aina smiled. Youre most welcome. Are you going to be dancing with your immortal at the wedding tonight?

No, not tonight. Im working.

Thats a shame. Your immortal is so handsome, but then they all are. So much nicer than the Kra-ell. Aina leaned closer. Are they good in bed?

Marina snorted. I dont know about all of them, but mine is.

I thought so. Aina sighed with a dreamy expression on her lined face. If only I was ten years younger. She laughed. Make that twenty.

You are a married woman. Marina playfully punched her bicep. You dont want Boris to hear you talking like that.

Boris is not here. Aina waggled her brows. But Im just kidding. Even if I was young and pretty like you, I wouldnt have chosen one of them over my Boris. I can look, though, right?

You can look as much as you want, just not at my guy.

The smile slid off Ainas face. Be careful, Marina. You can have fun with the immortal, but dont let him into your heart. Once this job is over, its back to Safe Haven and bye-bye hunky immortals.

Marina shrugged. Some of them are stationed at Safe Haven. Peter might ask his chief to send him to me. Or even better, Peter would invite her to live with him in the village.

Aina shook her head. Dont get your hopes up.

Ill try. Marina lifted the hanger so the dress wouldnt drag on the floor. Id better get this back to its owner. Thanks again. She turned around before Aina could give her more useless advice.

What did all of them think? That she didnt know how unlikely a happy ending with Peter was?

She wasnt dumb, but she was an optimist, and she had a few more days to get Peter to fall in love with her.

In a way, it was good that she couldnt accompany him to last nights wedding or tonights. The less his mother and his other relatives saw him with her, the less pressure they would put on him to end things between them.

It wasnt hard to guess that Peters mother was not happy about him spending time with the blue-haired vixen, and hopefully, she didnt know that they were spending their nights together as well.

When Marina reached Jasmines cabin, she knocked on the door but wasnt surprised that there was no answer. The woman spent most of her time in the staffs lounge, playing cards, talking with everyone who knew a few words in English, or watching television.

Marina knocked again, just in case, and when there was still no answer, she turned around and headed to the lounge.

This time, however, she found Jasmine playing cards not with one of her friends but with Amanda, the gorgeous immortal lady who had been the second bride to get married on the ship and who supervised the decorating of the dining room for all the weddings.

She stopped by their table. Hello. Im just returning the dress. She draped it over the back of a chair. Thank you so much for loaning it to me.

Jasmine frowned. I didnt expect you to return it until the end of the cruise, and you didnt need to dry clean it either.

I wanted to bring it back in the same pristine condition I got it.

Amanda regarded her with a small smile playing on her full, red lips. I expected you to dance at Sharon and Roberts wedding last night. Is everything alright between you and Peter?

Marina didnt detect any derision in Amandas tone, and the immortal seemed like she didnt object to Peters interest in the human serving girl.

Peter and I are fine. I just needed to work because two servers were out of commission, and we were short-staffed.

Amanda frowned. What happened to them?

Did she really care?

Nothing serious. One slipped, fell, and sprained her wrist, and the other had stomach cramps. The doctor gave her painkillers, but they made her dizzy and sleepy, so she couldnt work.

Thats a shame. You created quite a stir, and it was fun to watch.

Marinas gut twisted, and she swallowed. A stir?”

Quite. Everyone was whispering about the beautiful blue-haired girl dancing with Peter.

Right. Maybe a few of the males had said that, but she very much doubted it had been everyone.

Im sure many didnt approve of Peter inviting a servant to the wedding as a guest.

Mischief danced in Amandas deep blue eyes. Perhaps some did not, but is it important what they think? Many did not approve of my husband either, and some still do not, but its their problem, not mine.