"Miss Georgia Jennifer Lewis! Where on earth have you been?! We're supposed to be popping champagne and embarrassing you with childhood photos, but the bride-to-be is missing in action!"
Ella Collins, the maid of honor, shrieked. She nearly slipped in her satin slippers as she ran down the corridor. Ella had just sprinted out of the pajama-themed bridal shower to hunt down her best friend, the bride-to-be, the star of the show.
Georgia Lewis, the bride-to-be, was standing guiltily near the stairwell after being caught.
She clutched a small velvet box with a ribbon in her hand. "I know, I know, don't yell at me! I just wanted to sneak this watch over to Raymond before tomorrow. He gave me that diamond necklace last week as a wedding gift, remember? I felt awful not having anything for him."
Ella narrowed her eyes dramatically. "Liar! I know that look on your face, you can't fool me."
Georgia laughed, caught red-handed. "Okay, maybe also a tiny bit of curiosity about what they are doing at his bachelor party."
"I knew it!" Ella cackled, poking her in the ribs. "You just want to see if some stripper is in a sexy bride costume is grinding on your man. Admit it."
Georgia covered her face with her hand, still giggling. "Come on, we both know how loyal Raymond is. He's practically family already, we have been together even before we became a thing.
Besides, even if someone did smuggle a stripper onboard, we'd all know within five minutes. We're on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, and there's no escape. The crew are my people, they would surely tell me if some shady things are going on."
"True," Ella smirked. "But tradition says the bride and groom aren't supposed to see each other the night before the wedding. You want to jinx your forever? Didn't think so."
Georgia sighed. "Fine. You deliver the gift. I'll wait outside like a well-behaved almost-wife. But I am peeking through the door if I hear anything suspicious going on inside."
"No peeking!" Ella wagged a finger. "Stay. I mean it."
With that, Ella whisked the box from Georgia and marched toward the KTV lounge where the bachelor party was being held.
Inside, chaos reigned. Strobe lights flickered over half-empty whiskey bottles, jackets and shirts were tossed over couches, and a very off-key rendition of a rock ballad wailed from the speakers. The air reeked of cologne, sweat, and very bad decisions on a wedding eve.
Ella winced. "Good Lord, it's frat night meets karaoke hell."
She scanned the room...
First priority: stripper check.
None in sight.
Relief flooded her.
Next: locate the groom.
Not found… yet.
She leaned toward a guy slumped over the table and yelled, "WHERE'S RAYMOND?!"
"WHAAAAT?" he yelled back, clearly three shots past understanding, and the loud surround sound didn't help either.
"THERE'S A GIFT FROM GEORGIA FOR THE GROOM!"
"OOOHHHH." He pointed dramatically to a figure passed out on the lounge bench.
Ella approached cautiously. The man was curled up like a shrimp, legs hugging a pillow, jacket pulled over his face, one hand clamped over his ear as if trying to drown out the musical train wreck.
She bent down, inspecting him, even touching his dark brown hair. "Yup. That's our groom. Drunk as a bumblebee. Adorable and well-behaved like a sleeping baby."
She clicked her tongue. "He's not even gonna remember his own name tomorrow."
With a shake of her head, she turned back, box still in hand, rejoined Georgia outside, and handed her back the box.
"What happened? He didn't accept it?" Georgia asked, eyebrows knitting.
"He's out cold," Ella said. "Sleeping like a toddler after a sugar crash. And the room is full of drunkards. Tell the crew to sanitize that place after, it smells like… ugh… I can't even describe it. It is surely not secure enough for fancy gifts. Someone might try to wear this thing and forget where it came from."
Georgia sighed. "You're right. I'll sneak it into his room. He can find it tomorrow and melt. Romantic and safe."
"Good call," Ella said, already backing toward the elevator. "Now, hurry up and put that future-wife smile back on your face.
I'm going to tell the girls that you didn't run away with a pirate or jump ship on cold feet. Be back before someone tries to turn the bridal shower into a pillow fight championship."
Georgia chuckled and waved her off, then tiptoed down the hallway toward Raymond's cabin.
Meanwhile, back in the KTV lounge, one of the guys blinked and asked groggily, "What was Ella doing here? Was she planning to drink and sing with us?"
The guy she'd shouted at earlier shrugged, slurring, "She was looking for… Jorge Bloom, I think? Probably mad at him again. Dude's lucky he's already passed out. Saved by the snore."
Both of them laugh as they glance towards the groom's cousin, with dark brown hair.
In the hallway, Georgia was already drifting into a dreamscape of what life would be like with Raymond...
He had been her anchor after the unthinkable happened: her brother's brutal murder just short after their father died from the recent pandemic.
One moment she was carefree, and the next, she was left cradling her heartbroken toddler niece in one arm and a drowning family business in the other, with no idea how to keep either from falling apart.
But then there was Raymond Davis… The CEO of East West Cruise Line, with thirty-five ships, the biggest cruise line in the world.
Her longtime boyfriend and her late brother's best friend became more than just her partner.
Patiently, he taught her the ropes of the manpower business that her father and brother left to her, one painful, tedious step at a time. And while the company still teetered on the edge of ruin, it was no longer sinking fast to the bottom of the ocean.
It was starting to float… a bit… barely… thanks to the large part of the financial lifeline extended by Raymond's powerful family, especially his father, who owns the East West Corporation, Inc., the parent company of East West Cruise Line.
So when Raymond proposed, kneeling with a ring in one hand and a sweeping promise in the other, Georgia didn't hesitate.
Of course, she said yes.
The moment she says "I do" to him, her broken world will finally start to heal.
It was perfect. A life reclaimed. A future secured.
She was one step away.
Beaming, Georgia stopped by housekeeping and requested a spare keycard to Raymond's suite to surprise him with the sleek, custom watch she had carefully chosen.
She made her way down the corridor, heart fluttering with anticipation, giddy with the image of his sleepy smile when he sees her gift tomorrow.
She slid the keycard. The door clicked open. The soft hush of luxury carpeting greeted her.
Her heels tapped softly into the room as she clutched the small box with both hands, a grin spreading across her face.
Then she saw the room and dropped the box.
It hit the floor with a soft thud, the lid snapping open. The watch rolled out, unnoticed.
Georgia's gaze was frozen, wide-eyed, locked in horror at what the room had revealed to her.