Claire Gulliver #04 - Cruisin' for a Bruisin' Read Online Free
Author: Gayle Wigglesworth
Tags: cozy mystery
about the details if and when Lucy found them candidates. “Well Lucy, if you’re taking orders I like mature, but not old, and still virile. I don’t care about the hair, but please find me some one with a sense of humor.”
“Hey, this isn’t a dating service, you know. Give me a break. I have a limited pool of resources.”
Claire looked around at the variety of people in the lounge. The crowd was eclectic and noisy. It was hard to pick individuals out of the group, but one thing was for sure, everyone was ready to have a good time.
Lucy put down her empty glass. “Ladies, I’m going down to the cabin to freshen up before dinner. I’ll meet you outside the dining room in a half hour, okay? Claire, do you want me to take your jacket?”
Claire got up. “No, I’ll go with you. Mom, do you want me to take your jacket?”
“Would you, dear? And Ruth’s too. Here’s my room key.”
Claire, her arms full of jackets once again, prepared to traverse the length of the ship. “I don’t think we have to worry about using the workout room, Lucy. If we make this trek to our cabin a few times a day, it should help counteract all the food we’ll consume.” She got off the elevator at the sixth level to drop the jackets off at her mother’s cabin while Lucy descended to the second level where their cabin was located near the back of the ship.
* * *
“Excuse me, sir?” The tuxedo clad man spoke into Ian’s ear.
Ian looked up interrupting his anxious scan of the passengers still straggling into the huge dining room. He recognized the maitre d’ he had met with earlier, just after boarding, in fact.
The man glanced around the faces at the half full table and then said discreetly to Ian. “We find we do have a space available for you and your brother in the late seating, as you requested. If you would follow me...” he turned and nodded to the waiter, who stood behind him with fresh place settings to prepare the table for others.
Ian shrugged at Sean as they both stood, laid their napkins down, nodded cordially to the others seated at the table and followed the maitre d’ out of the dining room, passing another host leading a group of four to the table they had abandoned.
“What’s going on? I thought you wanted the early seating?” Sean whispered.
“I don’t know, but I do know I paid plenty to make sure we got seated at the right table, so let’s just follow him.”
The maitre d’ led them to a secluded corner near the front entrance and smiled apologetically. “Thank you for following my lead. There has been a bit of a last minute muddle. The party you requested to be seated with changed to the late seating. I felt obligated to honor my agreement with you, so I did some fast shuffling to get you changed too. I hope you will be satisfied with my efforts.”
Ian smiled. “That’s perfect. Thanks for taking care of it. I’d much rather be at the later seating and I did so want to surprise my friends by appearing at their table.”
Sean didn’t say anything, but managed to nod with a small smile.
“Fine. Just present yourself back here at the late seating and you will be seated at the table you requested.” The maitre d’ nodded firmly and turned away. The first night of a cruise was always his busiest time with everyone requesting changes, early to late, late to early, big table to small intimate table, and the worst was still to come. Tomorrow he would be trying to satisfy those people who found they didn’t like their table companions and so now want to be moved to another table far away.
Ian watched him go back to the cluster of people near the host station and then turned to Sean. “Hey, bro, let’s go have a drink.”
CHAPTER TWO
“Table eighty-four for Springer, Gulliver and Clarkson.” Lucy smiled brightly at the incredibly handsome maitre d’ as she handed him the engraved card with their dinner seating assignment.
He paused just a moment
“Hey, this isn’t a dating service, you know. Give me a break. I have a limited pool of resources.”
Claire looked around at the variety of people in the lounge. The crowd was eclectic and noisy. It was hard to pick individuals out of the group, but one thing was for sure, everyone was ready to have a good time.
Lucy put down her empty glass. “Ladies, I’m going down to the cabin to freshen up before dinner. I’ll meet you outside the dining room in a half hour, okay? Claire, do you want me to take your jacket?”
Claire got up. “No, I’ll go with you. Mom, do you want me to take your jacket?”
“Would you, dear? And Ruth’s too. Here’s my room key.”
Claire, her arms full of jackets once again, prepared to traverse the length of the ship. “I don’t think we have to worry about using the workout room, Lucy. If we make this trek to our cabin a few times a day, it should help counteract all the food we’ll consume.” She got off the elevator at the sixth level to drop the jackets off at her mother’s cabin while Lucy descended to the second level where their cabin was located near the back of the ship.
* * *
“Excuse me, sir?” The tuxedo clad man spoke into Ian’s ear.
Ian looked up interrupting his anxious scan of the passengers still straggling into the huge dining room. He recognized the maitre d’ he had met with earlier, just after boarding, in fact.
The man glanced around the faces at the half full table and then said discreetly to Ian. “We find we do have a space available for you and your brother in the late seating, as you requested. If you would follow me...” he turned and nodded to the waiter, who stood behind him with fresh place settings to prepare the table for others.
Ian shrugged at Sean as they both stood, laid their napkins down, nodded cordially to the others seated at the table and followed the maitre d’ out of the dining room, passing another host leading a group of four to the table they had abandoned.
“What’s going on? I thought you wanted the early seating?” Sean whispered.
“I don’t know, but I do know I paid plenty to make sure we got seated at the right table, so let’s just follow him.”
The maitre d’ led them to a secluded corner near the front entrance and smiled apologetically. “Thank you for following my lead. There has been a bit of a last minute muddle. The party you requested to be seated with changed to the late seating. I felt obligated to honor my agreement with you, so I did some fast shuffling to get you changed too. I hope you will be satisfied with my efforts.”
Ian smiled. “That’s perfect. Thanks for taking care of it. I’d much rather be at the later seating and I did so want to surprise my friends by appearing at their table.”
Sean didn’t say anything, but managed to nod with a small smile.
“Fine. Just present yourself back here at the late seating and you will be seated at the table you requested.” The maitre d’ nodded firmly and turned away. The first night of a cruise was always his busiest time with everyone requesting changes, early to late, late to early, big table to small intimate table, and the worst was still to come. Tomorrow he would be trying to satisfy those people who found they didn’t like their table companions and so now want to be moved to another table far away.
Ian watched him go back to the cluster of people near the host station and then turned to Sean. “Hey, bro, let’s go have a drink.”
CHAPTER TWO
“Table eighty-four for Springer, Gulliver and Clarkson.” Lucy smiled brightly at the incredibly handsome maitre d’ as she handed him the engraved card with their dinner seating assignment.
He paused just a moment
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