Sail Away [COMPLETED]

Chapter 16 - "You look pretty tonight."

Ty wasn't paying attention to anyone around her as she walked with Hudson back to the ship, but as they neared the entrance, some instinct told her to stop and look around. She paused and scanned the crowd just in time to see the whole Hamilton Group walking towards the same entrance she and Hudson were heading towards.

She had just enough time to turn Hudson around before the group got close enough to recognize him.

"Code Red," she whispered as she directed him towards a different entrance. "Don't look," she instructed when he tried to turn around.

Ty had done her fair share of weaseling out of tough situations but she wasn't sure what story she could spin to explain why Hudson was with her and not on the boat.

"Where are we going?" Hudson asked once they were far enough away from the group that they didn't have to worry about being seen.

"An employee entrance," Ty explained.

It was a farther walk and had stairs instead of the convenient ramps of the main entrances but it also kept Ty and Hudson far from the Hamilton Group. Ty got Hudson through the employee entrance without running into any of her co-workers but then she had to leave him in the main lobby so she could head to the Starlight Lounge. Work called.

The lounge was located at one of the highest points on the ship and offered the widest view of the ocean. Ty had booked the space for Kate and Grant's Official Bachelor/Bachelorette Party.

When she had first seen this request from Kate, Ty had been confused, wondering how this party was different than the week-long cruise the group was taking to celebrate Kate and Grant's wedding. But a simple email to Kate had made it clear that Kate wanted the party to be more in line with a traditional Bachelorette party with all the traditional games.

Ty entered the Starlight Lounge and looked around. She only had a few hours to transform the space into a wedding wonderland. She made a slow loop of the lounge mentally figuring out what she wanted the party layout to be and by the time her team arrived, she had it all planned out.

Her team was an hour into setting up the party when she saw Nico enter the lounge. She only gave him the slightest glance but she caught the mischievous look on his face. She didn't like that look.

"Hiya Ty," he said, coming to stand right next to her.

"What do you think?" she asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the arch made out of white balloons in front of her. "Does it say Bachelorette Party?"

He gave it a quick glance. "Sure. So how was your morning?"

Ty kept her gaze fixed on the arch, hoping the frown on her face looked like concentration instead of fear. Had Anders said something to Nico? No. She knew there was no way that Anders would have told Nico anything about what she had said that morning. She trusted Anders. But Nico was clearly pleased about something.

"It was fine," she answered. "How was your morning Nico?"

"It was great!" he said. "I tried out this new combo for my omelet and it really has me jazzed."

"Fascinating," she said flatly. "Well, if you hadn't noticed I'm in the middle of prepping for a party so if there isn't anything else you wanted to talk to me about other than your amazing omelet, I'll get back to work."

"The omelet was good but I also had to tell you about the wildest thing I saw today."

Ty took a step away from the balloon arch and looked directly at Nico. Maybe giving him her full attention would help him get to his point faster.

"I was walking through the main lobby today after my lunch break," he said, "when I saw you coming out of the employee entrance and wouldn't you know it, Hudson was with you."