Burn: A Novel by Linda Howard Page B

that was more a reflection on her than it was on the men who mighthave shown an interest in her if she’d been more approachable. Perhaps
she
was the one who couldn’t forget she’d been a meat packer, maybe
she
was the one who thought no one would want her for herself.
    The stray thoughts made her impatient with herself. It wasn’t that she’d entirely given up on men, or that she believed every man on the planet was either greedy or snobbish. But how did a woman in her position go about finding the men who were neither, and how could she tell? She hadn’t figured that out, yet.
    A week later, their arrangements were made. The cruise ship
Silver Mist was
sailing from San Diego, and the publicity surrounding a ship full of millionaires, billionaires, and assorted glitterati was at fever pitch—at least in their circle. Jenner imagined the average Joe couldn’t care less about a bunch of rich people taking a cruise and the ship’s owners donating all the proceeds to charity. Unless it directly impacted them … well, big hairy deal.
    Realizing that didn’t stop her from looking forward to it. This was her first cruise, and she was vaguely excited.
    Sydney was truly excited about the cruise, though she suffered her normal anxieties about the social events onboard. But she had a friend from college who lived in the San Diego area, and she decided to fly out ahead of time for a visit beforehand.
    “You should go with me,” she cajoled Jenner. “You’d really like Caro, and she’d love to have you. If you’re uncomfortable staying at her house, though, you could always get a suite at the Del Coronado. It’s a great old hotel, and the Navy SEALs train on the beach right in front of the guest rooms. If you just happen to run into one, you wouldn’t have to tell him right away about the small country thing.”
    “Now, there’s a match made in heaven,” Jenner retorted. “He could overtake the small country, and I could buy it. We’d have all bases covered.”
    Navy SEALs notwithstanding, she resisted Syd’s arguments. For one thing, Caro hadn’t invited her, even though she was fairly certain Syd had already broached the subject with her friend beforeasking Jenner. She could imagine Caro’s agreement with the plan had been fairly tepid, hence she’d left the actual invitation to Syd.
    But she and Al had a face-to-face meeting scheduled, which they didn’t often have an opportunity for these days. She and Al had become good friends, and she wanted to catch up on how things were going in Al’s life. All things considered, she’d rather visit with Al than suffer through a slightly awkward vacation with Syd’s college friend.
    It wasn’t lost on her that her two best friends were single women named Al and Syd. How weird was that?
    “Thanks, but I need to make this meeting with Al. Her flight back to Chicago is Monday afternoon, so I’ll have that evening to finish packing, then I’ll take an early flight out and, with the time change, arrive in San Diego in plenty of time to meet you at the port. You enjoy your visit with Caro, I’ll do the same with Al, and then you and I will spend two nice, lazy weeks cruising around the Pacific.”
    “I can’t wait to see the ship,” Syd said, hugging her knees. They were on the balcony of Jenner’s condo, watching the sky change as the sun set behind them. “All of the suites are decorated differently, and the one Dad reserved is gorgeous, all white and silver with touches of blue. It looked really serene and calming, at least in the pictures on the Internet. Not that I imagine we’ll be spending a lot of time in the suite, other than sleeping there.”
    “Then who cares how it looks?” Jenner asked what she considered a very practical question.
    “I don’t want to sleep in an ugly room,” Syd said indignantly. “Anyway, there’s something planned for every night, and plenty to do during the day.”
    “You’ve been on a cruise before,