12 DAYS BETWEEN US

CHAPTER 2

The silence of Hannah's apartment had always been a source of comfort, but tonight, it felt charged with strange, restless energy.

The heavy, gold-embossed booklet sat open on her marble kitchen island, the words 12-Day Luxury Cruise catching the warm light overhead. Besides it lay an open suitcase and a neatly ruled notepad. For hours, Hannah's organized mind had been treating this vacation like an upcoming school inspection.

At the top of the page, in her precise, elegant handwriting, she wrote: TO-DO LIST: OCEANIC AURORA.

Beneath it, the bullet points were a perfectly structured roadmap for a woman who didn't know how to do nothing:

6:00 AM - Morning deck walk / light exercise.

8:00 AM - Breakfast (check healthy options at the buffet).

10:00 AM - Reading hours (Library deck or by the pool).

2:00 PM - Educational seminars or ship gallery tours.

9:00 PM - Evening reflection / writing in journal.

She looked at the list and let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. It was a couples' cruise, a floating paradise designed for romance and spontaneity, and here she was, scheduling her hours down to the minute just to keep feeling out of place.

She turned back to her packaging. Everything was colored and neatly folded: linen trousers, light blouses for the Texas heat at the port, a few simple midi dresses for dinner, and three different books from the St. Jude's library shelves.

She stopped, holding a pair of simple leather sandals, and looked around her beautifully styled one-bedroom apartment. Her home was a reflection of her mind-safe, predictable, and completely away from surprises.

Walking away from her routine for twelve full days felt terrifying. She was a twenty-seven-year-old virgin who lived through the pages of other people's stories. But as she zipped her suitcase shut with a definitive snap, a tiny, unfamiliar spark flared in her chest. For the first time in her life, she was stepping off the edge of her own map.

Across the city, the atmosphere in Lucas Reed's penthouse was entirely different. His packing took less than ten minutes-a few designer suits for evening events, casual shirts, and his laptop, which he fully intended to use despite his COO's warnings.

As he tossed his leather bag onto the bed, his phone began to vibrate the nightstand. The caller ID showed his sister's name.

"Hey, Amy," Lucas said, pressing the phone to his ear as he poured himself a glass of scotch.

"Marcus called me," Amy said immediately, her voice warm but demanding over the line. "He says you're actually boarding the Oceanic Aurora tomorrow. Tell me he's not lying, Lucas. Tell me you're actually leaving that glass cage of an office."

Lucas smiled faintly, leaning against his dresser.

"It's a mandatory operational inspection, Amy. I'm just checking the asset."

"Oh, stop using corporate speaking with me," she laughed, though her tone quickly softened. "You need this. You've been carrying the weight of Reed Global since you were twenty, Lucas. You're thirty-two now. It's okay to breathe."

"I'm fine, Amy. And don't worry, twelve days mean I'll be back well before Alex's birthday. I wouldn't miss my nephew's eighth birthday party for anything."

"Good. Because Alex has already decided his Uncle Lucas is taking him to the arcade, and I am not dealing with a disappointed eight-year-old," Amy said. Then, the line went quiet for a second.

“The sudden silence caught Lucas's attention”

Lucas frowned, his protective instincts instantly kicking in. "Amy? Is everything okay over there? How's the house in Texas?

"It's fine," she said quickly, but her voice carried a tight, strained edge that she couldn't quite hide.

"How is your husband?" Lucas asked, his tone dropping into something sharper, more serious.

Amy didn't answer right away. On the other end of the line, Lucas could hear the faint sound of her taking a slow, steady breath. "He's... he's busy with work, Lucas. You know how it is. Don't worry about us. Just focus on your trip."

Lucas stood up straight, his jaw tightening. He knew his sister better than anyone. They had survived the loss of their parents together, and he could read her shifts in mood perfectly, even over a phone call.

"Amy, look at me-well, listen to me. Is there something happening? If you need me to fly down to Texas instead of taking this ship, I will cancel right now."

"No! Absolutely not," Amy insisted, forcing a bright, cheerful note back into her voice. "Nothing is wrong. I promise. I'm just tired. Take care of yourself, Lucas. Turn off your phone, look at the ocean, and just... find a piece of yourself that isn't running a company. I love you."

"Love you too," Lucas murmured, but as the call disconnected, he stared at his phone with a deepening frown.

He set the device down, the quiet weight of the empty penthouse settling around him. He didn't believe in love, and he didn't believe in complications, but family was the one boundary he would never compromise on. Shaking off the uneasy feeling, he gripped his suitcase handle.

Twelve days at sea. He wanted nothing more than absolute silence, entirely unaware that the quiet life he had built to protect himself was about to meet its match.

The port was a chaotic sea of noise, shouting porters, and hundreds of couples holding hands, but Hannah kept her eyes fixed on the massive white hull of the Oceanic Aurora. Standing in line with her single suitcase, she felt entirely out of place among the excited crowds. Yet, as she finally walked across the gangway and stepped onto the ship, the sheer luxury of the lobby took her breath away.

Her suite was beautiful, with a private balcony that looked straight out at the open blue ocean. For the first few hours, Hannah actually managed to relax. She walked the wide decks, breathed in the salty sea air, and felt a strange, quiet freedom. No lesson plans. No bells. It was a good day-the kind of peaceful birthday gift her colleagues at St. Jude's had truly wanted for her.

A few decks above her, in the ship's most exclusive VIP penthouse suite, Lucas Reed was trying to disappear.

Because Reed Global owned the cruise line, Lucas had his own private space away from the regular passengers. He wanted to blend in, but as a young, wealthy CEO whose face frequently appeared in business magazines, a few sharp-eyed guests and staff members recognized him immediately, whispering as he passed. To avoid the attention, Lucas kept his sunglasses on, retreated to his private deck, and watched the shoreline of the port fade into nothing.

By midnight, the ship was completely surrounded by the dark, ink-black expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

True to her meticulous to-do list, Hannah slipped on a light cardigan over her sundress and went out for her late-night walk. The upper deck was mostly deserted, the cool wind whipping through her hair as she walked near the edge of the secondary pool deck.

Suddenly, a tiny, panicked sound caught her attention.

“Meow”

Hannah froze. She looked down and saw a tiny, orange tabby cat-likely a hidden pet belonging to one of the crew members-scrambling frantically along the narrow ledge of the deck's viewing platform. The ship rolled slightly with a wave. The little cat lost its footing, let out a sharp cry, and tumbled straight over the side, splashing into the dark, churning water of the lower pool area below.

Without a single thought, her instincts as a teacher and a protector completely took over. Hannah didn't hesitate. She kicked off her sandals, ran to the edge, and dived straight into the deep water to save the struggling animal.

A few yards away, Lucas was standing in the shadows of the upper walkway, getting some air. He didn't see the cat. All he saw was a lone woman in a dress running toward the railing and throwing herself into the water in the middle of the night.

Damn it, Lucas thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Thinking she was trying to end her life, Lucas reacted to pure adrenaline. He shed his heavy jacket, sprinted forward, and dived into the water right after her.

The water was freezing and turbulent. Hannah broke the surface first, coughing, her arms tightly cradling the soaking wet, shivering little cat against her chest. Before she could swim toward the edge, a pair of strong, muscular arms suddenly grabbed her from behind, pulling her upward with desperate force.

"I've got you! Don't fight me!" a deep, panicked voice barked in her ear.

"Let go! What are you doing? Hannah gasped, splashing wildly as Lucas dragged her toward the steps of the pool deck.

They scrambled out onto the tiled floor, both of them gasping for breath, completely drenched. The tiny cat instantly wiggled out of Hannah's arms and sprinted off into the shadows of the deck, safe but terrified.

Lucas fell back on his knees, his chest heaving as he stared at her with a mix of anger and sheer relief. "Are you out of your mind? Are you okay? What were you thinking of throwing yourself in there?

Do you want to die?

Hannah wiped the wet hair out of her face, her eyes wide with shock. "Die? No! I was trying to save that cat! It fell in!"

Lucas blinked, the adrenaline suddenly draining from his system. He looked around the empty deck, then back at her. "A... a cat?"

"Yes! A little orange cat," Hannah said, her voice shaking slightly from the cold. "It lost its footing. I wasn't trying to hurt myself."

Lucas ran a hand through his dripping wet hair, letting out a sharp, breathless laugh of disbelief. "Oh, God. I'm sorry. I thought... from where I was standing, it looked like you just jumped."

The tension in the air suddenly shifted.

Now that the panic was over, Lucas looked at the woman sitting across from him. Even with her clothes clinging to her skin and her hair soaked, she was stunning. There was an innocent, natural beauty to her face, and her wide, expressive eyes held a quiet strength that instantly drew him in. For a man who spent his life around manufactured models, she was a breath of fresh, honest air.

Hannah, too, found herself frozen under his gaze. The man in front of her was incredibly handsome-broad-shouldered, with a sharp jawline and a commanding presence that made her heart race faster than the cold water had.

Feeling the intensity of the moment, Hannah swallowed hard and broke the silence, trying to find her footing. She offered a small, trembling hand.

"I'm Hannah," she said softly. "Hannah Rosewood. Are you okay?

What is your name?

Lucas looked at her wet hand, then up into her eyes. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to give his title. He didn't want to be the CEO of Reed Global. He just wanted to be the man on the deck.

He took her hand, his warm grip sending a strange, electric jolt through her skin. "I'm Lucas," he replied quietly.