Chapter 23
DANI
The Sunset Café was in its usual end-of-the-day rhythm—string lights warming up against the dusk, the bar busy enough to be lively but not loud, the harbor turning slightly amber past the railing.
Their table was on the far side of the patio, tucked under a string of bulbs, and Dani was sitting opposite Lindsay with two margaritas between them and twenty-five minutes before Zoe and Rei would show up.
Dani was, frankly, exhausted. After the Whitfields disembarked at noon—long handshakes from Gerald, a tearful hug from Bea, an envelope from Patricia that turned out to contain a handwritten card and a tip generous enough to make the crew very happy—she'd spent the entire afternoon doing the post-charter reset with her freelancers.
Stripping beds, scrubbing bathrooms, wiping down every surface in every cabin, as well as restocking and inventorying the beverages.
By the time she got off the boat she was running on fumes and adrenaline.
She was wearing jeans and a white linen shirt and her hair was down because she wasn't on duty.
With her later plans in mind, she half-wished she'd changed into something more seductive, but if she had, the crew would ask her if she was going on a date and she didn't want to lie to them any more than she had to.
"Right," Lindsay said, leaning forward on both elbows. "Talk to me. Is she as restrained in bed as in real life? Or did she wear the uniform and spank you into submission?"
Dani let out a laugh and slapped her friend on the arm, nearly knocked over her margarita. The couple at the next table glanced over but Lindsay ignored them, grinning at her with delight.
"You can't just open with that," Dani said.
"I can and I did."
"Not until you've given me your secret in return." Dani took a sip of her margarita. "And only if your secret is as big as mine. Which I doubt."
Lindsay looked at her over the rim of her glass. She was in dark jeans and a fitted black t-shirt and she'd been smiling at Dani since they sat down.
"Fine. Fair. But before we get to me, let me confirm something first." She leaned across the table and tugged the side of Dani's collar down. "Yup. Still there." She sat back with a smug grin.
Dani had planned to play this cool but she lasted about three seconds. "That, my friend, is the work of a professional." Then she chuckled and pointed a finger at Lindsay. “Now shoot.”
"Okay.” Lindsay glanced around the patio first, as if double-checking who was within earshot. “So I've been seeing someone recently and it's long-distance and complicated."
"Lindsay! That's wonderful!"
"Yeah. It's been really nice. I couldn't really tell you about it sooner but we've discussed it and agreed that it's safe as long as we only tell people we truly trust."
"Thank you for trusting me,” Dani said. This wasn't how Lindsay normally talked about her dating life. It was usually just a one-line update at the galley counter, delivered while she scrambled eggs. “So who is it? Someone I know?"
"You've met her." Lindsay hesitated. "It's Maddie."
The name didn't land. "Which Maddie? I don't know any Maddies except for my cousin in Kansas and the older woman who works at the marina. Is it her?"
Lindsay shook her head. "It’s Maddie McDean."
Dani looked at her and Lindsay held her gaze, calm, hands threaded together on the table, waiting for her to react. Dani burst out laughing.
"Maddie McDean. Maddie from our charter?" She laughed again when Lindsay nodded. "Maddie the superstar? Straight, last I checked."
"Yes, Dani. That Maddie. And trust me, she’s not as straight as everyone thinks."
Dani wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Lindsay, Lindsay. You're not doing very well. A secret for a secret? Come on. This isn't a secret. It's some kind of weird fantasy."
"You've noticed me being on my phone more, right?" Lindsay said.
"Sure. You've been super protective over your phone and I could tell your head was in the clouds but this is silly. I'm not that gullible."
"You know what?" Lindsay reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. "Fine. Fine. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this but here we are."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm calling my girlfriend. You're getting proof."
Lindsay pulled her earbuds out of her bag, handed Dani one and slipped the other into her own ear.
Dani put it in while Lindsay angled the phone so the screen was facing only the two of them and tapped the contact saved as Urgent Deliveries, which made Dani chuckle again. She played along though, expecting one of the crew members to pick up, wearing a Maddie wig.
But then the unthinkable happened. Maddie's face filled the small screen between them. Dani blinked once, then again, as though that might rearrange the pixels into someone else. It didn’t. Maddie was in a hotel robe, hair up, leaning back against pillows.
"Hi babe," she said.
"Hi yourself." Lindsay smiled. "I'm at the Sunset Café with Dani. I've just told her about us, like we discussed, but she thinks I'm pranking her."
Maddie waved into the camera. "Hi, Dani. It's nice to see you again."
Dani was staring, unable to answer.
"You okay?" Maddie asked.
Lindsay answered for her. "She's not okay. I think we broke her."
Maddie laughed.
"Anyway," Lindsay said, "are you going to be up for a bit? The others will be here in twenty and I'd like to slip around the corner and call you properly. I don't want to leave Dani by herself right now in case a stiff breeze knocks her over."
"I'll be up." Maddie's voice softened. "I miss you."
"Miss you too. Twenty minutes."
Maddie waved at the screen one more time. "Bye, Dani."
All Dani managed was an awkward smile and a hand-lift that came out closer to a salute.
Lindsay hung up, dropped the phone on the table, and turned to her. "Dani, where are your manners? You could at least have said hello. Something. Anything."
Words were still not happening.
"Okay, fine. Let's change the subject because this is clearly too complex for you. So, you and the captain. Spare nothing, I've earned every detail."
Dani finally found her voice. "No. Nope. Nuh-uh." She pointed from Lindsay's phone to Lindsay and back. "You need to explain this first. All of it. From the start."