Chapter Five Hunter
Chapter Five
Hunter
Lucky had been watching me. It hadn’t been my imagination or wishful thinking. And it seemed like it had been against her will, like she was trying not to. When she disappeared a part of me hoped that it was some kind of silent invitation.
I tried to figure out just how long I had to wait before following her down to our cabin without appearing creepy. I would much rather hang with her than anyone else here, but I (1) didn’t want to freak her out and (2) had to follow that idiotic nonfraternization rule.
The rules didn’t say that she and I couldn’t be friends. Who couldn’t use another friend?
I just had to be sure that I didn’t think too much about how we’d met. There was a switch in me that flipped when I saw someone in need. Especially someone dealing with the same issues my sister Harper had. My heart twinged as I thought of her. I wondered if the grief of losing her would ever go away.
Our cabin was empty, which surprised me. Maybe I had misread the situation and she wasn’t interested. I wondered where she had wandered off to but decided I was not going to be a stalker and would not go looking for her.
Instead I got ready for bed and climbed into my bunk. I pulled the blanket up to my chest and started scrolling through my phone. I knew I was completely addicted—one of my therapists had told me that social media gave people with ADHD hits of dopamine. I supposed that was one good thing about coming here. I couldn’t compulsively be on my phone all day.
Then the other good thing about being here walked in through our door.
“Hi,” she said, sounding nervous. Her gaze kept dipping down to my shoulders. Did she like what she saw or was she bothered that I didn’t have a shirt on?
“Hey.” I put my phone down. She was far more interesting. “I thought you said you were going to bed.”
I grimaced. She was definitely going to think I was a stalker.
Her gaze came back up to my face and she flushed slightly, like she was embarrassed that she’d been staring. Interesting.
“I was. I am.” She fumbled her words and I thought her flustered reaction was adorable.
“Where have you been?”
“I was fixing the guest cabins. Emilie didn’t do a very good job. There’s clean and then there’s superyacht clean. Every surface has to be polished, buffed, and detailed to the highest degree possible. There was dust everywhere. Streaks on the shower door. The gold-plated fixtures hadn’t been properly dried, which could lead to serious damage.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m not a gossipy kind of person. She just gives me twice as much work to do.”
Friends. I could do this. “Why don’t you say something to her?”
“It doesn’t do much good.”
I heard her collapse onto her own bunk.
“Couldn’t you speak to the captain?”
“No, because she’s his niece. He wants us to rehabilitate her and teach her how to work, and so far she spends all of her time on her phone and she’s completely exhausting and I have no idea how I’m supposed to motivate or teach her. She’s so unreliable. She’s like an airline in person form.”
I stuck my phone under my thigh, making sure I wouldn’t accidentally pick it up since it bothered her. I wasn’t sure what to say and so I decided to channel my therapist. “That sounds rough.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining to you. That’s not the kind of person I am.”
“No, you seem like the kind of person who likes to bottle things up until you have a panic attack.”
My teasing worked and she laughed. The sound made my chest feel warm. “Thank you. I needed to laugh.”
“I aim to please.”
Then I didn’t let my brain get distracted by the many ways that I could offer to please Lucky. It was entirely inappropriate.
She didn’t respond and suddenly stood, grabbed something from her drawer, and went into the bathroom. Was that a hint to leave her alone?
The only thing that distracted me more than my phone was a pretty girl, and Lucky was gorgeous. I’d already seen that French guy make a pass at her. I wondered if she spent her time pushing men overboard after they hit on her.
My phone buzzed under my leg. I pulled it out and saw a message from my mom. It was another long explanation as to why they thought I wasn’t responsible enough to start up a residential center in Harper’s memory, that they loved me and wanted to support me, but given my track record ...
It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard a million times before.
Lucky came back out of the bathroom in an old T-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms that somehow made her look even sexier than she had in that little skort, and it was like getting kicked in the stomach. I forced my gaze to stay on my phone.
“Are you okay if I turn out the lights?” she asked.
I would be okay with her doing any number of things, but instead I just answered, “Yes.”
She climbed into her bunk and I let my phone fall into my lap so that I could put my hands over my eyes. I was hyperaware of where she was in the darkness and wanted to make things okay between us again. To get back to that friendly vibe.
“Were you avoiding me earlier?” I asked. Better to get straight to the point.
She answered my question with a question. “Why would I avoid you?”
Still avoiding. Intriguing.
Maybe Lucky didn’t want us to be just friends.
No other way to find out than to step up to bat and swing away. “It seemed like you were watching me up on deck and then you were just gone.”
It took a few beats, but then she said, “Captain Carl asked me to keep an eye on you.”
I couldn’t resist teasing her. “Just an eye? Is there anything else you wanted to put on me?”
Please say yes, an inner voice chanted, and I told it to shut up.
Her voice was high and tight and tinged with regret. “No, thank you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded like she’d had to convince herself to turn my joking invitation down. I should probably change the subject. “Which one is Emilie again?”
“The one who tried to grope you earlier.”
“Ah.” I’d never had an issue getting feminine attention but that had been overkill. “That gathering tonight made me feel a little like fresh meat being tossed into a lion’s den.”
She didn’t answer. Had it bothered her? I probably shouldn’t have hoped that it did.
I also didn’t want her to stop talking so I said the first thing that popped in my head. “Georgia seems nice.”
She sounded a little deflated when she responded. “She is. We’re friends. But I can tell you she has a problem following rules and has no filter. Which is probably why the captain didn’t offer her the chief stew position. She can only fake her happiness for so long before she says something blunt to a guest.”
I knew that they were friends but there was a definite note of jealousy this time. Did she think I was attracted to Georgia? I wasn’t.
Then she added, “She’s the best but she is absolutely that friend you have to explain to people before you introduce them and then apologize for afterward.”
I laughed and I liked that Lucky was funny. “And now you’re the one in charge of them.”
“Not by choice. Our former chief stew ran off in the middle of the night to go marry her noncommittal boyfriend and the captain decided to promote me instead of replacing her. And I don’t know if I’m going to do a good job of it.” She paused to let out a deep breath. “I’m a hard worker but delegation’s not really my strong point. I’d rather just do the work myself.”
“Fiercely independent?”
“By necessity, yes.” She stopped herself and I wondered what she’d been about to confess. She went back to what we’d been talking about. “Being in charge of them is a challenge I’m not quite sure I’m up for. It’s like trying to herd kittens. Cute and sweet but they totally ignore you, and if you leave them to their own devices, they will get into things they shouldn’t and claw stuff up.”
I could definitely see that. “So how do you herd kittens?”
“The only way I know how is to set the example. Which means that I have to follow the rules and do whatever the captain and the guests ask of me and hope that Georgia and Emilie will do the same.”
Wow. Message received. She couldn’t have been clearer. I told my bruised ego it wasn’t an actual rejection. That she was just very invested in doing her job well. I understood that. I was trying to do the same thing.
I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “I see.”
But then I realized that she had just revealed something important about herself. I wanted to understand her better. “Rules are important to you, aren’t they? I thought I heard you saying something to ...” What was that dude’s name? “I want to say Kai.”
“Yes, Kai,” she confirmed.
“You told Kai that you think rules are important so that the world doesn’t devolve into chaos.”
“I did tell him that.”
Rules had never been my thing, but it sounded like they made her happy. Maybe that would be a strong enough incentive to behave. “I respect that.”
I might not have liked it, but I would respect it.
“And,” I added, “you can do this. Herd kittens. I have faith in you.”
It felt like she needed the boost.
Which she confirmed with the way she said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Good night, Lucky.”
“Good night, Hunter.”
I heard her roll over and I stared up at the ceiling above me.
When I had agreed to this, no one had mentioned that I would be sharing a room with a tempting, sexy woman who made me laugh, and who I admired and respected. I wondered if my parents had done this deliberately. To make sure I failed.
Because if there was anyone who could distract me from what I wanted to accomplish, I suspected it would be Lucky Salerno.