Chapter Fourteen Lucky
Chapter Fourteen
Lucky
We were approaching the dock and the exterior crew were on their radios calling out distances to the captain as he brought the yacht in.
“Fenders!” I heard Thomas say as the Mio Tesoro came to a slow crawl. Sometimes the interior would assist in tricky situations, like when the yacht was being narrowly positioned between two other ships. No one had called for us to help lower the inflatable cushions this time.
They probably should have. I had just finished helping Georgia and Emilie with packing up the guests’ luggage when I both heard and felt a loud crunching noise as we made contact with the dock, hitting wood and concrete.
Captain Carl’s extensive litany of expletives filled the primary cabin and I turned the volume on my walkie-talkie down as I ran up to the deck.
All the guests were watching Thomas and Francois as they circled around Hunter, who had apparently failed to get his fender down in time, resulting in the ship smacking into the dock. I leaned over the side to get a better look.
This had happened once before, on one of my previous ships, but that had been a much harder hit. The damage to the Mio Tesoro looked to be mostly superficial, though it would cost a few thousand dollars to repair it.
It could have been much worse.
The fender was put into place and the deckhands began throwing their lines so that they could be tied off by the dockworkers.
Once everything was secure, Captain Carl came down to where Thomas, Francois, and Hunter waited.
I half expected the captain to lose it in front of the guests, despite the fact that I’d never seen him do so before. This was a very big screwup.
Icy darts pierced my heart and lungs. He was going to fire Hunter.
And while I knew this was how yachting worked, it didn’t make it any easier. I had already decided that I wanted Hunter to stick around. I liked spending time with him.
I wasn’t ready to let go of him.
To my surprise, the captain didn’t yell. I was close to the guests and would have been able to hear him if he had. I didn’t know if he was refraining for their benefit, but I was glad for it.
Or maybe that quiet anger would be worse once the guests had departed.
The exterior crew went to retrieve the luggage to take it to the cars waiting at the dock. I checked with the guests to see if they needed anything before they departed.
“I could use a stiff drink,” Mr. Carmine said, and the sentiment was echoed by several other people. I called for Georgia and she helped me get whiskey to everyone who wanted it.
Then the captain radioed for the crew to line up to say goodbye to the guests. I was eager to stand by Hunter this time, to check on him and make sure that he was okay.
He stood farther away from me, next to his fellow deckhands.
I wondered why, my feelings slightly hurt. He had just been joking about going out on a date with me and now he was avoiding me?
The guests came out and thanked each member of the crew as they moved down the line. Because I was paying such close attention to him, I heard what he said to Mrs. Carmine.
“Since you’re leaving I suppose this means you’re not going to run away with me.” His voice sounded like it normally did, with that flirtatious and playful lilt there.
“Not this time,” she said with a laugh.
“Your husband is a lucky man.”
“And I know it,” Mr. Carmine said, enthusiastically pumping Hunter’s hand.
When Mrs. Carmine reached me, she hugged me tightly and said, “Lucky! Thank you so much for everything. We had a fantastic time.”
“You’re very welcome. We hope you’ll come back.”
“As do I.” She paused a moment and then leaned in to say to me, “You should give that young man a chance.”
I was stunned. “What young man?”
“Hunter. He likes you.”
I tried to smile but it wasn’t working. “He’s just that way with everyone.” Including you.
“As someone who has been alive for much longer than you have, please believe me when I say that’s not true.”
Mrs. Carmine did not know what she was talking about. He had literally just joked about running away with her.
“Thank you again for your wonderful service, Lucky. It was very much appreciated,” she added, with a knowing expression on her face.
“It was my pleasure,” I responded automatically, stealing a glance at Hunter.
Who was not looking at me.
I wasn’t quite all there as I said goodbye to the rest of the guests. Mr. Carmine handed the captain a thick envelope, which was a good sign. Then they walked down the passerelle, put their shoes on, and climbed into their waiting car.
“Go get changed and let’s get the boat turned over,” the captain said. “We’ll meet up later to talk about the tip.”
I wanted to make sure that Hunter was okay but I still had a job to do. I grabbed Georgia and Emilie to let them know what we needed to accomplish after they changed into their day uniforms. Hunter headed downstairs, probably to our cabin. After I’d quickly outlined our tasks to the girls, I followed him.
He had changed out of his dress whites and had already put his day T-shirt on. It was a good sign that he wasn’t packing.
“What happened with the captain?” I asked, closing the cabin door behind me.
“He whisper-yelled a pretty impressive number of profanities at me and then told me to never do something like that again.”
The relief was instant and overwhelming. He still had his job.
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t even know what happened. I was ready and then I got distracted and next thing I knew the ship was hitting the dock. I feel like such a tool.”
“I thought he was going to fire you.”
“Me too.” He looked very, very worried.
It made me wonder why he needed this job. Everyone on board had their own reasons for agreeing to work these ludicrous hours and do the constant, extreme physical labor. Like Georgia, who supported her elderly grandmother’s nursing home costs by herself.
Money was usually the primary reason.
“I can’t be distracted like that again,” he said.
“You can’t,” I agreed. “Distractions are dangerous in yachting.”
He was silent for a moment, his face somber, and he said, “I’m learning that the hard way.”
So was I.
Hunter had hogged the bathroom, so I was running a bit behind in getting ready for the crew’s evening out. I ran upstairs in my bare feet, carrying the high heels I planned on wearing. I only had a couple of dresses appropriate for a night on the town and tonight I’d worn the black one.
When I got to the deck, almost everyone was there. The first thing I noticed was that Hunter was whispering something in Emilie’s ear and she was giggling. She sat so close to him that she was practically in his lap.
He’s a flirt, I reminded my disappointed gut. You knew that. This was a natural state of being for him.
I had to get over this attraction I felt for him and find a way to just be his friend. It could work. I liked hanging out with him. I would have to make some internal boundaries so that I could keep myself on the right side of propriety.
Kissing him could only lead to disaster. Not only for my job but for our friendship. Because the last time I’d let myself fall for someone, it had destroyed me. I didn’t want that to happen again. Hunter didn’t seem anything like my ex, but I knew that appearances could be deceiving.
It didn’t matter how hot and sweet and funny Hunter was. I couldn’t imagine myself ever being in the market for a boyfriend again. My heart had been destroyed too many times already.
Everyone was pregaming, as the Carmines had left a large amount of expensive champagne behind and yachties were notorious for not letting a single drop of liquor ever go to waste.
Georgia handed me a flute. “Lucky! Are you actually coming out with us?”
“Yes.” I took a small sip.
“Does that mean the apocalypse is nigh? Should I be praying and going to church to save my soul before it happens?”
“ You should probably be doing that anyways, apocalypse or no,” I teased her and she grinned at me.
“Who are we waiting on?” she asked. “I’m usually the last one.”
I glanced around to see who was missing. “Francois.”
“Did someone say my name?” the first mate asked as he walked out of the main salon.
“Yes, we were complaining about you taking so long,” Georgia informed him.
“This beauty does not happen naturally.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe I have to be on the same boat as him. I need to drown my sorrows. I am going to get so dehydrated tonight.” Then she turned and loudly said, “Let’s go!”
A large van was waiting for us. When I got to the dock, I attempted to put my shoes on and cursed myself for picking ones with ankle straps.
“Here.” Hunter offered me his forearm so that I could balance more easily.
“Thanks,” I said, ignoring how warm his skin was, how strong he felt.
After I had my shoes firmly on, I accidentally let my hand linger on his arm for a beat too long.
That was exactly the kind of thing I had to stop doing.
And I found myself making inane conversation. “The taxi has probably been waiting for a while. We’re late, so we should get going.”
Ugh. I internally grimaced.
“Boat-ter late than never,” he responded just as Emilie walked up and looped her arm through his.
This is none of your business, I told myself. I marched toward the van, determined. I was going to behave. That would probably mean limiting my intake. I couldn’t overdrink because when intoxicated, I had a tendency to become very friendly with men I was attracted to. I would probably be the only one being careful—the rest of the crew would be on a mission to drink enough to drown an elephant, like the world would end if they didn’t consume all the alcohol in France tonight.
Hunter could sit with Emilie and flirt with her to his heart’s content. I didn’t care.
I couldn’t let myself care.
I climbed in and went to the back row.
To my surprise, Hunter entered the vehicle a second later and, despite the fact that every row was empty, ended up sitting right next to me.
It made me entirely too happy.