Chapter 35
Matchmaking – Jack
T he next morning, Kayla surprises me by coming into the galley bright and early.
“What are you doing up?” I ask.
She’s in striped pajama shorts and the same off-the-shoulder sweater as before.
Leaning against the island, she explains, “Callie stayed the night in my cabin, and after crying all night, I think her sinuses were a little messed up. So, she has been snoring up a storm.”
“Ah, I see. Is everything okay?” I inquire in between chopping a white onion for omelets.
She then picks up an apple nearby and bites into it. “Yeah. Just boy stuff. You know how it goes.”
I stop what I’m doing, turn around, and flick a dish towel over my shoulder. “Oh, yeah? Do you talk to her about us?”
She gasps and acts shocked I’d ask such a thing. “A girl never gossips and tells.”
I chuckle. “Right.”
Walking closer to me, she asks if there’s anything she can do to help.
“Um.” I wipe my hands on my pants before looking around. “Ah! It would be awesome if you wouldn’t mind making the chocolate chip pancakes. The batter is already made. You just need to cook them on the skillet.” I lead her over to it and start preheating it.
“Sure. I can do that.” Then, she discards her apple for a less healthy option, and pours some chocolate morsels into her hand before flipping them into her mouth. “Hm,” she mutters with a frown. “Not as good as last night.”
With a snicker, I explain, “That’s because these are just generic semisweet chips. For the soufflé, I used a special kind.”
“Like what?”
I get it out of the cupboard and hand it to her.
Her eyebrows mash together again as she tries to pronounce it. “Perugeera? Perugahra?”
“It’s Perugina.”
Her lips vibrate together. “That does not look like an ‘n.’”
“I promise you that it is. It’s made in Italy in the city of Perugia.”
She still looks puzzled. “Then where did the extra ‘n’ come from?”
I shrug my shoulders. “That I don’t know.”
“Hm.” I watch as she dips a measuring cup into the batter and spreads it around the skillet.
“So, you’ll know when to flip when—”
“When there are a bunch of little bubbles on the top,” she finishes my sentence. “I know how to cook some things you know.”
I smile and back off. “Right. Of course.”
“Excited to finally meet with Yannis?” she eventually asks as we continue to cook together.
I’m actually cooking the omelets now in a big pan. “I am. I just hope he decides to go with us. I see so much potential in what our marketing team could do for him.”
“Right.”
After turning down the heat, I inquire, “What made you ask that?”
Her eyes are still focused on the job at hand. “I was just curious.”
“Okay, miss gossip queen—” I take the pan off the heat and walk back over to the other side of the kitchen. “I realize there is very little that I know about you and your life away from this yacht.”
Finishing her last pancake, she turns to face me and leans against the counter. “Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Well.” I cross my arms and widen my stance. “Do you have any siblings?” If she’s told me already, I don’t remember… and that makes me hope she just hasn’t mentioned it yet. All I know for sure is that her father passed away.
“One brother. Collin. You?”
I shake my head. “Only child.”
“Ooh. That must’ve been rough.”
“It was. But that also meant I didn’t have to compete for my mother’s attention.”
“Aw, yeah. It sounds like the two of you were close.” She picks the fruit up that she’d previously discarded and starts munching on it again.
“Incredibly so. Yes. Uh, is Collin older or younger than you?”
“Older. He’s married and about to be a dad for the first time.”
“Oh, yeah? That’s great.”
She beams. “Yeah, I can’t wait to be an aunt.”
“Let’s see… what about your friends? What are they like?” ‘
She lets out a sigh before looking at the ceiling. “My best friend is Molly. We’ve been friends forever, but we’re the completely opposite people to each other.”
“How so?” I’m genuinely curious.
“Well, she’s wild and uninhibited. She also doesn’t seem to care what others think of her, and I just think that’s so admirable.”
“And you do? Care about what others think, I mean.”
Her lips jet out and go to the side. “Don’t most people?”
“Probably.” I wish I could say I didn’t, but that would be a lie.
“The other thing about Molly is that she’s always craving adventure and looking for a good time.”
I click my tongue. “Yet you’re the one here.”
She laughs. “Yeah, but this is completely uncharacteristic of me. In fact, her family owns Tiffany Yachts. So, she’s been jet setting around the world her entire life. Although, she doesn’t like a lot of people knowing about her familial connection because she sees it as flaunting her wealth.”
The more she’s talking about this Molly, the more I’m starting to think she might be the perfect “release” and fun I’ve been dying for Bryant to have. The fact that she seems modest, despite coming from money, is also a big plus.
“Does Molly still work for the family business?”
She looks at me funny. “Yeah, why?”
I wring my hands together in excitement. “Do you think she’d be interested in flying out and meeting us in Greece?”
Understandably, she seems perplexed. “… why?”
I then lead her by the shoulders over to one of the stools on the other side of the island, and I lean with my elbows on it before explaining, “Ever since Wes—Captain Bryant’s divorce, I’ve wanted him to get out in the world and have a little meaningless fun. I think your friend might be just the ticket for that.”
She scowls. “You want us to matchmake them, essentially.”
I wipe at my mouth briefly. “No. Well, not exactly. I just think they might be good for each other. If a romance sparks up—so, be it. If not,” I shrug, “who cares? Hopefully they’ll both have a few laughs and some fun along the way.”
Her middle finger traces her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”
“Plus, wouldn’t it be cool to have your best friend with you in Greece?” I know that will sweeten the pot for her.
She seems to think a moment before saying, “What the hell? Let’s do it. But how are we going to get a hold of her?”
I grin. “Don’t worry. I have my ways.”
A few seconds later, she squeals.
I’ve moved on to cooking some bacon, and the sound that escapes from her startles me at first.
“Oh, sorry.”
I turn the burner down. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking about how you might be right.”
Oh, I like the sound of that. “About?”
“Captain Bryant and Molly. On the outside, they seem like a completely cockamamy couple.”
I giggle so hard that particles of moisture fly out of my mouth. “Cockamamy? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were a Cockney from the eighteenth century.”
She puts her hands on her hips. “You know what I’m saying. They just seem like they might be the perfect ‘opposites attract’ situation.”
“That’s what I’m saying.” I also think it’s a good sign if I, someone who knows him really well, and her, who knows Molly better than anyone, can already see it—even before their meeting.
“But what are we going to say to get them together? We can’t just be like, ‘Molly, Captain Bryant; Captain Bryant, Molly. And go!’”
I rub at my chin, which is quite stubbly. “No. But!” I raise my finger up in the air. “We could set up an innocent ploy that we’re all going out to dinner together. That wouldn’t be that suspicious. He’s my good friend, and she is yours.”
“True. True. Then, we’ll just watch and see if a natural attraction or whatever occurs between them.”
“Exactly.”
“Ooh. This is so exciting,” she exclaims. “Just remember, you can’t tell anyone about her connection to Tiffany Yachts.”
“Right, right.” My lips are sealed.
Then, continuing to see her smile warms my heart. Making her happy makes me happy, and I know similarly making our best mates happy would only increase both of our contentment.