Chapter Seven #2
“It’s fine,” I heard Gisella say on another giggle, and then nausea bloomed in my throat at the sound of a kiss. “Ember is cool. She’s not going to care.”
I heard Finn’s voice again, but couldn’t make out what he was saying — just the low rumble of his baritone as I held onto the sink and tried not to hurl. I was so exhausted. All I wanted was to crawl into bed and pass out. But I knew with Finn in that room, there was no possible way I’d sleep.
With a sigh, I flicked off the bathroom light and opened the door just in time to find Gisella crawling up into her top bunk.
Finn was already there waiting for her.
“Hey, Em! We’re just going to have a cuddle. We won’t be loud, I promise.” Gisella smiled that stupid, adorable, innocent smile and I still wanted to throat punch her.
“Yeah, no worries,” I said. “I’m actually going to go have a glass of water on deck, get some fresh air.”
Do not look at Finn. Do not look at Finn.
“Oh, perfect! It’s just a little snuggle. We’re both tired,” Gisella said. “Turn out the lights, yeah?”
I gave her a thumbs up and grabbed the one long cardigan I’d brought with me, sliding it over one arm and then the next before wrapping it tight. I was only in a white spaghetti strap sleep top and my light pink sleep shorts, and I knew it’d be a bit chilly on deck this time of night.
“I won’t stay long.”
I stilled at the deep sound of his voice, at the apology I swore I heard laced within it.
But I didn’t dare look at him as I flicked off the lights and left them alone.
Bernard must have finished up and headed to bed already, because the boat was quiet as I made my way up. I did a quick run through the main salon — because perfectionist — and smiled at his work. Everything was spotless.
It made my next breath come a bit easier knowing he and Leah would be a good team to work with.
At least, that’s how it seemed so far. I knew that could change at any moment.
I didn’t know them well enough yet, but my first impression of both of them was that they were hard workers and competent in their respective roles.
I could work with that.
I stopped by the galley long enough to fill a glass with cold water, and then I climbed the rest of the way to the sundeck. It was chilly as I suspected, so I held my cardigan tight around me as I padded to aft.
The aft deck stretched behind the yacht like a private balcony over the sea, quiet and tucked away from the noise of the boat.
The teak wood was cool beneath my bare feet, the salty breeze soft and noninvasive as it wrapped around me.
I pulled my cardigan tighter, breathing in the crisp, briny scent of the water as it rolled in steady waves beneath us.
Somewhere in the distance, a buoy clanged softly, and the yacht creaked with its own groans, like an old man settling into a long night’s rest.
Overhead, the stars glittered in full view, untouched by city lights, a canvas so clear it made the whole world feel like it had shrunk to just this deck, this night, this breath.
The wind toyed with the loose strands of my hair, the hum of the engines faint, just a distant vibration through the bones of the boat.
The only other sound was the soft slap of the sea against the hull.
When I found Eli sitting in my destination smoking a cigarette and scrolling on his phone, I smiled.
“Hope you don’t mind a bit of company,” I said, announcing myself.
He looked up from his phone, long blond hair covering his face a bit as he grinned at me. “Not at all. Would love it, actually.”
Eli set his phone aside on the teak, patting the other side of him for me to take a seat. We were protected from the wind in this little alcove of the boat, and I sighed when I finally sat down, my entire body aching and begging for me to carry my ass to bed.
Ten minutes, I told myself. If I could just make it ten minutes, hopefully Finn would be gone. Or if not, I could ask him to leave without Gisella thinking I was a bitch of a roommate.
“I’m on night watch,” Eli said, taking a pull from his cigarette. “But why are you still awake?”
“Just need a bit to unwind, I guess.”
Eli arched a brow at me like he didn’t quite believe that lie, but to his credit, he didn’t push. Instead, he offered me his cigarette.
“No, thank you,” I said with a smile. “Although, I don’t think I’ve ever wished I smoked more than I do right now.”
“Ag, shame.” He took another hit, his eyes assessing me. “Rough day, wasn’t it?”
“Not the smoothest, that’s for sure.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you did a great job.
The guests were happy, loving the drinks, commenting on all the little things you and interior did to go above and beyond.
Theodora was over the moon that you had a portable ring light for her to use to get the best lighting no matter where she was on the boat. ”
“Sadly, I don’t think a ring light will make up for the train wreck dinner.”
“Ag, you’ve got tomorrow night. It’s the last meal that sticks in their heads, anyway.”
I smiled. “Hope you’re right.”
“I usually am.”
His next drag was long, and he watched me with that same intense, curious gaze.
I knew this kid was a flirt, but in just five minutes alone with him, I could see he was also a predator.
Anyone attracted to a man wouldn’t last long with those eyes of his devouring them the way they were currently feasting on me.
My cheeks flushed under the gaze, and I bit my lip against a smile, looking down at where my hands were wrapped around the glass of water.
I hadn’t seriously dated anyone since Finn, but I’d kissed a few boys on past boats and tried my hand at a few app dates — just for fun, just to remember what it felt like to be wanted.
I could see myself doing the same with Eli.
A big part of me knew I should do just that — because if I was kissing Eli, then maybe I wouldn’t be so hung up on what it used to be like kissing Finn.
But the smarter half of me screamed not to even think about it. I’d learned my lesson about boatmances, and I was not encouraging any type of romantic entanglement while on board this time. I was a woman on a mission, and that mission did not include getting my heart broken again.
“So, how do you feel about the interior crew so far?”
“They’re great,” I said honestly. “Going to make my first go at chief stew easy, I think.”
“Careful. Famous last words.”
I knocked on the teak wood just in case. “How about you? Deck team cool?”
“Oh, yeah. Team’s solid so far. Palmer’s a good bosun, and I’ve worked with Cam before — good bloke, knows his stuff. Gisella might be stronger than him, though, judging by how she was hauling those provisions around yesterday. But hey, don’t tell him I said that. Let’s keep his ego intact.”
He winked.
“You know anyone?” Eli asked next, pausing to finish the last of his cigarette. He put the butt out in the small ashtray he’d brought out with him. “From before the show, I mean.”
Heat crept up my throat. “I do.”
“Who?”
“One guess,” I said, looking up at the moon breaking through the thin clouds above us. When I looked at Eli again, he smirked.
“Ah. Cheffy.”
I rolled my lips together, eyebrows raising into my hairline as I pointed at him as if to say bingo.
“Any story there?”
I chuffed a laugh, draining the last of my water.
I was in love with him.
He said he loved me, too.
I thought we’d travel the world together.
He let me think it.
He said he was done with yachting, that he was opening a restaurant in Dublin.
Now, he’s here, back on a superyacht.
With Gisella.
But I didn’t say any of that.
I just stood, groaning a bit at the way my muscles protested the movement. “Not one worth telling. Goodnight, Eli.”
“’Night, Em.”