Chapter Twenty-Six
POST-PRODUCTION CONFESSIONAL
CLOSE QUARTERS
BERNARD EVANS: SECOND STEWARD
PRODUCER
Let’s go back to the drama that unfolded between charters seven and eight.
Bernard rubs hands together, smiles.
BERNARD
Well, if you insist.
PRODUCER
Were you shocked by what the crew found out the morning that charter eight started?
BERNARD
Yes and no. Was I surprised to find our chief stew and head chef tangled up together in the sack? Not really. But I was surprised by how it all kicked off after. Thought they might try to play it cool — instead, it was fireworks.
PRODUCER
And what about how the rest of the crew responded?
Bernard laughs.
BERNARD
Ah. Shit show, that was, wasn’t it? But you’ve got to understand — emotions were running high. We were all on fumes by that point, and seems like half the boat had been biting their tongues for weeks. That morning? That was the snap.
PRODUCER
Were you hurt by anything that was said?
Bernard shrugs, leans back in chair, grin unfading.
BERNARD
Nah, mate. Then again, I wasn’t the one who found my boyfriend in bed with my superior, was I?
The alarm didn’t go off.
I knew it the second I creaked one eye open and saw sunlight playing through the slats in the blinds.
Panic hit me before the grogginess could, my breath catching as I bolted upright — or tried to. Finn’s arm was draped across my waist, heavy with sleep, his bare chest rising and falling against my back.
Fuck.
“Finn,” I whispered, trying to shake him awake. “Finn, we overslept. We—”
SLAM.
The door burst open.
And my heart jumped into my throat when I locked eyes with Gisella.
I barely had time to yank the sheet to my chest before she was in the room, eyes wild, face flushed, jaw clenched like she was already coming for a fight before she even knew there needed to be one.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Her voice was sharp and high, gaze slicing from me to where Finn was hastily snapping into action beside me. I expected him to curse and jump out of bed and run to her, begging for her to give him a chance to explain.
Instead, he put his body in front of mine like a shield, his hand squeezing my knee under the covers in a silent reassurance that we’d be okay.
I wasn’t so sure.
Gisella cataloged the movement with her tongue in her cheek. She shook her head and barked out a laugh. “How chivalrous, Finn. You’re a lying, cheating sack of shit — but hey, at least you’re a gentleman to your whore.”
The cameras and production crew had already squeezed their way into the cabin, too, and I buried my face in Finn’s back as I imagined what they were capturing.
Oh, God.
What have we done?
Everything felt so right in the moment. When Finn held me and kissed me and touched me, when he told me how he felt, how he’d felt for weeks — years. Last night, we were just two people in love against all odds, floating in our own little bubble.
Well, that bubble had officially been popped.
And the reality of our carelessness was crashing over me like a tidal wave.
Gisella looked between us — the tangled sheets, our clothes scattered around the room, Finn’s calm but protective demeanor.
“This explains a lot,” she said, her voice rough. “Guess I know now why you got so pissed at me kissing Cam. Hard to stomach the thought of me cheating on you when you were already doing it to me?”
“That’s not—” I balked, shaking my head with wide, pleading eyes. “We didn’t, Gisella. I swear. Last night was the first—”
“Don’t insult me with a lie.” Her eyes narrowed, full of fire. “At least have the decency to own your shit, zorra cobarde de mierda.”
Before I could say another word, Eli appeared in the doorway, concern etched into his face as he stepped inside.
But one glance at the scene — the discarded clothes, Finn shirtless in front of me, the way I clutched the comforter to my chest — and his expression flattened into something I hadn’t seen from him before.
Disappointment.
His gaze swept from Finn, to the floor, to me.
“Wow,” he said, voice flat. “Real nice.”
He turned on his heel, shaking his head, and let out a sharp, humorless laugh that felt like a punch to the gut.
My stomach sank further, the weight of his judgment heavier than the luxury comforter I gripped like a lifeline. Voices stirred outside the door — hushed, then louder, pressing for answers — and Eli must have shoved right past them without a word because the muttering turned to footsteps.
And then the crew flooded in, drawn to the drama like moths to a flame.
One by one, they crowded the cabin doorway, peering over shoulders, ducking under arms, gasping as they took it in.
My heart beat loud and unsteady in my ears as each one of their gazes landed on me.
Finn squeezed my knee again.
Bernard was the first to speak. “Well,” he drawled, the corner of his mouth ticking up like a man watching his favorite soap opera. “This is awkward.”
“Shit,” Palmer muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand over his face.
But it was Leah’s wide, wounded eyes that sucker punched me.
“Em,” she whispered. “I thought we told each other everything.”
I opened my mouth to explain — to say I didn’t know I was going to do it either, that it was a mistake, that it wasn’t supposed to happen — but I couldn’t possibly hand her another lie.
And it would be a lie to say I felt anything about last night was a mistake.
Cameron stepped forward with a scoff before I could figure out what to say. “Safe to say that little moment with Eli last night was just for show then, yeah?” he said, arms crossed, his tone full of venom. “Guess you were just soft launching this disaster.”
“Cam, stop,” Leah hissed, smacking his arm.
He shrugged her off. “What? They’re lying cheaters and she led my mate on. Why are we pretending this is some tragic love story when it’s just bullshit?”
Bernard chuckled, suddenly turning toward the cameras with his hands up. He whipped out an Australian accent and crouched low like he was on a safari. “And here we have a rare sighting of chief stew and head chef in their natural habitat. If you look closely, you can see—”
“God, Bernard, will you shut up,” Leah snapped, rounding on him. “You probably encouraged all of this, didn’t you?”
Bernard blinked, caught off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a little pot stirrer and you know it. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if you egged this on just for the drama of it. You’re the one who dared Gisella and Cameron to kiss — knowing she was with Finn, and knowing Cameron was with me!”
Bernard scoffed, crossing his arms. “Babe, don’t be mad at me. Hate to break it to you, but your man’s got free will. He could’ve said no. He would’ve said no… if you actually mattered to him.”
That did it.
Cameron lunged like a viper set to strike.
Palmer grabbed him just in time, locking his arms around his chest and dragging him back as Cameron barked, “Say that again, you Sassenach bastard, and I’ll wring your fecking neck.”
Bernard just laughed, shaking his head as Palmer struggled to keep Cameron from losing it.
“Upset I called out the truth, are we, my sweet Scot? Aww.” He made a pouty face.
“You’d really be suffering if Leah found out you and Gisella continued to have a little fun after she and Ember went inside, wouldn’t you? ”
Ice pricked my skin like a thousand little needle points, the shock of Bernard’s words hitting their intended targets perfectly.
Gisella turned bright red, her fingers curling into fists as Cameron lunged for Bernard again.
He was firing off a string of curse words in such a thick Scottish accent that I couldn’t understand him, but I was too busy watching Leah to pay much attention anyway.
And she was breaking like a fragile vase knocked off the highest shelf.
“Leah,” I tried as her eyes flooded with unshed tears, but her jaw hardened, her chin lifting.
“Don’t pretend like you’re my friend,” she spat to me, and then she stormed out of the room with the guys still clamoring for a fight behind her.
As soon as she was gone, another face appeared at the door.
This one was all business.
“ENOUGH!”
Captain Gary’s voice cracked through the room like a whip.
Every head turned to where he was in the doorway. I knew with one glance that he’d yet to even have his coffee. His eyes were wide, jaw locked as he slammed that authoritative glare into each one of us.
When it landed on me and Finn, it softened — just marginally, enough for his true feelings to slip through the facade.
Disappointment.
Again.
It was the final rock on the pile of rubble, and suddenly I wasn’t just struggling to breathe.
I was crushed.
“What the hell is going on here?” he asked, voice booming as he tore his gaze from us and back to the crew still gathered at the foot of the bed.
“Pretty easy to see, isn’t it, Cap?” Gisella fired back, throwing her arms toward me and Finn. “That’s our chef and chief stew — also known as my boyfriend and roommate.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing this was a nightmare I was going to shake awake from any second. I didn’t miss the frustrated flare of Finn’s nostrils at Gisella’s accusation.
They weren’t together anymore, but no one knew that except the three of us.
No way was Gisella going to admit that now.
And if it was our word against hers, I had a pretty good feeling who everyone would believe.
“Right,” Captain said, severe. “Everyone, get to work. We have charter guests in six hours and this boat is in shit shape. We’ll talk about this when our guests are satisfied and gone, understand? And not a word of it until then. I expect professionalism.”
“You’re going to let them stay?!” Gisella gaped at Captain, but when he arched a brow into his hairline, her mouth snapped shut.
I knew she wanted to argue, but to her credit, she fought it. Because while Captain may have wanted to get more of this story before he made any decisions, we all knew he wouldn’t stand for even one second of insubordination.