CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Mark
When I came on this cruise, I didn’t expect to meet anyone. I wasn’t even planning on getting laid like Liam set out to do. I just wanted to enjoy the time with my family and get a break from work and Coldenshire.
I certainly didn’t think I would spend a majority of this time with my neighbour, the girl I once believed was sent to this earth to test me. It’s funny how life can change in an instant. She means something to me now. It’s no longer about fucking her, although that is a bonus. It’s more. I actually care about her. And admitting I didn’t want us to end last night has only brought us closer. It’s like neither of us are waiting for the clock to stop ticking anymore.
The reason I went looking for her last night was because Liam questioned what Freya and I will do when we get home. The thought of there being an expiry date on what we have scared me, and nothing scares me. I didn’t want to lose what we have, not when I’ve been searching for someone like her for so long. I just didn’t realise I was searching until she came into my life. I knew I was waiting to buy a home with someone I was going to settle down with, but I never expected to find that person now. That’s how much I can see this working between us.
I’ve never felt this kind of connection with a woman before. We fit together like a puzzle, all individual pieces, unique but essential. What was missing from my life, she completes, and I feel like I’m the same for her. We both have baggage, and I think we both needed someone in our lives who doesn’t judge. She takes my family as they are, and I give her something her family has never given her. Acceptance for who she is. They’ve made her feel like crap about herself for far too long. She needed someone to tell her, it’s not her, it’s them. She doesn’t need to change. They do. Because if it wasn’t for her being who she is, we would still be at each other’s throats. I just wish they could see how fantastic she is.
Hayden rushes over to our sun loungers, a big, goofy grin on her face. “He’s coming,” she announces.
Cheers ring out as Uncle Max enters the pool area wearing a green bikini. Last night, Max lost a dare to my uncles, who bet him that he couldn’t stay on the bull for four minutes. His punishment was to wear a bikini outside for a full hour. Amongst other things.
“He’s not even embarrassed,” Freya muses, looking up from the book she’s been reading while settled between my legs.
Max, hearing her, turns our way. “Why would I be embarrassed when I have a body like this,” he announces, smacking his arse.
The others keep laughing, videoing him strutting along the pool’s edge. “Mum is going to kill him when she comes out,” Hayden says.
“I thought you told him you’d keep her inside,” I state.
Hayden snorts. “He shouldn’t have eaten my bacon this morning.”
“Fucker deserves it,” Liam mutters. “He stole my snacks.”
“That you stole from me,” Landon growls.
Liam sniffs. “You left them out.”
“They were in my locked cabin,” Landon snaps.
“How did you get in?” Paisley questions. “I’ve been trying to wrap my head around it since Landon kicked off about them being gone.”
“I’m a—”
“Carter,” Paisley finishes before dropping back down next to Landon. “Will any of you ever tell people how you know things or do the things you do?”
Liam doesn’t even look the slightest bit guilty when he replies, “Never.”
“Max Carter, what are you doing?” Lake yells as she stops behind Max.
Max freezes for a split moment, before spinning to face his wife. “It’s not what you think,” Max declares, holding his hands up. His bronze face turns pale at the sight of his wife.
“So you didn’t lose a dare last night and the consequences were to dress up in a bikini?”
He scratches the back of his neck, standing up straighter. “Okay, so it is what you think.”
She lets out a weary sigh. “Max, you promised to keep the shenanigans to a minimum.”
“You knew I wasn’t the sort of person to go back on my word when you married me,” he states. “A bet is a bet.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Just go and get your dance out of the way, so you can at least try and act like a normal human being for the rest of the day.”
He nods like she’s just told him to go fetch a bottle of milk. As he gets near us, he glares at his daughter, pointing at her. “I raised you better than this. Snitching on your own father.”
“And you knew better than to steal my food. Yet you continue to walk a dangerous line,” Hayden warns with a sniff.
“You weren’t even eating it,” he accuses.
“I turned my back for a second to talk to Sunday,” she snaps.
“And I raised you better than to turn your back to your food,” he argues. “You’re welcome. You won’t be doing that again in a hurry.”
“Dad, I would seriously go and do your dance before I send you swimming with the sharks,” she bites out.
As he gets up on one of the podiums used for a dance floor, the DJ plays the clean version of Anaconda by Nicki Minaj. The others get up to taunt him, leaving Freya and I alone on the sun loungers.
I glance over to where her mum and dad are sitting, noticing they are looking our way again. “Did you speak to your mum?” I question, running my fingers down her arm.
“What’s the point? She’ll only deny it or confirm it and it won’t change the way I feel about it.”
“They could be bullshitting you, babe,” I suggest, even though I doubt it. I know her mum is trying, but it still seems like something she would say. Freya doesn’t need to hear that from me though.
“They didn’t know I was in the bathroom. Diana would still speak freely knowing I was there, but Sophie… Sophie is one of those girls who prefers to do it behind a person’s back. She’s too scared to say it to their face. Esther is the same. She’s so sweet and kind to everyone, but I’ve heard her on the phone to her friends talking about people.”
“I get that, but there are some people who just love to stir the pot. Maybe putting all the cards on the table and getting it out there will help mend this rift between you.”
“It really doesn’t matter to me. I think the only thing that is bothering me is not knowing when it was said. If it was before the talk we had, I’ll drop it. But if it’s recent and after our conversation, then I don’t know what it will do to me.”
Getting the feeling she doesn’t want me to push, I don’t. I understand what she is saying. She’s good with them now and is enjoying her time with them. If all of that is a lie, it’s going to hurt her more than everything that has transpired before. I also understand why she wants to keep her head in the clouds. If my parents had acted like that to me even once, it would kill a part of me. But I also hate the thought of them hurting her and getting away with it. It’s the Carter blood that runs through my veins. We eliminate our threats.
“I would definitely run it by your sister then. You’re on good terms. Even if it’s not to tell her about what happened, you could try and see if she knows when your parents said it.”
“I don’t know. She’s been acting weird with me all day and I have no clue as to why,” she declares before letting out a sigh. “Can we talk about something else?”
“All right,” I reply. “You can tell me about the conversation you were having with my mum this morning. I saw you both in deep conversation.”
“She was inviting me to Faith and Beau’s wedding.”
My eyebrows crease together because they were talking a lot longer than that. “And?”
She glances up at me, her lips twisting into a smirk. “You are very nosey today.”
I roll my eyes as I flick her nose. “What were you talking about, because if she was telling you embarrassing childhood memories of me, it’s all lies.”
“So you are calling your mum a liar?”
I sigh. “No. But I know my mum. She can’t help herself. She told my prom date, who I barely even knew, about the time I slipped in chocolate on the dance floor and split my head open.”
“That’s not embarrassing.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Okay, it was my brother’s shitty nappy, but I don’t want to get into it. So what was she saying?”
She laughs, pressing her cheek against my chest. “She was checking to see if I would be free for your birthday meal next month.”
Oh, okay. I wasn’t expecting that. “What did you say?”
“That I would have to check with Summer in case she’s made plans.”
“Not that I’m complaining about you ditching me for a friend, but what could be more important than my birthday? My birthdays are epic. Mum goes all out with the food.”
Her lips twitch. “Because, you big baby, my birthday is on the same day, and since I didn’t know I’d be in… whatever this is… I didn’t think to hold off my plans. Normally Summer will take me out in town.”
“No shitting way?” I muse, grinning. That means I’ll never have to worry about forgetting her birthday. “How did I not know this?”
“Um, because you never asked,” she teases.
“Well come join us. You can bring Summer and we can make it a joint birthday. I mean, it might not be too late for my mum to order you a cake.”
“You don’t have to do that on my account,” she states. “It’s your birthday dinner. And I don’t need my own cake. I’ll have a slice of yours.”
I suck in a breath. “We don’t share cakes on our birthdays. We have the family cake where everyone gets a slice, and then the birthday boy or girl gets their own. No one can share.”
“So you are saying you won’t share your cake with me on my birthday?”
Phew. She understands. “Exactly that.”
She drops her head back, laughing. “You are so stingy with your food.”
I shrug unapologetically. “It’s cake. A Carter never shares their cake. It’s been, like, the law since... well, since forever.”
“You’re all nuts,” she mutters.
I tap her book. “Get reading. I want to know if he saves her or if he gets killed trying.”
Her lips twitch. “You were reading?”
“It was either that or stare at your tits the entire time. Which would have been awkward with my family sitting right next to us.”
She shakes her head but sits back, opening the book back up. It takes me a minute to get back into it, but once I do, everything going on around us falls away. It’s just us. And the couple in the book who keep running into bad luck.
*** *** ***
I join my sister at her table, keeping a close eye on Freya, who is sitting with her parents. Freya said she wouldn’t bring up what she heard last night, but she could change her mind during their conversation.
“Will you keep an eye on Freya whilst I go shower please?”
Jaxon snorts. “She’s not a child who needs monitoring.”
I glare at the bastard. “No, she’s not. But her family have a way of constantly belittling her, and whilst she doesn’t show it, it does hurt her.”
Lily frowns as she glances over at Freya, and I know it’s out of concern. “I thought they were okay now.”
“So did Freya, but she heard something last night and she isn’t sure when it was said. She might not call them out on it, but if it gets heated, she might. I promised her I wouldn’t be long getting showered and changed. I just feel bad for leaving her.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her. Go get changed,” Lily replies softly.
I lean over, kissing her cheek. “Thanks, sis.”
I race off, knowing I’ve already wasted enough time when I see the back of Liam’s head heading into the dining hall. It doesn’t take me long to get back to my floor. With my head down, scrolling through my phone, I reach into my back pocket for my key card, when I bump into a body.
“Sugar!” I hear hissed.
I glance down, seeing Esther on the floor, wearing shorts and a bikini top. But it’s the blood on the inside of her thigh that draws my attention. My eyes widen at the sight, feeling the blood drain from my face. “Did I do that?” I ask, pulling the T-shirt that is tucked into the back of my shorts out to press it down on the wound.
“The glass must have smashed,” she states through gritted teeth, as she lowers the rest of the flute to the floor.
As much as I don’t want to help the woman who has made Freya’s life hell, I am the reason Esther is hurt and my mother taught me better than to ignore a woman who needs help.
“Let me get you to the first aid quarters,” I offer.
She waves me off as she leans her hand against the door. “It just needs a good clean. I’ll be fine.”
The blood trickles down her leg as I help her to her feet. “I think it might need looking at.”
“Is Freya in her room? They all have a first aid kit inside.”
“She’s, um, she’s upstairs on deck still.”
Her gaze meets mine and she forces a smile. “I’ll go back to my room and clean it. I’m not good with doctors.”
I glance at my door, biting my lip. I don’t want this woman in my space, but the guilt of being the reason she got hurt gnaws at me. “Why don’t you come inside my cabin and I’ll clean it up?”
She stops limping, her breath hitching. “I don’t think I can walk very far.”
“It’s right there,” I state, pointing to the door opposite Freya’s.
She glances at it in surprise. “I guess I can’t refuse since I don’t want to trickle blood through the halls.”
I open the door, then hold out my arm for her to hold. I flick on the lights as I pass them before helping her towards one of the beds. I grimace at the scent of sweaty feet in the room, and the clothes littering the floor and bed.
“Do you want a T-shirt?” I ask when I notice the bikini she has on is far too small. Her tits are practically spilling out. I actually find it weird she’s wearing one since I remember Hayden making a comment about her always wearing a full swimming costume.
She places her hand over mine. “Thank you for the offer but I’ll be okay.”
I nod and move over to the cabinet that has a first aid box inside. I pull it out, rummaging through the contents.
Moving back to the bed with a handful of stuff, I place it down next to her. “Everything should be there. You’ll be better using the antiseptic wipes to clean around the wound. I’m afraid we don’t have any clean face cloths.”
She lowers her lashes, biting her lower lip. “Can you do it for me? I’m really not good with blood and cuts. I don’t want to pass out on you too. You seem like someone who doesn’t get queasy over the sight of blood.” She forces out a laugh. “I remember passing out once when my friend sliced her thumb cutting a cucumber.”
I gaze at the cut. It’s pretty close her to shorts line, and not a place I’m comfortable going when I have a woman now. Freya doesn’t know it yet, but she is mine. Last night, we decided not to end things when the cruise reaches the last port. Yet neither of us talked about what that meant for us. I didn’t bring up the fact she has been mine since the minute she got on the mechanical bull. I never realised it then either. It didn’t truly hit me until the night she went head to head with me during trivia night.
Still, I have to help Esther. Not only because I caused it, but because she is Freya’s sister, and now that she is mine, I don’t want to be the reason they have another falling out.
I get to my knees, planning to make this quick so I can get her out of here. There is a woman waiting for me, and a chicken leg calling my name in the dining room.
And not even this cut is going to keep me from them.