Chapter Twenty-Nine
Calypso
When I woke up this morning, I was actually excited for the weekend on the yacht. The planning came together seamlessly once Jo got her dad on the phone, and all we have to do is be to the marina on time.
My bag was already packed, and Rosie is with Stanley for the weekend. Everything was going as expected, until we arrived at Asher’s house.
In the rush of everything this morning, Liam forgot to mention that the assigned captain—Jo’s favorite, apparently—caught a stomach bug from his kid. I figure companies have plans for things like this, so I wasn’t too worried about it. Plus, Lexi would have called us if there was a real emergency.
It wasn’t until Jo was getting into the backseat, saying how excited she was to see her dad, that it became an emergency. Only to me.
Crossing my arms, I glare at Liam. “Your stepfather is the captain? Doesn’t he have other employees?”
Liam looks way too unfazed by the fact I’m going to meet another member of his family—the closest it gets to meeting his mom, no less.
Sure, he’s met my family but he knew he was walking into those situations. He had time to prepare, or change his mind. Jo and Paul have been thrown at me, and I have to learn to adapt to the moment… not my strong suit.
Dinner with Stanley and Willa was great.
We’ve even been roped into another dinner at the end of the month.
Willa wants to celebrate my birthday, which is so sweet I almost want to barf.
Martha never acknowledged my birthday, and the fact that Liam’s aunt cares so much?
It doesn’t make sense to me, but I’ve known them, in some form, almost my entire life.
Even that felt much less impending than the current situation.
“He does,” Liam says, “but he knows this trip is important. Obviously it matters to Vivi and Grady but it also matters to Jo—to me. He doesn’t want anything else to go wrong.”
I bite my lip and look to the side.
That makes sense.
It’s more than appreciated, since it’s Vivi we’re talking about.
“Paul’s cool,” Liam reassures me. “He’ll love you and your family. Plus, he’ll be in the cabin most of the time, not wanting to bother us.”
Curiously, I ask, “You and him are close?”
He’s mentioned Paul before, and I know they get along. Liam’s never said a bad word about him, but he doesn’t get brought up a lot either.
He nods and leans his arm on the door. “We are now. It took us a while to adjust when he started dating my mom. Even when I was young, he did a good job of never making me feel othered. He’s never pushed the parent dynamic.”
“So,” I say slowly, “he’s not going to judge me in the way a parent would?”
He rolls his eyes and cups my cheek. “No, honey. He’s not going to do that. And Willa’s already sung your praises to the moon, so it would be pretty hard to disappoint them now.”
I grimace, about to tell him that only makes it easier when Asher leans across Jo and taps on the backseat window and points at his watch-less wrist.
The car is on, so they’re fine. We only have an hour and a half until departure though, and the marina is near Sunset Cliffs.
With a cheeky grin, he kisses me softly. “It’s going to be okay.”
His words settle over me like a warm blanket.
What Liam doesn’t know is that I haven’t met anyone’s parents since I started dating Stefan over a decade ago.
Mia waits at the bottom of the ramp with me while our luggage is taken aboard. Despite living near the ocean most of my life, I’ve never been on a ship. I hope I’m not prone to seasickness, especially when my stomach is already in knots at the thought of having to meet Paul.
Devin Prescott was a man of no words, unless he’s in a business meeting.
I can count on one hand the amount of times we held a conversation during my marriage to his son.
He lets Martha write, direct, and star in the show of their lives.
However, the man said more than enough with his eyes; the same pair that always swayed between repulsive desire and visceral disappointment.
Side-eyeing me, Mia starts digging in her bag and asks, “Are you okay? I have Dramamine if you need it.”
I grab her arm, stopping her movements. “No, that’s okay. Do you know who is captaining the ship?”
Showing my insecurities to Mia feels easier than it would be with anyone else on the yacht.
Maybe it’s because she’s older than me, or because she’s seen me at my lowest. She is also the only person here who knows Liam and I aren’t really together. Or weren’t really together. Whatever.
“Uncle Paul,” she says, fitting the random items back into her bag. When she looks up at me, her mouth drops. “Did you know that?”
I nod. “I found out about forty-five minutes ago.”
“That little shit,” she mutters. “Paul called Jo at six this morning.”
My mouth pops open and I turn toward her. It’s just after three p.m. now.
“You’ve never bullshitted me, Mia,” I say seriously. “Don’t start now. What should I expect?”
She thinks it over but her relaxed features stay the same. “Paul’s sweet and funny. You’d have more to worry about if you were dating his baby Jo than Liam. But he’s always been able to sniff out bullshit.”
“Liam failed to mention that,” I murmur, annoyed.
She laughs. “Probably because Paul is always the one who caught him, since Aunt Michelle is so trusting.” Growing more serious, though the amusement continues to spark in her eyes, she asks, “But there’s not anything to sniff out, is there?
I mean—” she huffs out a laugh, “—you and Liam are obviously together now.”
“I mean…” I shrug. “We agreed to fake date until December, so…”
She nods slowly, looking at me like I’m the one who hasn’t figured it out yet. “Right, just like he was only supposed to be living with you for three weeks.”
“We just got busy, haven’t talked about it.” I shrug and look at my red nails, pretending to be interested in the manicure I got for the trip. It’s only five days, but it’s not a common luxury with my job.
Her head falls back and she chuckles. “He’s in your house, Calypso. If you didn’t want him there, you would make time for that. Are you going to be too busy to break up with him in two months?”
Twisting my lips to the side, I think it over and it’s not a half bad idea. If I don’t end things, Liam might just stick around, declaring himself as mine and never making me verbalize my own emotions.
That could work.
“Maybe,” I ruefully admit.
“Calypso,” she says, exasperated. It reminds me of how I would talk to Vivi. It prickles at me, making me uncomfortable from how normal it is coming from her. “He’d let you, you know?”
Before I have to say anything, a man in a captain’s hat walks down the ramp toward us. I turn toward Mia with wide eyes, but she’s biting back another round of laughter.
She waves brightly, encouraging him to come closer. “Hey, Uncle! Didn’t think I’d see you until Christmas.”
He gives her a side hug. “Me neither, but it’s a nice surprise—plus, I don’t get to captain the ship too often anymore.”
She makes a little more small talk with him before gesturing toward me. “This is Calypso. I’m sure you’ve heard about her.”
Paul chuckles and holds out a hand. “Sure have—Willa and Liam haven’t stopped mentioning you.” He winks. It reminds me of Tim and his harmless teasing that often ends up feeling more like a compliment. “Nice to officially meet you.”
A warm, foreign gooeyness invades my system at the confirmation that Liam talks about me—often.
I slip my hand in his and shake it. “You too. And thank you for this.” I gesture at the big ass boat behind him. “My sister and her fiancé are really excited.”
“Oh,” he says easily. “I’ve never been able to say no to Jo.”
Snickering, I admit, “That’s what I’ve heard.”
He seems genuinely happy that Jo knows she’s spoiled.
Paul’s easy nature reminds me of his stepson.
Liam has always said he’s closest to Stanley and that his uncle has been a huge part of his life, despite living in Amada Beach.
Stanley’s always been a bit of a hard-ass.
He’s friendly, but he’s not a man of many words and relies on his wife to ease a situation—the opposite of Paul.
Liam might not realize how much the man in front of me has influenced him.
Speaking of the devil, a hand lands on the small of my back and the other reaches forward to greet Paul in one of those handshake/hug combos guys do.
“Hey, bud,” Paul says with affection. “The crew said you were helping. Thanks—but enjoy the weekend.”
Liam shrugs. “It’s a habit.” Looking at me, he says, “Paul let me work as a deckhand sometimes. Only for short trips.”
Paul adds, “Regretted it the moment he stole that man’s sailboat.”
“Stole is a little dramatic,” Liam says, making all of us laugh. You’d think this was the story that got brought up the most, but surprisingly, it’s the one of him and Lucas peeing in Miss Willow’s flowers. “We took it for a ride and planned to return it.”
“You know,” I say, “I never hear anyone give Lucas a hard time about this.”
“Isn’t that funny?” Liam says wryly, having already realized this.
Paul shakes his head in amusement. “He wasn’t the one driving it.”
Liam opens his mouth but Mia steps forward and cuts him off. “You could debate the details all day. Let’s go, Rory Gilmore, before another boat goes missing.”
He looks confused for a second before the reference hits and he’s chuckling along with us. Paul looks confused and Mia tries to explain it.
Wrapping an arm around Liam’s waist, we follow behind them.
I’m calmer now, weightless even. This experience has been the complete opposite of what it was like meeting the Prescotts; I’d even be willing to meet Liam’s mom if he asked right now.