Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
I chuckled. “Just stop whining and make it happen.”
Hopefully my being ashore would ease Avery’s burden. She’d told me she’d always wanted to explore Taormina—now she’d get the chance. Perhaps it would take her mind off what was happening at home. And maybe I’d stop thinking about her.
Landon could organize this without any consequences for the Phoenix deal, couldn’t he? If I didn’t conduct any business on shore then the only risk would be someone planting a listening device on me while I was on dry land and me taking it back to the boat. But I could scan anything I brought back. This shouldn’t be a problem, and my little brother wasn’t the type to not tell me when he thought I was being an idiot. An overnight trip would be worth it. I could distract myself and make Avery happy. Not that the chief stewardess of the Athena’s happiness was on my agenda at the moment.
Definitely not.
I was just going stir crazy. I needed to find something else to think about.
Nineteen
Avery
Nothing made me happier than my dad cracking jokes about the Sacramento Kings’ shitty defense. It meant he was feeling better. And I got to hear it because of Hayden’s generosity in letting me use his satellite phone. He couldn’t have been more thoughtful or concerned. I’d also called my aunt and between the two of us we’d arranged for some additional care for my brother to ease the strain on my dad. He’d been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and although apparently it was easily managed with the drugs, I wanted him to take it easy.
“All crew, all crew in the mess—five minutes,” the captain announced through my radio on my nightstand.
I groaned and peeled myself off the bed. All-crew meetings mid-charter were rarely a good thing. Usually it meant there was a serious complaint or an unexpected change of plans. Surely Hayden would have told me if something was wrong? He’d started to ask Skylar for things here and there, but I hadn’t seen him properly interact with anyone other than me and I kinda liked it that way. It was ridiculous but I didn’t encourage him to ask Skylar for things. I liked to be the one who got him what he needed. It was my job to ensure guests had everything they wanted, and he was the only guest on this charter, so it made sense I would be his main point of contact. I was the chief stewardess. He was a guest.
A guest, so I shouldn’t be kissing him on the top deck while watching fireworks and sipping champagne.
A guest, so I shouldn’t be playing our kiss over and over again in my mind.
A guest, so I shouldn’t be wondering if he’d ever kiss me again.
I blew out a breath, smoothed my hair back into a ponytail and headed to the mess.
“How’s your dad?” August asked as I appeared at the doorway.
I slipped onto the banquette. “All over the Sacramento Kings and their shitty defense, apparently.”
She laughed. “Sounds like he’s getting back to normal.”
Neill high-fived one of the engineers while Eric tried to explain why the joke he’d just told was funny. With twelve of us in the tiny space, it was loud but good-natured.
“Settle down,” Captain Moss said as he appeared. He was only ever in the mess for mealtimes and meetings, so the crew often hung out here when we were on break or off shift.
Everyone quieted, and the banquette filled with five others while everyone else leaned on counters and against doorways.
“We’re switching things up a little,” Captain Moss said.
People exchanged glances and murmured. There hadn’t been many changes this charter.
“Mr. Wolf is going ashore tomorrow and staying overnight in a hotel,” he continued.
It wasn’t unusual for a guest on a longer charter to go ashore overnight, or to stay at a particularly nice hotel or a friend’s villa. That wasn’t what had my heart thumping in my chest. I just didn’t understand why Hayden hadn’t said anything to me. I saw him regularly throughout every day. He’d discussed business with me, he’d kissed me but didn’t mention he was going ashore overnight? It didn’t make sense.
The room grew quieter as everyone waited for Captain Moss to continue. There were two possible scenarios when a guest left the boat. We could end up detailing the yacht from anchor to radio mast, or we could be getting time off. It all depended on how decent the captain was.
“As a result, we all get a day off,” Captain Moss said.
Everyone whooped and cheered and despite the uneasiness spreading through my body, I couldn’t help but smile at their joy. Even the corners of Captain Moss’s mouth threated to curl into a smile.
“Settle down or I might change my mind,” the captain said.
The whooping calmed but the excitement was still palpable.