Page 26 of Examining Ella

She waited until the last of the other cars had passed and then tugged the wheel hard, causing her kart to go back up on the track and across it. She came off with a jarring thud but kept going.

She ran over a fallen cocoanut, causing her to bounce as the wheels crushed it. That didn’t slow her down, though. Nothing would.

She had to make one more turn and then she’d reach her destination. She had no idea what she’d do once she got there—and she’d probably be in major trouble—but she’d worry about that later. Right now, she just needed to stop that woman from talking to Bryan again.

She skidded into the turn. She misjudged it, though, not slowing down enough.

“Oh crap!” she yelled.

The nose of the go-kart plowed into a fruit stand. Mangos and soursops flew everywhere. The owner of the stand—a short, middle-aged man—waved his arms angrily and yelled something in Dutch that Ella didn’t understand.

But she understood Bryan when he reached her along with the captain.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. “I’m, uh, fine,” she said. She used two fingers to rake a sheen of busted mango off her face. Some of the juice rolled down to her lips. It didn’t taste bad at all.

“What on earth happened?” he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I had to reach you before that woman did!”

“That woman? Honey, what is going on?”

“I just…needed to reach you…before she did.”

Bryan was still clearly confused. He put his hands on his hips, studied Ella, and, a few seconds later, shook his head. “Are you telling me this wasn’t some kind of malfunction on the car? You did this on purpose?”

Ella gulped and nodded before sinking lower in.

She was in big, big trouble.

Chapter Seventeen

Bryan paid the man for all the fruit and the splintered stand.

Ella had offered, but Bryan had insisted. That was good, she knew, because she’d used much of her checking account just being on that cruise in the first place! Replacing a whole fruit stand would have stretched her thin. But she’d done the crime. She was prepared to do the time, so to speak. She owed that money fair and square.

Now, they were back on the ship, leaving the tiny island behind. They were set to visit other islands in the coming days. But for now, they had other concerns.

In Bryan’s cabin, he said, “Honey, do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

Ella sighed. “I, just…what I did was ridiculous.”

Bryan chuckled. “Yeah. But I’m not having this conversation as a Daddy. I’m not lecturing you before a spanking or anything. I truly want to know what’s going on. I’m concerned.”

Ella perked up. “I’m not getting a spanking?”

He held up his hands, halting her. “Whoa there, little girl. I didn’t say that. I’m saying right now, I’m just trying to figure this out.”

“Oh,” she said, hanging her head once again.

A full minute passed. She started her explanation with another sigh. “It’s the same reason why I drank all that champagne last night. I saw that woman—you know, the hot, skinny blond with big boobs—coming to talk to you. And I panicked. I know that sounds silly. But this time with you has been magical and I’ve dreamed of me and you for so long. Seriously, you don’t know how long.”

“I think I do,” he said, nodding as he inched forward. “Because I’ve dreamed of you, too, honey.”

For a moment, that old, familiar self-doubt told her he was just being nice. But then she realized how ridiculous that idea was. He was obviously into her. Shouldn’t that be evident after all they’d been through the last couple of days?

But that nagging specter of low self-esteem is hard to escape.

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