Page 40 of His Secret Gift

She clicks her tongue. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did that happen?”

I feel kind of exhausted about the whole thing, but she deserves an explanation. For one thing, I don’t want my new friend—and one I’m going to be stuck with in somewhat close quarters for the foreseeable future—to think I’m just some floozy who is eager to lock lips with our boss.

“Things started heating up the first night when we were docked in Fort Lauderdale.”

She leans over, holds her chin, and seems to listen intently. “Okay?”

I sniffle and push some hair behind my ear. “I’m not sure where you were.”

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I just stayed in.”

“Ah. Alright. Well, I went out with Denver and some of the other employees. Then when he met some girl…”

Callie rolls her eyes. “Maria.”

“He’s told you about her?”

“Oh, my god! He won’t shut up about her.”

I smirk. “Anyway, after they snuck away, I decided I’d come back on board. However, on the way back from the bar, I ran into him.”

From there, I tell her the whole story from there—the chocolate souffle that we bonded over, the almost kiss, his sleep issues, my father’s elixir, and everything else.

When I’m finished, she just blinks a few times, the bottom of her bangs bouncing as her eyelashes collide with them. “Wow.”

“I know it has all been wrong. I know that.”

Biting her finger, she says, “Maybe. But it’s also incredibly impressive.”

My head tilts. “It is?”

She laughs. “Well, yeah. Remember what I told you about Harper?”

Now, that name makes me unreasonably jealous.He isn’t yours, Kayla.It’s important that I continue to remind myself of that fact.Or at least I don’t think he is.

“Yeah.”

“I, along with many others, I’m sure, thought he had sworn off love—especially with one of the crew members—since she broke his heart. But you come along and poof!”

“Poof?” She’s making it sound like I’m genie who can grant wishes or something.

“You opened his heart again. Trust me, several women have tried but failed miserably.”

I feel my cheeks get flush. “I can’t really speak for him or his heart.” Truth be told, I had no idea what was happening between the two of us.

“Still.”

I’m fiddling with my fingers now, and my eyes focus on them before meeting her gaze again. “Are you,” I cough to clear my throat, “Are you going to tell anyone about any of this?”

She sighs before grabbing one of my hands. “No.” She’s smiling sweetly, so I feel like she’s being sincere.

“Really?” I’m sure it would make for some delicious gossip among the crew.

“Nah. You can call me a hopeless romantic, I suppose. I don’t want drama and negative presumptions to get in the way of whatever is going on here.”

Even though I’ve only just met her, I can already tell she’s going to be a great friend.

“Thank you.”

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