Page 113 of Falling Overboard

“It’s a yacht, not a castle,” I said, wanting to tease her so that things would be okay between us again.

“How many houses do you have?”

Ugh. “Do apartments and condos count?”

She made a sound of disbelief, and I hurried to add, “I have zero houses. My parents have ... more. And if you think I’m the prince, then that makes you my perfect Cinderella.”

“This isn’t a fairy tale.”

I wanted it to be. I wanted the happily ever after. “If I had known what would happen between us, how I would feel about you, I would have told you the truth the first night. I know I can trust you.”

She sighed shakily then, as if my words had touched her. I knew how she could catastrophize things, and I again wanted to kick myself for doing something that could make her anxiety worse. I didn’t want her to think she couldn’t trust me. She had told me how other men had let her down in the past—why hadn’t I immediately told her the truth then?

The only thing I could hope for was that she would see me in a different light. That she would realize I hadn’t been trying to hurt her but had wanted to protect something that was important to me. That she’d recall the times I had tried to tell her.

I should have tried harder. I’d done my best to make it up to her in some way, asking my parents after they’d come on board to change their plans so that we could visit Italy and give us some time off. I had spent the last couple of hours organizing a surprise for her in Naples. A selfish part of me wanted to tell her, hoping that it would soften her anger, but I knew that I couldn’t.

I hadn’t done those things to make it all better. I’d done them because I loved her.

She might run. I understood that. I would accept it if she did. I didn’t ever want to be the reason that she ran.

Maybe she didn’t know how terrible I used to be, but she should know that I was pretty sure I was the reason for the rule.

“My dad is the one who made the no-hookup rule because of potential liability. He always thinks like a lawyer. He wanted to protect himself if something happened with the crew. That, and he wanted me to focus on what I had come here to do. He doesn’t trust me. He assumed that I would ... mess things up. Because of my past. I’ve ... dated a lot of women.”

“I doubt that. You’re wildly unappealing,” she said sarcastically.

Another glimmer of hope. “Is there a way for me to make this up to you? I can buy you a pony. Or a bakery.” As soon as I’d said it, I wanted to take it back. “Not that I would. I know it’s important to you to do it on your own.”

“You’re right.”

Lucky was so fiercely independent and it made me want to accomplish things on my own, too. I couldn’t fight off the desire to help her, though. Take care of her. Give her everything she wanted.

“Maybe sometimes it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let someone help you. A rich boyfriend has to be good for something.” I hadn’t meant to say that. It had slipped out. I had been thinking of her as my girlfriend for so long that it had just happened.

She raised her eyebrows at me.

My brain was screaming at me that this was the worst possible time to be doing this but it was already out there. “I would like to be your boyfriend.”

“I ... I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

Disappointment punched me in the face. I knew I deserved that. And I could wait. I could be patient. Time would pass and we would get off this boat and I could show her what she meant to me.

Maybe I could do some of that now. “I know you’re scared. You have a right to be. But I’m not going anywhere. And I have something for you.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box my sister had passed off to me. “I had Hadley bring this.”

She was supposed to have brought it several months from now, and while I wanted to be pissed at her for not giving me a heads-up, the fact that she had brought the gift early had allowed me to get over it quickly.

Lucky’s hands were shaking when I gave it to her. She opened it and let out a soft sigh. “Oh. Thank you.”

I took the necklace out of the box and showed it to her. It was a penguin pendant with a star on its stomach. “It has a star. Because you’re my lucky star.”

She turned her back toward me and lifted her hair so I could put it on. Now I was the one with trembling hands. My fingers brushed against her skin as I struggled with the clasp and I had to swallow down what I was feeling.

Lucky turned back and took the pendant in her hand, studying it.

“No one’s ever given me a gift like this before.”

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