Page 135 of Falling Overboard

“It stains unless you freeze the petals first,” she said. She tried to pick up some of the petals from the bright white comforter but it was too late. It was stained. It looked like someone had been bludgeoned and then bled to death.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” I said, trying to pick up the petals. I had wanted to help her and instead I was only making her life harder.

“I have a replacement in the laundry room. We have to get this out of here,” she said. I helped her grab it, and the bedding beneath it was fine.

We went out into the hallway and nearly crashed into Captain Carl.

The captain’s gaze landed on the blanket. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Oh, the duvet from the primary cabin got a little stained.” Her voice was high and tight. She was scared.

The captain tugged at the blanket and he saw how extensive the stains were.

“Who is responsible for this?”

I opened my mouth to tell him I was to blame but she jumped in front of me.

“It was me,” she said. “I did it.”

Chapter Forty-Four

Lucky

Seeing the expression on the captain’s face, I kept talking, trying to make this okay. “I thought the guests might like some rose petals on their bed and this happened. By accident. I’ve got another one to replace it with, though.”

This wasn’t a uniform shirt. It was significantly more expensive. I sensed that Hunter was about to refute my statement and so I took a step back, landing it on his foot so that he would understand to stay quiet.

“This is becoming a pattern, Lucky,” Captain Carl said. “I heard about the incident last night in the dining room with the dishes.” By that he meant Amber’s toddler tantrum she had thrown. “I expect you to keep a handle on the guests and not let them be so destructive.”

I blinked in surprise. Now I was supposed to be controlling irrational people? How did he expect me to manage that?

“Understood, Captain,” I said. Georgia was right. Hewasan unreasonable tyrant with ridiculous expectations.

Satisfied, he nodded and headed up the stairs toward the bridge. When we were alone Hunter spun me toward him.

“You should not have done that,” he said.

“I had to. You need your job. I’m not willing to let you get in trouble. Especially after the damage you caused to the ship when you didn’t drop the fender.” I was afraid of what kind of information the captain would pass along to Hunter’s parents. He might delight in telling them how their son was destroying their new purchase.

“And you need yours,” he countered.

“It’s okay,” I said. “The captain would have blamed me anyways. You’re currently under my command, so I’m responsible for not keeping a better eye on you or teaching you properly.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “By that logic, shouldn’t the captain take the blame when you mess up?”

“It doesn’t really work like that, unfortunately. And it’s only my second incident, so it should be fine,” I said. “Stop running yachts into docks and don’t kiss your temporary boss in beds and everything will be okay.”

He gave me a half smile. “I’m not sure I can promise the second one.”

Even now, the man flirted.

Then he added, “You should have let me take responsibility for what I did. You don’t always have to make things okay for everyone.”

I did it because I loved him. Because I didn’t want him to miss out on what was important to him.

As if he understood that, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “But plank you very much for standing up for me. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.”

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