Page 28 of Falling Overboard

“I am not thinking about you.” She tried hard, but there wasn’t any conviction in her words.

I knew I should give her an out. “You are. You’re thinking about how much you’re dying for me to make another boat pun.”

One of her gorgeous smiles lit up her face before it disappeared. “I’m not interested in your puns. I’m afraid that ship has sailed.”

“Lucky!” I said, delighted. “I am impressed. And you can protest all you want but I know you love my ex-port-ise of nautical humor.”

She laughed. We fell quiet after that, listening to the music and continuing to sway together to the slow beat. It wasn’t an awkward silence. I was soaking in what it was like to be close to her in a way thatthe captain couldn’t find fault with. A heady warmth flooded my body and I had to fight off the urge to move closer. My limbs felt too heavy. Like I needed to lie down.

Preferably with Lucky.

I said her name.

“Yes?” she answered.

This might have been a bad idea, but I did it anyway. “You’re the one I’d save from the sinking ship first.”

She didn’t seem to know how to take my declaration. “Mrs. Carmine is going to be so disappointed.”

I wanted to be able to tell her what I really thought. How much I liked her. How beautiful I thought she was. Now I was the one swallowing hard, my breathing unsteady, my fingers digging slightly into her back.

We came to a stop, no longer moving. I forgot about the party, about the music, about the guests.

Everything except her.

This couldn’t happen.

“I should go wash the dishes,” I said. Could she hear how shaky my voice was?

“You should,” she agreed. But she didn’t move away from me. She didn’t let go.

Neither did I.

I had to force my feet to move, my hands to drop. She crossed her arms over her chest, her expression disappointed.

There wasn’t a choice here. I had to go. I turned on my heel and left. I let out a deep breath.

She was going to get me fired.

Or, more accurately, I was going to get myself fired.

Chapter Eleven

Lucky

The rest of the party went well. The guests danced and laughed and the entire crew came up to sing “Happy Birthday” to Mrs. Carmine. I tried not to make eye contact with Hunter, as I figured that was the safer choice.

Especially with Captain Carl here, singing loudly and off-key.

I had come so close to doing something totally embarrassing before Hunter had left to do dishes. It had felt so good to be close to him and I’d craved more. If he hadn’t gone when he did ... I didn’t know what might have happened.

After they ate the cake, Mrs. Carmine opened her present from her husband, which was a tennis bracelet with diamonds so big you could see where theTitanichad hit them. The guests drank another round of champagne in honor of the birthday girl and then finally called it a night.

Mrs. Carmine thanked me again. “This was so lovely. Thank you.”

She was an extremely wealthy woman. She had probably had birthday parties lavish enough to rival most people’s weddings, but I appreciated her gratitude. “It was my pleasure.”

And it really had been.

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