Page 91 of Falling Overboard

She took another sip of her champagne. “I figure that there’s only one way to resolve this. Kiss the sexy man you live with.”

That was so far from where my mind was at that it threw me off. “How is that a resolution?”

“You need to see if there’s a spark there. If you aren’t attracted to each other, then you’re just stressing about nothing.”

That was so not an issue on my end. “Stressing about nothing is kind of my specialty. And kissing him won’t solve anything.”

“Disagree. If nothing else, you can tell me about it and answer the burning questions that I have regarding whether or not he’s a good kisser.”

I had no doubts on that front. The fact that I was ready to combust every time he got close to me said that if we did kiss, I would probably just dissolve into a million tiny pieces and scatter all over the ocean.

I did still have that tiny fear of mine. That he was such a nice guy, wanted so much to be of service to others, that he might kiss me because he could tell that I wanted it. “Hunter wouldn’t kiss me just to be nice, right? Like, what if he kissed me just because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings?”

She shot me an incredulous expression. “Have you met men before? They don’t do that.”

We couldn’t continue our conversation because Thomas and Pieter suddenly splashed into the tub, getting water all over the deck.

“We’ll clean that up later,” the bosun mumbled before he reached for Georgia’s champagne bottle and drank directly from it. She smacked him on the arm and told him he was gross.

A few seconds later the rest of the crew showed up, including Hunter, and everyone climbed into the hot tub.

I felt very strange—I was both angry with him for lying to the crew and yet still had the urge to plaster my mouth over his.

Maybe Georgia was right and the only way to work things out was to kiss him.

But I needed a bit of time to process what she had told me before he and I had our inevitable confrontation.

Because he was going to explain why he had done it.

And why he hadn’t seen fit to clue me in.

Emilie slid down into the hot tub so that she was right next to Hunter. She was wearing what looked like dental floss with a couple of lace doilies to cover her bits. My black tankini made me feel like a nun in comparison.

And even though I was mad at him, I did wonder what Hunter would think if I wore a swimsuit like hers.

Despite my inadvertent modesty, his eyes were constantly on me. I felt his gaze even when I was speaking to someone else. I had to remind myself of his lie because I was melting from his intensity.

Everybody was getting progressively drunker and wilder. François had put some music on and the thumping bass seemed to shake the entire ship. The crew were dancing and kissing and it was quickly headed in an out-of-control direction. Sometimes they made me feel like I was a passenger on a floating brothel.

“Let’s play Truth or Dare!” Emilie said as she looked at Hunter. Now that she’d gotten him into the hot tub, she obviously planned on taking advantage of it.

“We’re not eleven,” I said to Georgia. “And if Captain Carl comes out, he’s going to fire all of us.”

“That’s part of what makes it so fun,” she said. “The thrill of possibly getting caught.”

“I’ll go first!” Kai said, and although I wasn’t sure, he looked a little annoyed about the way Emilie was watching Hunter. He dared Thomas to go down and run naked back and forth on the passerelle.

The bosun didn’t need to be asked twice and ran down the stairs, nearly slipping and falling twice, but ran the short length with his trunks completely off, to the delight of the crew.

When he returned, trunks back on, he made François twerk in Andre’s face, something neither one of them seemed to enjoy. François asked Emilie, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

That seemed out of character.

“Who do you fancy on the ship?”

“Hunter.” Her answer was immediate. No hesitation. That green-eyed monster inside me bared its teeth.

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