Page 94 of Falling Overboard

“Maybe. But you’re gambling with my future.”

He took a step toward me, his arms out, as if he intended to hold me. But he dropped his hands. “You’re right. I’m sorry. That was selfish of me.”

His immediate confession and sincere apology helped to melt the edges of my anger away. “It means a lot that you’re being honest with me and didn’t deny it.”

There had been many, many people in my past who had not. Who had continued to lie even when confronted with actual evidence.

Lines of worry etched into his forehead. “Lucky, I haven’t been completely honest about—”

Our cabin door flew open and all of the exterior crew stuck their heads in our room. They’d obviously hoped to catch us doing something illicit and let out groans of disappointment that we were only talking.

“It’s all clear,” François told us. “No sign of the captain. We’re going back to the hot tub if you want to come with us.”

Hunter turned toward me and raised an eyebrow. I shook my head slightly.

“No thanks. We’re going to call it a night,” he told them.

Those were the wrong words to use, as it caused the boys to break into loud and suggestive catcalls and comments. Hunter had to shut the door on them.

“They always say there’s no such thing as a secret on a boat. Except this one, apparently,” I said. And it was such a good secret that I had been entirely unaware of it.

“I can go and tell them the truth,” he offered. “I’ll shut it all down.”

On one hand, it would be like declaring open season on him. Emilie would be relentless. Possibly Georgia as well if things didn’t turn out with Pieter.

But on the other, I didn’t want it to get back to the captain. I wasn’t sure what to do. “We can figure that out later.”

He nodded. “Can you forgive me?”

What he’d said was true. The crew would risk their own bad behavior being exposed if they went to the captain. And he had managed tomake both Georgia and Emilie back off, using me as his shield. I didn’t mind that part. I could get over the lie that had given me the benefit of not having to watch him kissing either one of my stews.

I was upset that he didn’t like me and I had fooled myself into thinking he did. But that wasn’t Hunter’s fault. “I can forgive you.”

“That’s because you’re such a kind person.”

I knew he’d meant it as a compliment, but it felt a little like a rejection. I was the nice girl, his buddy. Not the woman he wanted to be with. Kindness didn’t get a guy’s motor revving.

I pushed my wet hair off my shoulder. “We should go take a shower.” My cheeks turned hot as I realized what I’d just said. “I mean, I will take a shower alone and then you’ll take a shower, also alone. Separately. At different times. I didn’t mean ...”

He was grinning at me, obviously amused. He closed some of the space between us.

“We didn’t get to finish upstairs,” he said. “It’s my turn. Lucky, truth or dare?”

What was he doing? His eyes were serious. He really wanted to keep playing? What information was he hoping to get out of me? Did he want me to confess to my crush? Maybe what he’d told the crew about us wouldn’t seem like such a big deal if I openly admitted that I did have feelings for him. But the truth felt dangerous right now. “Dare.”

And before the words even came out of his mouth, I knew what he was going to say and I both feared it and desperately wanted it. “I dare you to kiss me.”

“We’re alone,” I said. “We don’t have to play games.”

“I feel like we’ve been playing a game with each other since I got here.” He moved closer to me again.

“But you don’t want to kiss me.”

That got him to stop moving. “Why would you think that?”

“In the hot tub? Emilie dared you to kiss me and you practically made a gagging sound.”

He smiled. “That’s not what happened. I told her to pick something else because the first time we kiss will not be in front of an audience.”

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