The Ruthless Gentleman(31)

Neill and I had had a blast in Greece last year. And there’d been far too much tequila between charters. A night out with Neill was guaranteed fun and my dad’s words about me taking time for myself rang in my ears. Maybe I should go, but the problem was I didn’t want to. I swept my hand down my body. “I’m not dressed for it anyway. I really should stick around in case Hayden needs anything.”

“Did Moss say you had to?” Eric asked just as Skylar wandered into the kitchen.

“You’re not changing?” she asked, her gaze flitting down my body.

“Moss ordered her to stay,” Eric said.

I cut my sandwich in half and put it on a plate, then set about cleaning the mess I’d just made. “Captain Moss has done no such thing. I’m chief stew. It’s my job to put the guests first.” It would have been nice to go out tonight and have fun, dance a little, drink a lot. Maybe find a hot deckhand from another yacht to kiss. But it wasn’t a deckhand I wanted a kiss from. Just Hayden’s touch covered my skin in goose bumps and heat. I couldn’t imagine what his lips might do.

If I was staying because of the thought of Hayden’s mouth on mine, perhaps going ashore would be the safe option.

Skylar slumped on the banquet. “You’ve gotta come. It won’t be the same without you. Please. Who will help me find rich, single men who have husband potential?”

“These guys will look after you,” I said, lifting my chin as Neill came into the galley.

“Cheese sandwich?” he asked and I nodded. Although no one was allowed to heat anything up in the kitchen—chefs were territorial—we were all permitted to make ourselves cold food.

“She’s saying she’s not coming tonight,” Skylar said.

“She’s right here,” I said, pointing to myself.

“Why don’t you just come for an hour? I’ll bring you back,” Eric said, his expression pleading. “Or I can stay and once he locks himself in his office, we can head out. You know he never comes out once he’s gone in there for the night. You won’t see him again until tomorrow.”

I could easily go. Eric was right. Hayden had been the person to instigate our night off. He didn’t need looking after. But I didn’t want to leave. “I’m not doing it.”

Neill blew out a breath. “Save your breath, Eric. I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but you know how dedicated she is.”

“I’m dedicated to my tip.” I laughed and took my plate to the dining table, tucking into the banquette next to Eric and Skylar.

“You’re dedicated to the job,” Skylar said. “I’m never going to be a chief stew if this is what it takes. I’m always going to choose husband shopping, vodka and dancing over a guest.”

“It’s really not a big deal, guys. It’s one night. We’ll have plenty of fun times this season when this charter is over.” The problem was, I knew if it were any guest other than Hayden Wolf, I could be convinced to go ashore.

“I’ll drink your share if it makes you feel any better,” Eric said.

“Taking one for the team.” I winked at him and a slight blush crept over his baby face.

“Always. I’m all about the sacrifice,” he mumbled.

“You’re going to miss the fireworks,” Skylar said.

“Fireworks?” I asked before taking a bite of my sandwich.

“Yeah, some festival or other. Maybe you’ll catch them from the boat,” Neill added.

It was dumb, but I really did like a good fireworks display. Especially from the water. “I hope so. That would be cool.”

“That’s if you’re not running around after the Wolfman,” Eric said.

“The Wolfman?” We didn’t call the guests nicknames because there was too big a chance for them to overhear. Not until the charter was over anyway. And Hayden had been nothing but courteous to all the crew as far as I was aware.

Eric just shrugged.

“Like you said, he’ll go down to his office and I won’t see him all evening. I doubt I’ll be running anywhere.”

“Then why don’t you come ashore with us?”

I tilted my head, encouraging Eric to drop it. My mind was set. There was no point having this discussion.

“I think they’ll have them over the water, so you’re bound to see them,” Skylar said.

For a second I thought about taking some photos to send to my dad and Michael, but then I remembered we didn’t have our phones. My dad loved to see beautiful pictures from different parts of the world. I think it reassured him that I was having fun. “I think so too. So, you see, I’ll hardly be missing out at all. But it’s very sweet of you guys to be concerned.”

“Concerned about what?” August asked, appearing in the doorway.

I groaned. I wasn’t about to go through it all for the ninetieth time. “You look pretty,” I told her, trying to throw her off the scent. “Come on,” I said, standing. “I’ll see you guys off.”

“You’re not coming?” August asked and voices began to murmur. I ushered everyone out of the kitchen and down to the tender.

“Seriously, it’s a full day of work tomorrow, so not too much alcohol. I’m not picking up your slack.” I eyed August in particular.