The Ruthless Gentleman(73)

Since our first kiss, I’d tried hard not to think about what would happen when Hayden left the yacht. Although he’d told me he wanted things to continue between us after he left, I knew the logistics, as he’d put it, were difficult. He was based in London with commitments and a business to run, and my job made a long-distance relationship almost impossible. Any time I had off I spent in Sacramento. As much as I might wish it were otherwise, the likelihood of Hayden and I existing outside this yacht was almost none, even before he’d accused me of being a corporate spy.

But now none of that was even a fantasy. He thought I’d betrayed him and through his assumptions and accusations, I knew he’d betrayed me.

I’d risked my career for him. I’d put my brother’s care at risk for him. And yet he’d turned on me in an instant. He’d made up his mind about those photographs before he’d even asked me about them, and then assumed I was lying.

Captain Moss entered the kitchen and all eyes gravitated toward the ten brown envelopes he held in his hands. I should care more than I did. The tips I earned this season were all allocated to my brother’s health insurance premiums. I knew that whatever was in that envelope, it wouldn’t be enough to cover the additional expenses.

“No real issues on this trip,” Captain Moss said as he sat down. “But we’ve not been tested. This was a very easy charter for everyone apart from Avery. You feeling better?” he asked me.

I nodded. “Yeah. It must have been something I ate,” I said, flashing my best fake grin at Neill. “I threw up, but feel fine now.”

“Cheeky,” Neill said.

“You worked hard,” Captain Moss said, lifting his chin in my direction.

Guilt unfurled in my stomach. If he only knew what had been going on between Hayden and me. I’d betrayed too many people for someone who wasn’t worth it.

“You’re a good girl, Avery.” From anyone else, a statement like that might have been condescending, but at that moment it was exactly what I needed to hear. I wanted to be a good person. I needed to be a good girl, because if I wasn’t, why hadn’t I just taken the money and helped my family?

“You should have plenty of energy for our next guests who arrive next week.” He dealt out the envelopes to each of the nine crew members. “We want to keep the bar high. We got a fifteen percent tip. Anything less for this next one will be a disappointment.”

The crew gasped as they peered into their bulging envelopes. It was at the top end of what tips normally were, and because charters were usually shorter, none of us were used to having so much money handed to us at once.

“No room for complacency,” Moss continued. “Go have fun tonight, but tomorrow I want every one of you up on deck at ten sharp. We’ve got to get this boat looking like it’s brand new. No excuses.” Captain Moss stood and headed back to the wheelhouse, leaving the rest of the crew to make plans for the evening. Why plans were necessary, I wasn’t sure. We always did the same thing—drink as much as possible, dance and find someone to make out with.

But making out with anyone wasn’t in the cards for me, and a new charter was the last thing I needed. The idea of seeing other people where Hayden and I had shared so much seemed wrong. Even though things had ended badly, I didn’t want to erase it. I just wanted the pain of not having him to drift away. I wasn’t sure that would ever happen, but I knew new guests wouldn’t help. Neither would vodka.

“Wanna come and help me pick out an outfit for tonight?” Skylar asked.

I shrugged and followed her out of the kitchen. “That pink dress you showed me the other day would be nice,” I said, trying to act as if my world hadn’t turned upside down and inside out.

I followed her into her small cabin that she shared with August and she shut the door behind us. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You don’t look okay.”

“I’m fine,” I said, taking a seat on August’s bed, dipping my head so I didn’t knock my head on Skylar’s bunk.

“So, what happened with you and Hayden? Are you going to see each other again?”

I hadn’t expected her question. We’d not discussed me and Hayden since our conversation in the laundry room. “No, of course not.”

“Of course not?” She squinted at me as she hitched up her leg and sat on August’s bed. “You must have been in love with him. Why wouldn’t you want to see him again?”

Her statement hit me like a punch to the gut. “In love with him?” I clutched at my stomach, trying to find my breath, disorientated and dizzy. “Why would you think I was in love with him?” It couldn’t be true, could it? I couldn’t have fallen in love with a man who thought I was capable of betraying him for money, someone who clearly didn’t know me at all.

My limp body and my aching heart suggested otherwise.

“Avery, you’re not that kind of girl. You wouldn’t have risked everything you’ve worked so hard for just to get laid by a pretty face.” She sighed, and a grin curled at the edges of her mouth. “Although he did have a mighty pretty face. And a gorgeous ass. And I swear, one time the breeze lifted his shirt and I got a look at—”

She stopped as I fixed her with a glare.

“I’m just saying that to have put all that on the line, he must have meant a great deal to you.”