Page 19 of Adrift

“You sure you don’t want some?”

“I’m good. I’ve got a lot to do. I should get back to work.”

“I don’t know about you, but I can’t think when I’m hungry. You know how temperamental us chefs are. You’re not going to turn down the first thing I offer you, are you?”

“No, I guess not.” She finds a fork from the butler’s pantry and takes a delicate bite. “Wow, this is amazing.” The second bite is a larger one. “Mmm. So good. I use all the same stuff, and mine never tastes this good.”

“It’s in the care and the control of the heat.”

She takes another bite off the plate. I made enough for two, but this sassy woman is going to eat all of it, and I could watch her all day. “Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I was testing out the stove. You take them all. A peace offering for ranting about diva boy earlier.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to . . .”

I don’t want to supply the answer for her, but “crazy chefs” is one of the normal things people mutter about my profession.In the end, I couldn’t care less if they call me crazy, as long as they call me talented. My eyebrows rise with my smile. I turn my cheek to her.

“. . . dealing with intense chefs,” she finally finishes.

“Well, I have a feeling we’re going to work out together just fine.”

She finishes the eggs and washes the plate.

“How long have you known the captain?” Damn it, why can’t I keep anything locked down?

Haley’s at the entrance to the dining room. “Um, this is my first season working with him. Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” I shake my head. “You were deep in conversation when I interrupted.”

“Yeah.” She stares above my head. “I had something to talk out with him.”

“And did it go well?”

“Actually, we never got to it.”

“I guess you’ll have to take another walk.”

Her apple cheeks are back. “I suppose I will.” She leaves the kitchen.

I roll up my sleeves and try not to think what the captain and Haley do behind closed doors. Then I laugh because I sure as hell am going to be picturing it later.

Chapter 9

Manifest

Easton

The hangover throbs behind my eyes. Why in the hell did I think drinking with Yichen Zhao, the former swim champion from China, wouldn’t completely suck today? Last night I had more fun than I’ve had in years, but then I had to wake up and face seeing my father and his fiancée. Making today a new low.

The cab hits another bump. I hope to hell I can remember to never do it again. I don’t drink for a reason.

I suck at it.

My body isn’t used to being poisoned the way it was last night. Dad told me to wait at the hotel for them until tomorrow. But if I can sneak into my cabin, I might be able to keep Candy from pinching my ass. One more night without Candy is a gift. I’d do anything to not have to spend one extra minute with that gold digger.

This whole thing is ridiculous, but my sister Emily and I are hoping to pull Dad aside and get some alone time with him. We’ll go fishing. There’s nothing Rocky likes better than deepsea fishing. We’ll take the tender out and get him away from the bitch. The last thing Candy would ever do is go fishing. She’s molded him into a completely different person.

He’s a changed man since he kicked Susan to the curb. He wears low-rise jeans and form-fitting T-shirts at home. He’s stopped going to the club’s poker game on the weekends. I know because the organizer called me, trying to get him to come back. Rocky is shit at cards, but he throws chips into the pot like he’s a World Series of Poker main event winner. Which is fine. My dad has worked hard his entire life. He’s run two marriages into the ground by staying in the office 24/7. When they remodeled the offices a few years back, he put a small sleeping room off to the side. The same room where I caught Candy going down on him last week. She’d known I was coming in because Dad’s administrative assistant told me they were waiting for me.

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