Page 70 of Falling Overboard

“Hunter, there’s something that I—”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lucky

But before I could share the innermost parts of my psyche and my deepest desires, Thomas interrupted us over the radio.

“Hunter, Hunter, Thomas.”

He grabbed his walkie-talkie. “This is Hunter.”

“I need your assistance on the sundeck.”

“Copy. I’ll be right there.” He jumped off the counter and smiled at me before he left.

I fought off the sinking disappointment I felt. This was better. I could concentrate on the task at hand and didn’t have the chance to vomit words all over Hunter. I hadn’t humiliated myself.

Now there was no chance of him putting his hands on my shoulders and saying, “Lucky, you’re a really nice person but I don’t think of you that way.” That would have been horrific. World-ending. Nuclear apocalypse bad.

Why had I been so ready to tell him that I liked him? To risk that kind of rejection?

The stain had lifted out and the dress was clean. Marika had been a wizard at finding the most incredible products for laundry and cleaning.I wondered how the exterior crew was doing with the stained deck while I rinsed the dress, wrung out the excess water, and then put it between two fluffy towels to dry quickly.

I went into the galley to see what we still needed to finish for the night. By the time I completed everything there, the dress had dried completely. I went to Sasha’s cabin and knocked on her door.

She answered it naked.

And from the expression on her face, I was not who she had been expecting.

I held the dress out to her while averting my eyes. “Here you go! All clean.”

This was a first for me, so I wasn’t sure of what the protocol here was. Sasha took the dress and carefully checked the edge where the stain had been.

Figuring I should probably go, I said, “Have a good—”

“Where is my champagne?” she demanded. Like she was angry that the stain was gone and so she had to find something else to be mad about.

“Did you request champagne?”

“Did I request ... yes. I told the taller blonde to bring me champagne.” She was talking about Emilie.

Who had dropped the ball, again.

“I’ll get that for you right away,” I said.

Sasha was obviously very comfortable with her body, as she continued to stand there and yell at me. “It should have been in my cabin waiting for me!”

“You’re right, my apologies—”

But she cut me off. “And my bridesmaids’ cabins were not cleaned. What is wrong with you and your staff? You literally have one job. How much of an idiot do you have to be to work here? Do you have to fail an IQ test?”

I knew she was drunk. I knew she was angry. I knew she was frustrated. But instead of being able to rationally excuse her lashing out,my anxiety was making my entire body shake, telling me that she was right about everything she was saying.

“I’ll get you the champagne and I’ll clean their rooms—”

She interrupted me again. “It’s too late. They’re already in bed. Do better. I can’t believe how terrible the service has been on this trip.”

Sasha slammed the door shut and I gasped a little, the sound shocking my system. I hurried to the galley to get the champagne. I knocked on her door and she threw it open, still naked, and grabbed the bottle from my hands before slamming the door a second time.

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