Page 80 of The Lighthouse on Plum Island
With glasses in hand, Brad and Jennifer resumed their tour of Dark Ocean’s luxurious interiors. The lower decks housed private lounges and a state-of-the-art cinema. The mid-decks featured elegantly designed dining spaces, where a team of culinary artisans prepared a feast for the senses.
Eventually, they went to the upper deck lounge, where they found Dawn and Harriet.
“Hello, Jennifer and Brad,” Harriet greeted them. “Dawn said you were on your way.” She looked at Jennifer. “Have you had something to eat?”
“No.” Jennifer shook her head.
“Neither have I,” Harriet told her. “I’m trying to avoid Alex and his annoying new friend.”
“Harriet has already threatened to shove them both overboard,” Dawn told him, grinning.
“Please don’t!” Brad rolled his eyes. “Do you remember the last time you pushed Alex overboard?”
“Which last time?” Harriet asked him. “The latest last time or the last, last time?”
“The week before his birthday!” Brad said.
“Oh!” Harriet’s eyes widened, and humor flashed in them. “That was when he nearly got run over by that jet ski.”
“What?” Jennifer looked at her wide-eyed.
“Alex and Harriet have a dislike, an intensely dislike relationship,” Dawn explained to Jennifer. “Whenever the two of them are together for too long, one of them ends up being pushed from a boat.”
“Having a drink thrown over their head,” Brad added.
“Being slapped!” Dawn looked at Jennifer. “Harriet nearly pushed him out of a party bus once.”
“Is he that obnoxious?” Jennifer looked at the three of them.
“He has his moments,” Harriet told her, linking her arms through Jennifer’s. “Let’s get something to eat, and you can keep me from drowning him.”
Dawn and Brad watched Harriet whisk Jennifer away, leaving them beneath the million stars that studded the night sky.
“I don’t think I’ve seen this many stars,” Dawn noted, staring at the sky. “And the moon is so big it looks like you can reach out and touch it.”
“I can’t get over how quiet it is,” Brad looked back over Cobble Cove Bay, formally known as Cobble Cove Beach. “It’s a different world.”
“It is.” Dawn followed his gaze, and they fell into a companionable silence that Dawn broke. “I thought it was Caroline you were interested in?”
“I didn’t tell you that,” Brad pointed out, realizing he was being tricked into admitting his feelings for Caroline. “And before you say anything, let me assure you that Jennifer and I are not romantically involved.”
“Good,” Dawn said. “Because I’d hate to have to push you off the boat if you were.”
“Please don’t pick up Harriet’s bad habits.” Brad rolled his eyes.
“Brad, I have one of my bad feelings,” Dawn admitted.
“No, no!” Brad looked at her and shook his head emphatically. “You’re not allowed to say that. Take it back.”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” Dawn bit her lip. “I think someone’s trying to sabotage the production.”
“Is that just a feeling, or has something happened?” Brad needed to clarify.
“Both!” Dawn rubbed her chin.
“What’s happened?” Warning bells started ringing in his head.
“This, for starters.” Dawn pulled out her phone and showed him the message she’d gotten earlier.
