Page 2 of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean
“You must be Marcella, our new chef. Nice to meet you.” Like the rest of the crew on the deck, he wore a standard casual yachtie uniform, knee-length khaki shorts, and a polo withThemis’s logo on the breast—the scales of justice over Grecian block letters.
“Hi, Toby.”
I stopped at the pile of shoes—mostly flip-flops and boat shoes—on the dock, toed my flats off, and picked them up to carry them on board. On yachts—whether it was the seventeen-meterEikor the ninety-meterThemis—shoes were not allowed in order to protect the soft teak or fiberglass decks.
Dom nudged his shoes off too and led me up the gangway. My bags were deposited to the side and Dom turned to me with his arms spread wide. “Welcome aboardThemis,one of the largest sailing superyachts in the world, and your new home.”
* * *
Immediately we turnedleft and Dom led me down the deck. “I’ll take you to your cabin first to get settled in.” He checked his watch. “You might have time to nap, too. I’ll come get you around four, then we’ll do a quick tour of the boat and drop you off in the galley with Roy in time for dinner service.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully. I would really need that nap.
“This is where most meals are served.” Dom pointed at a large metallic table for twelve on the aft deck as we passed by. “There are service stations on either side of the deck and this is our bar.”
My head swiveled every which way, trying to take everything in. The bar was circular, 360 degrees around. A track cut it in half, and sliding doors were hidden in the walls. The service stations, much like flight attendants had on a plane, were full of stainless-steel cabinetry and coffee machines.
Dom stepped into the stairway next to the service station. He pointed up. “To the bridge deck.” But he took the stairs down. “This leads to our two cabins and the utilities area.”
We passed through a small hallway. “My room, on the starboard side, yours on the port.”
I stepped out of the way so Toby and two more deckhands could step into my cabin and drop my bags on the floor. The room was small enough that I stayed in the hallway to give them space. In between the two was another small hallway and a closed door.
“What’s through there?”
“Utility services like laundry and storage, and then beyond that is access to the below-deck storage. We’ve got a sailing dinghy, SeaBobs, eFoils, etcetera. All the fun things for charter guests. There are hatches on the main deck that open to give access too, but it’s often easier to just pop through here.”
The knob handle turned and the door creaked open, a familiar voice calling out, “Dom?”
“Seb? We’re clear—you can come out.” My heart skipped a beat. No way.
The door swung open and a familiar head popped up, wavy black curls looking unkempt, just as I remembered. His facial hair was a little bit more trimmed down than the last time I saw him, but it was still the same beard that had left my lips and the inside of my thighs red and tender for hours.
Seb smiled when he saw me, polite but a little wary, too. “Hey, Marce.”
I was absolutely frozen. How had I not known that Seb was working aboardThemistoo? Dom and I had talked about that dinner he’d had aboardOdysseyduring the interview, and he had mentioned trying to steal Henri, the engineer, away, but he had never mentioned that my former crewmate and lover, Sebastian Alvarez, would be working with me.
Two
Seb closedthe door behind him and put his arms out for a hug. My mind panicked, and instead of hugging Seb—which was so tempting, knowing how delicious he smelled, even when working hard—I stuck out my hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you.” My smile was too big, too fake. Seb’s arms fell to his sides and his brow wrinkled in confusion.
“Um, I think you know each other from before? Seb used to work onOdysseywith you?” Dom sounded confused, his voice a little bit higher.
“Right.” I blushed, shaking Seb’s hand. “I meant, good to see you. Seb. Obviously, I remember you.” I laughed nervously and snatched my hand back.
Seb ran a hand through his hair and I watched too closely while his fingers slid through his dark mane and tugged at the ends. It was so shockingly familiar to see him do that.
“Right,” I said, taking a tiny step away from Seb. The other deckhands had disappeared, and my bags were neatly stacked just inside the door of my cabin. “I’m going to unpack. See you later, Dom?”
Dom passed a look back at Seb but stepped away. “See you at four.”
Taking deep breaths, I stood in the center of my room and tried to calm myself down. Seeing Seb here was shocking, and I couldn’t imagine working with him every day. I flushed, thinking about my first day on the job atOdyssey,and how I’d accidentally walked in on him stepping out of the shower. My first few months of knowing him had been awkward, simply because I had the image of him naked burned into my mind. Everywhere I went on the yacht, Seb had been there with his infectious smile, scrubbing the decks, always seeming to be wet and shirtless. It wasn’t until months later that I’d admitted my attraction—and we’d fallen into bed together.
But this was so much worse. Now I would see Seb and I would be thinking about the Time We Had Sex.
Also known as the Night Before I Got Fired.
