Page 42 of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean
“Good morning,” I greeted Justin and Natasha. “Your breakfast.”
I laid the dishes in front of them. Natasha’s eyebrow rose, taking in the presentation I had made. The bread, freshly made this morning, was thinly sliced and branded withThemis’s scales of judgment. The slices were pinwheeled out, the eggs nested in the center on a bed of beans, with wilted tomatoes and herbs fringing the toast.
“Marcella, this looksfabulous.”
I suppressed a smile and bowed my head. “Thank you.” I stepped back, feeling a hundred times lighter, energy flowing through my body, and left Justin and Natasha to their meal.
When I returned downstairs, Roy was in full swing prepping the crew meal, and we worked together, cleaning and prepping, until Catarina and Bok returned with the empty plates. Completely cleared-off plates. I smiled in satisfaction.
“Well,” Catarina remarked upon dropping the dishes off, “I’d say you did very well for the full breakfast. It is Justin’s favorite meal of the day, so A-plus marks, Marcella.”
My shoulders relaxed, my breath escaping from me in a relieved rush. It was good to hear that Cat, who knew the Boyds much better than I, thought I’d hit the mark. It made the late night last night worth it.
The crew was filtering in, picking up something to eat as they woke up or passed through. Seb entered the crew lounge and poked around for breakfast.
“How was this morning, Marce?” he asked.
I grinned, much more relieved. “They loved it.”
“Hey!” Seb jerked forward for a moment as if he’d hug or kiss me, but with Cat still standing nearby, he quickly corrected and offered me a high five. “I knew you could do it. You’re gonna kick some ass this weekend.”
“Thanks, I hope so. You want some coffee?”
Seb eyed me. “Yeah, I do, but you’ve been up for a few hours already, and don’t you have a few hours off? I think I’m driving Natasha and Justin to shore at ten. Roy can make me coffee. You can go take a nap.”
“Umm...”
Roy came up from behind me. “Nah, we’ve got this for now. You definitely deserve a nap. I’ll make Seb coffee, and when you come up, I’ll have a nice one made for you, too.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ll make my own coffee, thank you very much.”
“Hey, I need the practice or how am I ever going to get better with that confounding pot?” Roy chuckled.
Seb put a hand on my back, guiding me out of the galley and into the hall. “Go nap,” he commanded. A flutter of excitement went through me. I liked the tone of his voice, the command that was bossy but caring.
I sighed on my way to my cabin.
Distractions.
Twenty
I did nap,setting an alarm for fifty minutes to just get in a power nap. When I arrived back in the kitchen, Roy had done a massive amount of prep work for me, and I found much of mymise en placecompleted.
Hours passed while I created plate after plate of hors d’oeuvres, some needing to chill or marinate for a few hours. I became entranced by my work, a one-woman show crafting, tasting, perfecting.
Roy bounced around me, barely on my radar as he made the crew meals. He had an hour off in the afternoon, and combined with the rest of the staff doing a comprehensive cleaning while Justin and Natasha were ashore, I had a blissful calm in the galley, and even when the Boyds returned, they only took a minor tea service from the staff that the stews could handle.
Seb entered while the lounge was empty, and walked purposefully through the galley, turning his head to make sure we were alone.
“How’s it going up there?” I asked.
He shrugged. “As usual, Natasha’s in the office on a conference call she couldn’t get out of and Justin’s out reading. We’re gearing the water toys up for a swim when she’s off the call.”
I nodded and held up a spoon. “Try this.”
Seb eyed the green sauce on the spoon, but leaned forward and closed his mouth around it. He winced and swallowed. “Ugh, Marce, mint?”
“You don’t like mint?”
