Page 62 of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean
“And I’m better at it than you. Maybe if you spent more time with your sailing coach instead of that shitty boyfriend of yours, you might have done better,” he hissed. They were toe-to-toe now, teeth clenched and bare feet grinding the pastries down into the deck.
“Fuck. Off. Alex.”
“Niki!” came a sharp voice from behind me. “What is the meaning of this? Stop this nonsense right now!” An elegant platinum blonde, presumably Niki’s mother, stepped out onto the deck, Cat behind her. “Seriously, I don’t know what has gotten into you two.”
Natasha appeared from the other side. Her voice matched her gaze: disappointed. “Alex, obviously, we’ve let this feud between you two go on long enough. The award part is over, and dessert looks like it’ll be delayed, thanks to you two. Apologize to the staff and go down to your room.”
Alex bowed his head to the two women. “My apologies, Mum, Ana.” He tipped his head to me as well. “Sorry, Marcella.” He glanced around the deck and was gone.
“You’re going back toPegasustoo. This is far too much disappointment for one weekend.” The mother tugged her daughter in front of Natasha.
“Sorry, Mrs. Boyd.” Niki looked down at her feet.
Natasha rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you two are twenty-four years old and we have to send you to your rooms like children.”
Niki stalked off down the deck.
“I’m terribly sorry, Nat,” Ana offered.
Natasha waved it off. “Marcella, do we have replacements downstairs?”
“Yes, ma’am, we’ll work on plating up new trays.”
“I’ll get the display table fixed up again,” said Cat as she and Bok worked to right the table.
“Thank you, both. Now, Ana, we’ve got to sort out these two kids of ours....” She hooked her arm through Ana’s and led her aft. “Did you know Alex has a charity fundraiser next month in New York City? I think Niki should be there too.”
I followed the two women out and diverted to the staff area while trying to ignore their conversation; they lamented Niki’s boyfriend, pined for grandkids, and were clearly planning to meddle in their children’s lives.
But then again, Seb looked at me the same way Alex had looked at Niki.
We reset the table, and working double time on the desserts put us behind washing the dishes. It was late, very late, when Seb strolled into the galley, finished with his responsibilities. Without a word, he stripped off his coat and rolled up his sleeves. We worked quietly, everyone dragging in exhaustion from the evening’s work.
Cat set down a tray of miscellaneous bar supplies. “That’s the last of Will’s. The main deck is closed up. Marcella, are you good in here?”
“Yes, tell all your stews thank you for a job well done.”
She came up behind me and curled her arms around my shoulders, resting her chin to the left. “You did a great job today.” She squeezed harder. “Honestly, it could have been a clusterfuck, but you were phenomenal.”
She squeezed me and my chest swelled. Glancing up, Roy caught my eye and grinned. Suddenly I didn’t feel so tired.
I leaned my head against Cat’s. “Thanks. Go get some sleep.”
She let me go and the stews filtered out, calling good nights and see you tomorrows.
It was just me, Roy, and Seb in the galley now. Roy glanced at me, then spun around to look at Seb.
“Seriously?” he scoffed at us both. “Get out.”
“What? No, we’re almost done.”
“It’s fine, Marce. Get to bed. I’ll handle it from here. There’s not much left to do and I know you’ve earned a treat.” He smirked at me.
Seb shut the sanitizer firmly and reached back to untie his apron. “I’m on board.”
“Roy, I’m your boss.”
“Don’t care.”
