Page 5 of The Billionaire's Teacher

“Hey, Marco.” I lifted a hand then turned back to Wes and nodded. “That’s yours?”

“Yeah.” Wes strode past me and said a few words to Marco that I didn’t catch.

“Sunny! Missed you, lady. Where you been hiding?” Marco glanced at Wes. “Did you know you got the best in the business?”

Wes managed a nod. “That’s what they said when I booked.”

“He thought I was a guy.” I shrugged and hauled up the gear bags, hooking them over my shoulder before reaching for the handle of the larger hard-sided suitcase. At least it had wheels.

Marco laughed, loud and long. “You’ve gotta start telling them to use your full name, Sunny.”

I shrugged. “Tried. They can’t seem to get it straight. Shouldn’t matter what kind of plumbing I have though. Someone asks for the best, they’re going to get me.”

“Modest, as always.” Marco shook his head. “Course, you’re right, so…”

“Exactly.” I pointed at Marco and winked before turning to Wes. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” Wes glanced around. He looked lost and still uncertain. After a moment, his gaze fixed on Marco. “Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem. You really are in the best hands with Sunshine.” Marco grinned and headed back to the dingy white minivan that served as his taxi. “Later, girl.”

“Yeah. See ya.” I tipped the suitcase so it was on its wheels and ready to roll. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can call the agency and let them know to have a man meet us at the next port. I think Javier’s free right now. He’s not as good as me, but he’s decent.”

Wes paused, as if considering.

My eyebrows lifted. I’d made the offer, but hadn’t really meant it. Javier was probably free, but with that the case, he was also probably a day into a week-long bender. They’d need to get to him fast and start working on sobering him up if he was going to have to take over for me. And I was going to have to figure out some other way to earn the fee that I’d been banking on from this trip.

Ugh.

I schooled my face and waited, but I prayed with everything I had that Wes didn’t change his mind.

Finally, he shook his head. “No. This is fine. I need the best.”

I smiled. “You got her. Come on, let’s get underway.”

I started back to the NeverLand and didn’t bother to see if he was going to follow. When I reached the boat, I stepped aboard and lowered the gear bags to the deck before going back for the suitcase. Wes arrived as I finished getting the larger bag aboard.

“Need a hand?” I reached out for one of the bags.

Wes took my hand in his and stepped aboard with his load. I pressed my lips together and narrowed my gaze as I looked at him. He was a client. And a solid ten years younger than me. So anything I thought I might have felt when he took my hand was clearly the product of an overactive imagination on my part.

My husband had died five years ago, and I hadn’t been interested in diving into the world of dating again. Not here, in the islands, where so many of the visitors were only looking for a vacation hookup, and the locals? Well, even though I’d lived in the islands for most of my adult life, I wasn’t quite local enough.

I could probably find dates among the transplants. But it seemed like an awful lot of work for no good reason. I’d had the kind of love people dream of. It wasn’t as if anyone got a second chance at perfect.

And I wasn’t going to settle for anything less.

I tugged my hand free and tucked it in my pocket. It seemed nicer than wiping off his electric touch. I jerked my head toward the doors that opened into the galley and salon. “This way.”

I grabbed the bags I’d brought aboard and stepped into the enclosed area of the main deck and paused. “This is the salon. Galley here in the back as well. Up is the flybridge and upper helm. Down for staterooms.”

“This is nice.”

I nodded and started down the stairs. It was nice. In a perfect world, I’d own the thing outright and could run whatever charters I wanted. But this wasn’t a perfect world. Not since Luca died and took our dreams with him.

I slid open the door leading to the primary stateroom that filled the bow of the boat. I set the dive bags on the double bed and parked the suitcase at the foot of it. “This is your space. There’s a bathroom with shower here.”

I tapped the door that closed off the bathroom from the rest of the stateroom. “I’m in the stateroom on the left as you face aft. If you need extra storage, you can use the stateroom on the right. Questions?”

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