NautiCal (Forever Wilde 8)

“No, really,” I said softly. “It’s true.”

“Mpfh.” He stood up and took my plate to the sink. “Nat, you must be exhausted from the trip. You should get some sleep.”

She ignored him. “My brother doesn’t realize I’m twenty-seven years old and perfectly capable of deciding when I want to go to sleep. Tell me more about your family, Cal. How many siblings do you have?”

I bit my bottom lip while I considered how to respond. It was going to sound like a tall tale. “A lot.” I shot a glance at Worth, who was pretending not to be listening as he washed my dish in the sink. “Um, there are ten of us.”

Worth dropped his chin to his chest, and I tried my best to ignore him as I continued. “My mother is kind of a hippie. Or… she was. I’m not really sure what she’s like anymore. My parents moved to Singapore years ago for my dad’s job, so I was mostly raised by my grandfathers after that.”

“The ranchers.”

“Yep. Grandpa was a rancher. Doc was a doctor. Is a doctor, I guess. He ran the clinic in town until my brother West took it over.”

Worth returned to the table to grab the bottle of wine before replacing the cork and putting it away in the fridge. When he finished, he gestured to me. “Come on, Cal. Freya has your phone on the bridge. You said you wanted to call home. You can use the ship’s Wi-Fi.”

I shot a wink at Nat and stood up. “Your brother is a bossy thing, isn’t he? I guess I’ll see you in the morning. It’s nice to finally meet the woman Worth always speaks so highly of.”

Nat seemed surprised by my words, and I wondered at the siblings’ relationship. It seemed friendly, considering the ribbing that Nat gave her brother, but what the hell did I know?

“See you in the morning,” Nat said, hopping up and giving me a quick hug. “Glad you’re here. We’re going to have fun, even if we have to drag Worth with us screaming and kicking.”

Once she’d descended the stairs back to her stateroom, Worth flared his nostrils at me. “Come,” he said, as if I were a dog under his command.

“Beg your pardon?” I asked between tight teeth.

“I’m hardly going to sit here while you spin stories at my sister. I’m tired and ready to go to sleep.”

I guess I couldn’t blame him for thinking everything out of my mouth was a lie, but it still kind of stung a little. For some reason, I wanted him to think well of me, but then again, maybe it was human nature to want to be believed and liked.

He led me into the smaller room behind the galley that was clearly the ship’s bridge. A heavily pregnant woman sat at the controls, monitoring several high-tech screens showing navigation and depth details as well as engine information. When the woman spotted me, her eyes widened.

“Freya, this is Cal. He’s a… friend of mine joining us this week.”

“Welcome, Cal.”

I shot her my best smile and shook her hand. “Thanks. I’m excited to be here. You must be the chief mate I’ve heard so much about.”

Her eyes flicked between Worth and me for a beat before she smiled. “That’s me. Unfortunately this little sailor,” she said, rubbing her stomach, “is landlocking me for a bit.”

“Best wishes. My brother and his husband have an eighteen-month-old, and she’s giving them a run for their money. They also have a three-and-a-half-year-old. It’s chaos at home, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. My grandfather says children keep you young even when they make you feel old.”

Freya chuckled. “I’m good with one for now. We’ll see down the road about adding to the chaos.”

“Well, if you need any help while I’m here, please let me know. I’ve been on boats since I was tiny, and I’m good at moving heavy things and cleaning—two chores all ships need help with. Just say the word and I’m yours.”

“Wow, be careful what you offer,” she said with a wink. “Or Captain Vin will have you scrubbing the hull at sunrise.”

“You’re not cleaning the ship,” Worth said, pinning me with his stare. “You’re here as my guest this week, remember?”

“I can still help. I like to stay busy.” I turned my smile on Freya. “Besides, my grandfathers would never forgive me if I let a pregnant lady do any hard work while it was in my power to do it for her.”

Before Freya had a chance to stop blushing and respond, Worth grabbed something off a nearby counter before latching onto my elbow and pulling me out of the bridge with a stiff nod to his chief mate. “We’ll let you get back to work. Have a good night.”

When we stepped back into the galley, Worth slid the door to the bridge closed and shoved my clothes and phone into my arms. “She doesn’t need any distractions,” he said.