NautiCal (Forever Wilde 8)

“I’m sorry, Jon,” he said softly, taking my hand in his. “My brother-in-law Augie comes from big family money and has had similar issues. I know it left him feeling like he could never trust anyone.”

I shrugged. “Sometimes it’s easier being alone.”

Cal rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot. No it isn’t. Augie adores my brother Saint and vice versa. Both of them are a thousand times happier than they ever were alone. You’re being a drama queen, and if you’re going to be that way, you at least need to dish the tea about how you finally sent him packing.”

Nat must have heard us talking because she plopped down in the chair next to me and grabbed a dumpling. “Can I tell it? Please?”

Cal rubbed his palms together. “Hell yes. You’ll do the story justice. Bring it.”

I groaned and reached for my coffee.

Nat leaned forward to grab another dumpling. “After Worth broke up with him, Mason made a scene at the company holiday party like it was some kind of Real Housewives show. He accused my brother of sexual harassment, threatened to sue him—quote, in open court, unquote—and then finally let it slip that if Worth didn’t want him, surely Robert from accounts receivable would.”

Cal started giggling and couldn’t stop. “Tell me there’s video. Please baby Jesus.”

Nat moved over to sit on the chair closer to Cal. “No, but get this. It turned out that Robert is straight and married, and he has a knack for forensic accounting. He was so pissed after being dragged into this that he ended up uncovering all kinds of shady expense reports and financial transactions in which Mason had forged Worth’s signature. After that, Mason had to go away quietly or risk legal action.”

I remembered how embarrassed I’d been when he’d aired our personal dirty laundry in front of employees, some of whom had known me since I was a teenager coming to work with my father. But I’d deserved it for being stupid enough to date an employee in the first place.

I stood up to get a coffee refill inside. Lucas was sitting on a stool at the galley counter sipping juice from a small glass. “Morning,” he murmured. “We diving today?”

“Absolutely. Cal has some special spots he wants to show us. Once everyone gets up and fed, we’ll get the tender out and load it up with the tanks.”

Julo handed me my refilled mug. “Captain Vin already loaded it up for you. Good to go whenever you’re ready. Jin just took a cooler of water and fresh fruit down there for the surface interval.”

I thanked him and took the stool next to Lucas. “How are you doing?”

He rolled his shoulders and grunted. “I think I sleep ten times more deeply on this boat. I haven’t decided if that’s a good thing or not, but it’ll be good to get in the water and stretch out.”

Lucas took another sip of coffee and eyed me over the mug. “You look awfully chipper this morning.”

I shrugged. “I’m excited to get down there and see what we see. It’s gorgeous outside.”

Julo nodded as he transferred more food onto a decorative tray. “Gonna be a good one today.”

Lucas sat back and stretched his legs out. “Tell me about Cal. I didn’t know you were bringing someone.”

I felt like an ass considering the only reason Cal was even on this ship was because Lucas was engaged to a philanderer and his own brother was bound and determined to ruin his engagement. Suddenly, when faced with lying to my brother in order to protect him, I realized how wrong it all was. But I wasn’t a good enough person to call it off.

“It’s nothing serious,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just thought some company would be nice this week since you have Pres and Nat has Jin. That’s all.”

And when the words came out of my mouth, I realized they were almost true. It wasn’t that I enjoyed being alone. On the contrary, I actually really liked being in a relationship. But it would be a long time before I’d allow myself to reach that level of trust with someone else again.

“I like him,” Lucas said. “He’s funny as hell, and he was so sweet last night when Mia was talking about her niece struggling to learn how to ride a bike.”

I thought back to the advice he’d given her about trying a balance bike or using her feet to scoot first. He’d sounded like an experienced dad, but then he’d told a story about his little sister having all kinds of trouble learning and his older siblings had been a nightmare about it. By the time he finished telling the story, Jade was laughing so hard she was crying and Nat had nearly choked on her drink.

“He’s a people person,” I said.