NautiCal (Forever Wilde 8)

Lucas chuckled. “More like eighty percent.”

“So then why—”

Julo set down a pitcher of lemonade beside us on the table. “She’s yanking your chain,” he said in a low voice. “Naughty sister.”

I shot Nat a look. “You’re making this up? Why?”

She reached out and grabbed my hand, threading our fingers together in a way she hadn’t done since she was in elementary school. “I want you to stop resisting this.”

Lucas looked between the two of us. “What do you mean resisting? Aren’t they dating?”

Nat let out a breath. Clearly she suspected something. “He’s keeping Cal at arm’s length. He’s scared of another Mason situation.”

“Can we move on to the legal portion of this discussion, please?” I begged.

“Legally, you’re old enough to be his father,” Lucas teased.

“Legally, what I heard you two up to last night wasn’t allowed in the state of Florida until 2003.”

I snapped my head around. “We slept. Since when is sleeping illegal?”

“Technically,” Lucas said, “she didn’t say it was illegal. She said the opposite.”

Julo chuckled from the side of the deck where he was hosing something off.

“Are you saying you’re not sleeping with him?” Nat pushed.

I didn’t want to lie to her, but if he and I were together, how could I tell her we weren’t sleeping together? Suddenly, I pictured myself wrapped around his sleeping form and realized I didn’t have to lie. “I am sleeping with him. Of course I am.”

Nat sat back with a satisfied grin. “Good. That’s all I wanted to know. It explains why you’re so damned relaxed.”

I wish.

“Back to the contract,” I said, pointing to the paper. “This is the exact copy your attorney was given and we all agreed on.”

Lucas shook his head. “We never agreed. In fact, Nat and I fought against this quite hard.”

Nat leaned forward. The sun slanted across her dark hair, bringing out chestnut-brown highlights that reminded me of her mother. Thankfully, she’d inherited Angela’s beauty but my father’s analytical mind. “He’s right. We don’t want to inherit the family business without part of our family. And that’s you, moron.”

“We’ve been over this. I’m staying on the board and will make sure to have a hand in operations. Father should have never left it to me, and your share shouldn’t have been given to your mother, no offense. I don’t need the money, and I want to make sure the two of you are set for life. Please sign these agreements. If you want me to be happier and more relaxed, you’ll do this for me.”

Nat grumbled about me not playing fair, but they both signed the documents. Captain Vin signed as the witness, and I shuffled the originals back into the folder just as Freya called out from the bridge.

“Cal’s hurt! They’re coming in on the tender and need help.”

My breath caught in a hard ball in my chest, and black spots pricked at the edges of my vision. I raced down the stairs to the aft deck where they’d pull up. Sure enough, in the distance I could see the tender hauling ass, leaving a thick white wake behind them. Jin was at the wheel, his dark hair flying around his face. I couldn’t see much else until they got closer, and then all I noticed was the blood. It was smeared on the white hull of the tender in several places, and I could see equipment scattered around in the boat instead of being stowed properly. Mia and Jade seemed to be caring for Cal, who was slumped on the floor of the boat.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Jin called out as Julo tossed him a line. “He’s okay. Just might need stitches.”

I wanted to vomit over the side. “What happened?” I asked, hopping on board the tender as soon as it was close enough. I pulled Mia’s shoulder back so I could see Cal. Blood streamed from a cut near his hairline, and a bruise was blooming on one of his cheekbones.

“Baby, shit,” I said, crouching down and reaching for his face. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I pulled off my T-shirt and used it to wipe the blood away from his eye. Cal reached for my wrist, and I noticed his hand was trembling.

“I’m okay. Just got knocked around a little.”

Mia was crying. “He almost drowned. I almost couldn’t reach him in time.”

He glanced at her and smiled weakly. “It was only thirty-five feet deep. I would have gotten my shit together in time. I promise. It just surprised me for a minute, that’s all.”

“Let’s get your wet suit off so you don’t get cold,” I said, reaching for the zipper pull. “Everyone else hop off the tender and give us some room please. Someone ask Lucas to get the first aid kit.”

I helped peel the suit from his skin before pulling him up and getting an arm around his back.