NautiCal (Forever Wilde 8)

I hopped up and scrambled after him. “Can I help?”

He turned to face me when we got into the dim interior of the main room. “If you’d like. You’re certainly under no obligation.”

“Please. I’d really like to help. I’m sure Julo is busy, and Freya can boss me around verbally if she wants.”

That caused the captain to crack a smile, and Julo looked up from where he was washing dishes in the galley. “Cheers,” Julo said with a smile.

The captain clapped me on the shoulder. “Head to the bow and keep an eye on the lines, then. Thank you.”

I was grateful to get away from the social situation and even more appreciative of the warm sun on my skin and the salt spray on my face as we got underway.

Out here on the bow of a ship, hauling lines and stowing rope, I was completely at home. I knew who I was and what I was supposed to do. My body moved through the tasks without overthinking, and the pod of dolphins that popped up beside us didn’t give a shit about my manners or language.

Once the captain announced the dolphin sighting, everyone rushed to the bow to watch as I moved aft to check for any loose items back there. I continued moving around the deck, double-checking that everything loose was lashed down and there weren’t any items that needed to be stowed.

It was Freya who finally called me on my bullshit.

“Pretty sure our top speed of twenty-six knots isn’t going to dislodge the chaise pillows,” she said with her arms over her chest. “It’s the speed of traffic in a school zone.”

I stood on the deck where I’d been methodically stacking all of the loose lounge pillows in a storage bench.

“Just making sure,” I muttered, allowing two pillows to return to the giant chaise.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I laughed. “Definitely not. What are you and Julo going to do when you have the baby?”

She lifted up her hands and sighed. “We don’t know yet. Worth has offered for us to come work for him in Chicago if we want a more normal lifestyle.”

I stared at her.

“Why do you look so shocked?” she asked with a laugh. “He’s a good man.”

“Is that what you want? To live in the city?”

“Not really.” She moved to sit next to me on the chaise. “We’d love a change, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not sure a big city is the place for us. Julo wants room to get a dog. We want a yard when the baby gets old enough to play outside.”

“Would Julo move to the States? Or does he want to stay near his family?”

“Oh, no. He’d move. My family is in New Orleans, and he loves visiting there. He loves to cook. Give Julo a kitchen and hungry mouths to feed and he’s happy just about anywhere.”

Worth stepped down the stairs to the aft deck. “There you are. You missed the baby dolphins.”

“I was having a moment,” I admitted. “Of stupidity,” I added.

His smile was easy. I could see why Nat and Lucas had wanted him to come here and relax. It seemed to be working. “I was going to go to the room and put on some clothes. Why don’t you join me?”

I could tell from his expression it was a polite way of implying a booty call, and I was very on board with it.

“Is today Opposite Day?” I asked, taking his hand and pulling him back toward the main deck. “Because if what you really mean is you’re going to the room to take off some clothes, I think I might be willing to go along with this plan.”

16

Worth

Cal was acting strangely. I tried not to attribute it to the sex, but it was hard not to. Had we made a mistake in crossing that line? I would have given up the sex if it meant returning to the easy banter we’d had before, because suddenly things were awkward.

“Which suit do you want me to wear?” he asked, moving over toward the closet when we entered the bedroom.

“You’re asking me?”

His back was to me. When he shrugged, it lifted the hem of his T-shirt up his waist, revealing a clearer view of his sexy ass in tight shorts.

“I’m your… date. You might as well get some benefits from the arm candy.”

His tone was flirty, but there was something off about it. “What’s going on?”

He looked back over his shoulder at me. “What do you mean?”

Before I had a chance to elaborate, my phone pinged with a text from my assistant. There was movement on the deal I’d been waiting for.

“Sorry,” I murmured to Cal. “I need to hop on a call for a few minutes. As for the bathing suit, I want you to wear the one that makes you the happiest.”