“I can’t say no,” I replied, finally decided. I’d wear something nun-like, no makeup, and make it clear there was no sex on offer.
Anton sighed. “It is the word that can’t be used in yachting. But there’s got to be a line, Skylar.”
Landon stayed silent, but his jaw tensed and he fisted his hands. Was he possessive of me particularly, or would he react in the same way to any woman in my position?
Anton frowned. “He’s a powerful man who’s used to getting his own way. If you say yes to dinner, then you have to decide where to draw the line.”
“You think he’ll pressure me to have sex with him?”
Landon inhaled sharply. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was jealous. “It’s a bad idea, Skylar. Anton’s right. Even if he doesn’t pressure you tonight, what if he asks you to dinner again? What happens if next time it is just the two of you? It’s harder to say no a second time.”
Landon was making sense.
“What if I mentioned a boyfriend? I could explain to him that I was dating someone.”
“Then why would you say yes to dinner with Walt?” Anton asked.
“To be polite,” I said.
“A boyfriend doesn’t count if you’re on a date with someone else,” Landon said.
“I’ve already said yes. I can’t back out now.”
“Of course you can,” Landon said.
“I don’t have an excuse.”
“You don’t need one,” Landon replied.
I glanced at Anton.
“I think Landon’s right. It will be difficult to say no next time if you’ve said yes this time. Maybe the captain could step in and say something.”
“And I’ve already said yes; I have to follow through. If he asks again, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Maybe I can say that my boyfriend proposed or something.”
“I think it’s a really bad idea,” Landon said.
It didn’t matter what Landon thought. I wasn’t quite sure if he was being protective or an ass. Either way, it was none of his business. Another one of the benefits of not having a boyfriend or a husband was that I didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission to go to dinner. I could handle myself. It was one night, and Walt seemed like a great guy. How bad could it be?
Seventeen
Landon
My legs were restless—I wanted to get out, run. I wasn’t used to being as confined as I was on the boat. On deck was bad enough, but in the crew quarters with the low ceilings and cramped conditions, it was almost unbearable. If I could just find a way in to the dinner tonight. I’d already called Reynolds to let him know it was happening. No doubt he or his client would have someone cover it, but I was used to being in charge.
At the center of things. I hated only getting half the picture.
And there was the added complication of Skylar being present tonight. She was a nice girl—a civilian. She didn’t need to be dining with arms dealers and go-betweens for terrorist organizations. She’d mentioned she was trying to get a reservation for ten, which included the guests on the boat and her. But that left three unallocated seats at the table. God knew who the additional guests might be. More intermediaries or would it be someone more dangerous?
I hated feeling conflicted. I liked solutions to be clear. The right result for Reynolds’ operation was to have the most powerful and dangerous guests at the dinner tonight, but that wouldn’t be the right thing for Skylar. If I could just go to the dinner tonight, I could observe who the other guests were, listen in to their conversation, and protect Skylar.
“All deck crew, meeting in the mess immediately,” Peter called on our radios.
I checked my watch. Just hours until everyone left for dinner. I finished arranging the rope on the deck and headed down to the mess.
“You’ve hardly said two words today. You okay?” Peter asked as we waited for the others to arrive.
“Yeah, fine. Just concentrating, I guess. I was actually hoping to talk to you about taking on a bit more responsibility. I know I’m the junior deckhand, but I’d really like to take the opportunity to challenge myself.” What I wanted was to take the tender ashore this evening. That way I could follow them to the restaurant and carry on my observations.