Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
GISELLA
Oh, my God. It’s not that big of a deal! I mean, sure, I’ll tell Finn, but he’s not going to care. It’s just a kiss. I kiss everyone.
PRODUCER
So, you’d be okay if Finn kissed someone else?
“Alright, crew. Charter six! Here we go,” Captain Gary said, passing the preference sheet packets around to each of us. He was oblivious in his cheer, probably still riding the high of a successful charter five.
Meanwhile, Palmer and I watched Finn warily as he wordlessly took his packet and flipped through the pages. He wore a mask of indifference, his blue-green eyes lined with exhaustion, but otherwise seemingly unaffected.
But in my gut, I knew better.
I’d been vacuuming the main salon when I heard the commotion from the galley earlier. I went to inspect, but was stopped dead in my tracks by Bernard, who was huddled in the staff prep galley just outside the main one. It was where we’d wash cocktail glasses and make juice or coffee, a little nook that was out of the chef’s way.
Bernard had been pretending to prep lime slices when I’d found him, and he’d held a finger up to his lips to quiet me before I could say a word. He’d arched a brow, tipping his head toward the galley just as a deep voice cut through the clattering of dishes.
“Why the hell would you assume I was okay with it?”
Finn.
“It was just a kiss,” Gisella had whisper-yelled. “It’s not like I slept with him or something. Relax. You went to bed, remember?”
“So you kiss someone else? Jaysus, Gi.” The sound of pots and pans being thrown around had met my ears next. “Do you hear yourself?”
“I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to have fun in your absence.”
“And I didn’t realize your idea of fun was cheating on me.”
Gisella had scoffed. “Don’t be dramatic.”
Bernard had grimaced, his eyes finding mine before he was looking to the galley again. I’d felt guilty for listening and told myself to go back to what I’d been doing.
But my feet were rooted in place.
“Don’t be dra—” Finn hadn’t finished the echo before he was laughing, a deep, maniacal laugh that faded as the sound of a knife aggressively hitting a cutting board filled the air. “Right. Okay. I was knackered and wanted rest, so my girlfriend first makes me the butt of her joke, shows the entire crew something she knows is private to me, and then snogs another crew member once I’m gone — and I’m dramatic because I’m upset about it?”
“Are you seriously mad that I showed the crew your silly tattoo, Finn?” Gisella had laughed. “No one gives a fuck that you drunkenly got a bug tattooed on your ribcage.”
“I’m mad that my girlfriend kissed someone else!”
The next clattering of dishes was so loud I’d jumped, and then I’d shaken my head, ducking out of the pantry and heading back to the main salon to finish my job. It wasn’t my business what was happening between them.
But somehow, in the time that had passed since then, Finn and Gisella must have worked things out. I’d found them hugging in our cabin just before this meeting, and I’d slid to a halt and backed out quietly, hoping they hadn’t noticed me.
Now, Finn was quiet, but not in the way of someone who was just tired. He seemed… resigned.
That scared me more than if he were still angry.
I couldn’t help but peek at him out of my peripheral as Captain Gary went over all the details of our charter guests. Every muscle from his jaw to his shoulders was wrought with tension, his fingers gripping the papers a little too hard. I silently begged him to look at me, but he never did.
I wondered what was going through his head. Clearly, Gisella had been wrong about him being fine with her kissing Cameron. But then again, they were also okay now… so had he just needed to get a little fight out of his system and now he was past it? I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes. I knew how badly I would be hurt if it were me — the same way Leah was hurt by Cameron’s actions, and they weren’t even officially dating.
But maybe Finn wasn’t threatened. Maybe he had just been a little embarrassed, but now that they’d talked about it, he was fine. Maybe she’d promised it wouldn’t happen again. Maybe he didn’t care if it did, as long as he was notified beforehand.
My head spun and I squeezed my eyes shut against the noise, giving myself an internal shake.
It wasn’t my business.
And I had a job to focus on.
Our new charter guests consisted of a group of eight women jointly celebrating their fiftieth birthdays together. The primary, Deborah, had booked the charter as a surprise to her best girlfriends. She was a brain surgeon, and her friends ranged from a dentist and veterinarian to a kindergarten teacher and sandcastle artist.