Sinful Ever After (Romance Collection)

by Vivian Wood

  Though I’m not sure whether I am talking about the landscape or something much, much closer. She glances at me, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

  “It’s nice to know that we can get along while we are stuck in each other’s space.”

  Arching a brow, I cock my head at her. “What did you think this voyage would be like?”

  She gives a little shrug. “I wasn’t sure. You’re hard to read, honestly.”

  Normally I would consider that to be a good thing, but I’m not sure this time. I like being hard to read, but… “Why did you sign up for it if you thought there was the potential that we wouldn’t get along?”

  Luna rolls her eyes. “I had to. There was no other choice… except just not to do an internship this summer. And that wasn’t acceptable to me so…” She looks at me. “Here I am.”

  I just nod and make a vague sound of agreement. Her brows knit and she bites her lip. When she speaks, her voice drops to a whisper.

  “Are you glad that I’m here, Gabe?”

  Our eyes meet. That energy that flows and crackles between us seems to pull at us both, binding us closer together than ever. Her expression is earnest, without a trace of deception.

  Am I glad? My mouth puckers a little.

  “I’m honestly not sure,” I tell her. “I’m supposed to be worried about the boat, not wondering what to make of you. I’m the captain here. The boss. And you are an employee of mine…”

  I let the thought trail off, unsure how I would even answer her any differently if I could.

  A flicker of displeasure and hurt ripples across Luna’s face. She breaks eye contact with me. “I see.”

  She straightens, moving to leave. On impulse, I reach out and snag her by the wrist before she call pull away. She looks back at me.

  I look at her very seriously. “Luna. It’s not just you that would be affected if I were distracted from doing my job. You get that, right?”

  Her lips pinch together. She seems disappointed with my words. “Of course, captain.”

  My brows descend and I open mouth my to explain. But that’s the moment that Mal opens the door behind us with a clang.

  “Hey, Gabe—" she starts. Then she sees the way that Luna tugs her wrist from my grasp. “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

  Luna pulls herself up, smiling brightly at Malkia. “I was just going to head downstairs anyway. He’s all yours.”

  I refuse to watch her leave as she skirts past Mal. Instead I look forward, my thoughts churning like the deep, dark ocean.

  Chapter Twelve

  Luna

  A day into our trip, I look out over the deck, inspired by the amazing scenery all around. We sail north, mostly sticking close enough the coastline that I can make out the broad strokes if not the details.

  The stark navy of the sea. The crisp white caps that appear in it occasionally, more frequent as the waves reach the rocky shores. The rugged brown soil, rising and falling with no regularity. The greenest pine trees everywhere, with the occasional brown bear or white tailed doe just visible beneath the branches.

  Everything seems so saturated with color, more so than back in Seattle at least. The winds grew brisk yesterday, cutting through my clothes with ease. Today I got wise to the weather and have been wearing my parka all day.

  There isn’t much for me to do just now. It’s after breakfast and the dishes have been cleared away. The clients have settled in the lounge downstairs and they were playing a rousing game of canasta the last time I checked.

  “Enjoying the view?”

  I turn my head and see Malkia coming upstairs, zipping her parka as she emerges onto the deck. I smile.

  “Actually, yeah. I really am. I was just looking at the coastline and sort of marveling.”

  Malkia nods, rubbing her hands together for warmth. “British Columbia is breathtaking. I always stare out at the ocean, though. I find it so…” She pauses for a second to think. “Enchanting, I suppose? It is soothing to just listen to the lap of the waves and watch them roll under the yacht.”

  I look behind me to the open sea. “I hadn’t thought of looking out there.”

  Malkia squints at the ocean. “I think there are dolphins or orcas out there right now.”

  “Really?” I walk across the boat, coming to the railing. Here there is less to look at and yet more at the same time. The endless sea, turning from navy to a grayish blue closer to the horizon. The sky stretches to meet it everywhere I can see.

  “There,” Malkia says, touching my shoulder and pointing. “Look.”

  She points at the sea. I squint where she indicates, staring at the water. At first, I only see the ocean rising and falling.

  Then I see a flash of something under the water, something sleek and gray and gleaming.

  “Oh!” I say, growing excited. When I turn to look at Malkia she’s heading back down the staircase to go belowdecks.

  I guess I’m going to have to be excited by myself. I stand on the deck, both hands clenching the rounded chrome of the railing, and stare.

  One of the gray bodies surfaces for a moment. They are porpoises, I think. They move so gracefully and quickly, easily outpacing our yacht.

  Malkia reappears from downstairs, leading the guests in her wake. “Luna can show you the creatures. Right Luna?”

  I smile at the way the children run up to the railing, clinging to it breathlessly.

  “Where? Where are they?” demands one boy.

  Turning back to the ocean, I spend about ten minutes pointing out the porpoises.

  The children gather around me, yammering and asking questions.

  Malkia steps in to answer anything I can’t, grinning all the while. I notice that Gabe peeks his head down from the pilothouse. He seems to be in a dark mood though, frowning at all of us.

  So I just don’t even say anything and let him vanish into his solitude again.

  As I stand there against the railing, I notice that one of the younger girls seems to be having trouble breathing.

  Touching her shoulder lightly, I check upon her. “Are you okay?”

  She nods, but she also puts her head down to her chest and lets out a wheeze.

  “Okay,” I say, putting my hands on her shoulders. “Let’s get you downstairs. Do you have asthma?”

  The little girl nods, wheezing again. “Yes.”

  Sofia looks over at me, very much the eagle eyed grandmother. “Is Eva okay? What do you need, sweetheart?”

  Steering Eva toward the stairs, I calmly direct her down. “It’s okay. We are going to get Eva’s inhaler. Right, Eva?”

  The little girl sputters a cough, nodding. I wince internally; she looks so miserable just now.

  “I am coming with you,” Sofia says, hurrying after us on her tall heels.

  “Good idea,” I say.

  Two minutes later I am crouched in front of Eva’s bunk bed taking her pulse. Eva sits on her bed, using her inhaler.

  I look at Sofia, who hovers anxiously in the doorway. “It’s all okay,” I reassure her. “Cold air can be an asthma trigger. We caught it very early so it shouldn’t be a big deal. Right, Eva?”

  Eva nods very stoically. She is probably only seven or eight but she doesn’t have a single complaint.

  “You are such a brave little girl,” Sofia says, echoing my own thoughts.

  “You are really the best patient I’ve ever had,” I tell Eva.

  That earns me a pained smile. She lies back on her bed. I stand up, motioning to Sofia.

  “Here, you can take my place if you want. I think the worst is past.”

  Sofia looks at me gratefully. As I scootch by her, she touches my arm. “Thank you, Dr. Leone.”

  My cheeks warm. “Of course. It’s my job and my pleasure, all at once. Come grab me if anything changes.”

  Making my way back down the hallway, I stop in my room to get a pair of gloves out of my bag. Then I head back upstairs, hoping that the porpoises are still swimming a
longside the boat.

  I’m a little disappointed to find the Vera family heading back downstairs when I make it up to the main deck. Alejandro smiles when he sees me; I move aside, letting the whole family pass me.

  Malkia sighs. “Want to head up to the pilothouse? The upper deck has heat…”

  I smile at her, my eyes drifting off toward the ocean. “I suppose the porpoises are gone, then?”

  She shrugs. “For now, yes. There will be other animals on other days.”

  I nod. “I’m sure.”

  Malkia looks at the stairs descending below decks. “Is the little girl okay?”

  I start toward the upper deck, climbing the metal staircase. “Yeah. She just has asthma. It got triggered by the cold air.”

  I push through the plastic flap that keeps the warm air in on the upper deck. Emerging in the lounge area that sits behind the pilothouse, I enjoy the heat. Malkia follows me and plops down on a plush white seat.

  “I do not know how you do it,” she announces.

  I glance straight ahead at the pilothouse, looking for Gabe. He sits in the sole chair, the back of his head telling me exactly nothing. There is a door that is pulled shut between this space and the brightly lit cocoon where Gabe is ensconced.

  I turn my back on him and find a seat opposite Malkia. “Do what?” I ask, trying to pretend I didn’t get distracted.

  Her lips twitch. “The whole being caring to kids thing. I can be nice, but if I am honest, I do not really care for children.” She grins. “Luckily I am gay. I do not feel the pressure to have a biological family that a lot of straight women do.”

  I nod. “I love children.”

  “God, Gabe is the same way. He and his ex-fiancée Michelle were planning on having a huge family. I am like, but what about sleeping in and being able to socialize with childless people? He did not listen to me, though.”

  That gives me pause. The fact that Gabe was engaged doesn’t really surprise me. Dr. Montgomery mentioned as much. The fact that it’s his ex-fiancée makes me curious though. I slide my gaze over to Malkia.

  “I wish I already had a husband and five kids. Two of my own, three adopted.”

  Malkia smiles. “You want to adopt?”

  “Definitely. I come from money. I have the resources. So I think I will.”

  She nods. “It has made all the difference in my life; I can tell you that much. My mom and dad are wonderful.” She smiles, looking through the window at Gabe. “My brother is okay, too.”

  I blow out a breath. “Well, I’ve got plenty of time, so… I hope that my dream family will be possible. But if I’m not meant to have children of my own, I’ll accept that… eventually.”

  She nods again. We lapse into silence for a minute before Gabe opens the pilothouse door. “What are you two talking about?”

  He leans in the doorway, keeping an eye on the bridge. Malkia clears her throat.

  “How you want to have a million children.” She wrinkles her nose. “And how I do not want to be first on your call list for emergencies when you do.”

  Gabe gives her an annoyed glance. “That’s an old plan, Mal. Times change.”

  “Well, when you are starting a family, it helps to have a woman who has agreed to your plan.” I smirk. “It sounds like your ex-fiancée didn’t plan on sticking to your agreement.”

  Gabe and Malkia both look at me sharply.

  “What did you say?” Gabe asks carefully. “I think I must have misheard you…”

  Malkia meets my eyes and gives her head a little shake. I can feel my cheeks turning pink.

  “Sorry, I thought I could add some levity to the situation…” I stammer.

  Gabe glares at me, his blue green gaze piercing right through my skin. “My fiancée died.”

  Immediately I’m filled with a deep rush of shame. Dr. Montgomery mentioned something like that… but now it’s being rubbed in my face. I feel like an idiot. “Oh, I am so sorry…”

  Malkia stands up, clearing her throat. “I feel like I should check on the clients…”

  Gabe is already turning away, pulling the door to the pilothouse closes behind himself. I turn to Malkia with a pleading look.

  “I didn’t know!” I explain, pulling a face. “I wouldn’t have said anything if I had…”

  Malkia just shakes her head. “There are a lot of things that you do not know, Luna. Do not pretend that you are aware of everything.”

  Then she stalks off, heading down to the main deck. Leaning my head back, I close my eyes and sit for a few minutes.

  That’ll teach me to try to lighten the mood with my bumbling jokes…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gabe

  The next morning, I’m in the pilothouse and I’m still in a bad mood. Luna dredged up the past, brought up Michelle as if she had any right to… to even joke about my loss. From Luna’s reaction to the news of Michelle’s death, she didn’t know.

  But that just goes to show that you don’t know what is going on with people. They are inscrutable and opaque. You can never guess how the past has fucked up anyone.

  I’m brooding as I guide the yacht up the coast of Vancouver Island. Remembering the exact moment of impact in my relationship with Michelle…

  The moment that I found out that she had died.

  Not just died… she took her own life.

  I was about here actually, cruising toward Alaska. Calling my message service to check in, the bad news was given to me over my voicemail, of all things.

  My fists clench.

  No one should get news like that over something so impersonal as a message left on their cell phone.

  “Hey,” Malkia says, swinging open the door behind me.

  I look back at her. “Yeah?”

  She looks past me, out the front windows. “Just trying to figure out the timing of when I should prepare everyone to make landfall.”

  “Hmm.” I eye the coastline, which I’ve seen on six yacht trips per year for almost twenty years straight. Starting early on with my father at the helm, later making the trip with Malkia at my side. I could sail this trip in my sleep by now. “I’d guess about an hour, maybe a little less.”

  She nods, still looking out at my view. “Are you okay?”

  My brows hunch. I turn away from her with a silent sigh. “Yeah.”

  Malkia crosses her arms and leans against the door frame. “Luna didn’t know, Gabe.”

  I make a face. “She still doesn’t know that Michelle killed herself. And I would like to keep it that way, if at all possible.” A bitter bit of acid in my stomach works its way upward in my gullet. “I would rather keep all staff at arm’s distance, Mal.”

  “I know, I know.” She pushes herself off the door frame. “I’m going to go tell the clients to be ready in a half an hour.”

  Nodding my head, I listen to the whoosh of the door sliding shut behind me. I exhale and reach over to turn the radio up. Usually I keep the communications radio turned on low, but when I’m steering the boat into a harbor like the one we’re about to enter, I like to be aware of all the comings and goings of sea traffic.

  I can see the village of Starling Harbor now, a handful of buildings clustered together. It’s not much to look at but my family has used this harbor as a stopping point for years.

  Of course, there are almost no boats in Starling Harbor when I pull the ship up to the dock. There is only a fishing vessel and it looks ill-used.

  I turn the engines off and drop the anchor, then head down to the main deck. It’s chillier than usual today and I zip my parka all the way up. The clients wait impatiently there, dressed in their warmest gear. They all carry overnight bags because they are going to stay in the village’s hotel.

  That will leave myself and the crew to sleep on the boat. The crew are gathered further away from the gangplank, looking eagerly toward the stubby little brown buildings that make up the village.

  Most people are ready to get off the boat after being cooped up for tw
o days. Me, though? If I had my way, I’d never leave.

  “Are we ready to explore off ship?” I asks the clients.

  Two of the crew members lower the gangplank as the clients cheer. They lead the clients off the ship, with the crew following close behind.

  Leaving Carlos behind to keep an eye on the boat, I start down the gangplank. As soon as I step on dry land, I feel a little nauseated.

  After my body grows used to the constant shifting of the sea, it’s always a bit of a hassle to regain my land legs.

  An older First Nations couple comes down the dock to greet us. “Hello. Hello. Welcome to Starling Harbor,” says the woman.

  The man inclines his head but does not speak.

  “Everyone, these are our hosts, Smith and Sarah,” Malkia announces. “To answer some of your questions, yes, they are First Nations, yes, they speak English, and yes they live here in the village. Okay?”

  Sarah bows her head. “Thank you, Malkia. If you will all just follow me into the village, we will get you all settled.”

  She turns and starts back up the gently sloping dock. I follow the group up to the village.

  The clients follow Sarah and Smith toward the little inn. The experienced crew members head toward the pub and most of the new members follow them.

  Malkia hangs back, watching me closely. Luna bites her lip and stays put too, her gaze sliding between the two of us.

  “Where should I go?” Luna asks.

  Malkia looks at me. “Gabe?”

  I shrug. “There are only two places to go. Most of the crew goes to the pub. I think there is also a shop that sells tea, but it’s been years since I’ve been in there.” I scrunch up my face. “I don’t actually remember which building it is in.”

  Malkia gives Luna a look. “So basically, we go to the pub.”

  I shrug. “She’s not wrong.”

  We set off after the rest of the crew, ducking inside the low front door of the pub. It’s been modeled after an ancient English pub; there is a fireplace, there are a number of heavy wooden tables with stools, and there is a massive dark wood bar on the right. The air smells like spiced meat in here, making my mouth water.