“This one’s for you?” Ken glanced from Alex to Eddie. “I thought you said—”
“It’s for all four of you,” said Eddie. “Come on. I’ll help you in.” He got Ken and Judy seated while Alex and I exchanged a puzzled look.
“Oh my God. Where did you get that?” Judy pointed to the key chain I was holding. “I got one exactly like it for my sister.”
“I found it back there.” I motioned toward the pier. “Is it yours?” With the red maple leaf of Canada, it had to be.
“Hold on.” She peered into her handbag and came up empty-handed. “Itismine. Thank you. I wanted Sandy to have a little something to remind her of home.”
S for Sandy, I thought.
Captain Sandy Bailey.
“She’s always on the go,” continued Judy. “My niece too. So this is the charter she was talking about. Remember, Ken? She said it was a cruise for a wedding party. Imagine running into the two of you, from the same group.” Judy seemed delighted by the coincidence.
Ken nodded, his eyes twinkling with approval as we took off for the yacht.
“Will you be staying for dinner?” Alex asked.
“Oh no. We’d never crash one of Sandy’s charters,” Ken said. “We’re just popping in for a quick hello. Maybe a cup of tea.”
“There she is.” Judy waved as we approached the yacht. “Hey. Sandy!”
Captain Bailey waved back from the platform, her smile faltering when her eyes fell on Alex and me.
Crap. I let go of Alex’s hand. She’d already warned him once, and that was before anything happened between us.
Ken was the first to get off.
“Sandy, it’s been a while.”
“So fancy,” said Judy, as Captain Bailey welcomed them onboard. “And so much bigger than I imagined. I always pictured you behind the wheel, but this is something else.”
“I’ll take you for a tour in a bit,” the Captain said. “But first let’s catch up. I asked Hannah to set a small table for us. You’ll find her one level up. Elevator’s through there. I’ll join you in a sec.”
“So good to see you.” Judy hugged her sister and started heading inside. Then she paused and turned to Alex and me. “Be sure to look us up if you’re ever in our corner of the world. Here’s our business card. We’d love to know if our wager turned out.”
“Indeed,” Ken said. “You know, Sandy, we’re betting on these two lovebirds. We didn’t realize they were your guests when we saw them on the pier. A happy little coincidence.”
“It was lovely meeting you.” Judy waved goodbye as she followed Ken to the elevator. “We’ll see you upstairs, Sandy.”
Captain Bailey didn’t acknowledge her sister’s parting remark. She was too busy pinning Alex and me with a scathing look. “Lovebirds?”
Crap. And double crap. “Captain Bailey, I—”
“I don’t want to know,” she said. “What Idoknow is the rest of the passengers are already on board. You need to get started on dinner, Chef Alexandros.”
“Yes, Captain.” But he stood rooted by my side.
“Is there something else you’d like to discuss?” A warning in her tone.
Alex glanced at me.
Go, Alex. She’s giving you an out. Just take it and go.
“No, Captain,” he said.
Captain Bailey didn’t speak until it was just the two of us on deck. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on between the two of you, but that man is the best damn chef I’ve ever had onboard. You’ll leave, maybe without ever looking back, but you’ll be leaving a mark on his career if you don’t stop this right here, right now. It would be a shame to withhold the letter of recommendation his next employer is waiting on, so I urge you to steer clear of Chef Alexandros. Am I making myself clear?”
