“You saved yourself. You—”
“I’m not done yet.”
I waited, but she just stared at me. She looked tired, but her eyes gleamed with a new luminosity.
Then she rushed into my arms, lifting her perfectly sculpted lips to mine. No kiss had tasted sweeter, no moment righter.
“I love you, Alex,” she said, pulling back and gazing at me with her liquid brown eyes.
I was wrong.Thiskiss was sweeter,thismoment righter.
Her body melted into mine as I held her, my hands still encased in shark mitts.
Dear God, I never want to let her go.
Something swelled in my chest, so big that I couldn’t contain it anymore. “Moti, I—”
“I thought you were advised to stay in bed.” Captain Bailey’s words cut me off. “Moti, shouldn’t you be resting?”
I felt Moti’s spine stiffen, like someone had taken a whip to her back. She ignored Captain Bailey and kissed me again—a soft nuzzle on the cheek. When she let go and turned around, I realized Captain Bailey wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by David, the onboard security officer.
Security’s involved because Moti disregarded the doctor’s advice?I bristled at the ridiculousness.
“You’re right, Captain Bailey,” Moti said. “I should be resting. I’ve done exactly what was expected of me for most of my life, and you know what? My life almost ended today. So I’m here, thanking the man who saved me. In case you’re still looking for something to say about Alex in your letter, how aboutthat? And for the record…” She reached for my hand but ended up coming away with the shark mitt, which she waved in Captain Bailey’s face. “This man has been nothing but honorable. Anyone would be lucky to have him on their team. I’m not just talking about the magic he creates in the kitchen, I’m talking about who he is—heart and soul. I’ll happily take a bite out of anyone who stands in his way.”
She slipped on the shark mitt and chomped her way past Captain Bailey and David, holding it at eye-level like a sock puppet, its red mouth trained on them.
Damn,I thought as she walked out the door. Moti 1 went down and Moti 2 emerged—spunky, spirited, and ferocious.
I hid a smile when her head popped in again. The rest of her body followed as she tiptoed back inside and slid the mitt across the counter.
“You might…need that.”
Okay, maybe not so ferocious. Moti 2 still had to master the art of the grand exit.
Captain Bailey and David exchanged a look when she was gone. Then they turned their gazes on me.
“What?” I said.
“Does this belong to you?” Captain Bailey held out a clear, zippered bag. “It was found in your cabin.”
I recognized Moti’s little stash of knickknacks. There was a new addition, something dark and distinct.
“May I?” I took the bag from Captain Bailey and examined it.
The world stopped on its axis when I saw what it was.
A lock of my hair.
A strange warmth flooded my limbs—a buzzing, liquid feeling I’d never known before.
She’d stolen a piece of me and squirreled it away for when we had to say goodbye.
How the hell am I going to let her go when my heart is brimming over?
“Well?” Captain Bailey prodded.
I wanted to shield Moti from the entire world, to keep her safe and happy and carefree. Explaining her impulses to Captain Bailey was one thing, but to her family? I knew how much it would embarrass her to own up to her need to take random objects.
