I gawk at him. “How did you do that?”
“Money can do an awful lot.” He shrugs. “And the family name.”
That makes me pause. “Are you going to visit your family while you’re here?”
He glances to the ground and looks back at me, but to my right slightly, avoiding my gaze. “Non. It’s fine. They will be busy.”
That’s kind of weird, but I was nervous about meeting their father, so that’s fine by me.
I clap my hands and twirl on the spot. “I can’t believe this. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I gesture around. “This. The lights. The Moulin Rouge, and now a river cruise.”
I hug each of my men in turn.
“I love you all so much.”
A huge yawn follows my declaration, and Lex laughs.
“Let’s all go home and take a nap before tonight.”
CHAPTER 10
Lex
The riverboat is moored up,waiting for us when we arrive at the dock. We are greeted by a big, dour man, and I frown as he grunts a welcome. I paid damn good money for this, and the service onboard better be more friendly.
I hold Vani’s hand as she wobbles down the jetty in her heeled boots and long red dress, and help her onboard.
A second man comes forward to greet us, smiling broadly.
“Welcome,” he says. “I’m your captain. Let me show you around.”
He proceeds to do so, showing us the deck, and the dining room, which has huge floor to ceiling glass windows so we can watch the city pass by. There’s also a ballroom, but that won’t be used by us tonight, and a bar area.
The dining room has a huge Christmas tree in one corner, and some tinsel strewn around the window ledges, but after the luxury of the apartment, and the lights of the city, it’s a little disappointing. Still, the draw is the views we will have from the river, not the décor on the boat.
“What about the toilets?” Vani asks, her cheeks pinking. “I need a pee,” she whispers to me.
“Oh, yes, umm, of course. This way?” The captain gestures, and we follow him.
He seems nervous. Sweaty and a little confused.
“Don’t you know your own boat?” Saint snaps when the man leads us down the second wrong corridor.
“I do apologize, sir. It’s my first time on this particular vessel.”
“The service when we are dining better be much improved on this,” my twin mumbles.
“Saint, don’t be an ass.” Vani shoots the captain an apologetic smile.
He finally shows her where the restrooms are, and she thanks him.
Saint and Zane head to the bar for a pre-dinner drink, and I wait for Vani. As she’s in the bathroom, the boat lurches, the engines rumble, and we start to chug down the river. A faint petrol scent fills the air.
On closer inspection, this boat is kind of old and not in the best shape. It might look luxurious, but if you examine things closely, they’re faded. The wallpaper, the carpets, the doors, all a little past their best. Still, it appears to be clean, and I hope just being on the river will make it fun for Vani.
Once she exits the restroom, we walk together along the deserted corridor until we reach the bar. I know I paid for us to have this exclusively, so there are no other passengers, but I’d honestly believed there’d be more staff.
It feels unnervingly like theMary Celeste.
