“I want to get a group photo on the deck.”
“Can we do it later?” Beth lifts her book. “I’m reading, and Palmer’s trying to take a nap.”
Gigi shakes her head. “Sorry, I have to post it when my followers are most active.”
Beth groans.
“It won’t take long,” Gigi adds.
Emma follows her out of our cabin. “My producer is on me to get a post out anyway.”
“Come on.” I tug Beth’s arm, lowering my voice. “It’s just a photo. Plus, her sponsor’s paying for this whole trip.”
“Okay, fine.” Beth stands, and we pull on our life vests.
As I climb the stairs, the boat dips, and I reach for the handle mounted to the wall to keep from falling backward onto Beth. The wind whips my ponytail in front of my eyes when we reach the deck. After pushing my hair back, I spot Captain Nojan at the helm. Adam, wearing a matching navy polo, is stationed a few feet in front of the captain, letting slack out on a line.
“Hey, Adam,” Nojan says. “I need you to take the helm.”
My gaze lingers on Adam as he wraps the line around a winch three times—clockwise, I note—before turning for the large steering wheel near the stern.
“Passing the helm,” Nojan says when Adam reaches him.
Nojan steps aside for Adam to take his place behind the wheel.
“Taking the helm,” Adam says.
I study Adam’s long tanned fingers gripping the steering wheel. Before I can stop myself, I start imagining how his hands would feel running over my body. I lift my gaze to Adam’s face as he catches me looking at him. He maintains eye contact for an uncomfortable moment until I look away. My heart flutters as my eyes fall to my wedding ring, glittering in the sun. Why was he staring at me like that? Did he like me looking at him? It’s hard to imagine he’d be attracted to me with Gigi parading around her perfect body. Maybe he was trying to make me feel uncomfortable after catching me staring at him.
I follow Emma toward Gigi, who is seated in the covered cockpit taking a series of photos with her selfie stick. Beth stumbles forward, bumping into my back as the boat sways from a large swell.
“Sorry, Palm,” she says, sliding onto the nearest bench beside Emma.
“I need you to keep us on a broad reach while I use the head,” Nojan says to Adam, pointing at the weather vane at the top of the towering mast. “The wind’s starting to shift to the northeast, so make sure you head up if we start sailing by the lee.”
“Got it.”
I study Adam, who looks confidently at the navigation screens mounted above the wheel as Nojan moves past me to the companionway. Emma’s concerns over Adam’s inexperience play at my mind, making me wonder if we’re all a little paranoid after our rafting trip.
Whitecaps have formed on the growing swells beyond the boat. I shade my eyes with my hand to gaze at the horizon, pivoting to take in the water all around us. My arms prickle with goose bumps. The coast has disappeared. We’re surrounded by choppy seas as far as the eye can see.
The floor shifts beneath my feet. I reach for the table to steady myself.
“Palmer.” I turn to the sound of Gigi’s voice.
“You sit here,” Gigi points to the open spot beside Beth and climbs onto the deck behind the bench. “Emma and I will sit up here.” Gigi sinks to her knees as I sit.
“Ready?” Gigi asks once Emma is on the deck beside her.
Gigi extends her arm, lifting her phone above our heads with the aid of her selfie stick. “Smile!”
I lean into Beth and beam at the camera, filled with a strange sense of familiarity of when we reached the trailhead the morning of our fateful hike and Courtney took a photo of all of us for the last time.
A second later, Gigi lowers her phone. “Oh, Palmer! You got cut off. Hang on guys, let me take another.”
After we do another take, I lift my eyes to the mainsail flapping in the wind.
“The mainsail is luffing,” Emma says.
