Gabby laughed. She didn’t really want to be crashing a bachelor party. If she were on good terms with Valentina, she would have already evacuated Naomi and Jasmine for their statements to be taken. Instead, she was driving around the bay in the dark looking for liquor.
To be a good spy, you had to go along for the ride, though.You don’t control the action, you are just there to observe, Gabby reminded herself. This was the job. Going along for the ride was her specialty. She’d been going along for the ride, wondering what the hell she’d agreed to, for most of her life.
Genesis leaned over the edge of the yacht. “Ahoy there. Be thou friend or foe?”
That was a good question. Most likely the latter.
“Oh, we’re friendly,” Justin said in a heavily flirtatious voice.
Genesis lowered a ladder. “Welcome, friends. It’s good to be Together.”
Gabby had never felt more like a spy than climbing a twenty-foot rope ladder to board a luxury yacht in the middle of the night,even though the main suspect was helping her up. All her senses were on high alert.
After she huffed and puffed her way up the side of the boat, Markus gave her a hand onto the deck, where she found the guys hanging out. Most of them had fishing poles. As soon as her feet hit the deck, Markus took her elbow and steered her to the far edge of the boat for a quick catch-up.
Someone hooted when they noticed Gabby and Markus walking off for a private moment and started chanting, “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss.”
Markus gave a good-natured laugh. “That’s for the reception.”
They were met with a “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss.”
The last time they’d seen each other, they’d argued on the shore and broken up officially, but they had to play the part. Gabby attempted to disassociate as he leaned in. His lips brushed hers lightly, and he whispered, “Sorry.”
Sorry for breaking up, or sorry for kissing her after, or sorry for breaking her trust? Spy work was not easy on a relationship.
After the kiss that wasn’t sexy enough to satisfy the partygoers, they stayed in the embrace. Gabby leaned her head on his chest for comfort. Everyone lost interest, and they continued to the other side of the boat.
“So how’s the bachelorette party?” Markus asked.
Gabby looked across the glittering bay. “Have you seen the Festivus episode ofSeinfeld? Instead of Christmas, George’s family has an airing of their grievances around a steel pole?”
He laughed. “I take it that’s why you’re here.”
She nodded. “How was the bachelor party?”
“As good as deep-sea fishing with your ex-husband and a megalomaniac cult leader can be. It’s a catch-your-own-dinnersituation, but no one has caught anything yet. I think Justin’s hubby, Hugh, might be taking notes to write an academic paper on the experience.”
Despite herself, she smiled. The whole week was unhinged.
“I don’t think Inner-G really knows how to throw a wedding.”
“No shit. This is a terrible wedding so far.”
After their non-updates, Gabby felt better. At least she and Markus were in it together, even if they were not together-together. They walked over to the group. Phil had gone below deck and come back with the liquor.
“Someone had to do it,” he said. “Who wants a Jägerbomb?”
There was loud agreement.
Meanwhile, he hooked up his phone to the boat’s speaker system. “Fuck the fish, we need some tunes.”
He was going to get them kicked off the resort with this dumb idea. It was the most frat-boy thing she’d ever seen. Gabby leaned in and apologized to Jasmine and Genesis. “I’m sorry. I think he’s having some feelings about me getting remarried.”
Genesis nodded. “Poor guy,” and said, “Sure, Phil. I’ll take a Jägerbomb.”
Just then, the sound came on. Gabby face-palmed when she realized what he was playing. It was Andy Samberg and T-Pain singing, “I’m on a boat, motherfucker.”
Gabby started coughing. She had to admit it was a good one, a lot of posturing about owning a boat. How could she not have seen this coming? Phil loved this song, and he was on a boat. She watched through her fingers for everything to fall apart, but it seemed to be a relief for everyone.
