“Yep,” I say to myself, as I finish my Cheerios. “I think I’ll be spending the day in my room.”
Because this is a clusterfuck.
Chapter 10
Georgia
“Look, there’s the North Star,” Emmett holds my waist carefully as we stand on the helm of the boat.
My thighs clench with excitement as his hand dips slightly lower, his fingers slipping beneath the waistline of my shorts. “Emmett,” I breathe out, peering up at him with a warning. “Someone could see…”
He smirks down at me. “So? I don’t care who sees me with my hands on you.”
I let out a light laugh, but my stomach does a flip-flop. IthinkEmmett knows what happened between Brody and me, but honestly… I’m not sure.
“There’s the Little Dipper,” Emmett points to one of my favorite constellations. “You can use that to navigate. I just find it a little hard to do that out on open seas. I prefer technology.”
“I think I would, too,” I laugh, and find myself leaning into his chest as we stand there, the ocean breeze whipping through my hair. I tug my cardigan around me a little tighter and shiver from the cool wind.
He rubs my bicep with his big hand in an attempt to warm me up. “You’re too sweet for your own good,” he murmurs into the top of my head, planting a soft kiss. The way he feels againstme has my mind flashing back to last night, and the way we spent it twisted up together.
And unlike Brody, he was onlywarmerto me this morning.
However, I still haven’t been able to let go of Miles’ warning. Maybe Ishouldbe careful. The last thing I need is more heartbreak in my life. I’ve had enough of that dealing with Brody being so fucking cold to me.
“Maybe when we get back, we could fly to Paris for a weekend?” Emmett’s question catches me off guard. “We could go see that little place I showed you.”
“Really?” I can’t hide my surprise. “You’d actually want to do that after all this is over?”
He gives me an incredulous look. “Why wouldn’t I? I think we could have a lot of fun traveling, and I’m at the point where I can take a lot of time off from work…”
“Can you now?” A deep voice cuts into our conversation, and I move sideways, nearly losing my balance. “Last I checked, you still had a pretty full schedule.”
Emmett steadies me and turns to face Brody, whose eyes are alight with something dark and intimidating. “What the hell is up with you?”
I swallow hard, already knowing what’s about to happen, though I don’t understand it at all. What does it matter? Brody wantsnothingto do with me.
“Why are you touching her like that?” Brody’s voice stays low, sharp, and absolutely icy as he takes a step toward us. “You guys seem awfully close out here talking about stars and Paris.”
I reach for Emmett’s arm, my heart jumping to my throat. “It’s… It’s not…”
“Itiswhat it looks like,” Emmett shoots back. “You got a problem with that, Mr. Captain? Because last I checked, you were busy being a dick to Georgia. She needs an ally on this damn boat.”
“Or maybe just another dick to ride?” Brody’s crass remark has Emmett bristling, and I feel his muscles tense under my grip.
He turns to me. “I think you should go inside. Let me talk this out with Brody. Go take a shower and get some rest. I’ll come see you later.”
I hesitate to leave.This is all my fault.
“Go,” Brody barks at me, his voice jarring me all over again.
“You need to calm the fuck down,” Emmett seethes. “Don’t talk to her like that, just because you’re jealous.”
I expect Brody to throw a punch, but instead, he just shakes his head. Emmett meets my gaze and nods back toward the cabin. As much as I want to disobey and see what’s about to happen, I listen to him and slip back inside.
But still, I can’t ignore the embarrassment pulsing in my chest.
Miles was totally right. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.I nearly sprint through the main lounge area, taking off toward the stairwell. My feet pound against the metal, and I don’t stop until I’m on the bottom floor. I race to my room, shutting and locking the door.
