“I am,” Lauren said softly. Her eyes flicked over toward Grey, whose grip on the steering wheel seemed to have somehow managed to become even tighter, and sighed as she looked back out her window.
“What made you decide to do this?” Grey kept her eyes on the road ahead as she waved a hand to indicate the whole Virgin Islands, working-on-a-boat thing.
Lauren shrugged. “I haven’t had a proper vacation in ten years and, well, I had a bunch of time saved up because the restaurant kept letting me rollover the days I didn’t take. The idea of doing nothing was not at all appealing because I’m one of those people who need to always have something to do. A good friend of mine had rented a yacht and cruised around the Caribbean last summer for her honeymoon, and I figured that signing-on as a private chef was a good way to get out of New York for a bit and still keep busy.”
Grey chuckled. “So, you’re spending your first vacation in a decade working.”
“On a beautiful yacht, sailing around the Caribbean, yes,” Lauren replied. “Kelly Kipling, the woman I interviewed with, said that I would have time to snorkel and explore whatever islands we make port at, and I actually love cooking, so it seemed like a win-win kind of deal.”
“You will have plenty of time for all of that,” Grey said, daring to glance at Lauren as she pulled to a stop in front of the butcher’s. A small smile was tweaking Lauren’s lips, like she was pleased they had just managed to have an actual conversation that was halfway-normal. Grey’s heart clenched as she drank in Lauren’s profile, her eyes lingering on the rogue curl tickling the side of Lauren’s cheek, but she forced herself to ignore it as she quickly climbed out of the car. Now was not the time for her to worry about anything other than getting ready to sail later that afternoon.
Grey nodded in response to the small, grateful smile Lauren gave her when she held the door to the butcher shop open for her, and turned her attention to the man who was standing behind the counter. Eddie Jones was wearing one of his typically gaudy Hawaiian shirts covered in big-breasted women wearing coconut bras and grass skirts, and Grey smiled when she recognized it as the one she had given him for his birthday the year before.
“Grey!” Eddie hollered, a wide smile lighting up his face as Grey slapped his hand in greeting. “I have everything you wanted right here. You wanna have a look?”
Grey glanced at Lauren and arched a brow questioningly. If it were up to her, she would just grab the stuff and go, but she knew from the way Lauren had dug through the produce stands earlier that she would want to see what he had pulled for them.
“Yes, please,” Lauren said as she stepped up to the counter. She smiled at the appraising look the butcher gave her. “Hi. I’m Lauren Murphy.”
“Eddie Jones.” He shook her hand. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Lauren shook her head. “New York, actually. I’m just down here for a few weeks.”
“And you chose to work for this one?” Eddie teased, smirking at Grey.
“Shut up,” Grey grumbled as she shot him a playful glare.
Lauren glanced over at Grey. “I did,” she said, though the words sounded less assured than she would have preferred.
“Smart girl.” Eddie winked and turned his attention to the pile of wrapped meats that were stacked beside him. “So, here’s what I have for ya…” He showed Lauren the steaks, sausages, ground beef, and chicken he had prepared according to Grey’s order. He carefully rewrapped each bundle after Lauren nodded her approval and set them into a large brown paper bag. When the last white-paper package was placed inside the bag, he folded the top over and slid it across the counter beside the register. “I’ll put it on your tab,” Eddie told Grey.
“Sounds good, man. Thanks,” Grey said as she reached for the bag. She grunted softly as she hefted it off of the counter, and forced herself to smile as she glanced at Lauren. “You ready?”
“Of course,” Lauren murmured. She looked back at Eddie and added, “It was nice to meet you.”
Eddie nodded. “You too, Lauren Murphy. Good luck.”
Lauren flashed him a small smile and nodded. “Thanks.”I have a feeling I’m going to need it,she added silently to herself as she looked back at Grey, who was already halfway out the door.
CHAPTER FIVE
LAUREN WAS IN the galley prepping the burgers she was going to make for lunch when the sound of excited voices spilled through the open sliding doors into the salon. The Mueller family had finally arrived.
Lauren looked over her shoulder at the clock on the range, and was shocked to see that three hours had passed since she and Grey had returned to theVeritas. She had spent the time preparing as many of the ingredients she would be using during the next couple days as she could, while Grey stayed as far away from her as possible, checking and re-checking the boat’s mechanicals to make sure they were ready to sail. The break from the inexplicable tension that simmered between them had been a blessing, and Lauren sighed as she felt her stomach twist uncomfortably when she looked at Grey, who was already on the back deck greeting their guests. Whatever it was that had Grey behaving so strangely obviously had something to do with her, because the genuine smile lighting the brunette’s face now showed none of the strain that had been directed toward her earlier.
Both of the parents and all three boys were smiling as they nodded in response to whatever it was Grey was saying, all of them obviously thrilled to be on the boat, and Lauren wiped herhands off on a dishtowel as she walked out of the galley to greet them.
Though Lauren was sure that none of their guests noticed, it did not escape her attention that Grey’s smile dimmed the moment she set foot on deck, and she forced herself to act like she did not notice it as she approached the group.
Grey took a deep breath and held it as she watched Lauren saunter out of the salon like she had done it a thousand times before. Lauren had changed into the shirt she had given her—a white ClimaCool polo withVeritasstitched in red over the right breast—and seeing her in the polo made Grey regret giving it to her. It was hard enough to look at Lauren and not be assaulted by the ghosts of her past when the redhead was in her regular clothes, but when she was in uniform… Grey sighed and focused her attention on the Mueller boys, who were dressed in matching blue and red patterned boardshorts and white rash guards and were practically vibrating with excitement. “This is Lauren Murphy.” Grey waved a hand at Lauren. “She’ll be the one preparing all our meals.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Lauren said, tipping her head in greeting.
“I’m Will,” the husband introduced himself, smiling as he shook Lauren’s hand. “And this is my wife Kim, and our boys Reid, who’s five, and Peyton and Max, who are seven.”
Lauren nodded and shook Kim’s hand before turning her attention to the boys. All three took after their mother with their honey-blond hair and bright blue eyes, though they had their father’s olive-toned skin. “How’s it going, guys?” she asked, holding her hands out and getting high fives from each of them. “You hungry?”
“Starving!” Reid announced dramatically as his brothers nodded their agreement.
