“You know?”
“About you and the captain? Sorry, sweets, but everyone knew. I heard about it as part of my induction. Privacy is pretty hard to come by on a ship.”
“But—”
“Everyone figured you’d put yourself out of bounds after that.”
“Everyone knew? Everyone knows?” Michaela couldn’t keep the dismay out of her voice.
“Everyone knows about everyone. It’s not like anyone thinks the worse of you. The whole staff thought the captain was a bit of a catch. Not so much anymore, of course, now that it’s obvious he’s just a dirty player—and, let’s be honest, he’s letting himself go. I don’t know what Bridget thinks she’s doing.”
“Bridget from security is with the captain?” Michaela was incredulous.
“Yep. Almost three months. That’s probably a record for him.”
“But you never said anything.”
“You made it pretty clear you didn’t want to talk about that sort of thing. I thought you still saw what was going on, though. Are you sure we’ve been on the same ship these last months?”
“I guess I’ve been busy.”
Had she? Or had she chosen not to see?
“I know. You’ve really thrown yourself back into it now, though, haven’t you? But you are allowed a bit of fun, you know. Everyone thought you and Dylan would make a great couple. He obviously really likes you.”
“What?” Michaela’s yelp turned several heads in the bar, and she had to duck to hide from the enquiring glances. “What?” she hissed.
“Come on, do you think no one noticed? Last cruise, Dylan wouldn’t let you dance with anyone else, and you had a secret little smile on your face all the time. Then the whole Christopher thing… You didn’t deny you were with someone.”
Michaela was reeling—first because people had known all along about her dalliances with the captain and Dylan, and second to learn anyone cared about her love life. “But I can’t.” She didn’t add that Dylan had lied his way onto the ship and that he would be leaving at the end of his contract.
“I think if you took a poll of your staff, you’d find you can. And they’d love it if you did. They were just getting used to you smiling and laughing with them when you put your shell back up.”
Michaela said nothing. She couldn’t think what to say.
“Look,” Felicity continued, “if you’ve gone off him, fair enough, but don’t turn yourself into a nun because you think you should.”
“But the captain… I have to prove to him that a woman can do this job just as well as a man. Better, even.”
“Oh, Michaela, you practically told Captain Atkinson you’d got it on with Dylan. Remember, you admitted to having a tryst? He was just spiky that you weren’t pining for him anymore. He’ll be fine as long as Bridget keeps putting out.”
A glimmer of something warm came to life in Michaela’s stomach. Then her heart caught up, and finally her head.
This was a man she really liked.
And she could be with him without jeopardizing her job.
Felicity sat back, holding Michaela by the shoulders and peering into her face. “Oh my God! You’re still totally into him, aren’t you?”
The small nod Michaela gave belied the way she really felt. Dylan had been honest with her, even though telling her his secrets could have lost him his place on her staff. If their budding relationship wasn’t going to affect her role, what did it matter if she started something with him?
A relationship? Hmm…maybe not that. But even a bit of short-term fun would be better than not seeing him at all. The concrete in her chest softened, and her heart beat a little faster. “How am I going to see him? I can’t turn up at his stateroom door.”
“Why not? His roomie is hardly going to mind. Or perhaps you can just call him and demand an urgent meeting in your stateroom,” Felicity said, a twinkle in her eye.
Michaela shook her head. She still took her position and the threat of the captain making her life a misery seriously.
“Go ashore, then. We’re in Vanuatu tomorrow.”
“Oh!” Michaela exclaimed. “Really?”
Felicity said nothing.
“Really. Right, where shall we start?”
Best she took control back on her own terms. It was time she got what she wanted.
With Felicity’s help, Michaela booked a room in a secluded resort. Then she slipped a note—firmly sealed against the prying eyes of his roommate—under Dylan’s stateroom door. She had ummed and ahhed about what to write, but in the end she played it safe.
Please allow me to thank you for saving my career and reputation. Thank you for being honest with me. Meet me ashore at ten o’clock tomorrow morning at the Pacific Sun Resort. They are expecting us.
Chapter Nine
Michaela hugged herself as her small boat drew up to the secluded entrance.
The Pacific Sun Resort was a new one, affiliated with a large European five-star chain. It had all the modern amenities, including sparkling swimming pools, a spa, and a gourmet restaurant. The staff whispered in and out of view, always there when they were needed and gone when privacy was wanted. But it was run by Ni-Vanuatu, the people of Vanuatu, and so with all its modern facilities came an island calm, bright smiles, gentle words, brilliant flowers in bloom on every table, and laughter simmering just below the surface.
The vacation spot was located at the border of the native forest on a private island in the Port Villa harbor. Despite its proximity to the mainland and to her ship, Michaela felt she was a million miles away. The location had only twelve rooms, and Felicity had ensured there would be no one else from the ship there, guaranteeing that she and Dylan would have privacy.
Michaela inhaled the scent of sea air, tropical blossoms, and rich green forest and smiled. She needed this. The only question was whether Dylan would show.
No sooner had his name flickered through her mind than she saw him waiting on the small jetty. He stood, looking relaxed and almost tranquil in casual clothes. The soft white T-shirt hugged and emphasized his sculpted chest at every curve, and the camel slacks molded to his toned thighs perfectly.
He reached a tanned arm down to help her out of the boat. Usually she would have refused, priding herself on her own ability, but today her balance seemed strangely off, and as she stood on shore the ground swayed a little beneath her. “Wow, I haven’t had wobbly land legs for months,” she said. She realized with a start that she hadn’t been off the boat for the longest time.