Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
ELIJAH JOUBERT: DECKHAND
PRODUCER
Wow, you look snazzy. Ready to celebrate making it through that charter?
ELI
Ag, ja, always ready for a bit of a joll. But first — got bigger plans. I’m taking Em on a date.
PRODUCER
Is that so?
ELI
Damn right it is. Been laying the foundation, bru. A girl like Ember? You can’t just rock up with a wink and a cheesy line. She’s sharp. Classy. Built like a fortress of boundaries. You’ve got to earn your way in. So I’ve played the long game — flirting, check-ins on deck when she can’t sleep, compliments without being a creep. You know, gentleman vibes. I’ve shown her I’m not just here to party and play games — I’m into her.
PRODUCER
And she said yes to the date?
ELI
Said yes with a little smile, too. Not that I was nervous or anything — I mean, come on. I’m charming as hell.
PRODUCER
So you think this is your shot?
ELI
No doubt in my mind, boet. And believe me when I say I don’t miss. Not goals, not vibes, and definitely not a chance with Ember Reed.
“So, are you considering it?” I asked Leah the next night as I curled my hair. We’d somehow made it through the nightmare charter. The casino night turned out to be a big hit with the guests, and by the time they were leaving, all the complaints we’d had to hear over the days spent with them melted into praises.
And they left a pretty fat envelope for a group that never left the dock.
Now, while most of the crew was napping and prepping for another night out, I was getting ready for a date.
With Eli.
My stomach tumbled to the ground. I wished it was filled with butterflies and I was giddy at the thought of spending a night with him, but truthfully, I was dreading it. It didn’t make sense why I was dreading it — Eli was hot, hilarious, fit, and driven. He hadn’t moved in too aggressively, but he also had made his feelings for me clear. In every way, he was playing the game to win.
The problem was I had been playing a different game altogether with Finn.
And I’d definitely lost that one.
Though, I wasn’t sure there was a winner. Maybe Gisella, if we were drawing straws.
Either way, I wasn’t excited for my date, but I pretended like I was and kept myself distracted by listening to Leah detail her next steps with Cameron.
Which, currently, was to go back to Scotland with him when the season ended.
“I don’t know,” she said, blowing out a breath. “I mean, I want to. If I’m not thinking of any possible consequences, then my answer is a resounding yes. But… what do I expect to happen here? I mean, we go spend some time in Scotland and then… what?”
I offered a sympathetic smile as I started curling the next section of my hair. “I wish I could tell you it’s the happy ever after you’ve read about all your life, but… in our world?” I shrugged. “It’s hard to say.”
“Exactly. I mean, maybe we end up on the same charter together again. Or maybe we go do our own thing but meet up in the in-between.” She paused, kicking her feet where they hung off my bunk. “But then it’s like… a dead end. It’s not like he’s going to marry me and move to Alabama.”
My chest tightened at her words. They were so similar to the ones I’d thought when everything went down between Finn and me. Except where Leah was smart to see the end in sight already, I’d pretended we could make it. I convinced myself we could work together, travel the world together, and one day, make a life of our own together. I never pictured us settling down, but rather building our own dream — owning a little sailboat, maybe, and circumnavigating while we worked odd jobs here and there to make ends meet.
I’d been a fool.
And yet I still wanted to have hope for Leah and Cam.
“Maybe you reframe it,” I suggested. “Instead of thinking so far down the line, what if you focused on the now? Just on whatever comes next? Right now, that’s going to Scotland for a while after the show ends. Then we have the reunion. Then… you figure it out.” I finished my last curl and grabbed my hair spray, ready to force these girls to stay in place even battling the Mediterranean humidity. “Could you be okay with that?”
Leah nodded, contemplative. “Yeah. Yeah, I really think I can. I mean, I don’t need to be planning our wedding already. We’ve known each other like two months.” She laughed. “I just fell hard for the sucker, didn’t I?”
I chuckled as I sprayed my hair, then turned to face her with a knowing smile. “Trust me — I get it. Easy to do when you live in such—”