was definitely not how he’d envisioned this pirate mission. Not at all. But Juli stood grinning at him, looking like a deranged mermaid, and Alex felt something warm inside him. Those eyes. And were those freckles on her nose? There was something so undeniably sweet about this woman. So fresh and warm and—
“I think I’m going to puke,” she gasped, her face turning an interesting shade of green faster than Alex could register the change.
Alex jumped back, frantically scanning the room for a suitable receptacle. Snatching a high-heeled leather boot from a corner of the floor, he handed it to her.
Just in time. Juli grabbed the boot and hurled into it.
Alex froze, not sure whether to give her some privacy or pat her back and murmur comforting words.
“Hold my hair?” she choked.
“Um—”
Alex grabbed a fistful of blonde curls and then studied the grain of the woodwork, trying to imagine himself anywhere but here. When Juli was finished, she set the boot on the floor and fished a water bottle out of the side pocket of her knapsack.
Alex watched her rinse her mouth, the color returning slowly to her face.
“Sorry about that,” she said, looking sheepish. “The ocean doesn’t really agree with me.”
“You still feel seasick?”
“Well, the drugs have probably worn off by now.”
“What did you take?”
Juli reached into her knapsack again and handed him a half-crushed cardboard box. He read the back and then studied her again. “You allergic to morphine?”
“Dunno.”
“If you are, it’s no wonder this stuff made you loopy. Come on. Let’s get you moved into your new cabin, and then out into the open air. I’ll give you something that’ll work a little better.”
He expected a joke about him luring her to the master suite on their wedding night, but Juli just stuffed her belongings in her pack, avoiding his eyes.
“Really, I’m sorry,” she said, shoving a shoe into the pack with more force than necessary. “I didn’t mean to ruin your trip.”
“You didn’t ruin our trip,” Alex said, feeling an odd pang in his chest. “Not yet, anyway. The day’s still early.”
“I’m such an idiot,” she said. “I always do stuff like this.”
“Stow away on strangers’ boats?”
“No. I mean I do the wrong thing and then everyone knows I don’t fit in.”
“You weren’t on our passenger list,” Alex pointed out. “I’m pretty sure we would have noticed you didn’t belong.”
She gave him a weak smile. “You know what I mean.”
He smiled back and touched her elbow. “Come on. You got everything?”
Juli glanced around the cabin. “Um, the boot?”
“Right,” Alex said. “We can dump that overboard in a sec. Sorry, I hope it wasn’t expensive.”
“The boot? Wasn’t mine.”
Alex grimaced. “Shit. Phyllis?”
“I doubt it. It’s a size 15 wide. Nice leather. Excellent detailing. Prada, actually. I wouldn’t have puked in it if I’d looked at it a little more closely. Cody maybe?”
Alex winced, wondering if this trip could possibly get any weirder. With a sigh, he hoisted his wife’s knapsack onto his shoulder.
“Bring the boot, and let’s go.”
Chapter 5
“I thought I was supposed to look out at something not moving,” Juli said, taking a sip of the tea Alex had given her as she stared out over the ocean from her lounge chair on the flybridge. “The horizon or something.”
Alex leaned down and took the tea from her before placing something sticky and amber-colored in her palm. “We’re in the middle of the ocean. Everything’s moving. Have some crystallized ginger.”
Juli accepted the amber lumps without much of a glance, preferring to stare straight into Alex’s eyes. They were the most interesting shade of green. Even with her aversion to the water, she couldn’t help but conjure up a plethora of ocean metaphors. Deep-sea green. Green as a glass float. Seaweed green.
Seasick green.
God, why did she have to puke in front of
“I think I’m going to puke,” she gasped, her face turning an interesting shade of green faster than Alex could register the change.
Alex jumped back, frantically scanning the room for a suitable receptacle. Snatching a high-heeled leather boot from a corner of the floor, he handed it to her.
Just in time. Juli grabbed the boot and hurled into it.
Alex froze, not sure whether to give her some privacy or pat her back and murmur comforting words.
“Hold my hair?” she choked.
“Um—”
Alex grabbed a fistful of blonde curls and then studied the grain of the woodwork, trying to imagine himself anywhere but here. When Juli was finished, she set the boot on the floor and fished a water bottle out of the side pocket of her knapsack.
Alex watched her rinse her mouth, the color returning slowly to her face.
“Sorry about that,” she said, looking sheepish. “The ocean doesn’t really agree with me.”
“You still feel seasick?”
“Well, the drugs have probably worn off by now.”
“What did you take?”
Juli reached into her knapsack again and handed him a half-crushed cardboard box. He read the back and then studied her again. “You allergic to morphine?”
“Dunno.”
“If you are, it’s no wonder this stuff made you loopy. Come on. Let’s get you moved into your new cabin, and then out into the open air. I’ll give you something that’ll work a little better.”
He expected a joke about him luring her to the master suite on their wedding night, but Juli just stuffed her belongings in her pack, avoiding his eyes.
“Really, I’m sorry,” she said, shoving a shoe into the pack with more force than necessary. “I didn’t mean to ruin your trip.”
“You didn’t ruin our trip,” Alex said, feeling an odd pang in his chest. “Not yet, anyway. The day’s still early.”
“I’m such an idiot,” she said. “I always do stuff like this.”
“Stow away on strangers’ boats?”
“No. I mean I do the wrong thing and then everyone knows I don’t fit in.”
“You weren’t on our passenger list,” Alex pointed out. “I’m pretty sure we would have noticed you didn’t belong.”
She gave him a weak smile. “You know what I mean.”
He smiled back and touched her elbow. “Come on. You got everything?”
Juli glanced around the cabin. “Um, the boot?”
“Right,” Alex said. “We can dump that overboard in a sec. Sorry, I hope it wasn’t expensive.”
“The boot? Wasn’t mine.”
Alex grimaced. “Shit. Phyllis?”
“I doubt it. It’s a size 15 wide. Nice leather. Excellent detailing. Prada, actually. I wouldn’t have puked in it if I’d looked at it a little more closely. Cody maybe?”
Alex winced, wondering if this trip could possibly get any weirder. With a sigh, he hoisted his wife’s knapsack onto his shoulder.
“Bring the boot, and let’s go.”
Chapter 5
“I thought I was supposed to look out at something not moving,” Juli said, taking a sip of the tea Alex had given her as she stared out over the ocean from her lounge chair on the flybridge. “The horizon or something.”
Alex leaned down and took the tea from her before placing something sticky and amber-colored in her palm. “We’re in the middle of the ocean. Everything’s moving. Have some crystallized ginger.”
Juli accepted the amber lumps without much of a glance, preferring to stare straight into Alex’s eyes. They were the most interesting shade of green. Even with her aversion to the water, she couldn’t help but conjure up a plethora of ocean metaphors. Deep-sea green. Green as a glass float. Seaweed green.
Seasick green.
God, why did she have to puke in front of
Similar Books
