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He then turned to the rest of the kitchen crew. “Attention! I would like to introduce you to Heather! She is a guest on this cruise, but has graciously offered her time to help us get the kitchen picked up! Please be welcoming to her!”
Abby ran through quickly, grabbing large chunks of broken class and food from the floor, clearing the way for Esme and I to begin the task of a more thorough sweep. As we worked, the kitchen staff sprang to life, working effortlessly to figure out a Plan B meal and get to work cutting cheese and vegetables to prepare.
As they worked, each of the chef’s apprentices introduced themselves to me by name and hometown. Randy from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Grace from Evansville, Indiana. Gonzo from Brazoria, Texas. Ginny from Manchester, England.
“Grace is an aspiring singer!” Matteo shouted over his shoulder. “She’s funding an Indie album with the money she makes here!”
“Really?” I asked. “Sing something for me!”
Ginny blushed. The rest of the crew cheered her on alongside me, though, and soon the sound of her voice echoed from every wall in the kitchen, crooning out the lyrics of “You Don’t Owe Me” by Lesley Gore. It didn’t take long before the rest of the girls in the kitchen were singing along, encouraged by the whoops and applause of the men.
Soon, the floor was fully swept, and I hung up my broom. “If you’d like to help me tidy cupboards, you can,” Esme said, smiling. “So much has slid around in the storm!”
I went to work alongside her, opening each cupboard door carefully and re-organizing.
It was the most fun I’d had so far on the cruise—there in the kitchen, surrounded by new friends and a new love.
The party came to an abrupt end, though, when Jessie appeared in the kitchen doorway.
“Really, Heather?” she said, her aggressive, judgmental voice cutting through the joy in the crowd.
“Really what?” I asked, completely oblivious to what she might be so upset about.
“We paid all this money to come on this trip, and you’re in here… With them? Working?” She scrunched her face in disdain and scanned the kitchen crew as if she was looking at rats swimming in a sewer.
“The storm made a mess,” I said. “I offered to help. I’m actually having a lot of fun!”
“This isn’t you!” she said. She turned to Matteo, and her face flashed red with fury. She pointed a long, manicured fingernail at him and scowled. “I know what you’re doing,” she hissed. Then she turned back toward me.
“You’re so stupid and impressionable, Heather. This loser comes into your life and tells you he doesn’t like me, and I get dropped and forgotten on our girls’ trip. You spend all your time crying and moping around when he won’t talk to you, and the second he wants your help with something, you’re in here cleaning his kitchen for free? Why are you slumming like this?”
“Enough!” Matteo shouted.
“It’s okay, Matteo!” I said. “Jessie, I offered to help. He didn’t ask me. I wanted to help, and like I said, I’m having fun doing it! He has nothing to do with why I’m not hanging out with you. You are driving me crazy. I can’t even be around you without having a panic attack anymore!”
“Bullshit!” Jessie squealed. Her face twisted up, so angry she couldn’t contain it anymore. Tears started forming in her eyes as she looked back toward Matteo.
“You know why she’s really sleeping with you, right?” she asked.
Somewhere in the crowd, there was an audible gasp. It was the only sound among the silence.
“Jessie, don’t,” I pleaded. Matteo already knew about the game, but the others in the kitchen did not. It was humiliating to think about her saying it out in the open.
Matteo looked at her, then looked back at me.
“You should go, Heather,” he said. His tone was hard to read. I couldn’t tell if he was angry with me or trying to protect me—and I didn’t dare ask.
Chapter 16
Matteo didn’t come to my room that night, leading me to believe he was feeling angry and not protective. I barely slept, making the morning talk at the breakfast table all the more insufferable.
The girls were all teasing Lissa. Apparently, while Matteo and I were having our passionate make-up sex in his cabin, she and the captain were doing the same thing. With the captain not at the helm, the co-captain had missed the warning signs of the storm.
“Can’t believe we almost shipwrecked so you could get laid,” Niki giggled, prompting a dramatic and silly response from Lissa. As the other girls giggled and exchanged playful jabs at one another about their respective men, someone had the terrible idea of asking Jessie about Smithy.
Jessie glared across the table at me. “It doesn’t help that someone decided to flirt with him during scuba lessons.” She obviously meant me, but before I could react, Lissa became defensive. Apparently, she had had a scuba lesson the day before and had taken Jessie’s jab as a dig at her.
The table erupted in an angry, hostile argument that resulted Lissa, Sarah, and Niki all leaving the table.
