Worrying her bottom lip, she peeks up at me. “There’s really no reason we can’t do all of those things tomorrow, you know.”
The timid hopefulness in her tone is exactly why I didn’t want to tell her about my birthday in the first place.
“Unfortunately, I have too many meetings,” I explain. “There are too many people counting on me.”
She looks past me, toward the marina, and sighs. “I wish I’d known sooner. I would have planned something.”
I grasp her chin, tipping her face up. “You being here with me is celebration enough. Truly.”
She arches one perfect eyebrow in challenge. “What if it’s not enough for me?”
The question grates against my nerves. I glower down at her. What game is she playing?
“From the moment we met,” she says, “you’ve gone above and beyond to care for me. My needs are constantly met, my expectations consistently exceeded. If our roles were reversed, and it was my birthday, you’d be insulted if I said I didn’t want you to celebrate me.”
Her logic is sound. Dammit.
“Please let me at least try,” she says, heartfelt sincerity lacing her request.
Groaning, I tip my head back, mentally running through the list of meetings I’ll need to reschedule. “Quinn is going to kill me.”
“Last I checked, you’re the boss.” She scrapes her nails through my hair, sending shivers down my spine, then tugs on the short hair over my ears. “And by the look of you, you’re not getting any younger, Mr. Steele.”
I snap back to attention. “I thought you liked my gray.”
“Iloveyour gray,” she retorts. “But I want to see what it looks like on that secret yacht you’ve been hiding from me.”
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”
She smirks, shaking her head. “I’m not above begging, you know. I’m anexcellentbeggar.”
I slide one hand down her spine and cup her ass, giving it a little squeeze. “I bet you are, angel. That won’t be necessary, though.”
Her expression brightens. “You’re canceling your meetings?”
I close my eyes, sucking in a ragged breath. I haven’t taken a single day off since I was promoted. It’d be so much easier to suck it up and attend the sponsorship meeting rather than reschedule. Quinn truly is going to shit himself.
But Evangeline made a fair case. And there’s nothing I love more than indulging this woman. Despite feeling out of my depth and unworthy of a full day off, I nod.
“Consider them canceled. I’m yours for the day, angel. Let’s celebrate.”
CHAPTER 42
EVANGELINE
“Alittle one,” I mock, lowering my voice in an impersonation of Alaric as I stand in the middle of the aft deck, marveling.
I’m surrounded by cerulean water, and the sky is a picturesque, perfect blue with a few wispy clouds painting the horizon. It’s a perfect day to be out on the water.
There are six people working on this “little” yacht, and Alaric swears this is a skeleton crew since today’s charter was planned at the last minute.
I’ve met the captain, first officer, head chef, and head stew. The cook has been in the galley all day, and there’s another assistant steward floating around here somewhere.
“Anything else I can do for you?” Cassandra asks me. As head stew, she’s made a point to check in regularly since we set sail. Every person on board has been the epitome of professional, yet they have made me feel at ease on the Apex Steele.
“I can’t think of a thing.”
She smiles politely. “Perhaps you and Mr. Steele would enjoy some privacy. Dinner will be served at eight, so you have the whole afternoon to yourselves.”
