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I part my lips, only to clamp them shut again. If we’re only going to be here for a few more days, it hardly seems worth it to dive into the whole PDA drama. Besides, Leo was only getting touchy-feely with me to make a point in front of Jack. I’ll make it easier on everyone by avoiding the first mate altogether.
“Just checking up on things,” I say, easing off the desk. Then, words I hadn’t planned on escape. “I appreciate it, you know. You being here… doing all this.” Even if Leo’s presence is about his loyalty to the brotherhood and Yulian, he’s kept me safe. And that’s not nothing.
A flicker of surprise crosses his features, before he nods, the movement slow and deliberate. It feels like there is more for us to say, especially after how we left things last night, but I can’t find the words.
I’m halfway to the door when Leo’s voice rings out. “Aly?” My name tumbles from his lips like a plea. I pivot, looking back at him. His lips part and close in a silent battle with his thoughts. Just when I expect something profound, he catches me off guard. “We need to go shopping.”
“Shopping? Seriously?” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“Hell yeah. Look at me!” He gestures down to his outfit, another too-tight polo shirt and beige shorts—it couldn’t be further from Leo’s usual biker-dude look.
Positioning my hip against the door, I arch an eyebrow at him. “And how exactly do you propose we go shopping? Unless there’s a mall somewhere out here in… wait, where exactly are we?”
“Heart of the Mediterranean,” Leo replies, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “We’ll be docking in Lipari tonight, an island off Sicily’s coast to refuel. There’re a few shops we can hit up.”
A worried frown creases my forehead. “Is it safe for us to leave the boat?”
“I’ll make sure it’s safe.” He crosses his arms over his chest looking like a superhero come to life with his bulging muscles and chiseled jawline. “And it will be under the cover of night.”
My first impulse is to tell him no, but a different part of me, the part still grappling with what I overheard, with the raw vulnerability in Leo’s voice—pipes up instead. “Alright, let’s do it.”
“By ready at nine,” he says. “Maybe we’ll go dancing afterwards.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but I can’t help the smile that forms on my lips. Or the flutter of excitement between my legs. “Don’t push it.”
He grins back at me. “But that’s what I do best.”
* * *
I spendthe afternoon in the yacht’s home theater immersing myself in nostalgic nineties rom-coms, but instead of getting lost in the on-screen romance ofNotting Hill, my mind is preoccupied, replaying the conversation I overheard earlier between Leo and Kira.
Who would force his hand to end things with me? And why wouldn’t he just tell me if that was the case? We knew his father and brothers would be angry when Leo refused to take the vor oath, but he was prepared to stand up to them. We were going to forge our own life, even without his family’s approval, believing they would ultimately accept our choice.
When Leo broke up with me—dismissing our relationship as nothing more than a summer fling—I took his words at face value. But deep inside, doubt always lingered. Maybe there was more to it that I didn’t see at the time?
Confronting him is just too damn daunting. Some things are best left in the past. Especially memories so jagged they can still knock the air from my lungs. It’s time to accept he had his reasons for doing what he did. I may never know those reasons, but I’m ready to let it go. Mostly.
What I need to stop doing is feeling all fluttery every time his arm brushes against mine or he stares at me from across the room. No more of that. I’ll keep my head on straight and treat him like any other friend.
Are we friends, though?
Can we ever just be friends?
Who knows, but my brain is fried just thinking about all this, so I decide to settle in and watch Hugh Grant attempt to charm Julia Roberts, when there is a knock on the theater door.
“Come in,” I call out. Somehow, I’m not surprised to see Jack standing in the doorway.
“You can’t watch a movie without popcorn,” he says, holding up a giant bowl in his hands. “It’s actually against yacht rules.”
I straighten in my seat and smile at him. He’s obviously trying to win my favor, but I appreciate the thought. And I do love popcorn. “Thank you,” I say, taking the snack from him.
“Mind if I join?” he asks, already settling into the seat next to me. As usual, he’s looking handsome with that tan and athletic build. I’m sure most of the ladies he encounters love being doted on by him, but I’m not one of them. And I intend to make that clear.
“Your fiancé sure works a lot for a guy on holiday. Must suck for you.” His hand delves into the popcorn at the same time as mine. I pull my hand out from the bowl like it’s on fire, not wanting to make contact.
“Yeah, well.” I shrug. “He’s a busy man with a busy job. You know how it is.”
“Oh yeah.” He smirks. “I see it all the time. A powerful, rich dude wants to impress his woman, so he rents a mega yacht and then neglects her the whole time. Common story.”
