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Being Juliet’s head chef for the past six months—on and off the yacht—had been a great experience. One she’d leaned into wholeheartedly. But overall, these recent months only solidified her plans going forward.
Raised in a small town on the Carolina coast, Lila had once craved travel. Charleston had opened her eyes to all kinds of foods and ignited her drive to become a chef. As a kid she devoured every experience that expanded her view of baking, cuisine, and the world at large. Her grandmother had specifically urged her to get out and explore before deciding whether or not to return and eventually take over the family bakery where she’d gotten her start. Lila had been leaning toward coming home and made up her mind during their stop in Miami.
During her short time ashore, she realized just how much she missed the steadiness of being on land. The pure joy of a roomy bed instead of a narrow bunk in a shared room. Her heart and hands were ready to settle down back on the island she called home.
Lila gave Toni the rest of the evening off so she could wallow in her last night on board. Alone, Lila opened the pantry for inspiration for tomorrow’s breakfast. Deciding on potato pancakes, a crew favorite, she opened the bin and spotted a plastic bag wedged into the back.
Grumbling, she dialed down the flare of annoyance. Galley protocol was to empty any produce bags and stow them properly, but as oversights went, this one was minor. Neither she nor Toni would’ve done this on purpose. Mistakes happened. And this most likely came from someone else on the crew helping unload a delivery. There was no reason to go on a stereotypical-chef tirade. That kind of outburst always bothered her. In the bakery, she’d been taught to be respectful of everyone and, following the example set by her grandparents, to save any corrections like this for a private conversation. Besides, their bakery was small and open to the public. No one wanted to ruin a customer’s experience with a temper tantrum.
Though she’d worked in kitchens led by temperamental chefs, that wasn’t her aspiration. Kitchens were challenging places to work and when chefs were unreasonable it made life worse. On the yacht, she’d been determined to keep a level head and Toni and others had given her excellence in return.
A wayward bag in the potato bin wasn’t a big deal and definitely not important on her last day. She grabbed the bag and did a double take. It wasn’t empty. Neither the weight nor the shape of it felt right. The sharp angles and hard sounds inside the bag were more metallic than produce-like.
What in the world?Looking inside, she found smaller bags made of black velvet. Concerned, baffled, she went straight for her office.
Office was overstating it, but the tiny cubby served the purpose. Wedged between the freezer and a pantry, it was a smart use of space. She moved her laptop aside and upended the bag, scattering the smaller velvet bags across her desk.
One by one she opened them, shocked to see expensive luxury watches, a pearl necklace, and several pieces of stunning jewelry. Diamonds, rubies and other gems glowed in settings of gold, silver, and platinum.
For a moment, she reveled in the gorgeous, gleaming haul. It was nearly irresistible and the quality was obvious. She’d learned early in life how to judge the fake from the genuine. She did a quick and dirty estimate. The watches alone accounted for nearly half a million dollars. Nerves and memories made her fingertips tingle.
How and why had these pieces landed in her potato bin?
She hadn’t seen any of these pieces on the newlyweds. And although she didn’t always meet every guest personally, word traveled fast among the crew when a guest wore something as obvious and memorable as the pieces littering her desk.
She had to report this, but who should she tell? More importantly, could she trust people who barely knew her to believe she wasn’t involved with what appeared to be a serious crime? If anyone went digging into her past, it could prove hard to convince them she merely stumbled upon the items.
But there was no reason for anyone to dig up anything. Her background check had obviously passed any concerns or hurdles or she wouldn’t have been hired. Chewing on her lip, she tried to imagineherreaction if Toni or anyone else on the crew reported this find to her. She wanted to think she’d give the benefit of the doubt to the folks she’d worked alongside for months now.
So how did something like this get into her kitchen?
A chill slithered down her spine. Was this a thief’s error or a setup?No. The automatic denial surged through her. A setup made zero sense. Juliet went out of her way to hire people who could work together with the least amount of friction. Sure, moods came and went, but overall, if someone was difficult, they didn’t stick around. Lila didn’t have enemies here on the yacht. And she wasn’t in contact with her parents or anyone else who knew her before she’d moved to Brookwell and into the steadying influence of her grandparents.
In short, there was nothing to fear.
She reached for the phone as she debated the wisdom of calling the captain or the head of the personal security team. She’d almost made up her mind when the light changed. A person filled her doorway, blocking the light and casting a shadow over her desk and all the items that didnotbelong to her.
“Hello, Chef.”
Lila’s head snapped up, her gaze locking on Travis Upton, the man who led Juliet’s personal security detail. He stood as still as a statue in all his tall, dark, Adonis-like glory, staring at her. Or rather at the items glittering on her desk. In a subtle variation of the boat crew uniform, he wore dark blue shorts, a dove gray polo shirt and oiled brown boat shoes. He must’ve come straight from an upper deck. His thick dark hair was windblown, his sunglasses hooked in the placket of his shirt. His blue eyes reminded her of the clear summer skies back home.
For a moment, she savored the spike of attraction and the skip in her pulse. The man was way too handsome and Lila was forever struggling not to melt into a puddle at his feet.
Every time she saw him her heart did a swoony little spin and her pulse kicked into warp speed. The combination always left her a little breathless. Under different circumstances, she might’ve asked him out, but she refused to date anyone on the crew. Neither the captain nor Juliet had any rules against it, as long as no one got weird or caused trouble after a breakup.
As Lila struggled to recover her breath and explain, she realized this encounter was no exception. In fact, seeing him right now was worse because of the stolen property that appeared to be in her possession.
“I… I w-was just going to call you,” Lila sputtered.
“Is that so?” He folded his arms and leaned one well-built shoulder casually against the door frame.
“Y-yes.” She set her teeth. Stammering only made her look guilty. She was innocent. Always had been. “Look what I found.” She gestured to the flashy items.
“Hard to miss all of that,” he said.
She didn’t care for his cold voice or his downright icy gaze. She had seen his professional expressions and understood the subtle variations in his generally stoic demeanor. At times when Juliet and her husband went ashore, he was hard and assessing, as if he could ward off any threat with a glance. And he could be cool and aloof. It seemed any glimmer of friendliness was always tempered by a cautious reserve. He took his responsibilities seriously, a character trait she greatly admired.
Most days.
