“So you’re not paying her debts, and she hasn’t contributed to this venture financially?” the reporter pressed.
“No I haven’t, and she doesn’t need to contribute more than her fantastic organization and event management skills. I wanted to make this a surprise, but Keira and I are not settling for this one night, or the many others she has planned. We’re about to embark on an amalgamation of our core businesses. We don’t have a name for it yet, but it’s going to be great. Watch this space, people.”
The crowd laughed and whistled while Keira felt sick. It was bad enough that she was embarrassed by the reporter, but now Aiden was backing her into a corner. A venture, yes, but a business together? No. She wasn’t ready to go in lock, stock, and barrel when she hadn’t earned it and couldn’t afford her share. She wasn’t a charity case, and she didn’t want a man speaking on her behalf. It had all happened so suddenly that she hadn’t been able to react, but now she was angrier than ever.
As much as she despised the man for bringing up her background, he had only spoken the truth, so it wasn’t him she rounded on.
“How dare you, Aiden,” she whispered as loud as she dared, then ran out the door.
Knowing he would come after her, she crawled into the first available lifeboat. Sure, she was a coward, but Aiden had pushed her too far, and she was never going to be able to lift her head around any of the people in Sunrise Beach, who would hear about this as soon as the ship docked.
People would ask her questions, and she wouldn’t be able to lie. She’d have to admit that she wouldn’t be going into business with Aiden. She would do the rest of their bookings, since she had committed to them, but after that? She didn’t have a clue.
He had fallen off his pedestal, and now she had to pay for letting down her guard.
Chapter Sixteen
Aiden was stunned for a second, then coughed. “There she goes, folks, off to make sure everything is ticking along. Enjoy the rest of your time aboard Majestic, and we hope to see all of you back soon.”
To thunderous applause, he stepped down from the stage, his fixed smile hurting as he accepted congratulations.
What have I done? He wasn’t impetuous like that. He was always so careful and considered.
As the crowd thinned, Mitchell marched up to him and poked him in the chest, hard. “You’re an idiot.”
Aiden rubbed the spot, knowing he deserved that and more. “Way to make me feel better, big brother.”
“You don’t deserve to feel better after making an announcement like that. Am I right in assuming that you hadn’t discussed said business venture with Keira?”
Aiden shook his head, his stomach in knots. He’d known as soon as he’d opened his mouth without thinking—something he prided himself on never doing—what a terrible mistake he’d made.
“I just wanted to shut the guy up. I can’t believe he had the nerve to say what he did when he’d been invited on board and given a free meal and a great evening.”
“He’s a reporter, dumbass. They don’t have the same morals we do. You’ll be pleased to know that Chantelle gave him a piece of her mind.”
“Great, but do you really think I care about Chantelle or the reporter right now?”
His brother shrugged. “Just checking your priorities.”
“Mitchell, this isn’t funny.”
“I know it’s not. I can see by your face that you care very much for Keira. The question is what are you going to do about it?”
“I need to find her.”
Mitchell glanced at his watch. “That’d be a good start. You’d better do it soon though. We’ll be docking in less than half an hour.”
Aiden took a quick look around the room. Only the reporter and Chantelle seemed to care what was going on with Aiden and Keira, and they were having their own fight. Chantelle obviously wasn’t all she appeared, but it was Keira’s whereabouts that concerned him. She hadn’t come back, so where would she be? His cabin? Probably not. He really was a dumbass.
He turned to Mitchell. “Can you look after this lot?”
“Sure. Don’t worry, they’re having enough fun. And if I need help, Chantelle seems keen to look after your interests.”
Aiden let that ride since he knew Mitchell was messing with him and began to search Majestic. It was frustrating because there wasn’t an inch of his ship he didn’t know, and he’d looked everywhere, but Keira had disappeared. Obviously she was still on board; the lifeboats were in place, and she wasn’t the type of person who would jump overboard considering her fear of deep water.
He hoped.
He willed himself to be calm as he stared out over the ship from the top deck and centered his thoughts as if he was looking at a grid of Majestic. It was a trick he’d learned in the marines, focusing on a specific point and then moving out from that.
The moon was full and high and gave him an excellent light to continue his search, but he’d already personally searched the places he was scanning. Would she go below decks to the engine room or the cabins he’d allocated to his permanent staff, both of which were out-of-bounds to everyone except a few? Keira might bend a few rules, but she wasn’t a breaker of them.
Better yet, if he was the one who wanted to hide and couldn’t use his cabin, where would he go? He looked up at the sky, which would lighten his mood on any other night with its beautiful array of stars, and felt the need to hurry. They were getting closer to the dock, and if she snuck off without him apologizing, Aiden knew he would lose more than a business venture.
He went down to the next deck, which was empty. A breeze made a rope creak above him, and something entangled in the webbing of a lifeboat caught his eye. Keira might not know Majestic as he did, but she’d seen plenty of places to hide on the Mardi Gras-themed night. One in particular was perfect.
He scampered up the rope and threw back the tarpaulin.
Keira sat huddled in the bow. She peeked over her arms, which were covering her head, shrinking back when she saw it was him.
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry about everything. Please come out of there.”
“No. I’m not ready to,” she said in a muffled voice.
“Okay.” Aiden climbed in and sat beside her. Not touching, just letting her know he was there.
Eventually she stirred and lifted her tearstained face. “Why did you do that?”
Nothing but the truth would be acceptable. “Because I’m an idiot and I wanted to stop that guy from hurting you.”
She winced. “You hurt me more than he ever could have.”
He gasped. “Why would you say a thing like that?”
“You know why. I trusted you with my story, and how Damien made me feel. You knew I wasn’t ready for something like this. It was a major step to trust you with joining forces. That should’ve been enough for you.”
Aiden put a hand under her chin, but she moved her head.
“Here’s the thing. Everything you’ve said is true. You need time, and you deserved it. I forgot that, because I’ve had time—a lot of it since the marines. Time to figure out what I want and what I need. I have what I want. Majestic gives me freedom, peace. Then I met you, and I realized that having what a person wants isn’t where the story ends. At least, it shouldn’t be. I didn’t understand what I needed to be truly happy. I never knew what that could look like. Until I met you.”
Keira stared at him like he was an alien, which should’ve made him shut the hell up, but he was on a roll, and while he could, he wouldn’t hold back.
“You and I, we complement each other. Not just in bed, and not just with our skills. Sure, we each bring elements to this business to make it strong and exciting, but we do that outside of business by being us. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an even exchange.”
“It’s not close to being even, Aiden. Not when you have the ship.”
“You bring the business.”
“I don’t have a business. That’s you again, remember?”
“But you do. People love you. You’re the drawcard that would make your clients and their friends follow you to Majestic. You can’t pretend you feel loyalty to Margaret and Jane when they treat you like garbage. You shouldn’t be working with people like that. You should be working with me.”
Keira grabbed the edge of the boat and pushed the tarpaulin up, putting her face out into the breeze. “I told you. I can’t go down that road.”
His heart hardened. “Ever? Or is it just a business with me that’s so wrong?”
White-faced, she turned to face him and whispered, “I-I-I don’t know.”
“I see. I thought if we trusted each other, we could make it work. I guess that only works if both of us are on the same page.”
She put her hand out but pulled hit back just as quickly. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. Everything we’ve done so far together has been amazing. Everything. But you know what happened with Damien.”
“I’m not Damien,” he said through gritted teeth.
Her eyes widened. “Of course you’re not. Look, I never imagined that he’d take everything from me and then discard me like an old shoe when the money dried up.”
“I’d never do that to you.”
“I don’t think you would, but that’s not enough. There are other ways to hurt a person, and I need to be sure it won’t happen.”
He sat back and saw her fear. It was raw and real. And crazy. “You want guarantees that our business would last? That how we feel about each other won’t change?”
She sighed. “I love what we have together. I love working with you, and I don’t want to risk losing it by working for you.”
She didn’t move away as Aiden came closer and took her cold hands in his. “Please trust me, Keira. You make me do things and take chances I never have. You make me laugh until I ache. I want you by my side. I love you, Keira Davis.”
She stood, knocking her head on the tarp and skinning her knee on the seat. “I can’t do this,” she choked out, then scrambled over the side.
“What are you afraid of?” Aiden called after her.
She stared at him for a moment as if he were a stranger. “Right now? You. I need to go and think about this.”
“Will you? Or have you already made up your mind?”
She gave him a stricken look, and he wished he’d left it, but fear had thrown a wet blanket over his heart and he felt a keen sense of loss. She’d touched his heart and soul, places he thought impenetrable.
Jumping down from the lifeboat, she ran along the length of Majestic, and he watched her climb the chain onto the gangway as Ryan finished tying up to the dock. She must’ve been in a panic not to be worried about thanking the guests and actors or seeing them safely on their way.
She had fled. Not just from a business venture and Majestic, but from all that Aiden wanted to share with her. It hurt worse than anything he had ever experienced.
Chapter Seventeen
Aiden watched from the railing, wanting to run after her and make her see sense. The one thing that stopped him was her denial of what they were to each other. His heart had been well and truly on his sleeve, so Keira had seen how he felt about her, and yet she still discarded it.
His hand went to his pocket and wrapped around the velvet box. He didn’t make grand gestures, but this would’ve been the grandest one he’d ever made. But if Keira didn’t feel the same way, or was so unsure of him….
If that were true, then his heart needed to be told. He felt like it trembled in his chest. The sense of loss was intense. How could she throw them away so easily when what they had together was so perfect? It didn’t make sense.
Now he had to put on his captain’s face and pretend everything was fine. He found Mitchell and Chantelle, who took one look at him and handled the last of the formalities while he stood nearby, a fake smile frozen on his face.
His eldest brother managed to get the guests to leave relatively quickly before he came back to Aiden with a frown.
“Will you be all right?”
Aiden had seen that look before when the person responsible for hurting him had been his stepfather. Right now that was the last thing he wanted to think about.
“Go home, Mitchell. I’ve got some things to tidy up.”
“I could stay. We could talk, if you want?”
Mitchell’s offer was hard for him; they weren’t that kind of family.
“That’s kind of you, but no, thanks.”
Chantelle put her hand gently on his arm, full of real concern. She was different without her innuendos. Nicer. “Don’t you give up on her, Aiden.”
He was unable to respond. A numbness had set in, and he just wanted to be alone.
Mitchell, as always, understood and left with Chantelle.
“Excuse me, boss?”
Aiden spun to face Ryan. The rest of the crew stood several feet away and were stealing glances in his direction. It looked ominous, and he wasn’t in the mood.
“Is there a problem?”
Ryan shuffled his feet. “We’ve nearly finished cleaning up.”
Aiden ran his hands through his hair. “I hear an ‘and’ or a ‘but’ in there.”
“We’ve been talking and were wondering if there was any celebration planned.”
Aiden had no idea what he was talking about, and a celebration was as far from his thoughts as seeing a positive side to Keira’s behavior.
“Celebration?”
Ryan stood tall in the face of Aiden’s coldness. “You’ve owned Majestic for a year now, and that’s when most of us started working for you. We thought we should honor that.”
Aiden was surprised that anyone would remember. As it happened, he had thought of it, although it’d been pushed to the back of his mind considering everything with Keira.
Most of his crew had been wandering in life, just as he’d been when Mitchell had persuaded him to come live in Sunrise Beach. He’d known Ryan in the marines, and the rest were all good people, caught up in circumstances that had not gone their way.
In spite of feeling so bad about Keira, he looked at the expectant faces and felt a little warmer. “What did you have in mind?”
Ryan grinned. “Well, everything we need is already on Majestic, but it would be nice to have a change of scenery. There’s a nightclub on Sunrise Beach that has a room we can hire. If we have it on a weeknight, it won't interfere with the cruises, and if anyone gets hungover, they’ll have time to get over it.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’ve already given this some thought.”
“We have, sir, and I’ll organize the whole thing. You won’t have to lift a finger.”
Aiden didn’t care right then, but his crew was amazing. Not being able to drink or socialize most weekends was hard, especially on the younger members. It couldn’t hurt to give them a bit of fun.
“Okay, let’s do it. How about next Tuesday night? That’ll give you a week to organize it, plus it’s the real anniversary.”
Ryan nodded. “Perfect. Can we invite our other halves?”
“Of course.” Just because Aiden was probably without a partner didn’t mean the crew should suffer.
“Excellent, I’ll go tell them. And thanks, boss.”
Aiden nodded, relieved to be on his own finally.
Just then, his phone buzzed. What now? He impatiently pulled it from his pocket and saw an email.
Hi, Aiden,
I’m really sorry to run out on you like that. It wasn’t fair of me, and I hope you can understand where I was coming from.
I hope we can still be friends.
Regards,
Keira Davis
Wedding Planner
Sunrise Beach
Aiden walked over to the port side and stared across the water. The sparkle of blue reminded him of Keira in that sexy dress the night of the Mardi Gras cruise.
Friends? He didn’t think so. She would haunt his dreams for long enough as it was, especially having to see h
er about the business. Or could that be managed a different way?
If he employed someone to take care of that side of the business, then he could avoid her most of the time. It’d been on his mind a lot, and he’d even asked around when he’d grown tired of dealing with planners like Marilyn. Until he’d met Keira.
With a heavy heart that needed protecting more than he’d imagined it could, Aiden replied to Keira.
Hi, Keira,
Don’t worry about it. It was clearly a misunderstanding on my part, and that’s my problem, not yours.
In light of how we left things, I’ve decided that I need to step back and relinquish some of the things that a captain shouldn’t be attending to. I’ve decided to bring in a person as a liaison to the wedding planners and other organizers. That should make things easier for both of us.
As soon as I have things set up, I’ll get the new person to contact you. I don’t think we need to do much more for the next wedding at this stage. It’ll be good for the new person to have someone of your caliber to learn the ropes from, if you have no objection.
I wish you well and good night.
Regards,
Aiden Williams
Captain
Majestic Cruises
Chapter Eighteen
Keira sat at her office desk, trying to read between the lines. She’d been awake when Aiden’s email had come through, having spent most of the sleepless night going through what had taken place.
If she wasn’t mistaken, Aiden was telling her not to contact him in the future, going so far as hiring someone so he wouldn’t need to have anything to do with her.
Talk about a knee-jerk reaction. He was being childish. She still wanted to see him, but she just didn’t want to go into business with him. With anyone. Hadn’t she explained it well enough?
She should’ve tried harder, and she might’ve if he hadn’t mentioned love. How did he know he loved her? And if he did, why would he blurt it out the way he had?
Against the Tide: High Seas Weddings Page 13