Masquerade by the Sea

by Traci Hall

  “Sorry,” he said, looking anything but. What was with all this testosterone lately?

  Heath, his hair back in a neat tail, shook his head and glanced from Jamison to Jolie. “Ready?”

  “Yes,” Jolie said, sweeping by Jamison. “Thank you again for finding the stone crab.” Life was a delicate balance sometimes of biting your tongue and smiling through the pain.

  “These are going to be terrific,” Rajah said. “If you hang on a second, I’ll let you taste one, Jamison.”

  Jamison walked over to the stove and Jolie gestured for Heath to hurry up the stairs. He still had a slight limp, but it was nothing compared to the stiffness of his leg two months ago, and now it wasn’t accompanied by muscle twisting agony.

  “He likes you,” Heath said.

  “He’s a friend,” Jolie countered. “Don’t you have women friends?”

  “Nope. Well, Kendra. But she’s my sister-in-law now. It’s different. Men want one thing from a woman...”

  “I disagree.” Jolie peeked in the mirror above the bar. Her hair was back in a low bun, her make-up subtle. She wanted Randall to think of her as a professional and had done her best to make sure he would be happy without wanting anything else.

  “I’m a man. I know.”

  Jolie sighed. “Just go sit in the cockpit. No, wait, you have to greet people with me.” She almost reached for his hand before remembering he wasn’t hers to hold onto anymore.

  “That should piss Mr. Wallace off. He doesn’t like me.”

  “You’re right. Go sit down.” She looked out from the boat deck to the parking lot of the marina. People were gathering in clusters, but Jamison wasn’t going to let them on board for another five minutes. She wanted Randall to get the full impact of how she’d created an elegant wonderland for him.

  “I won’t leave you alone,” Heath said.

  “You are, though.” Jolie regretted the words as soon as they left her lips.

  “Tonight,” Heath clarified. “I won’t leave you alone tonight.” His hand was on her hip, his fingers warm.

  Tonight? One more night together before he left? One last chance to feel his lips against hers? Her stomach was doing somersaults, her heart jumping up and down for joy.

  She wouldn’t survive. “We’ll see.”

  “Jolie...”

  “Not now, Heath. You’ve had your chance to say what you want to say but you’ve stayed in your room. Unless you’re asking for a ride to the airport in the morning?”

  He sucked in a breath. “Ouch.”

  “I’m serious, Heath. Let’s just get through the next few hours, okay? Then maybe we can have a grown-up conversation before you go.”

  His shoulders relaxed. “I’d like that.”

  Jamison came up the stairs, through the dining room where he joked with the servers, then out on the deck where she and Heath waited for the aluminum bridge to be set across from the Masquerade to the dock and Randall’s guests to be welcomed on board.

  As soon as Randall noticed Jamison laying out the metal bridge, he started herding his guests toward the Masquerade. Fresh flowers adorned the outside of her party charter. Ivory football-sized mums and soft pink hibiscus in pretty clusters.

  Randall was the first one over and onto the deck. “Your yacht looks like a wedding cake,” he said with a pleased smile. He ignored Heath and kissed each of Jolie’s cheeks. “It’s very beautiful.”

  She smiled and let him take her hands. “I want you to be pleased.”

  “You found the stone crab?” His thin dark hair was gelled so tight to his scalp that it didn’t move in the small breeze off the inlet.

  “Of course,” Jolie said, pulling her hands free while smiling benevolently. “The menu is exactly as you ordered it. We even have raspberry ice shaped like a swan for dessert.” He’d found a picture in a magazine somewhere and wanted it made for his event.

  His eyes lit up. “I look forward to our meal.”

  Randall moved on down the deck where she’d set up stations for lemon water and white wine punch.

  Janey came next, a man she introduced as her husband on her arm. “This is so pretty! Thank you, Captain Jolie. You’ve been very patient with us as we’ve planned this party.” She leaned in and whispered, “Mr. Wallace is not always the easiest man to work for, right?”

  Jolie grinned and whispered back, “I hope he pays well?”

  “Of course!” She patted her husband on the arm. “It’s the only reason I stay.”

  “I like her,” Jolie said in an aside to Heath as the couple moved on toward the punch.

  Once the last person came on board and was welcomed, Jamison pushed them off from the dock. “Bon voyage!” He’d been a good friend to her, but that was all he was, despite Heath’s observations.

  Jolie felt Heath’s nerves and put her hand on his broad shoulder. “You can do this. You’ve done it before, and you can do it again.”

  “What about that inlet?” He looked up at her with sincerity in his gaze. He really did care, damn him.

  “I’ll be with you for that turn. I promise you’ll be fine. Now, guide us out of the marina and go from there. I have to go check on our guests.”

  “Jolie?”

  She stopped, hating that her heart sped up at the way he said her name. “Captain.”

  Heath sighed and focused on maneuvering their boat out to the inlet. “Never mind.”

  Jolie nodded and went out to the deck. Now wasn’t the time for regret. She greeted everyone and found Randall talking with Janey and Janey’s husband. “Hi. I see you all have punch? It’s got a little bit of a kick, but not bad. The weather couldn’t be more perfect.”

  Randall immediately stood next to her, putting his hand on her back. She hid her initial response and smiled instead.

  “Blue skies, a nice breeze. It’s perfect,” Janey said. Her husband, a trim man of average height with gunmetal gray hair and blue eyes, didn’t say anything. He nodded as if affirming everything his wife said was his job.

  “I told the captain I wanted the best.” Randall’s fingers tickled her back. “So far, so good.”

  “Once we reach the inlet the sun should be setting. After that, I’ll lead you downstairs and start the meal service.” She had to get away from Randall. His fingers were at her tailbone for heaven’s sake. “Enjoy the view.”

  Randall leaned against her side. “I hope you’ll come back and join us?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, channeling Granny with her best hostess voice.

  Janey’s husband winked.

  She made the rounds, saying hello to everyone. You never knew who might want to charter an event so it was important to network. Not all charters had to be thousands of dollars. This was special.

  This was going to help her get her a new engine.

  About thirty minutes out of the marina, she peeked in on Heath, who looked capable and relaxed. If she hadn’t known better, she’d never have guessed he was nervous, or new.

  Some men just had that savoir faire, an ease at being who they were. Owning themselves. He’d grown so much in the last two months and she couldn’t be more proud. It wasn’t her business to have any feelings for him—he’d made that clear, buying his ticket to leave tomorrow.

  But her heart wasn’t listening.

  Two of the servers were walking around the deck helping people with their drinks and appetizers. Randall had specifically requested mozzarella sticks, so not classy, and miniature quiches. Caviar on crackers. She’d added in cheese cubes and grape tomato halves to round out the selection. Jolie told them ten more minutes, then start herding folks down to the tables.

  Jolie grabbed a water bottle and brought it to Heath in the cockpit. “How’s it going?” She remembered when his hair had been too short to put in a ponytail, and now it curled past his nape. She’d kept track of how fast it had grown by running her fingers through the soft waves. “You’re doing great.”

  “It’s cool. No pressure.” He looked u
p at her and his mouth curved in a devastatingly sexy smile that brought a quiver to her knees. “How’s it going for you? Randall behaving?”

  “No.” Jolie checked the weather chart. “But I’m good at evading his hands.” She looked ahead, relief flooding her body. “All clear. Look at that sunset, Heath.” Purples, pinks and brilliant orange. “I couldn’t have asked for better. A bit of a wind, but it’s going our way.”

  If she didn’t pay any attention to her broken heart, she actually felt good. “I had Rajah do a tune-up on the engine just to make sure we didn’t have any grinding gears tonight. Sounds awesome, yeah?”

  “Practically purring.” Heath patted the dashboard.

  “It’ll be all you again in a minute while I get the dinner service started.”

  “The inlet?”

  “I’ll be back before then.” Why had Jamison freaked him out about that, anyway? He knew Heath was green. Worried about his precious sea grass, that was all. “Just follow the coordinates and you’ll be fine.”

  Jolie left with perfect confidence in Heath and went to see how Rajah was doing. Her First Mate/Celebrity Chef rocked a kerchief around his black hair ala Johnny Depp and was at the stove top stirring something heavy on the curry spices. Two female servers watched in awe.

  “Taste,” he told them, handing each a plastic spoon of sauce. “Just a hint of cumin.”

  “How’s it going, Rajah?” Jolie tried not to roll her eyes at his antics.

  “Captain! I’ve made heaven on a spoon,” he declared.

  “Make me proud and I’ll give you a bonus.” Whatever it took. “Where are we time-wise? I’ve just got them all seated. The other servers are pouring wine.”

  Rajah wiped his hands on his apron front and cracked his knuckles. “Ladies,” he bowed toward the servers, “bring out the tomato salad with angel hair cabbage and caraway. Then come right back and help me plate the entrées.”

  “You have it under control?” Jolie asked, seeing for herself that he did. He didn’t seem to mind not being at the wheel.

  “A First Mate’s duty is never done.” Rajah opened the refrigerator which had special holding trays, and the ladies each took one. Thirty diners was a perfect number for this size boat.

  “In that case, I’ll head back upstairs.”

  He waved a dish towel toward her and focused on the stone crab.

  Jolie took the last step with a satisfied jaunt. Each of the tables was full, people were chatting happily as they were served their salads. The other two servers pitched in to expedite the process.

  Randall caught her eye. “Captain,” he said with a broad smile. “Won’t you be joining us?”

  “I’m afraid not, Mr. Wallace.” She walked toward him, her hands behind her back. Officious. Professional.

  “But the joy of a sea voyage is sitting at the captain’s table,” he persisted.

  What could she do? Heath expected her to come back but honestly, he was fine. Randall got up and waved for a chair to be set next to his.

  Now what?

  Heath watched the coordinates on the navigation screen. He liked the clarity it offered in the near-dark. The sun had set, creating a gray shadow-world on the water, especially since they were leaving the lights of the coastline behind.

  The spot they were going to moor at was secluded and had a lovely view of the moon along the sea. He and Jolie had surveyed the sea grass here for Ocean Green. She believed in making the earth and ocean a better place than she’d found it.

  He believed she could accomplish anything. Look how close she’d come to saving the money for a new engine, despite Randall Wallace toying with her. Instead of worrying over one client, she’d gone in search of new customers. Word of mouth mattered and Cody, a tech whiz, had helped with her online advertising.

  He turned to the left, following the numbers Rajah had programmed for him. He’d like to hate the weasel, but he knew Rajah was just looking out for Jolie. Being protective of her.

  I’m leaving. The thought brought zero joy.

  Boom. Boom!

  What in the hell? The boat rocked forward, making a grinding noise as if they’d hit something. Alarmed, Heath checked the screen, then looked ahead in the water. Shit. His gut knotted. Nothing!

  He peered again into the dark.

  The screen showed a clear path.

  Had he missed the mark? How?

  Oh damn it all to hell and back. Heath pounded the dashboard, and the screen went black.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Please, sit with us,” Randall said, his steely gaze demanding that she capitulate. Jolie had just sat next to Randall simply to keep the peace when she heard an awful noise coming from the stern.

  She froze and searched for Heath at his usual spot behind the bar but he wasn’t there. He was in the cockpit. Oh, no.

  Rajah raced up the stairs from the galley taking them two at a time as he ripped his apron off and tossed it at her. “What the hell?” They both ran toward Heath and the bridge deck.

  Then she stopped, remembering where she was and turned toward the wide-eyed guests. Randall met her gaze and scowled forbiddingly.

  “Stay calm,” she said, her heart up between her ears. Throbbing. Pounding. Screeching.

  “Sounds like the engine,” Janey’s husband piped up.

  The man finally had something to say and that was it? She’d have preferred him quiet.

  “Did we hit something?” Randall asked. Any unrequited looks of love were erased as he stood up, tossing his napkin on his plate.

  Had Jamison jinxed Heath by warning him about the inlet? He was calm, cool. She didn’t believe he’d panic. Even when he’d had a full-out panic attack all of those months ago, he’d stayed in control.

  The lights flickered on the boat, and then went out. The electric candles shimmered and the generator kicked on. It made her party yacht sound like a ghost ship. Which suited her, she thought wildly.

  Her career had just sunk.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, holding one hand up. “Please, stay seated, and I’ll let you know what is happening.”

  “Are there life boats? Are we sinking?” Anxious voices followed her as she left the dining area for the cockpit.

  Rajah stood over Heath, fury in every line of his face. “How could you have screwed up this bad?” His finger jabbed the blank navigational screen.

  Heath, calm, uncertain, shrugged in confusion. “I was just following the coordinates.”

  “You’re blaming me?” Rajah looked from Heath to Jolie. “That’s great.”

  “Accidents happen,” Jolie said but her throat closed with tears of failure and she couldn’t finish her sentence. All the time.

  Heath shoved Rajah out of his way and took Jolie in his arms. “I am so sorry, Jolie. I don’t know what went wrong. I heard this noise and then,” he shrugged again. “And then we stopped moving and the power went out.”

  “Okay,” she finally said, pushing away from his strong chest, wishing she could stay in his arms and do this whole day over. “Okay. Are we going to sink? No. The generator just kicked in. Folks are panicked.”

  God, what a nightmare.

  “Where are the life jackets?” Heath asked. He maintained eye contact with her as if walking her through the problem.

  “There are forty life jackets in the cabinet behind the bar.” She nodded, going into survival mode. “The generator will allow us to contact the Coast Guard. It won’t be able to power us all the way back to the marina.”

  “It sounded like the engine,” Heath said.

  “I think we hit something.” Rajah stabbed the dashboard with a firm finger.

  Heath clenched his teeth. “The screen was clear before it went out.”

  “Either way, this is a freaking disaster,” Rajah said, his dark eyes narrowed. “I should have been in my position, not down in the damn kitchen.”

  “You were doing what I asked you to do.” Jolie touched his arm, but he was shaking with emotion.
“Following orders from your captain.”

  “Aye,” he swallowed and shut his eyes, his mouth scrunched closed.

  “We need to get everybody seated. I’ll have the servers hand out the meal so the food isn’t wasted. We will eat by candle light. Rajah, call the Coast Guard, and tell them what happened. I’ll call Jamison about finding another engine. Heath, if you could help me get drinks down these people’s throats to keep them calm, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Whatever you need.” His eyes were unreadable.

  Jolie held herself together by sheer will power. “I’ll go face the music.”

  “It’s my fault,” Heath said.

  “Damn straight it’s your fault.” Rajah sank down into Jolie’s chair and turned on the radio. He called the Coast Guard and gave them their coordinates. “Leave me your phone, Captain,” Rajah said. “I’ll call Jamison. You serve the stone crab, and you just might save the night. It’s excellent.”

  Rajah. Jolie went out to the dining hall, her body trembling on the inside while she attempted a cool, calm exterior.

  “Thank you for your patience. We haven’t hit anything but we’ve got a bit of engine trouble. Coast Guard is on the way, so please, everybody, be seated.” She gestured to the four servers standing by. “Our servers are going to continue with meal service, and drinks are on the house. Heath here is going to open up the bar if you’d like something besides wine.”

  Her guests looked uncertain, so she walked next to Randall and put her hand on his shoulder. A united front. “Your boss wanted something elegant. What is more romantic than dinner by candle light?”

  The servers snapped to attention, thank God, and quickly brought up the entrees. Jolie explained the curry dish and appreciated Heath’s going around to each person to take a drink order and tell a joke.

  Jolie buried her nerves and kept up a conversation about, well, Randall himself and how he’d inherited the town from his father, who had inherited the land from his father.

  A few glasses of wine, a superb meal eaten and a slightly melted raspberry ice swan later, Randall was still holding court about his favorite subject.