by Tawna Fenske
Phyllis looked like she was trying hard not to smile as she used some small silver tongs to help herself to the appetizers. Juli watched as the older woman darted a glance toward the cockpit where Jake was steering the ship. The look of hunger was palpable, though it wasn’t clear whether the food or the man had prompted it.
Juli shot a look at Alex, who seemed oblivious to everything but the navigational chart he’d brought with him to the table. His eyes didn’t leave the chart as he reached out and plucked a bacon-wrapped date from the tray.
He began to chew, then looked up in obvious surprise. “Wow, nice job, Cookie. These are excellent. I usually just eat Chef Boyardee when I’m at sea.”
“Chef who?”
“Chef—oh, never mind,” Alex said, helping himself to another. “This is really good.”
Remembering the fate of her breakfast, Juli suddenly realized how starving she was. She used the little tongs to grab a couple quesadillas, then carefully dotted each with some extra green pea guacamole from a dish on the side.
“Ohmygod, Cookie, this is amazing!” she gasped between bites. “Have you worked as a professional chef?”
Cody beamed as he piled more dates on the platter. “Never professionally, but I’ve always cooked. When I got laid off, I decided to spend more time getting serious about it, maybe trying to find myself, you know?”
Juli cocked her head at him. “Laid off?”
“From my job at—”
“At a rival cartography firm,” Alex interrupted as he grabbed another date. “We snapped him up very quickly, of course.”
“Of course,” Juli said, eyeing Alex. She helped herself to another quesadilla and two dates, careful not to drip sauce on the beautifully starched tablecloth. “Which appetizer is your favorite, Phyllis?”
“Hmmm?” Phyllis asked as she tore her eyes away from Jake. For all intents and purposes, Jake seemed unaware of the smorgasbord behind him, or of the woman who was shooting daggers of lust at his backside.
Alex, too, seemed oblivious, or maybe it was just that he was focused on the complicated-looking navigational chart. Juli looked back at Phyllis, who was staring wistfully at Jake again.
“That sure smells good,” Jake called from the helm.
Juli glanced at Jake, then back at Phyllis. Phyllis met her gaze, her expression uneasy.
Juli gave her an encouraging smile. “Maybe you should take some of this over to Jake. Since he’s busy driving the boat and all.”
Phyllis looked as though Juli had just suggested stripping naked and painting her breasts with the port wine demiglace.
Of course, she didn’t appear to think the idea was entirely unappealing.
Juli picked up an empty plate and handed it to Phyllis. “Just grab a couple of each and feed them to him,” she encouraged. “You don’t want him to have to take his hands off the controls, right?”
“Right,” Phyllis said, biting her lip. “Jake, you want to try this stuff?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he called. “Better get it now before you guys eat it all.”
“Oh. Okay.” Phyllis eyed the spread of food. “Well then.”
She gripped the plate and piled a couple dates and some mini quesadillas on it. Juli reached over and spooned some guac on the side, then gave Phyllis a conspiratorial wink. Phyllis looked mortified, but she stood and wobbled her way over to Jake.
Juli smiled at them before turning back at Alex, who was shoveling food into his mouth with single-minded determination. He’d missed the whole thing. Probably missed the chemistry between Phyllis and Jake, too.
Alex looked up at her and stopped chewing. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Am I missing something?”
“Probably. That makes two of us in the dark, doesn’t it?”
Alex eyed her suspiciously. “You still feeling drugged?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe you should take some more.”
“I thought you preferred your bride sober for the honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon’s over. I’ll take you as you are.”
Juli swallowed hard, blinking as Alex smiled. She tried to pull her gaze away, but her brain wasn’t obeying the command.
“More Pinot Gris, anyone?”
Startled, Juli looked up to see Cody brandishing the bottle beside her. She held up her glass, grateful for the distraction. From the corner of her eye, she could see Phyllis feeding Jake a mini quesadilla with a shaky hand. She wore an expression of grim determination, not unlike a woman tasked with feeding a school of piranhas.
“Which one do you like best, Jake?” Juli called, picking up her glass and sipping her wine.
“This one with the green stuff is good,” he said, shooting her a wary glance before turning back to let Phyllis shove another one in his mouth.
Okay, so Jake didn’t like her yet. At least the others were warming up a little. She wasn’t doing too badly so far. She might even make some friends before this was all over.
Cody sidled up to the table with another tray in his hand and placed a small crystal dish in front of Juli. “So next we’ll be cleansing our palates with a key lime and basil sorbet,” he announced, placing a dish in front of Alex.
Juli looked down at the tablespoon of ice cream melting in her dish. She swirled her spoon through it before smiling up at Cody. “Are these flecks of fresh basil?”
“I brought my herb garden with me,” Cody said, beaming. “These guys said I wouldn’t need it, but obviously…”
“Obviously,” Juli agreed, and she dug into her sorbet. She groaned aloud. “Ohmygod, this is incredible!” she said, closing her eyes and licking the back of her spoon. “Cookie, you’re a genius!”
She plowed her spoon back into the dish, scraping up the last traces of sorbet. She licked the spoon again, savoring the tangy, crisp flavors.
She looked up to see Alex staring at her mouth, his expression unreadable.
“Enjoying that?” he asked.
Juli licked the spoon once more, watching as Alex kept his eyes fixed on her mouth. She flushed and set the spoon down. Alex took a deep breath and looked down at his own sorbet.
“This is incredible,” Juli said. “Seriously, my mother is the world’s worst cook, and I’m a pretty close second. I can barely boil water for Top Ramen. If Cookie isn’t married, I’d like an annulment right now so I can snatch him up.”
“I’m hurt,” Alex said as he scraped the sides of his dish with a spoon. “And here I thought we had this deep, meaningful connection in our marriage.”
She patted his hand. “Deep meaning is one thing, but a man who can satisfy my appetite is a rare thing indeed.”
Alex quirked an eyebrow at her, and Juli realized at once that she’d sounded a whole lot sluttier than she’d intended.
Great. In addition to being socially backwards, you’re also a tramp.
She realized she was still patting Alex’s hand and started to pull back, but he caught her wrist and held it. Then he smiled.
“Judging from your appetite, that’s a big order to fill.”
He released her hand, but Juli’s flesh tingled where he’d touched her. She held his gaze and saw his eyes were flashing with something—humor? Lust? She honestly couldn’t tell.
She looked back down at her empty dish as her cheeks burned. Feeling silly, she glanced over to where Phyllis was spooning sorbet into Jake’s mouth. The two of them looked a little more relaxed now, which was good. Phyllis glanced up and Juli gave her an encouraging wave. Phyllis bit her lip and returned a weak smile.
“Okay, gang!” Cody announced as Phyllis returned to the table with the empty plate and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Up next we have ankimo monkfish foie gras with dijon miso sauce and tobiko.”
Juli watched as Cody set the next dish in front of them. She had to concentrate hard on not drooling as she reached for the platter.
“Let me get it for you,” Cody said. “I’ve got this new servi
ng spatula I’ve been dying to use.”
Juli drew her hand back. “It’s a very lovely spatula.”
Cody beamed. “It’s a genuine stainless steel blade with a red porcelain handle,” he said. “I’ve wanted one since I was eight.”
“I’m glad you finally got one,” Juli said, admiring the food more than the spatula. “This looks amazing! If there’s enough to go around, I’d love an extra helping.”
Cody smiled down at her as he heaped the food on her plate. Juli gave a small groan of pleasure as she forked the first bite into her mouth.
“Are you always this passionate about food?” Alex asked.
“Yes,” Juli said around a mouthful of fish. “Always. I love food. Especially decadent food like this.”
“It’s a shame we never had a wedding cake.”
“Oh, I’ve already picked out my future wedding cake. I got to help make it once at this bakery where I worked as a cake decorator—”
“Didn’t you say you worked in marketing?” Alex asked.
“Anyway,” Juli said, spearing a bite into her mouth and chewing blissfully. “The bottom layer is a white champagne cake layered with fresh strawberries, and the middle layer is a red velvet cake filled with amaretto cream cheese, and the top layer is chocolate fudge with an apricot glaze filling, and the whole thing is covered with ivory fondant and fresh flowers.”
“No kidding.”
“No kidding,” she said. “Best cake in the world.”
Alex smiled and shook his head. “What about the ring?”
“Ring?”
“Wedding ring. Some big, expensive, hunkin’ rock. Or the wedding dress that costs more than a down payment on a house. Aren’t those the things women generally care about?”
“Oh. Probably. I don’t know. The ring just needs to be round with a hole in the middle to stick my finger through. The dress should be white, I guess. Lacy, frilly, blah, blah, blah.” She speared another piece of monkfish and looked up at Alex.
He was staring at her oddly and Juli tried to remember if she’d said something provocative or offensive this time. She couldn’t think of anything, but then she often didn’t catch her own faux pas until it was too late.
She turned back toward the kitchen. “Cookie,” she called to him. “Who taught you to make food like this?”
“Serge Lightfoot.”
“Serge Lightfoot, the famous TV chef?”
“He’s my older brother.”
“No kidding?”
“Nope. He’s always been an inspiration to me.”
“I thought Steve Largent was an inspiration to you,” Jake called over his shoulder.
At the sound of his voice, Phyllis smiled prettily and began to load up another plate of food for him. She stood and carried it over to him, her hips swaying just a little as she moved. Jake smiled appreciatively—a look that wasn’t lost on Juli, even if the rest of the conversation was.
“Who is Steve Largent?” Juli asked.
“Steve Largent?” Jake snorted. “The best wide receiver to ever play the game.”
“What game?”
“Football. The great American sport?”
Juli rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Football.”
“Ugh? Football? Are you kidding me?” Alex stared at her. “You’re from the west coast and you don’t have a Seahawks tattoo?”
“What?”
“The Seattle Seahawks. Best football team in the history of the sport. Steve Largent? Jim Zorn? Walter Jones? Lofa Tatupu? Any of these famous Seahawk names ringing a bell?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That’s my team,” Cody said, drizzling some sort of sauce on another platter.
“Your team?” Juli said, paying more attention to the food than the conversation. “That’s nice.”
“No, he means it,” Alex said. “Not in a ‘those are my boys’ armchair-quarterback kind of way. Cody used to play for the Seahawks. I know that’s not a big deal to someone who doesn’t know a football from a salami, but trust me, it’s huge. Cody here—Cookie—is one of the best tight ends to ever play the game.”
Juli eyed Cody with renewed interest. “You really are a novelty then, Cookie. A football playing, gourmet cooking, cartographer pirate.”
“What?”
Alex dropped his fork. Phyllis choked on her wine. Jake’s shoulders went rigid. Even Cody looked uncomfortable.
“What? What did I say?” Juli asked, looking from one face to the other for a clue. “What?”
“Nothing,” Alex said, staring at her. “Have another piece of ankimo monkfish foie gras with dijon miso sauce and tobiko.”
Juli sighed, forking up another generous portion. “You guys are the weirdest cartographers I’ve ever stowed away with.”
***
In the middle of the night, Juli tiptoed out of her stateroom and peered into the pilothouse. Alex was tilted back a little in the chair, looking more natural at the helm of a boat than he did anywhere else she’d seen him. Juli watched him, feeling a shiver of voyeuristic excitement.
His shoulders were beautifully muscled beneath the rumpled linen shirt. The dark hair looked windblown, not in that phony movie star fashion, but genuinely blown by the wind. He glanced at something in his lap, then punched some numbers on a gadget beside him. Beautiful hands, Juli thought, then shivered at the memory of those hands all over her body.
Obviously she’d been celibate a little too long. Be normal, she told herself, wishing it was that easy.
She forced herself to concentrate, watching Alex from behind. Something odd was going on. There had been more than a few awkward moments during dinner, strange bits of conversation that left little doubt in Juli’s mind that these guys were not cartographers. Not even close.
Now that she wasn’t puking her guts out, she was almost enjoying herself out on the water. Okay, there was the perpetual fear of sinking to a watery grave, but really, was that much worse than working in a marketing office? Certainly the coffee was better here.
So maybe she could convince them to keep her. Maybe she could really belong here. Certainly they were nice people. A little strange, but nice. Maybe there was even a new career for her here somewhere. Maybe she could be an investigative journalist. Or a cabana girl. Or a deckhand. Or maybe, if her suspicions were right—
“Quit spying on me and go back to bed,” Alex said without turning around.
Juli jumped, stubbing her toe on a stair. With a yelp, she grabbed her foot and pulled it up to eye level for inspection. Ouch. She’d chipped the corner right off her big toenail.
“I’m not sure whether to be more impressed with your flexibility or your balance, but it’s good to know you have talents,” Alex said. “Since spying clearly isn’t one of them.”
Juli looked up to see he’d turned in his chair and was studying her with a look of amusement. She felt her face flush, though embarrassment wasn’t the only culprit.
“Don’t mind me,” she said, lowering her foot to the floor. “I’ll just stand here and bleed to death on your boat.”
“You’re not bleeding. But if you are, try not to get any on the woodwork. It’s teak.”
“Aye-aye, captain,” she said, saluting him as she turned. “If I don’t survive the night, it’s been lovely knowing you.”
“Come back here,” he called, his tone nowhere near as stern as his words. “Want me to make sure it’s not broken?”
She turned and looked at him, ignoring the shiver of lust that snaked down her spine. “Are we playing doctor now, or do you have actual medical training?”
“Neither, but I figure if your toe is hanging off your foot by one tendon, Cody’s got some sharp knives in the galley.”
Juli shrugged and hobbled back toward him. Her toe didn’t hurt anymore, but she liked the idea of Alex’s hands on any part of her body. She sat down on the high-backed stool beside him and lifted her foot into his lap, grateful she’d gotten a nice pedicure before the
trip. She watched as he prodded and probed, her blood pressure kicking up a few notches as his fingers moved deftly over her toes and skimmed the ball of her foot.
“Looks okay to me,” he said.
She sighed with pleasure. “If I sit here long enough will this turn into a foot massage?”
“No, because you know where foot massages lead?”
“Where?”
He grinned and lifted her foot off his lap, setting it neatly on the rung of the stool. “With both of us naked in the pilothouse.”
“Oh,” she said, momentarily speechless. “That would be bad.”
“It would actually be quite good, under normal circumstances.”
Juli swallowed. “Normal?”
“Right. But these aren’t normal circumstances. I’ve got work to do, and you’ve got secrets you aren’t sharing.”
“Don’t be silly. I don’t have secrets. I’m an open book.”
Alex snorted and shook his head. He said nothing more and turned his attention back to the task of driving the boat.
Juli nudged his shin with her toes. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Don’t-mind-me-I’m-an-innocent-cartographer.” She delivered another light kick for good measure.
He leaned down and caught her foot before she could kick him again, drawing it back up into his lap and squeezing her big toe. She wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be punishment or seduction, but it worked for both.
“So you agree we both have secrets?” he asked.
“Maybe one or two. Who doesn’t?”
“My point exactly.”
She grinned. “Know what we should do?”
“Yes, but I still don’t have condoms. Pity, that.”
“Not that,” she said, rolling her eyes as though it had been the furthest thing from her mind instead of an obsession from the moment she’d met him. “We should play Truth or Dare.”
“Truth or Dare?”
“Exactly. It’s the perfect game for two people trying to get to the bottom of each other’s secrets.”
He stared at her. “Are you certifiably insane or still awaiting diagnosis?”
“Truth or Dare?” she insisted, ignoring the prick of embarrassment over the insanity comment. He was stroking the ball of her foot with his thumb, which made things considerably easier. She sighed again as the pad of his thumb made a lazy circle over her arch, then stroked upward toward her toes. Juli resisted the urge to close her eyes.