Page 11 of Captain's Orders
"You haven't said or done anything," Dani interrupted her. "This is just Lindsay and Rei goofing around. They'd ship you with a lamppost if you stood close enough to it."
Jordan chuckled. "That's reassuring."
"What I mean is—you've been nothing but professional. Always. It's them reading into things that aren't there," Dani said. "You're attractive, obviously. Anyone with eyes can see that. But—" She stopped. Damn it. She shouldn't have said that.
Jordan was quiet.
"That came out wrong," Dani said. "I just meant—objectively. As a statement of fact. I've noticed it the way any person would notice it and I'm going to stop talking now." She drained her scotch.
Jordan looked at her tumbler as though the Macallan contained her reply. There was color along her cheekbones that hadn't been there thirty seconds ago.
"For what it's worth," she finally said without looking up, "the observation isn't one-directional."
Dani's stomach dropped through the hull. "I'm sorry?"
Jordan looked up. "Don't make me say it differently. I barely survived saying it once." Something shifted behind her eyes, as though she'd already decided this conversation had been a mistake. "I think we should leave it at that and talk about something else now, because this is getting awkward."
"Right. Yes. Different topic. Good idea." Dani nodded too many times. "So... have you ever been to Portugal?"
Jordan raised her brows. "Portugal?"
"I don't know why I said that. It was the first thing that came into my head." Dani shifted back, pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "I've always wanted to go there. Lisbon, specifically. The seafood is supposed to be incredible and the architecture—" She was rambling. She knew she was rambling. But the alternative was awkward silence and that was worse. "Have you? Been to Portugal?"
"No," Jordan said.
"Oh." One-word answers. Fantastic. Dani pressed on anyway. "Well, you should. I mean, not right now, obviously. But generally. As a life goal. My sister went last year with her boyfriend. She said the tiles alone are worth the trip. They have these beautiful hand-painted ceramic tiles on the buildings. Blue and white, mostly. Some of them are hundreds of years old."
Jordan smiled and nodded, like she was waiting for Dani to run out of steam.
Dani did not run out of steam. "And the trams. They have these tiny old yellow trams that go up these steep hills. Honestly, it looks terrifying, like a rollercoaster but with pensioners and grocery bags." The scotch had already gone to her head. "My sister got pickpocketed on one. Lost her phone. So there's that."
She set down her glass and blew out her cheeks. "Sorry. I do this thing where I talk a lot when I'm nervous. It's like a faucet with no off valve."
"I've never noticed that before," Jordan said.
"That's because I'm rarely nervous. I deal with difficult people all the time and that doesn't faze me." She paused. "But this, apparently, is my limit."
Jordan held her gaze. "Do I make you nervous?"
The question was so direct that it caught Dani completely off guard. There was no captain's mask now. Just gray eyes, steady and curious, waiting for an honest answer.
"Not until you told me about the conversation you'd overheard, no."
Jordan was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. But I had to address it—you needed to know what was being said."
Dani was all too aware of what was being said, but she kept that to herself. "No, I appreciate that. I do." At least they would stop the relentless teasing now.
"I made it clear to them it's unacceptable so I suspect they won't be having that particular conversation again. At least not where anyone can hear them." Jordan studied her. "Is there anything I can do to make this easier? I realize the arrangement isn't ideal, but we're committed now. Can't exactly turn the ship around."
"No, I'm fine. Honestly. I'm fine. It's all fine." Dani heard herself and cringed. Three fines. Very convincing. "You probably think I have some massive crush on you now and that's mortifying, but I promise I don't. I've never even said out loud to the crew that I find you attractive so I don't understand why they—" She stopped herself and buried her face in her hands. "Okay, I really need to stop talking because I'm making it so much worse."
Jordan got up, crossed the narrow gap between their beds, and sat down beside her. A hand settled on Dani's shoulder and she looked up, meeting Jordan's eyes.
"Dani, I never make assumptions and we can forget about this whole conversation after tonight."
Dani nodded, not trusting what might come out of her mouth next. Jordan was sitting close enough that Dani could smell the scotch on her breath. The tank top strap had slipped off oneshoulder and those legs, those ridiculous legs, were right next to hers. If Jordan was trying to make this easier on her, she was failing.
Something hot and unwelcome curled through her abdomen and she silently told her body to get a grip.
