Page 41 of Last Night Was Fun

“Whoa! What are you doing?” Piper said, and reached out to balance herself.

“Sorry,” Emmy hissed. “It’s—” She cut off and leaned over to peer down the walkway toward the front of the boat as far as she could without being seen.

“It’s what?” Piper said, and leaned over too.

Emmy’s heart was positively pounding, and she suddenly wished she’d partaken in the dinner cocktails as much as everyone else to numb the shock of seeing her co-worker in the absolute least expected place on earth.

How was this even happening?

She nodded toward the bow of the boat. “That guy up there? The one in the black shirt? That’s Gabe Olson. From work.”

Piper’s face folded in confusion as she leaned to look. Then her eyes popped wide. “Wait,that’sGabe Olson? That absolutethirst trapstanding up there by the captain?”

“Yes! Stop staring.” Emmy clawed at Piper’s arms to pull her back.

“Sorry. It’s just, you never mentioned he’s a total smokeshow.Damn, Em.I pictured some stats nerd with questionable hygiene and smudged glasses. More like Gabe theBabe.” She was practically drooling.

“Piper!” Emmy said. “Remember your fiancé? Ben? And that your pending marriage to him is the impetus for this party?”

Piper tore her eyes away and shook herself. “Right. Sorry. But what’s your work nemesis doing on my party boat?”

Emmy was wondering the same thing. Was it some kind of prank? Had he followed her? Why would he even do either of those things?

And then she remembered what Gabe had said to her that morning they had breakfast in her apartment.

“His cousin owns a charter company, and Gabe’s been helping outbecause one of the crew is away dealing with family. Oh my god.” She knocked her head back on the cabin wall as the pieces clicked into place. “I had no idea it wasthischarter company. Pipes, I’m so sorry.”

Piper frowned. “What are you apologizing to me for? I don’t have a problem with the guy unless he’s being mean to you, in which case, I’ll shove him overboard if you want me to.”

The tempting idea spun a circle in Emmy’s mind. The thought of Gabe Olson bobbing in the bay on a chilly night was rather appealing. But if he was on the boat in an official capacity, assaulting a crew member was probably grounds for losing her security deposit.

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

Piper squeezed her hands with a smile and shrug. “Fine. Then let’s ignore him and have a good time.”

Emmy wasn’t sure how she was supposed to have a good time while trapped on a boat with Gabe Olson—especially since the thought of him seeing her wearing one of the glow-in-the-dark penis necklaces she’d ordered for the occasion made her want to curl up and die.

But her sister vibrated with excitement beside her, ready to get the party started. And Emmy would not ruin her sister’s party.

She took a deep, determined breath and continued walking. “Okay.”

They joined the rest of the women, who’d flung themselves on the cushioned seats lining the open deck at the bow like a pride of feral cats. Emmy couldn’t help noticing them all staring at Gabe and the captain and all but licking their lips. Honestly, she couldn’t blame them.

The captain wore a captain’s uniform complete with epaulets and a white cap. On closer inspection, Gabe’s shirt had the charter company logo stitched over his heart. The sleeves still cuffed his arms in a way that made Emmy bite her lip. He otherwise wore black pants and the same boat shoes he’d had on in her apartment when he’d come over for breakfast the previous Saturday.

She wondered if it was physically possible to go three hours on a small boat without running into him. Chances did not seem high.

The third member of the crew was a stocky woman with sleeve tattoos and a pixie cut. She wore the same shirt as Gabe and an apron, which Emmy assumed meant she was the bartender.

“Ladies, welcome aboard,” the captain said. “I’m your captain, Carl. You can call me Captain Carl.” He held out his arms in welcome and smiled at them all. Emmy immediately saw the family resemblance. Even if he hadn’t been standing beside Gabe, it was there in his winning grin, his dark but sparkling eyes, his arched cheekbones. The Olson family ran flush with good genes. She could tell Carl was older, maybe by a decade. He wore signs of a sea life on his face: crinkles at the corners of his eyes, sun-darkened skin, a peppering of gray in his stubble. Every bit of it worked in his favor.

After his introduction, the flock of women responded with a flirty chorus of, “Hi, Captain Carl,” followed by bubbling giggles.

“Hello,” he said with a chuckling laugh. “I’ll quickly introduce the rest of the crew here. This is Gloria, who will be helping you with food and drinks.” The woman gave a friendly wave and smile. Carl gripped Gabe’s shoulder and shook it. “And this is my first mate, Gabe.”

The sound of his name drove a sharp spear of reality into Emmy’s brain. Until that moment, she’d still hoped it was a bizarre hallucination and Gabe Olson wasn’t actually standing ten feet away from her looking like an ad for luring a bunch of horny women onto a booze cruise. But alas, that was exactly what was happening.

“Hi, Gabe,”the chorus sang, and Emmy felt a confusing stab of... what, jealousy? She couldn’t be sure, but when Gabe gave them a shy wave and full on blushed, her belly flipped in a surprising and traitorous way.