“Dalton was the picture of punctuality today,” Kyle said, giving Drea a ‘you know what that means’ look.
Drea groaned. “Ugh...please just don’t let her have been one of our guests.”
“Excuse you, I have standards, you know!”
“Do you, though?”
Dalton simply shrugged, not even bothering to look remotely guilty. “I didn’t say they were high standards.” He held out a hand and helped her step into the boat. She smiled at him and rolled her eyes playfully. “You know I would never do anything to jeopardize you, your uncles, or this establishment.”
“Yes,” Kyle injected. “Because that would mean he’d have to go home and get a real job.”
They all erupted into laughter as Dalton tapped his nose with his index finger to indicate that Kyle was exactly right. As if taking that as his cue, Dalton headed below deck to start pulling up the life jackets and snorkel gear for the tour. Still shaking her head and laughing, Drea looked up at Kyle, the sparkle in her eyes sending a shot straight to his gut. He smiled back, secretly hoping it would keep the sparkle there just a little longer.
“Ready for another awesome day?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? You know Turtle Cove is my favorite.” She flipped through the papers she was holding as she hopped down to the lower deck to the u-shaped bar where she spent most of her time while they were out with guests. “Still time for some last-minute changes, but if these numbers stick, we should only have about thirty-five on today’s tour, so, perfect size for the cove.”
The Runnin’ Down a Dream had a limit of fifty-five guests, but all three members of its crew much preferred to get nowhere near that number. With that many guests, to only the three of them, it was like herding toddlers. Add in the danger of the water and of course, the rum punch, and it made for more chaos than it was worth. Well, that was until they saw the tip jar at the end of the excursion.
“Well, if that’s all we have to deal with, maybe I’ll tell Dalton he’s stuck on deck duty and I’ll hop into the water to come play,” he said, giving her a little wink.
“Don’t you dare tease me like that, Kyle Egan! Don’t get me all excited about my favorite person coming to play in my favorite place and then back out on me.” Drea pointed her finger at him accusingly and attempted to glare at him, only to have the edges of her mouth curve up slightly, giving away her amusement.
“I’m just gonna leave the whole ‘playing in my favorite place’ thing alone,” he mused, climbing up the three little steps from the main deck into the captain’s perch.
“Kyle!”
He laughed. “You said it, not me!”
Kyle settled into the seat and sighed, smiling to himself over jerking Drea’s chain. He liked hearing that he was her favorite person; after all, she was without a doubt his. She’d not only been his first friend when he arrived i
n St. Thomas five years ago, but had been his saving grace in trying to figure out how one actually lives here full-time. She was quite possibly the best friend he’d ever had, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. That funny feeling niggled at his gut again as he wondered if he’d made her blush with his comment, and he had to stop himself from peeking underneath to check. He wasn’t here to flirt—that was Dalton’s role—he was here to do a job. Putting Drea out of his mind, and his focus back in place, he continued to prepare for the day ahead.
Chapter Two
“Are y’all ready for the best day of your vacation?” Kyle yelled over the wind as they sailed out of the marina. “My name is Kyle and I’ll be your captain today. The ravishing beauty up front is Dalton, my first mate, and that adorable little sprite with the effervescent giggle behind the bar is your US Coast Guard certified bartender and cruise director, Drea. She is in charge of your fun today, while Dalton and I are in charge of your safety. You have been warned!” Laughter rang out from the guests on the catamaran and Kyle could see some of the glances being thrown at both his teammates from those checking them out. “We’ll be out of the marina shortly, where we shall stop to have a little chat about safety and what to expect. I promise to keep this part of the day short and sweet—just like all of Dalton’s previous relationships.”
“Damn right!” Dalton hollered, inciting more laughs from everyone on board, Drea included. Kyle would know that laugh anywhere, and he loved that even over the wind and the water and the voices of the guests on the boat, hers was the one he was able to hear the clearest.
Once they were clear of the marina and out in open water, he cut the engines and let them come to a slow float, bobbing up and down with the waves.
“Alrighty, if you will please turn your attention to Dalton up front, he will go over some safety basics.”
Dalton launched into his well-rehearsed routine, going over the basics of the boat, and just how snorkeling worked. Kyle made his way down to the main deck, headed toward Drea when he heard her giggle in response to a deep voice.
“Convince your friends to get on the boat, huh?” the deep voice said. The voice belonged to some Jersey-shore wannabe who was leaning over the bar, looking at Drea like he’d like to eat her for lunch.
“I’m sorry,” she answered. “I didn’t mean to lie, but it was a little too easy. But, it got you guys up, out of bed, and on the best tour we have to offer!”
He laughed at her innocent act. “That it did, plus I get to spend time with you, and that doesn’t suck.” He winked.
“Sir, we need you to please pay attention to the safety demo. Coast Guard requires it, after all,” Kyle said, cutting the meathead off before he could continue to crowd in on Drea. He gritted his teeth, forcing a smile so that the guest didn’t see the frustration rising inside him.
“Yeah, cool,” he said acknowledging Kyle. Turning back to Drea he said, “then I’ll see you in a bit.”
Drea looked over at Kyle with a quizzical look on her face before returning to organizing the safety waivers all the guests had turned in upon arrival at the boat.
“Friend of yours?” Kyle asked, breaking the silence.
