Chapter 37

37

S aturday arrives way too quickly. I have one full day to set everything up before the baby shower festivities start first thing Sunday morning. I appoint Jack to drive Charlie to the spa appointment I have set up for her. It should take her most of the day, so I won't have to argue with her about helping me. I miss my friend, but I'd rather have her be well-rested and fresh for the baby's arrival than be selfish and have her here so I can talk to her and get filled in on all the gossip I've missed the last few weeks. There will be plenty of time for that once the baby is here.

Since I invited the entire town, I decide to hold the party in the ballroom and the attached terrace. The flurry of activity starts the second I arrive at the castle. The tables, chairs, and linens arrive first, and I just about have those set up with the guys’ help by the time the flowers arrive. I give the guys a list of tasks as I start to arrange the flowers into centerpieces, fussing with them until I'm happy.

"Isla?" I glance up to see Penelope's slight frame outline in the doorway, the sun gleaming off her blond hair.

"Pen!" I shriek, running to her and squeezing her tight. "It's been ages! Thank you so much for coming a day early to help me set up."

"Of course! I brought reinforcements," she says, stepping into the room and revealing four gigantic men standing in the hallway behind her.

"Isla, meet my crew."

" They’re the new crew for the Master Baiter?" I ask, my eyebrows hitting my hairline. I bite my lip to keep from laughing. She's in so much fucking trouble.

"Yeah..." she sighs, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. I turn toward her crew, not bothering to hide the huge-ass grin on my face.

"Thanks for coming to help! If you walk through the ballroom and onto the terrace, you'll see Henry out there, and you can ask him for instructions. He'll be happy to have the help." Truth be told, I'm relieved Pen brought her crew, even if it’s a complete surprise. It wasn't until we arrived this morning that I realized just how much work there was to do in the next twelve hours. I wasn't sure how we were going to get it all done, which is exactly what I get for procrastinating yesterday.

"You're an absolute lifesaver!" I squeeze Pen again and then drag her over to the flowers, glad for the help. "How do you feel about helping me make flower arrangements?"

"Sure! I make them for the restaurant every few days. These flowers are a little fancier, but I should be able to manage."

After a few moments of silence, I catch the smirk on her lips, and I know she's waiting for me to ask.

"Spill the beans, Pen."

"There's not anything to spill." She looks at me, a twinkle in her blue eyes.

"Don't lie," I say, elbowing her lightly in the ribs.

"I swear it’s not anything yet. Just a lot of flirting. A lot of flirting."

"That's all?" I ask, disappointed.

"So far. What about you? Are you going to introduce me to the guys I've heard so much about?"

"Eventually." I smirk, glad to get her back for her lack of information.

"So... how's it going? "

"Really, really fucking well."

Pen sighs a dreamy sigh, looking at me with watery eyes. "I'm so happy for you, Isla. Truly."

"Thank you."

"What's it like?" she asks, picking up several stems.

"What's what like?"

"You know. The romance. Sexy time."

I choke on my spit, coughing until Pen feels the need to pummel me on the back.

"It's a lot. In a good way. More than I ever dreamed of. Better than I could have ever hoped."

"Thank god," she breathes, pressing a hand to her chest.

"Why, thinking about taking on your crew?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

"I really like all of them, but they're not best friends or brothers. They only met the day they came together to crew the ship.”

"But that's been a while now, right?"

"Yeah. A year this month."

"Have you talked with them about it?"

"I haven't even held hands with one of them yet, Isla! I’m not going to ask them all if they want to fuck me together."

"If we want to what?" a deep voice asks, followed a second later by one of the largest men I’ve ever seen.

Pen squeaks, dropping to the floor and crawling under the table to hide.

"Oh god. I thought there were only four of you,” I breathe, worried about how much he may have heard.

He ignores me, bending down to grab Pen by the ankles and dragging her out from under the table. She slaps her hands over her eyes as he lifts her to her feet. When he tries to pry her hands from her face, Pen drops her weight and almost succeeds in sliding back to the floor, except he manhandles her back against the wall, pushing a knee between her thighs to keep her in place.

"What were you just talking about?" he growls, his voice low and raspy. He pulls her hands from her eyes and pinions her wrists to the wall with one hand.

Pen blinks fast, and I decide this is the best entertainment I could have possibly asked for. I switch to the other side of the table, arranging flowers while watching what goes down.

"Isla was talking about her relationship,” Pen stammers, licking her lips.

"No, you were talking, Penny. Don't lie to me. Was that whole lecture on trusting each other just for show? Or did you actually mean it?"

"Of course I meant it. The job is dangerous. You guys have to trust each other."

"And what about you, Penny? Do you trust us?"

"With what?" she whispers, luminous blue eyes looking up at him like she's either going to run or climb him like a tree. Her gaze locks with mine, silently pleading for help.

"Hey! I'm Isla,” I call out, hoping to distract him. “Nice to meet you! Your crewmates are outside helping my– my–"

"Your what, Isla?" Pen says in a sing-song voice, getting me back for watching her drama.

"Guys? Boyfriends? Lovers?" Heat creeps higher on my cheeks with every word. I suppose I'm going to have to figure out what to call them eventually.

"Boyfriends, plural?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at me, one eyebrow cocked.

"Yes, two of Charlie's guys are also here."

"What do you mean 'Charlie's guys’?" he asks, looking between me and Pen.

My mouth drops open as I look back at Pen. "You haven't told them anything about us?"

"No," she whispers, covering her face with her hands. "I was scared it would encourage them."

"And that's a bad thing?" I ask, trying to figure out what's going on in her head.

"Not bad. Scary as fuck. "

Ah. That I can understand. "Charlie is married to Pen's brother Lach, as well as Lach’s best friends, Cam and Jack," I explain, realizing that doesn't even begin to do their relationship justice, so I keep going. "And Jack is married to Lach, and Lach is married to Cam, too," I blurt out.

"And your boyfriends?" he asks, surprisingly seeming to understand the relationship dynamics right away.

"They're three brothers."

"Slightly less complicated, then," he says, smiling.

"Yes, thank god."

"Why isn't this freaking you out?" Pen asks him, turning his face toward her, studying him like she's seeing a brand new person.

"Should it?" he asks, smirking.

"I–I don't know," she stammers, stunned.

"Is this the conversation I walked in on?” he asks, holding her gaze. “You were saying you wouldn’t ask all of us to fuck you, weren’t you?”

"Oh god. I can't do this,” she groans, dropping her head back against the wall and closing her eyes.

"We've known each other for a year, Penny."

"I'm your boss," she says, making a last-ditch effort to fend off his questions.

"In name only, and you know it. You've only been on the boat once, and the captain is the one that pays us."

"Are you going to explain away every excuse I have?"

"Yes, so you may as well stop making excuses and tell me what you were talking about before I torture it out of you,” he threatens, positioning his fingers against her ribs, ready to tickle her if she doesn’t give in.

"You wouldn't dare!" she says indignantly.

"I'll give you to the count of three. One." Pen struggles against him, but he holds her in place, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Two."

"Fine! Yes, okay? That's exactly what we were talking about."

"And is that what you want, Penny?" he asks, his voice soft, deadly .

Goosebumps race over my arms, and I'm suddenly very aware that I should not be here for this conversation.

"Don't leave," Pen begs when she sees me turning toward the door.

"Answer my question, Penny,” he says gruffly, demanding her attention.

"Yes? Maybe? I don't know?" she says, the words rapid-firing from her mouth. "How am I supposed to know what I want when we only ever flirt?"

"I know exactly what I want, and I bet all four of my crewmates do, too."

"Fuck," she whispers, breathing hard. "Let me go, and I promise we'll talk about this later."

"Define later."

"On the drive back home."

"Okay." He bends and pecks her on the cheek before releasing her and going outside to join the guys.

"What in the fuck was that?" I ask her, my eyes wide. I watch as she slides down the wall like a glob of jelly, staring vacantly at the parquet floor. "Pen? Are you okay?" I drop to my knees in front of her.

"Oh god," she groans, hugging her knees. "What did I just do?"

"You just made your life at least five times more interesting," I say, grinning. God, I can't wait to see how this plays out.