Chapter 1

1

" M otherfucker, I hope this helps," I murmur under my breath as humid air blasts across my face, and the salty brine of the ocean hits my tongue. I climb out of the car with my duffel bag in my hand and watch the taillights pull away, leaving me alone in the ink black of a moonless midnight. Not even the stars are out to greet me, hidden just beneath the thin layer of clouds. The darkness of the night matches my mood so perfectly, I can hardly stand the irony.

Staring out toward the marina, relief to be here and dread for the reason why slam into my chest and quicken my heart for about the thousandth time today. I squint, my eyes following the muted path along the dock until I find my girl. All the way down on the end, Benthesicyme, the largest boat here, the daughter of Poseidon and goddess of the waves, rocks gently in the rustling water, eerily illuminated with blue mood lighting my staff must have turned on along the bow and up the mast. It's the only light out here, and it's barely enough to see by.

I head in her direction, praying she's the start of my salvation.

There was a time when I thought I was God. Invincible. So badass nothing could touch me. I'd jump out of airplanes and get tattoos and piercings. I'd drink my friends under the table and sleep with any woman who was willing. I was that asshole. The billionaire playboy who threw lavish yacht parties and bought out clubs for his birthday.

Somehow, I made it through college and medical school—though barely for both. My last name got me a residency I didn't deserve, and I didn't care enough to feel anything but entitled about it. I skated through on looks, charm, money, and a family name that could get me through any door Boston—and most of the world—had to offer.

Then last week happened.

Now here I am.

Needing a serious come to Jesus moment and a week of soul-searching.

The dock creaks beneath my feet, the air still and eerily quiet with the exception of the water lapping gently against the stone pillars. I pull out my phone and use the flashlight so I can see. It's something out of a thriller, and I feel like any second I'm going to get jacked from behind.

Grabbing the bow pulpit, I haul myself up and onto the front of the ship and land with a dull thud on the deck. I turn off the flashlight on my phone and breathe out a sigh. Everything should be set for me to sail out tomorrow morning as I had her fully stocked and gassed up earlier today.

I pull back the hood of my sweatshirt to roll and crack my neck as exhaustion seeps into my bones. If I want to set out around dawn tomorrow, I need to get some sleep. Just as I head toward the companionway that will lead me down to my cabin, something heavy and hard smashes me in the middle of my back. The wind whooshes from my lungs in a rush, and I stumble forward, my bag slipping from my hand, and my phone clattering to the deck as my chest slams against the railing.

"What the fuck?" I turn in time to catch a shadowy figure swing a lifebuoy and nail me straight in the chest. Before I can stop it, I tip back over the railing and do a messy backflip over the side of the boat. I fall fast and land face down in the water with a hard and painful splash. Frigid, salty water surrounds me, the shock of it all momentarily eclipsing the burning in my chest.

Who the fuck is on my boat?

Breaking the surface, I cough and sputter for air, spitting out slimy marina water. I squint high above me toward the deck of the ship as I wipe the burning salt from my eyes. The shadowy figure is leaning against the railing I just went over, staring down at me. I can just barely make out her long braid whipping beside her dark form.

A woman? What in the hell?

"How did you get out here?" she snaps down at me as I tread water. "Were you following me? How'd you know I'd be here?"

"Huh? What? Following you?" I bluster, nonplussed, wiping more water from my face in an attempt to see her better, only it's futile. It's too damn dark out here and the blue hue coming off the mast is throwing shadows and distorting everything.

An annoyed, shrill noise escapes her throat, and she brushes at her face as she leans further over the side. "Uh-huh. Where's your phone?"

"My phone?"

"Yes, jerk. The phone you've been videoing me with."

"Videoing you?"

"Do you have more than two brain cells you can rub together to actually answer my questions instead of simply repeating them back to me? "

That snaps me out of my shocked stupor. "How could I know you'd be here when I don't even know who you are? You're trespassing on my boat. If anything, you're the one who should have gone over the side. Not me."

She stumbles back a step only to recalibrate and hang halfway over the railing as if she's trying to get a better look at me. "Oh my god. Stone? Is that you?"

"Uh. Yeah. It is. Who the hell are you?"

"It's Tinsley."

"Tinsley?! What the absolute fuck are you doing here?" Tinsley is one of the last people on earth I thought it would be. Last I heard, she was still in LA doing her pop star thing. I haven't seen her in a while. A couple of years at least. She was my little brother's longtime girlfriend. And by longtime, I mean they dated from seventh grade into his junior year of college. Their breakup last year devastated him and shocked the world. Everyone thought they were it. That magical, fairy tale happily ever after couple.

"Hiding. What are you doing here?"

"Trying to finally get my shit together. You attacked me."

She sags against the railing, reaching down for me as if she can somehow pull me back up when she's a solid twenty-five feet above me. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you. I didn't expect you to be out here. You scared me. I thought maybe you were press. Here. Catch."

She bends and then tosses the lifebuoy over the side and nearly hits me in the head with it. As it is, it smashes into my shoulder and dunks me a second time before it careens off me and starts to float away. I'm in too much shock—and pain, let's be honest, that's the third time that buoy has hit me and it freaking hurts like a bastard—right now to chase it.

Tinsley Monroe, my brother's ex and America's Hollywood princess, snuck onto my boat and is hiding here. Why ?

"Ah! I'm sorry," she bemoans. "Crap. I'm doing everything wrong. Hold on. I'm coming."

"What? No?—"

Before I can finish, she climbs over the side of the boat and jumps. Plummeting gracefully through the air in a straight line, she lands beside me with a splash that smacks me right in the face. I clear my eyes and search around the dark water for her, my heart stopping when she doesn't immediately come up. People have drowned swimming to what they thought was the surface when it's actually the sea floor.

"Tinsley?" I call out in a panic, spinning around in a frantic circle and ready to dive under when I feel her body slide up along mine. She emerges like a mermaid, flipping her head back and making her long braid swing in an arc behind her, spraying water as it flies.

Only this girl. I swear.

Drama and mayhem follow her wherever she goes.

"Are you okay?" she asks, grabbing on to me as she swims away to grab the buoy.

"Am I okay? Why on earth would you jump over the side of the ship?! Do you know how insanely stupid that is? You could have drowned!" I'm shouting. It's loud and abrasive and I don't give a fuck. It's not exactly a short drop from a ship like this.

"I was rescuing you, you ungrateful ass!" she exclaims, splashing me.

"Who said I needed rescuing?" I splash her back.

"I don't know!" she cries, her hands flailing about. "I didn't think it through all that well. You were just floating here and not moving."

"That's because I was trying to figure out who the fuck was on my ship and knocked me overboard!"

"I said I was sorry about that!" she snaps, shoving another splash in my direction only to deflate slightly. "I was scared. You scared me! I had a couple of glasses of wine, took a sleep gummy, and then a noise woke me up, only to find a strange man on the boat. I'm a woman out here alone, Stone. I wasn't taking chances." She shudders. "Christ, the water's cold. You're going to turn into Jack if you stay out here any longer." She wraps an arm around herself, the other looped through the buoy.

"What are you even talking about? Who's Jack?" I sputter, totally thrown off by the random topic change.

She gives me a duh look I can just barely make out in the darkness. "From Titanic . Leo DiCaprio. He froze in the water because Rose wouldn't make room for him on her door or whatever she was on. Clearly, I'm Rose in this scenario because I should just let you drown and save myself since you're not being very nice to me."

"Uh-huh. Maybe you shouldn't have mixed wine with a sleep gummy."

"Maybe not, Doctor. Thanks for your unsolicited medical advice. Now how do we get back on the boat?"

I roll my eyes and wrap myself around her, dragging her back against my chest. "This way, little Rose. I wouldn't want either of us to freeze in these icy Florida waters." I push her along toward the stern of the boat.

"You're being sarcastic, but hypothermia is no joke. I can barely feel my toes and fingers."

The transom is up, but there's a ladder we can use. I push her up it in front of me and then climb one-handed, carrying the freaking buoy with my other. She hops up onto the deck, shivering and shaking in her barely-there tank top and shorts, and I don't hesitate before I tear off my sodden hoodie and T-shirt and pick her up bride-style into my arms. She needs to get undressed, but I'm not going anywhere near her clothes. Water drips and drains off us, splattering everywhere, and how did this become my night?

"What are you doing?" she asks, her voice thick and wobbly reminding me how cold she is. Her arms wrap around my neck, and she clings to me, snuggling in closer—likely for warmth—but the unexpected press of her body feels a lot better than it should.

I clear that away. "You said you could barely feel your toes and fingers. I'm not letting you walk when you're soaking wet, half-frozen, and probably a little inebriated. I'm taking you downstairs. You need a hot shower, and so do I."

"I'm not showering with you," she barks indignantly, her teeth chattering.

"Excellent, since I don't think we can both fit in any of the ones on board, and you're not at all my type," I sneer, even as an unwelcome part of my brain suggests that might be a lie.

"I thought every woman was your type."

I roll my eyes at her snark.

She cups my face in her hand, worry etched across her face as our eyes lock. "Did I hurt you? I feel really bad about hitting you and knocking you overboard."

"Nothing I won't recover from."

She searches my face. "Why are you here? Did Forest send you? Does he know I'm here? Is that why you came?"

I tilt my head, my tone growing harsh even if it shouldn't. "Why would Forest send me? You broke up with him last year. Did you tell him you were coming here, or did he suggest my boat as a place to hide out?"

She loved Forest but was no longer in love with him. At least that's what she told him. They still talk and are friends—as much as exes can be friends. Forest still keeps close tabs on her. A little too close for an ex, so her question isn't out of left field. But it would seriously piss me off if he told her to come here without giving me a heads-up first.

"No. I didn't tell him. I don't know why I asked you that. It just made sense in my head. Why else would you be here? "

"I already told you. I'm here for me. Not you. It's pure coincidence."

"Okay." She licks her lips nervously. "I believe you, and I'm sorry for all of this. I didn't think anyone would be here," she says earnestly, her hand still on my face, and I can't bring myself to brush it off. "I thought I'd be alone. The last time I saw you was on this boat, right before the start of your fourth year of medical school. Remember? You brought a bunch of us out for a weekend trip."

I swallow and nod, suddenly realizing I've stopped walking and have been staring at her as she speaks. She's so much prettier than I ever allowed myself to take note of. Fucking gorgeous with the way her lavender eyes, framed by dark, wet lashes, sparkle. Pinpoint freckles dot her petite nose and cheeks, with a broken heart-shaped one beneath her left eye. Her sumptuous lips are full and soft-looking, and… I snap my gaze away and start walking again, feeling a strange and uncomfortable heat climbing up the back of my neck.

"You told me you didn't know when you'd be able to come back since you were going to have no time going forward between the end of medical school and the start of your residency. You even mentioned you were possibly thinking of selling the boat because of it."

"This is my first time back since then, so you weren't wrong in thinking that." I walk us into the companionway, flipping on a couple of lights as I go so I don't bump into something and drop her. "I came here to be alone too, so I get it." And even though I did come here to be alone, oddly, I'm not disappointed she's here. At the very least, she's distracting me from my thoughts.

"Oh." Her cold hand drops from my face, the lights bringing some clarity back to her eyes. "Stone, I can walk. I don't need to be pressed against you when you're, well, shirtless like this. "

I chuckle. "Why? Because you like it?" Shit. Why the hell did I say that? I quickly redirect. "I'm shirtless to try to warm you up with my skin since you did the crazy girl thing and jumped off the side of a boat into cold water. Speaking of, why are you here? This seems like a strange place for you to come considering I haven't seen you or spoken to you in a couple of years and you don't exactly sail."

She twists away from me, but I catch a faint hint of a blush, even with her pale skin and slightly blue-tinted lips. "You first. Why are you here? What does getting your shit back together mean?"

For some reason, I don't want to tell her the truth. I don't want her to look at me the way I know she will. With pity or disgust. "It just means I needed a break from everything. I'm planning to sail out of here tomorrow at dawn and get lost in the Bahamas for ten days or so. It's also my boat so the better question is, again , why are you here?"

I walk through the galley and living room, then down another flight to where the bedrooms are.

"You're not going to tell me?" I ask when she's still not sharing.

She wiggles in my arms as we reach my cabin, and I set her down, doing everything I can not to take in her body in her now see-through tank top and shorts. She's visibly not wearing a bra and immediately she wraps her arms around her chest to hide her perky tits and hard nipples from my view. I drop my gaze and go to grab towels.

I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never reacted to Tinsley like this before. Yes, I noticed her. She was impossible not to notice. But she belonged to Forest and that's how I've had her categorized in my head. She is the absolute last woman in the world I should be reacting to.

I enter the bathroom, only to pause when I find her things everywhere. Her makeup and hair stuff are all over my counter and her shampoo and conditioner are in my shower. It's like she's moved in, not just planning a short stint.

"Tinsley, what the hell is going on?"

She edges in, hovering around the doorway, her big, pretty purple eyes, the color of rare amethysts staring up at me. "Are you mad? I wouldn't blame you if you are."

I hand her a towel, wrap one around my waist, and lean against the wall. "How long have you been here?"

"Just since this evening," she swears solemnly, averting her gaze, and I can't tell if it's because she's lying to me, embarrassed about being caught here, or if it's something else I can't figure out. Regardless, I don't like any of it. "I couldn't come during the day. Someone could have recognized me, and I don't want anyone to know where I am."

"Why?" I press through gritted teeth, losing my patience.

She looks down at the floor, but she's covered in goose bumps and still shaking from the cold, and something squeezes in my chest.

I sigh. "Go shower. You're shivering and I can't stand to see you freezing." I shove past her. "But after you're done, we're going to talk, and you're going to tell me everything."

She flips around and grabs my arm, stopping me. "I'll tell you everything. But only if you take me with you."