over the boom and fiddled with the backstay. “I replied to most of them.”
The frown couldn’t be helped, nor could the thread of exasperation. “Did you at least look over the final itinerary? I’ve made a few more tweaks—”
“To the final final itinerary?” One corner of his mouth kicked up, emphasizing the unkempt scruff on his face and the dimple in the middle of his chin. “Do you know what final means?”
“About as well as you know how to reply to emails,” she quipped. She plucked the top paper off her pile of copies and extended it to him. “Fortunately for you, I have extra copies. You’ll see that I’ve shortened the activity for learning the parts of the boat. Fifteen minutes is all we have time for.”
The extra humidity made her glasses slip, and she readjusted them. “Oh, and when we pass by Ocean Cliff and the Jamestown house on the rock, can you get as close as possible to the coast? We’re selling luxury, and our social media manager wants to take several video shots. Once we finish up there, I’d like to arrive at the next port in plenty of time because we have a strategy session planned for this evening.”
The paper crinkled as Josh took it from her. Instead of studying it, he folded it in half and half again, jammed it in his pocket, and said, “We’ll see.”
Then he headed to the helm of the boat.
Danae stared after him, mouth agape. She spun around and narrowly avoided colliding with her ex-boyfriend. “Oh. Hey, Mark. Sorry. Um…” She gestured him ahead of her. “If you’ll gather the troops, I’ll give everyone their cabin assignments so they can put away their stuff.”
“I realize you got the promotion, but that doesn’t mean I report to you. Mr. Barton is still my boss.”
Danae gritted her teeth in an approximation of a smile and focused on keeping her tone polite so she wouldn’t break any of his at-work rules. “Yes, I’m aware. What I meant to say was that I could use help gathering everyone so we can settle in and be ready to leave on time. Would you be willing to help me with that?”
“Of course. I just want to be clear. Keeping our boundaries in place is going to be more important than ever on this trip.”
“They’re already crystal clear. No need for a recap.”
Great. Now she was going to have to spend eight days in a confined area with two men who didn’t want to listen to her.
Josh welcomed everyone onboard, introduced himself, and covered the safety features, as well as what to do in an emergency.
Toward the end of his spiel, his gaze snagged on Danae. While he’d been right about the cardigan, it was about the only feature he’d imagined correctly when it came to the Chief Marketing Officer. She had pale skin that suggested she didn’t get outside much, which was a shame when you lived near the beach. She was also younger than expected—he’d guess her to be in her mid-thirties. Prettier, too. Her dirty blond hair was pulled half up, and the breeze toyed with the long curls that hung around her shoulders.
A smile tipped her lips as her attention drifted toward the horizon, her features calm for the first time since she’d climbed aboard. Was that a spark of adventure in her eyes? The same one he felt before sailing into the deep blue?
Slowly, she looked back at him, and Josh lost track of whatever he’d been saying.
“Is that it for the safety talk, then?” she asked, already lifting the planner in her hands—to check the item off her schedule, no doubt.
Part of him wanted to find something to tease her about. Maybe point out that if she’d read the safety guide he’d sent upon booking, heels weren’t recommended. At least the brown ankle boots on her feet had a smaller, chunky heel, unlike some of the stilettoes other women had worn so they could endanger their lives every time they clacked around too close to the edge.
But even in email form, the humor had been touch and go. Not to mention they had an audience, and what was he thinking? He had a job to do, and it didn’t include making jokes with one of the clients.
“Not quite. One thing everyone should be aware of,” Josh said, drawling his words, “is that the ocean and the wind don’t care about schedules. No two trips are ever alike, regardless of how