[Day 2: Dec. 21, The Ophelia Cruise Ship]
Dave Carter
The sharp sound of fabric ripping sliced through the air like a siren. I barely registered the startled gasps from the audience before my body moved on instinct.
My hand slipped from Octavia’s wrist, and before I could think it through, my arm was around Ava’s torso, holding the precariously sliding dress in place.
I didn’t care for the woman—hell, I had every reason to let her humiliation play out—but public scandal wasn’t my style. And despite everything, I didn’t want to see her reduced to a laughingstock.
Nathan swiveled around, his smug grin morphing into shock when he noticed the stares directed behind him. His eyes darted between me, Ava, and the mortified expressions of the crowd.
The flash of realization hit him like a w
