Billionaire At Sea

22

Mia

It was just turning five when the servers helped us put out the last of the appetizers in the dining room. There were two tables filled with everything from artichoke dip to bacon wrapped scallops. We’d also included the two flatbread pizzas – one a BBQ chicken and the other a pineapple and Canadian bacon recipe we’d never tried before. Fortunately, it turned out great.

“Wow, this looks amazing,” said Marshall, who’d stopped in to see how we were doing. He’d changed out of his uniform and was now wearing Bermuda shorts and a dressy black and crème colored Tommy Bahama shirt. “What’s in the sliders?”

“Portabella mushrooms and sirloin steak with horseradish and provolone cheese,” said Ridley.

“How in the hell is it that you two aren’t married?” asked Marshall. “Not only are you both beautiful but you can create these fabulous meals?”

“Maybe we just haven’t found men that are worthy of our talents,” Ridley replied in a faux haughty voice. “And I don’t know about Mia, but I have some hidden ones that some men just can’t handle.”

“Really?” he asked, looking intrigued. “Are we talking about what I think we’re talking about?”

“I don’t know? What are you talking about?” she asked, her eyes full of mischief.

“I’d better keep my mouth shut so I don’t get sued for s****l harassment,” he said, smiling slowly.

Ridley opened her mouth to say something, but then changed her mind. I could tell by her expression that she liked the way he was flirting with her but was struggling with inner emotions.

“Could you let everyone know that the food is ready?” I said to Marshall.

“Of course,” he replied. “Everyone is on board now and I’m sure they’re hungry.”

“Good. We have some extra platters of food in the galley, too,” I said.

“Great. I bet you two are exhausted from working in the kitchen all day. I’m sure the servers can handle replenishing anything that runs out. Why don’t you go and take a break?” he suggested.

“I think we will,” I said, knowing that in another couple of hours, we’d be back in the galley preparing dinner.

“Thanks, Marshall,” said Ridley. “Just let us know if anything tastes horrible.”

“Will do, but I highly doubt anyone will find fault with what you’ve made. If they do, I’ll knock them on their asses myself,” he replied.

She grinned. “As much as I’d like to see that, I hope it doesn’t come down to it.”

“Anything to protect the honor of our two lovely chefs,” he said before leaving. “Just think of me as your own personal bodyguard. Anyone does anything offensive, you let me know.”

“Will do,” said Ridley.

When he was gone, she looked at me. “He’s kind of a ham but even I have to admit, he grows on people.”

I laughed.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” she said, wiping her forehead. “Before someone sees me looking like a sweaty pig.”

I felt the same way. Although, the galley had air-conditioning, the ovens had been on all day, making it warmer than we’d liked. “Good idea. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Me, too,” she said as we stepped out of the dining room.

“Oh, crap,” she whispered, as Damian, Marshall, and Ransom approached, followed by a group of men. They were all holding beers and talking amongst themselves.

“And so it begins,” I said under my breath, remembering again that we were catering a three-day bachelor party.

“Talk about a hot looking group of men,” she murmured quickly.

Ridley had a point. Most of them were pretty handsome. For me, Damian still stood out the most, though. Especially, when our eyes met and he gave me one of his dazzling smiles.

“And here they are,” said Damian as they approached.” My new best kept secrets.”

A couple of the guys laughed wickedly.

“Pull your heads out of the gutter,” said Ransom, smirking back at his friends. “These women are gourmet chefs. They deserve the utmost respect and you’ll soon find out why when you taste their cooking.”

Pasting a smile to my face, I greeted them warmly, as did Ridley.

“Are you joining us?” asked one of the guys, staring at Ridley with interest. He had a was tall, with long, blonde hair tied back into a ponytail.

She laughed nervously. “Uh, no. We’re going to take a break and then head back to the kitchen to prepare dinner.”

He held out his hand. “I look forward to trying your food. My name is Simon,” he said, his accent British.

She shook it. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Simon brought her hand to his lips and kissed Ridley’s knuckles. “And very nice to meet you.”

Ridley blushed.

Most of the others walked around us and into the dining room, including Damian. Not Marshall, however. He stayed back and I could tell that he wasn’t thrilled with the way that Simon was flirting with Ridley.

“Okay, Romeo. Don’t go making things awkward between us and the chefs,” said Ransom, also still standing with us and looking amused.

Simon let her hand go. “Are you feeling awkward?”

“No. Not at all,” she said, staring at him with a dreamy expression.

He grinned. “See? No harm done,” Simon said to Ransom.

“Not yet, anyway,” he replied and then looked at Ridley. “Watch out for this guy. When he’s not playing the drums, he doesn’t know how to control his hands.”

It was then that I recognized Simon. He was the drummer for Ransom’s band.

“On the contrary. I’m very good with my hands,” said Simon, smiling wickedly. “That’s what they tell me, at least.”

“The food is going to go quickly, so if you’re hungry, I’d grab a plate,” said Marshall. “These two spent all day cooking and you don’t want to miss out on the goodies they’ve created.”

“Ah… the goodies,” said Simon, smiling at Ridley again. “I’d definitely hate to miss out on your goodies.”

Her cheeks turned bright red.

Ransom patted him on the back. “Okay, now it’s getting awkward, even for me,” he joked. “Let’s go eat.”

Simon chuckled. “Fine. Nice meeting the two of you. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.”

“I’m sure,” said Ridley.

“See you,” I said as Ransom pulled him away.

“Sorry about him,” said Marshall in a low voice. “He wasn’t feeling good when he arrived.”

“Really?” said Ridley. “I wouldn’t have known.”

“Ransom already warned us about Simon. He’s a horny bastard and will probably continue to flirt with you every chance he gets. So, you should probably just try to stay out of his path,” said Marshall.

“There’s nothing wrong with a little innocent flirting,” she replied. “And, I’m a grown woman. I can handle it.”

“Fine,” he said tightly. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I do appreciate your concern,” she said.

He gave her a curt nod and then walked into the dining room.

“Man, what’s wrong with him?” she said, as we turned and headed back toward our cabins.

I snorted. “Really? You seriously don’t know?”

“What? Are you saying that he’s jealous?”

“Of course. Marshall has the hots for you. You should have seen his face when Simon was flirting with you.”

“Really?” she said. “He was angry?”

“Yeah. I’d say.”

“Well… that’s his problem. He’s not my boyfriend and I’m tired of jealous men trying to interfere with my life. So what if Simon flirts with me? It’s all in fun anyway.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re star-struck,” I said. “Don’t even deny it.”

She didn’t reply.

“If you want my opinion, I think Marshall beats Simon in looks, hands down,” I said.

“They’re both cute. But, again, I’m not here to hook-up with anyone. If either of them wants to flirt with me, I’m fine with that. Hell, if any of the others want to, besides Damian, of course, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

I agreed.

“Speaking of s*x,” she said, lowering her voice. “How is it with Damian? Are billionaires different?”

I smiled but didn’t say anything.

“Come on,” she pouted. “Tell me something. Is it true about the size of a man’s feet in relation to… his… you know?”

“I’m only going to say that he is bigger and better than John. In every way.”

She grinned.

“Are you happy now?” I asked, smiling back at her in amusement.

“Very. Simon’s hands were huge. Did you notice that?”

I rolled my eyes. “So is his ego, I’m sure.”

“So is something else, I’m sure.”

“But, you’re never going to know, right?” I said dryly. “You’ve made it abundantly clear that you’re not hooking up with anyone.”

Ridley bit her lower lip. “It would be a once-in-a-lifetime shot.”

I stared at her in shock. She’d just talked about not having s*x and now she was doing a one-eighty on me. “What are you now? A rock star groupie?”

“No. I’m a free woman. Free to have s*x with anyone I want to.”

“I thought you were a woman with a broken heart?” I said, staring at her in disbelief. “And not interested in hooking up right now?”

“Maybe I didn’t love Adam as much as I thought I did,” she said softly.

“Maybe you’re just not thinking straight because Simon is a celebrity,” I said as we approached our rooms.

Sighing, Ridley unlocked her door and then turned around. “I know you’re worried about me. But, don’t be.”

“I can’t help it. You’re my best friend.”

“Look, If I end up in bed with Simon, or hell… even Marshall, it won’t mean anything other than a fond memory that I’ll have for the rest of my life.”

“Or a disease,” I murmured, thinking about Simon and how many women he’d probably screwed.

She snorted. “Like you were concerned about that when Damian stole you away from the kitchen for a few minutes. I doubt he was carrying around a condom when he went in for the kill.”

I thought back and my eyes widened. The truth was, he’d screwed me in the heat of the moment and I didn’t even know whether or not there’d been protection. I had to believe that a billionaire would be smart enough to try and keep a woman he barely knew from having his baby.

“I’d trust Damian’s naked p***s before I’d trust Simon’s,” I whispered.

“Stop it. All of this talk about p***s isn’t helping this conversation. It’s only making me think more of it,” she pouted. “Along with big hands and feet.”

Shaking my head, I walked into my cabin.