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“You can tell him I said that.” He was kind of proud of it, to be honest.
“I will not,” she said firmly. “What about Logan, though? He seems more easygoing. Wouldn’t he understand?”
“Logan wants everyone to believe he gives no fucks, but he givessomany fucks. He and Reid are competitive as hell, especially with each other, in a very passive-aggressive way.”
“Just them?” she asked mildly.
“Yes,” he lied, making her chuckle under her breath. The sound was husky and sensual and sent flutters down his spine.
“Do you know what I find fascinating?” Cloe cocked her head. He was captivated despite all his best intentions. “You have never sounded half this annoyed on your show. That’s part of why it’s a comfort watch for me. You’re never agitated or distressed. Like that time you woke up to find all the biting ants in your gear? I would have lost my mind and screamed all the way home, but you shook out your stuff and shrugged it off.”
“I’m not annoyed.” He was definitely annoyed. He was always annoyed by his brothers. He was pretty sure it came from being the youngest. Growing up, they had always been that little bit smarter and stronger. In some ways, it still felt that way, seeing them with their shit together, getting married to great women with their great kids already made for them. “I’m just saying how it is.”
“What do they say about you?” Cloe asked. “Do you know?”
“Do you honestly think they’d hide it from me? They say I’m spoiled. And that I think I’m better than they are.”
“Do you?” Her eyes were bright with anticipation.
“The correct question is, ‘Areyou?’ And yes. I am.”
“Better? Or spoiled?”
“Better. Isn’t it obvious?” He was smirking with self-deprecation.
She snickered. “But you’re not competitive.”
“I don’t have to be.”
“Because you know you’re better.” Her voice was dwindling into that laugh again, this time deeper and even more engaging.
“It’s nice that you get me.”
He couldn’t help his wide grin. Her laughter was infectious, maybe even addictive. He liked seeing her face lit up like that, too. She forgot all her troubles and her eyes sparkled and her teeth flashed and everything about her glowed.
The embers of admiration and hunger in the pit of his belly burned hotter.
“You want this soup or the next one?” He made himself look to the stainless steel cup.
“You have that one. I want to keep holding Miss Muffet.” She hugged Storm closer to her chest, smiling with unabashed love and that, too, was a beautiful sight to behold.
Chapter Ten
Cloe might nothave had the best start in life, but she had always been determined to get ahead. She did her homework and went the extra mile and tried very hard to never let anyone down.
So she bought herself a cheap spiral-bound notebook from the grocery store and made copious notes while Sarah walked her through her duties as a steward. She studied the map and memorized the itinerary and double-checked the groceries against the menu.
When they took Storm back to the house that evening, she borrowed Emma’s laptop to get her Food Safe certificate, then registered for the Marine Radio certification. That got her the study materials, and Johnny was an instructor so he could issue her the exam.
While she was online, she searched out the native animals they were likely to see. She wanted to know a little about them and recorded some fast facts.
She also wrote down the names of the tribes that had occupied these coastal islands since the last ice age and asked Trystan how to pronounce their names. He taught her how to sayhelloandthank youin Haí?zaqv?a, which was the Heiltsuk language.
At 7:45 a.m., she changed into her new Raven’s Cove T-shirt—she hadn’t wanted to spill coffee on it before she’d officially started working—and came on deck to greet the passengers who had slept in the lodge last night.
“Hí?aú.” Trystan greeted the half-dozen people gathered on the wharf near the steps he set down from theStorm Ridge. He spoke briefly in Haí?zaqv?a, which was a language full of throaty sounds peppered with round, musical notes and soft hisses.
“I said, Hello, I’m Trystan Fraser, captain of theStorm Ridge,” he translated. “I’m looking forward to showing you some of the unique and beautiful places within the Heiltsuk territory. Please remember this is not a playground. It’s the home of everyone and everything that lives here. Keep your heart and mind and eyes open. Take only photos. This is my steward, Cloe. She’ll give you your cabin number and we’ll help you stow your luggage before we cross to Wág?ís?a to collect the rest of our passengers.”
