Page 66 of An Espresso Machine’s Guide to Love & Mischief

“Not when you’re drunk.”

“I’ve done it while drunk, too. I don’t mean, it, it. Though I’ve done that drunk. But I’ve also piloted my yacht when I was tipsy. Not the day I died, either. I was drunk, then—but I was passed out when it happened, not piloting.

“Point is, I’m not drunk now. I’m uncoordinated. You try getting someone else’s body to do what you want.”

You don’t see any of the other body hoppers having any issues, McKay says. But they’ve never tried to control me. I have a strong mind.

I look back toward the yacht club and my stomach clenches. I can just make out the shadows of people inside the building rushing toward the door and spilling onto the lawn.

“I’m sure you can handle it, but maybe you should let me take this one,” Asgard says. “Not that I know how to pilot a yacht, but how hard can it be? Can’t be that different from driving a car or flying an airplane.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ve done all three of those things, and it is different.” Even though my hands feel too small and too shaky, I take the controls and power up the yacht. “Besides, I once sailed around the world in a yacht just like this… well, mostly around the world. Okay, like thirty percent around the world. But why would I leave Hawaii after I found a wonderful poke place?

“I’m not going to go deep-sea fishing and make my own poke on a yacht. Though I do know how to catch fish from that time I dated a fisherman who supplied sushi restaurants in Japan. That was a miserable thirty-five minutes I’ll never get back. Learning to catch fish, not dating him. He was kind of hot.”

Asgard growls at me. “I don’t need to hear about your exes right now… or ever.”

“Jealous?” I say with a grin, but it falls as I watch a half dozen strangers run onto the dock. I wonder if Janet and Trevor are among them in different bodies.

“We need to get out of here, five minutes ago,” Asgard says.

I hesitate. Should I pilot a yacht when I can’t even pilot my body? Or should I let a guy who’s never done it before try it when we might all be about to die? I’m no longer in the espresso machine, so the choice is obvious.

“Step aside, Hot Stuff. I got this.” I can do this despite the oddly short fingers and shoulders that are sloped all wrong. I have muscle memory—even if these aren’t actually my muscles—so if I just don’t think about it, I’ll pilot the yacht like the expert I am.

I ease the wheel to the side to motor away from the dock, but my arm jerks in the opposite direction. Shit!

The yacht shudders as it hits the dock with a groan like my dad any time he picked up the phone and realized it was me. I guess these muscles don’t have any of my memories after all.

I can’t drive this thing, Asgard’s never piloted a boat before, and the body hoppers are closing in fast. We’re so fucked.

Chapter 31

Diva

I glance at Asgard. If he tries to take over at the helm, he’ll probably crash the yacht. “I got this,” I tell him as I turn the wheel more slowly this time and gently push the throttle. “It’s just been a while since I piloted—or had arms.”

“How did you end up in that body? And the espresso machine?” he asks as the yacht eases away from the dock.

“Long story,” I tell him. I kind of don’t feel like sharing with McKay listening. Plus, I’m not even sure he actually wants to know, or if he’s just trying to keep me calm by keeping me talking. I’d rather just focus on the task at hand.

Behind me, shouts echo as the body hoppers race toward us. They sound like they’re close now, but I can’t risk turning to look in case it makes McKay’s body do anything weird.

I keep my eyes forward and my focus on what I’m doing, and my damn biceps twitch. Again. Now we’re fucking going toward another moored yacht.

I yank back on the throttle to slow us down. “Fuck!”

“Here,” Asgard says.

“I know what I’m doing!” I snap.

“I know you do,” he says.

I blink in surprise as he reaches around me and places his large warm hands on top of mine.

“You just need to steady your hands,” he says gently as I lean back against his broad chest.

Stop getting turned on, McKay snaps.