Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Nat patted my leg and moved back toward the door. “I’ll tell them ten minutes, okay? Jin is already loading the equipment and tanks.”
As soon as I heard the click of the stateroom door, I crawled up Worth’s body until we were nose to nose. “Come with me.”
He ran his hands through my hair again. “Can’t.”
“Won’t,” I corrected.
Worth’s hands moved down to my shoulders and then my back. I never wanted his touch to end.
“Tell you what,” he said with an indulgent smile. “If you go teach those two how to manage themselves underwater, I’ll let you be in charge of the entertainment after dinner tonight.”
My eyes widened in surprise as I imagined the two of us naked and sweaty in this bed.
“Not that,” he said with a laugh, pushing me off him. “I meant games or whatever. Liar’s Dice like you mentioned before.”
“Fine. But I’m only going because I need to swim off that lunch so I can gorge myself again at dinner.” I moved to the closet to find a pair of dry swim trunks. I selected the navy boy shorts and shimmied my clothes off before slipping them on.
Worth made a strangled noise behind me. “You… you can use the bathroom if you want.”
I turned around right as I pulled the suit up so he was only left with a tease. “Oh I will. Thanks,” I said before sauntering over to the bathroom.
Once I closed the door, I let out a breath. This was a problem. I really and truly wanted him. And it wasn’t just physical. He was turning out to be a little bit more kind and attentive than I’d originally given him credit for. And generous.
Because I was a nosy asshole, I’d discovered that the legal documents he was referring to comprised an agreement concerning his father’s company, Jacoy Agribusiness Corporation. I was no attorney, but a quick glance at the cover sheet seemed to say the purpose of the agreement was to transfer ownership of JAC from Worth to Lucas and Natalia. It wasn’t like I’d gone searching through his stuff, but he’d left the folder open on the desk when he’d gone up to lunch.
He was handing over their father’s business to Lucas and Natalia completely.
That kind of generosity reminded me so much of my own brothers, it made my eyes sting and my heart thump with a strange kind of homesickness. I’d picked up a few pieces of Worth’s family history here and there, mostly at dinner last night, to learn that Worth’s mother hadn’t been Worthington Sr.’s first wife, but she’d been the first to have his child. When Worth was only nine, she’d left her husband and son to follow another man to California. It sounded like Worth didn’t keep in contact with his mother, and I wondered how much it bothered him.
The twins were born to wife number four, an eighteen-year-old cocktail waitress Worth’s father had met on a business trip to Kansas City. He was the king of prenuptial agreements, but for some reason, he’d died leaving half the business to his young wife, Lucas and Nat’s mother. Both Lucas and Nat had expressed horror and regret at “what she did” to Worth after his father’s passing, and I guessed it had something to do with her meddling in JAC affairs at the same time Mason was doing the same.
So to see Worth handing over a business he’d worked so hard to protect was not only surprising but impressive. If I was interpreting the situation correctly, it meant he wasn’t the bucket full of rich-guy stereotypes I’d pegged him with on first glance.
I sighed and finished up in the bathroom before making my way back out to the stateroom. The last thing I needed to do was get lovesick over a man who would never want someone like me, a dead-broke charter captain without a boat, a plan, or a future.
“You all set?” Worth asked from his spot back at the desk.
“Yep. I’ll see you back here in a bit. Good luck with the family meeting.”
I left and made my way aft to where Jin and the ladies were waiting. Once checking my own equipment and the ladies’ equipment to make sure we had everything we needed, I untied the lines and tossed them to Freya, who gave us a big push with her foot.
“Happy diving,” she called with a wave. “Julo will have punch and appetizers ready when you get back.”
We found a mooring ball at the Aquarium and tied up. Before putting on our gear, I sat Mia and Jade down to go over several things.
“One of the most important things to remember is not to panic and not to go up in the water too quickly,” I reminded them. All of this had been covered in the online class they’d taken, but I needed to make sure they realized the importance of staying calm. “We’re not going too deep here, and since it’s your first time down, you won’t have much to worry about in terms of nitrogen buildup in your blood. However, Jin and I do since we’ve already been on two deeper dives today. That means that if you go up too quickly, Jin and I can’t go with you or help you. So it’s really important to stay close to us and never ascend quicker than your bubbles, okay?”