Chapter 12
When they arrived at the pier, the young man in his truck was already waiting for them. Between the five of them they quickly unloaded the shopping bags and River paid the driver.
River disappeared with Willem to buy whatever things they needed at the hardware store leaving Pippa alone with Maria to store the groceries.
Maria’s warm-hearted nature reminded Pippa of her nanny and a nostalgic longing entered her heart. Back then, before her mother’s death, she’d been a happy girl.
“How long have you worked for River?” Pippa asked the older woman.
“Oh, three or four years. Whenever he’s in this part of the Caribbean. My Willem and I, we like working for Mr. River. He’s such a good man.” Maria started listing all of River’s qualities and Pippa couldn’t help but laugh when Maria ended with, “He just needs to find himself a good woman. Being alone is not good for a young man like him.”
I’m sure he’s rarely alone.
Maria seemed to have read her mind, because she tsked and continued her monologue, “Mr. River needs to settle down and find himself a woman he loves.”
“So, you cook for everyone?” Pippa asked to change the topic. Thinking about River settling down with some random woman made her stomach flip.
“Yes, I love cooking and the work on the boat is not hard. My Willem, he had to retire from his work because of his beat-up knees and we’re very thankful to have this extra income.”
“I’m sorry,” Pippa said. She could only speculate about the pension system on Curacao, but it probably wasn’t very well-developed.
“Have you worked for Mr. River in America?” Maria turned around to ask.
“No, today’s my first day.”
“So you must love the ocean and diving, like he does,” Maria suggested and all Pippa could do was give a faint nod and stop herself from rushing off.
“Mr. River is the best diving instructor around,” Maria said, beaming with pride as if the man were her own flesh and blood instead of just her employer.
“I heard that.”
Neither of them had noticed River’s return. Pippa glanced at his always-messy hair and her heart started thumping too fast while her fingers itched to push the strands from his forehead. She quickly busied herself organizing the cans of tuna fish.
Maria prepared a quick dinner for them and River presented the plans for the week.
“Tomorrow morning eight guests will arrive and we’ll leave the Marina around noon. I thought we’d do our first dive at the Mushroom Forest to get a feeling for each diver’s experience. Except for tomorrow, I’m planning two dives a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Depending on the weather forecast we’ll rotate between Curacao and Bonaire. When we’re here, you and Maria,” River nodded at Willem, “can sleep at home.”
Pippa listened, trying to distance herself from the talk of diving. That worked amazingly well, until River mentioned the night dive he planned to undertake with the more experienced divers. A drop of bile crept up her throat, and she suddenly felt drained.
“Excuse me,” she murmured to the group, making her way down the hallway and into her private bathroom. She fought the nausea, but cold sweat broke out on her forehead and she had to lean against the sink as she splashed cold water on her face.
This job has got to be the biggest mistake of my life, second only to marrying Daniel Larue. If I can’t handle them even talking about a night dive, how am I going to handle when they actually do it?
She took another moment to get her emotions under control and rejoined the group just as Maria and Willem were saying goodbye.
“We’ll be back early tomorrow, before the first guests arrive,” Willem said, shaking River’s hand and then escorting his wife to the main deck.
The moment Pippa was alone with River in the salon, the sexual tension swirling around them thickened and became almost unbearable. Almost. Determined to keep him at arm’s length, she put on a false smile. “What needs to be done before your guests arrive tomorrow?”
“Not much. Checking the cabins and making sure they all have clean linens, towels and such. Want to help?”
“Sure,” Pippa answered, relieved to have something to do. It was still way too early to go to bed and she dreaded being alone in her cabin even more than she dreaded succumbing to the crackling electricity running between the two of them.
Every time he passed by her in the narrow hallway, her pulse ratcheted up another notch or two, until she wasn’t sure she could resist falling into his arms for one more second. It was best to cut this short. She made a show of yawning.
“Sorry. I must be more tired than I thought. Would you mind if I went to bed?” she asked, one foot already headed toward the door.
“No, go ahead.”
Pippa retired to her cabin and took a deep breath. The urge to jump straight into River’s arms was so strong, so overwhelming, she had no idea how she’d resist doing it over the next week.
She readied herself for bed and lay down with the lights off, fully expecting to fall asleep, but nothing. Her brain ran in circles. Not even reading a boring ebook called How to Organize Tiny Spaces helped. After a few hours, she gave up and wandered upstairs to the sundeck. She lay back against a lounge chair, staring up at a blanket of twinkling stars.
Being on the boat and hearing talk about diving had left a sadness in her soul that didn’t want to leave. Before her mother’s death, life had been so good and she’d been so happy.
Her father had never been at home much, but after her mother’s death he’d completely thrown himself into work and Pippa had realized just how lonely that huge house could get, despite the many servants working there.
When she’d met Daniel, he’d been the missing piece she’d been searching for. He’d pretended to give her everything she wanted. Love. Friendship. Family. A sense of belonging.
But it had all been a ruse to gain access to her father’s fortune and her social position. Her heart hurt because she now knew she’d been nothing more than a toy for him to conquer. The moment she’d accepted his proposal, he’d lost interest and had been on to someone else even during their honeymoon.
“He used me,” she whispered into the darkness. And she’d allowed herself to be used for way too long, choosing to shut her eyes to his indiscretions, rather than stand up for herself. That had all ended though. It had taken her some time, but she’d finally found the courage to tell him she wanted a divorce. It had been a longtime coming.
She gazed up at the stars, giving way to her emotions for a fraction of a second. That part of her life was over and she was moving on. She had found the courage to get rid of Daniel. Next, she would find the courage to conquer her biggest fear and then get on with her life.