Chapter Eight
Essie was laying out the dough for her puff pastries when Quincy came in with Ross’s discarded tray. “Well, it would seem your first lunch was a hit, Ms. Bradford.”
Essie grinned. “That’s good to hear, and please call me Essie.”
Quincy reached over and nabbed a strawberry from her bowl. “And you can call me Quince. So, what brings you here to sail away with our little crew?” Quincy made an exaggerated fanning motion. “You know, besides the fact that our fearless leader is the hottest eligible bachelor on the planet?”
Essie’s head shot up from her work. “That is definitely not the reason I’m here. I’m here to cook, and that’s about it. Just doing a favor for a friend.”
“Oh, my dear. You must have some really good friends. I need to hang with a better class of people,” Quincy said with a laugh.
Essie laughed along with him as Ethan, the bosun, came in, followed by Jayce, the deckhand, who lifted his T-shirt to wipe at his sweaty brow, despite the chill of the sea air outside. Essie averted her gaze, but not before checking out his rippled abs. She bit back a giggle as she fought down a blush.
“Oh, darling, you have a lot to learn about us guys at sea. We are one big happy family on this boat,” Quincy teased, catching her look.
Cooper came over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. His crystal blue eyes sparkled with sweet charm. “That’s right, E.”
She grinned, already liking her new nickname.
“We all get along like peas in a pod here. All for one, and one for all. Those are the rules.” He dipped his pointer finger into her bowl of chocolate and took a long lick. “This is delicious!” He looked at his mates. “Guys, this woman’s food is as sweet as she looks. We’ve got a winner here.”
Essie gave him a smile along with a playful shove. “Watch those hands, Cooper. And definitely no double dipping.”
“All right, boys, that’s enough,” came Ross’s deep voice, stopping all conversation like a scratched record. “No dipping your fingers into my bowl without permission.” At the double entendre no one knew whether to laugh or not, so it was Essie who broke the tension, refusing to let Ross once again come into the kitchen and ruin what she was trying to build.
“You’d better be talking about these stainless-steel bowls, because if not, you’ll be meeting the hard end of one of my frying pans.”
Ross stepped down from the stairs and fully into the galley. Everyone was silent as Ross and Essie stared at each other. He raked his eyes from her eyes to her lips, down to her breasts and on to her hands, back up to her lips, then her eyes again. Each point he hit seemed to flame along his route. “Now, what else could I possibly be referring to?” he finally growled out before walking over to the fridge and pulling out a beer, twisting the cap and taking a pull.
“Sir, I could have brought that to you,” Quincy spoke up.
He gave Quincy an exasperated look. “I’m not helpless, Quince. But what you can do for me is prepare the small dining room.” He then looked at Essie again. “If you wouldn’t mind joining me there for dinner, Ms. Bradford?”
Oh, boy, so bowls licked and they were back to that. Essie gave him a cool smile. “Sure, Mr. Montgomery. I’ll see you at eight.”
The smile she got in return before he walked off could have frozen the water they sailed on, but she ignored it and continued her work. She wouldn’t let him get to her. No way was he ruining her mood or her food.
Essie finished her work, filled her pastries, and then handed Cooper the spoon.
He laughed at that. “Oh, E, you are a tough one.”
“Of course I’m not. You said it yourself. I’m as sweet as my chocolate, and don’t let anybody tell you different.”