1
Stella
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” I murmured to my best friend, Pen, out of the corner of my mouth so the other girls wouldn’t hear me.
“Why not? You totally deserve it after going through one of the worst divorces of this century.” Pen said the last loudly, making all eyes turn toward me.
I rolled my eyes at her embellishment. “It was hardly the worst. Maybe coming from our little hometown of Oasis, but not by LA’s standards. Mine was but a blip on the radar compared to some of the celebrity disaster divorces that hit the magazines and blogs.”
“If you go by the water cooler talk at Brock’s office, you’re nothing but a gold-digging bitch. Do you remember all those nights you called me crying?” I could only nod as I thought back to all the talk that made its way back to me and the way I broke down into tears on the phone while Pen picked me up. “You deserve this after everything that man put you through.”
I wouldn’t deny my ex had put me through the wringer, but I wasn’t used to such splendor. My eyes grew wide the closer we got to the dock, and I saw the boat. Okay, it wasn’t exactly categorized as a boat, but a yacht. It was mammoth and nicer than anything I’d experienced in my thirty-seven years on this Earth.
“Let me pamper you,” Zelda smiled across from me. “It’s the least I can do for a friend.”
We weren’t friends. We were barely acquaintances, but I wasn’t going to fight her on it. Zelda was a friend of a friend who’d heard about my divorce from her friend Reagan, who was friends with Pen. Pen convinced me to let this woman take us on an all-expenses-paid trip to Spain, and I needed to show her how grateful I was to be whisked away from the stares and whispers of the people in our small town. Away from my ex and his pregnant fiancée.
Reaching forward, I placed my hand on hers and smiled. “Thank you, Zelda.”
“Of course, darling. Now, what do you say we get on that boat so you can start making your ex jealous.” How was I going to do that, I wondered? Zelda must have seen the confusion on my face since she answered my unspoken question. “Oh, we’re going to get our bikinis on, take pictures, and post them on Instagram. Show your ex what he gave up.”
Posting pictures of myself in a bikini for the world to see wasn’t something I was comfortable with, but if I could stick it to Brock, it might be worth it.
The limo stopped in front of a row of people standing in front of the yacht that looked like it was bigger than my house.
“OMG, Z, this is going to be an epic trip,” Reagan squealed loud enough to make my ears ring.
I went to roll my eyes for Pen to see and commiserate with, but as I looked around, everyone had happy smiles on their faces as they took in our new home for the next five days. Even though it was over the top, I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s fun with my foul mood. Brock could ruin my day even from thousands of miles away.
Ever since I found out my husband, now ex-husband, had not only cheated on me but had gotten the trollop who worked at his office pregnant, I’d been in a perpetual bad mood, which was something I wanted to change on this trip.
Brock and his floozy were no longer in my life. Thank God, I hadn’t had any children with him; then I’d have had to fight with him for the next eighteen years. Nope, instead, I got a huge payout since we didn’t have a prenup, and we had exactly twelve cents collectively to our names when we got married. Normally I wasn’t a vindictive person, but I’d worked two jobs so we could get by while Brock went to medical school. My payout was just the interest I charged for all of those years of hard work. If it wasn’t for me, Brock never would have been able to pay for medical school.
Now was my time to have fun and live free. And maybe decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
Stretching my legs out of the limo and dipping my head out into the sunshine, I was immediately hit with salty air and took a deep breath in. Instantly I relaxed. Pen was right to force me on this trip. Spain was the perfect place to start over.
The girls were already in a line meeting the crew, and Zelda was eating up the way they fawned over her. Now I knew why she liked to go on these trips as often as she did. This was the life.
With each new crew member I met, I wondered how they kept getting better and better looking. Just when I thought one of the girls was the prettiest little thing I’d ever seen, up popped the next one to show off her dazzling smile and beach waves that hung down her back, who was even more beautiful than the last.
Damn, was being gorgeous a requirement for working on a yacht? I was sure it didn’t hurt.
I stopped dead in my tracks when the hand of the stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome times a million was in front of me. When his large, calloused hand engulfed mine, I nearly swooned and turned into a puddle of drool right at his feet.
Pen pushed me on to the next person. Probably so she could have his hands on her. Maybe I should call dibs on Mr. Sexy. It was probably frowned upon to sleep with the guests, but damn would I be happy to break a few rules with him.
It was probably my hormones talking or my vagina since it had been way too long since any male had been close to seeing my lady bits. Shit, I knew I should have gotten that Brazilian when I had the chance, but I never thought I’d be around a guy I’d drop my bottoms for while I was on the boat.
I moved forward and shook the Captain’s hand, and stood off to the side as I waited for my best friend to finish up. Once she was through, Pen skipped over to me with hearts in her eyes and a grin that screamed man-eater. “That boy is so fucking hot,” she whisper-yelled.
Boy was the key term. He had to be at least ten years younger than the two of us. His clean-shaven face didn’t help his boyish charm. Fuck, was I a cougar now? Normally I didn’t have these thoughts, but I was married before, and now I was free to think whatever and ogle whoever I wanted.
“I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a little better down below if you know what I mean.” I waggled my eyebrows, causing Pen to throw her head back and laugh.
“Girl, you should go for it. You totally deserve it. Maybe sneak a pic and post it on social media so Brock can see what he’s missing.” Pen laughed through her words, thinking she was hilarious.
There was no way in hell I was posting myself in bed with anyone, even if it would make Brock jealous. I’d make him see what he’d let go by living my best life.
“If you’ll take off your shoes and follow me, I’ll show you around the boat, and you can pick your rooms,” the crazy gorgeous blonde stewardess, Ophelia, said with a fake smile plastered on her face.
“No shoes?” Reagan squeaked.
“To protect the boat, there are no shoes allowed.” Ophelia looked down at Reagan’s high-heeled feet.
Reagan’s nose scrunched up in disgust. “But I don’t want to see anyone’s nasty feet.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s the rule of the boat.” Ophelia gave a tight smile.
“What if someone has ape feet?” Reagan asked as she kicked off her heels.
“I’m not sure what ape feet are, but I can promise you the crew takes good care of their feet.”
“You should have requested they all have pedicures before we boarded,” Reagan whined to Zelda.