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“No,” she concedes. “You haven’t.”
We fall asleep like that, wrapped around each other, the ship’s gentle motion rocking us to sleep. My last thought before drifting off is that Alex is wrong—this doesn’t feel like atemporary cruise romance. It feels like something that could survive in the real world, if we’re brave enough to try.
My dream of Harper is interrupted by a sharp, persistent buzzing. I reach for my phone, groggy and disoriented.
“Cole,” I answer without checking the screen.
“Mr. Cole, this is Captain Reyes.” The voice is tense, professional. “I’m afraid we have a situation that requires your immediate attention.”
I sit up, alert. Beside me, Harper stirs, blinking sleepily.
“What’s happened?”
“There’s been an incident with the waste management system. One of the gray water tanks has ruptured. We’ve contained it within the ship, but there’s damage.”
“Any injuries?”
“No, sir. But Environmental Officer Chen believes this may explain the discrepancies Dr. Bennett identified yesterday. The system has been leaking for some time.”
Harper is awake now, watching me with concern. “What is it?” she whispers.
I cover the phone. “Problems with the waste system. A tank ruptured.”
Her eyes widen in understanding. “That would explain the discrepancies. Or someone trying to cover them up.”
I nod, then return to the call. “I’ll be right there. Alert the environmental clean-up team and begin a damage report.”
After hanging up, I turn to Harper. “Looks like our 6 AM inspection just got moved up. A gray water tank has ruptured. Chen thinks it’s related to what you found yesterday.”
She’s already out of bed, gathering her clothes. “This could explain the volume discrepancies. If the system was leaking rather than discharging externally... Or they didn’t want us to find anything at six when we got there.”
“We’ve had a containment problem, not a pollution issue.” I pull on pants and a fresh shirt. “Either way, it needs to be fixed.”
We dress, all romance gone. As we head for the door, Harper pauses.
“Ethan, if this confirms internal leakage rather than external discharge...”
“Then your write up should reflect that,” I finish for her. “Whatever the facts show, Harper. That’s all I ask.”
She nods, determination settling over her features. “Let’s go see what we’re dealing with.”
Chapter Nine
HARPER
DAMAGE CONTROL
“The rupture affected two of our five gray water tanks,” Environmental Officer Chen explains, pointing to a diagram of the ship’s waste management system. “Internal sensors show the leak began three weeks ago, small enough to avoid detection but significant enough to cause the volume discrepancies you noticed, Dr. Bennett.”
We’re standing in the cramped maintenance corridor of Deck 1, the smell of disinfectant and something less pleasant filling the air. I’m still wearing yesterday’s clothes, my hair pulled back, aware of Ethan’s presence beside me. Just an hour ago, we were tangled in his sheets. Now we’re inspecting ruptured waste tanks. Talk about mood whiplash.
“So, the ‘missing’ waste wasn’t being discharged into the ocean,” I clarify. “It was leaking into the internal containment area.”
“Correct,” Chen nods. “Our containment systems prevented environmental contamination, but the internal damage is significant.”
I glance at Ethan, whose expression remains calm. He’s asking the right questions, demonstrating genuine concern about both the environmental implications and passenger safety. It’s another glimpse of the competent, principled man behind the corporate façade—the man I’ve spent the last two nights discovering in other ways.
“Estimated repair time?” Ethan asks.