Page 17 of The Admiral's Daughter

Holding both hands up in defeat, I laugh. “And that’s me out of the convo. Take care of yourself, love. We’ll visit when the little one arrives.”

“Yeah, I’m going too, sis. I’ll call tomorrow.”

Boot and Cheddar call their goodbyes. Kit slips the laptop under her bunk and then looks at me, waiting.

“What?”

“Come on. Give us the gossip.”

With my uniform finally off, I start the task of hanging it up so it doesn’t crease. “Really, there’s nothing to tell. Oh, we are getting another night shore leave, so I can make good on paying for a night out.”

Cheddar whoops and Kit claps.

“Great. I need the touch of a woman before we set sail,” Cheddar announces.

Boot finishes her workout and grabs her wash kit. “Honestly, me too. It’s been a while.”

Boot is a little shyer than the rest of us when it comes to picking up women at bars. I’m glad she’ll be letting loose.

Kit rolls her neck. “I’ll see what happens. I’m more interested in rinsing Romeo of her cash.”

I chuckle. “You’ll get no argument from me. I owe you all.”

Cheddar bounces up from her bed. “Great. So tomorrow we’re out on the lash, yeah?”

My back hits my mattress with a thunk. My body and brain are tired. Ideally I should stay on board tomorrow and out of trouble. But then those two words resurface, and I know I have to prove I’m more thanfineandnice.

Fuck it. Tomorrow I’m finding someone who knows the difference between nice and mind-blowing.

6

Cleo

Oh, I slept sowell last night. Amazing what a full eight hours can do. I’m quite pumped to start interviewing people. Maybe it will help me move past this mental block I have with the Navy as a whole.

The dining hall was quiet when I visited for breakfast. Most of the crew were up and away a lot earlier than my modest 8:30 a.m. start to the day. I spent the rest of the morning checking my equipment and outlining the direction of my story.

The timid knock at lunch time sent my heart into my throat. I don’t know why. I knew who it was, and there was no reason to react that way because River was at my door.

“Enter.”

River opened the door like she was expecting an attack. “Good morning, Cleo. Is now a good time?”

I put my pad down and invited her to sit. “Absolutely. There isn’t much to organise. I plan to interview crew members from as many job sectors as possible. I’d like a mix of ranks too.”

She stood there at ease. I wanted to tell her to make herself comfortable, but I didn’t think she would. The whole situation is and was uncomfortable.

River shifts her weight from foot to foot. Her eyes dart around the tiny cabin, landing anywhere but on me. The silence stretches.

“Have you any idea when you’d like my help?”

I look at the list of departments I plan to visit. “I’ll start with the places I know. How about you help me next week?” I wink at her and hope she realises I’m alluding to her night shifts. If I can get her out of them, then I’m happy to.

I got a genuine smile from her. “That works for me. Is there anything else?”

“No.” I turned back to my work, thinking she’d leave, but after a beat I could still feel her presence. “Was there something else?”

She rubbed the back of her head. “We’re going out tonight. Me and my bunkies. I wondered if you’d like to come with us. It’s the last night we’ll have off for a while.”