Page 41 of Too Far

She straightens, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt.

“I’ll go with you, then,” she declares. “To take note of any conversations we may need to recreate for the feature.”

Kylian, sights set on Misty, sets down his fork. Then his knife.

“If you even consider stepping onto that vessel, I will wait until we’re in the middle of the lake and throw you overboard.”

Locke slaps the table, and Kendrick has to bring a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. Kylian just stares at Misty, deadpan.

For her part, she doesn’t react. Must be all that PR training. Instead, she crouches lower, bringing her face level with Decker’s.

Before her lips even part, he dismisses her with a wave of his hand.

“We’re taking the pontoon out after dinner. Just the five of us.”

Chapter 16

Josephine

“Whydoesitfeellike we’re in trouble?” I cup my hand to my mouth and fake whisper, wiggling on the smooth leather bench between Kendrick and Locke.

“Seriously. He’s giving ‘I’m not mad, just disappointed,’” Locke quips. He catches one of my belt loops and pulls me closer.

“It feels like we’ve been naughty, and now dad’s mad,” Kendrick adds in a low simper.

Across from us, Kylian’s head snaps up. “Don’t call him that.”

I snort.

Kendrick chuckles, his deep timbre vibrating through the seat we’re sharing as he slides one hand along my low back. Once he’s got a handful of me, he pulls me toward him, reversing the direction Nicky was just moving me in.

“Hey,” Locke grumbles, reaching around me to shove Kendrick in the shoulder.

Kendrick cocks a brow. “Bro. Chill. I haven’t seen her all day.”

Not interested in their ridiculous need to piss on me, I rise to my feet, find my footing, and shuffle to Kylian’s bench.

“Josephine,” Decker grumbles from the helm, no doubt chastising me of standing when the boat is moving.

With a huff, I roll my eyes at the overprotective ass and settle beside Kylian. “I’m good now.”

“Hi, baby,” Kylian murmurs. His attention is still glued to his phone, but he loops one arm under my knees and pulls my legs across his lap, arranging me the way he wants me. “Okay?” he asks, finally peering up to make sure I’m comfortable.

Humming, I rest my head on his shoulder. “What’s this about?” I whisper after a few breaths.

He looks up from his phone and regards Decker before he turns back to look at me. “No idea. He didn’t mention anything to me.”

Decker doesn’t keep us in suspense long.

He eases off the throttle, and in moments, the pontoon is stopped in the middle of the lake. From here, the lights from the isle and the dock lights from the marina on the other side seem to be equal distances from us. Out here, we should be far enough from land to avoid scrutiny, even if a rogue cameraperson with a telescopic lens got any bright ideas.

When the anchor’s been set, he turns. “Typically, I would have brought this up at dinner.” He regards us all, holding court at the helm instead of joining us on the benches. “But given the audience and the timeliness of the issue, I thought it best to bring you all out here and address it, man to man.”

It takes every ounce of willpower I possess to not hop to my feet and remind Decker that I am, in fact, a girl.

Kylian, probably sensing my frenetic energy, slides one hand up my thigh and squeezes in warning. I press my lips together, schooling my expression, and keep my focus from wandering to Nicky or K, because I know without looking that they’re fighting back smirks.

“You all hurt Josephine last week.”