She made a detour to the bathroom to brush her teeth. He was still seated at the table drinking the rest of his wine when she passed the kitchen on her way to the stairs.
If he craved his solitude so much, then she would let him have all he wanted. There were several more bottles of wine in the cupboard. He could drink himself into oblivion for all she cared.
The darkness had brought an even heavier mist than last night. Clouds she’d seen in the far horizon had moved much faster than she would have imagined. She shivered involuntarily, glad the boat was moored to the island since there was virtually no visibility at the moment.
By sitting next to the light at the end of the boat, she was able to read. It was almost impossible to concentrate, but she was determined to stay away from Luc until he’d gone to bed and had passed out for the night.
After an hour she noticed the breeze had kicked up. There was a drop in the temperature. Without anything covering her bare legs beneath her shorts, she was starting to get uncomfortable, but she kept on reading.
In another few minutes she felt the first drops of rain. Unable to lie there any longer, she got off the bench with her book and headed for the stairs. No sooner had she passed the kitchen than the lights flickered several times before going out. Great!
Luc must have heard her surprised cry because he called to her from the cabin. “Did you just shut off the power?”
“No.”
“The rain must have shorted out some wiring. I’ll take a look at it in the morning. Do you need help coming to bed?”
It was pitch black. “No. Just keep talking and I’ll follow your voice.”
“Don’t move! There’s a flashlight in the locker where I found the flare. I’ll get it.”
But Olivia ignored him and darted across the expanse where she could feel the ladder. In the time it would take him to slide out of bed, she’d climbed beneath the covers of her bunk.
“Olivia?” The alarm in his voice was incredibly satisfying to hear. It proved he wasn’t totally devoid of concern for her.
“I’m up here, cozy and warm.”
He cursed in French again. “Then stay there! I won’t be long.”
“Please don’t bother with a light tonight,” she begged him. “The stairs might be slippery. If you fell and injured yourself after all you’ve endured, I’d never be able to forgive myself. I’m the reason we’re stranded here. This whole situation is my fault,” her voice shook.
“In case it’s a heavy rain, I need to shut the doors at the top and bottom of the stairs to keep the galley area watertight.”
“I’ll do that! You get back in bed!”
“For the love of heaven— Can’t you once in your hedonistic life think of someone else besides yourself and do as your told?”
Hedonistic? He really saw her as a woman in pursuit of pleasure, devoid of conscience or concern for anyone else?
Hadn’t everything she’d done for him today counted for anything?
While she lay there wounded and seething with fresh indignation, she could hear him battening down the hatch.
She prayed he would make it back to bed in one piece. But as soon as she heard him enter the room and get in his bunk, she was waiting for him and leaned her head over the side, armed with a new tactic.
“You’re right about me, Luc. I’m not the kind of woman who can be faithful to one man. It isn’t in me. I love men too much. I thought I liked Fred and a dozen others before him. Then I met Cesar. It was fun for a while. But then I found myself attracted to his mechanic who wanted to spend time with me after the race.”
“Etienne.”
“I don’t remember his name. If he’s the one with the dark blond hair like Fabio, then yes.”
“He’s married with three children.”
“I found that out from one of the other mechanics. Whatever else you may think of me, I draw the line at getting involved with married men. So…I’ve been thinking about…us.”
“Us?” he mouthed the word silkily.
Her heart throbbed so hard in her throat, she almost choked. “Yes. You and me. Since Cesar knows I turned to you, and we’re probably not going to make it to Ischia after all, what do you say we take advantage of our situation for the duration of our trip.”