Veritas Read Free Page A

problem?”
    Grey chuckled darkly and shook her head. “She’s a redhead. Wild fucking curls, gorgeous fucking hazel eyes, the whole nine yards.”
    “Oh,” Kelly murmured. “Sorry?”
    “I thought you i nterviewed her.”
    “I did interview her, Grey. Over the phone ,” Kelly said, her tone softening. “It’s not like I can jet up to New York to interview a chef for a short-term position like the one you were trying to fill. I mean, I do have three hotels to oversee on the island here, never mind the two on Saint John, and the one on St. Croix.”
    Properly chastised, Grey sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I know.” The Kipling family had been a fixture in the Virgin Islands for generations, and Kelly was the general manager for Kipling Resorts, overseeing the family’s empire. It was because none of the chefs for her hotels were available for the next few weeks that Grey had asked Kelly if she could help her find somebody to work on the Veritas . “I’m sorry…”
    “I t’s fine, Grey, don’t worry about it. Look, you just have to make it through two cruises and then you’ll be rid of her. Just give her a chance, and don’t rip her head off just because she looks like—”
    “Don’t even go there, Kip .”
    “Fine,” Kelly sighed. Really, she should have known better than to try and say Emily’s name. “Look, I am sorry. About all of it.” She paused for a beat and then added, “So, you leave this afternoon?”
    “Yeah. We’ll be out for nine days. I’m just going to follow my usual loop through the BVI and back for this one, nothing spectacular.” Grey held her breath at the sound of footsteps making their way up the stairs to the bridge, and her heart thudded heavily in her chest when Lauren came into view. “I, uh, gotta go.”
    “ She’s there.”
    Grey nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from Lauren, who flashed her an apologetic smile and quickly ba cked down the stairs. “Yeah. We need to go do some grocery shopping to stock up for the trip.”
    “Good luck . Call me when you get back. Or, you know, whenever you need to.”
    “Will do.” Grey blew out a loud breath and added, “Look, I’m sorry I went off on you. Thanks for listening.”
    “That’s what I’m here for,” Kelly murmured, her voice tinged with concern. “Be good.”
    Grey laughed, the sound devoid of any genuine mirth, but she was grateful for the normalcy of the quip when her entire world felt like it was spinning out of control. “When am I ever good?”
    “There’s a first time for everything, Wells. I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Yeah. Later.” Grey shoved her phone into her pocket and started for the stairs, knowing that they really did need to get going if they were to get back in time to put everything away before the Muellers arrived. Lauren was sitting at one of the tables on the back deck that was sheltered by the bridge, and Grey’s breath caught in her throat at the small smile the redhead greeted her with. It was not fair that she should have to try and continue to survive, day after day, while being confronted with a reminder of all that she had loved and lost.
    “Sorry about interrupting,” Lauren said.
    Grey shook her head and glanced toward the salon. The ache in her chest was easier to ignore if she did not actually look at Lauren. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal. I was just talking to a friend. I’ll, um, just show you to the pantry so you can see what we’ve got, and then we can head out.”
    “I went ahead and found it on my own before I came looking for you. Hope that was okay.” When Grey nodded, Lauren continued, “Anyways, I have my list ready.”
    “Excellent. ” Grey waved a hand at the dock and motioned for Lauren to disembark first. “Then let’s get going.”

     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 4
     
     
     
    Lauren loved farmer’s markets. There was something about the combination of fresh air and interacting with people who were proud of the produce