My boy / Drew Starkey

26

Mila

Madison was the last person to be out the door, with her coffee (from Jonathan) in hand.

"Hurry, Mads," Madelyn's anticipative voice echoes in the hallway of my apartment building. "I'm out, I'm out," Madison says, hurrying and sipping her coffee.

I close the door to my apartment, letting my eyes linger at the entrance for a moment. I was so excited about the yacht trip, but now that it was officially happening and I was going to spend that long with Kiara and Drew, I wanted to crawl back into my apartment and rot in it.

Rudy places a soft, reassuring kiss on my shoulder as I take a deep breath and turn my attention to the rest of the group. Most were already in the elevator, and some were halfway down the steps.

Rudy grabs the Prada duffle bag I was carrying. "No, don't; you are already carrying most of my things," I say, protesting, but as always, I don't win that battle.

I roll my eyes as I follow Rudy to the elevator.

Milo was driving us to the marine, where the staff was waiting as we were already late. The drive down was short, with excited expressions on everyone's faces.

I felt like I was the only one not looking forward to this until I looked over at Drew, who mirrored my expression. Sometimes, I wanted nothing but to see into that man's brain.

To know what was on his mind. What was bothering him? What he was thinking about. His teeth make contact with his bottom lip, his eyebrows scrunched together. I could tell he was in deep thought. The things I would do to know.

"Mils," Rudy brings me back to reality as I flutter my eyelashes, trying to push those thoughts so deep into my mind that they can never find their way back to the surface. If only.

I look over at Rudy and give him a small smile before he softly kisses my cheek. "We're here," he says as I finally notice the car isn't moving anymore, and almost everyone is already out.

"Yeah, right," I say, flashing him another small smile before exiting the car. The staff collected our things, bringing them onto a 50-meter yacht.

We went overboard when we booked it, but Madelyn, Madison, and I had a few bottles of wine before we picked the one we wanted.

"I am so sad you're not joining us, Mo," I said to Milo, who exited the driver's seat to say goodbye to us. "Oh Mila, I wish I could, but I'm going to take this time to fly home and see my family," he says, putting a recurring hand on my shoulder.

What was with people and my shoulders today?

Milo has a young daughter and wife back home. My father's security company assigned him to North Carolina. I knew he missed his family dearly. He would always talk about Stella, his daughter.

"I do hope you guys have fun," He says, his voice in his usual Milo tone, low, steady, and calm. He leans closer to me and whispers, "Try not to drown Kiara, even though I know how tempting it might be." his voice beaming mischievous for a split moment.

I couldn't hold back a laugh as he joined in. I was so happy he got assigned to me.

We all said our goodbyes to him as everyone went onto the yacht. As everyone was talking among themselves and exploring the boat, I pulled away from them to a small, secluded place at the front of the ship.

The sun on my skin felt nurturing, and the slight breeze contrasted with the heat. I pulled out my phone and dialed my personal assistance number.

phone call with Mila's assistant