The Daddy P.I. Casefiles: The First Collection by Frost, J (great novels .txt) 📕

Despite my feelings about marriage, I feel buoyed by it. “That’s amazing. I haven’t been to Sri Lanka. What’s it like?”

Vashi tells me all about Sri Lanka, which moves to the top of my bucket list after her descriptions of golden beaches, lush forests, ancient temples, and nature reserves full of elephants, while we enjoy our appetizers. Hers is a beautifully arranged avocado and papaya salad that they’re crazy not to have on the main menu, while I pursue my goal of eating as much fresh fish as possible while on the West Coast with a mixed shrimp and crab cocktail.

Over our entrees—pan-fried scallops for me and lentils in red curry for Vashi—we get on to the subject of books and discover we’re soul mates. Not only does Vashi adore historical romance, but she also reads widely in other genres. She recommends Indian authors I’ve never heard of. While she has iced fruit and I have tea, I look up all her recommendations and add them to my reader.

I’m on my third cup of tea as we discuss The Light Between Oceans, which I loved and she didn’t, when a Viking strides through the almost-empty dining room and stops behind Vashi’s chair. Holy shit. He must be six five. Even taller than Logan. His beard’s brighter than Vashi’s sari and his gray- streaked hair is combed back from his high forehead, making him seem even taller. Vashi’s my size. He looks like he could snap her in half.

But his hands settle onto her shoulders so lightly, and his expression as he looks down at her is so tender, I can’t imagine him even bending her over, although I’ve put together from what she’s said that he’s her trio’s Dom, while her other partner is a switch.

She tips her head back and beams up at him. “Hello, Niall.”

“Cushlamachree,” he responds. At least that’s what I think he says, but even without knowing what he’s said, which I’m going to Google as soon as I get back to my cabin, I can tell it’s an endearment by the way he says it. “Shaan and I were beginning to wonder if you’d gotten lost on this big boat.”

To him it must be a tiny boat. A veritable dinghy.

“I’ve been enjoying lunch with my new friend, Emily.” She looks at me. “Emily, this is my partner, Niall.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I say, and in my own ears it’s a squeak. I haven’t known many really big men before Logan. And even his palpable physical presence is dwarfed by this Norse god.

Niall lifts one of his huge hands from Vashi’s shoulder and offers it to me across the table. I tuck my tablet away and rise out of my chair so I can shake. He engulfs my hand in a bear paw. God, his skin is so hot. And slightly rough. I don’t remember Vashi saying what he does, but it must be something with his hands, even though he’s currently dressed in an extremely sharp, pin-striped suit that would fit in anywhere from an Ivy League classroom to a boardroom.

“Pleasure’s mine, Emily.” His brogue, which is all single malt whiskey, lightens when he speaks to me. “Forgive me for dragging Vashi away, but the lifeboat drill’s about to start.”

I glance around the dining room and realize it’s just Vashi and me and the waiters who are clearing tables. What am I supposed to be doing now? Was I supposed to meet Logan back at the cabin?

Before I have time to panic, Logan walks through the sliding doors. His dark eyes meet mine and he smiles. He’s not angry. I haven’t broken his schedule. I sink back in my chair with relief.

Logan passes Niall with a nod, circles the table, and stops beside me. His hand brushes over my hair before settling at the nape of my neck. Very possessive. Very domly. Just like Niall. Even if I’d never heard of kink, I’d know what these two men are just by being in the room with them. The energy sparking off them is unmistakable.

I expect Logan to go alpha male in the presence of the Viking Dom who was just holding my hand. Instead, he just nods to Niall.

“Sir, this is Vashi and her partner Niall,” I tell him.

“Niall and I met in the gym a little while ago,” he responds, smiling down at me. “Only two bastards on the boat crazy enough to hit the gym before we even sailed.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow by eleven if yeh want a spotter on the bench,” Niall says.

“That’s a date, mate,” Logan says. “Vashi, nice to meet you. I’m sure Niall’s here for the same reason I am. Lifeboat drill begins in five minutes, and trust an old sailor on this, there’s nothing more important on a boat than knowing how to get off it.”

That gets a chuckle out of Niall and a shy smile out of Vashi, just as the PA system announces the drill and requests that all passengers proceed to their boats.

“Come, a mhuirnín,” Niall says to Vashi. With a smile of farewell to me, she nods and rises into Niall’s embrace as he wraps one of his arms around her shoulders. He tucks a strand of black silk hair behind her ear as he leads her away, his big bear paw impossibly gentle. I understand the source of her incandescent happiness.

Nothing lasts. Forever’s a lie. That’s a lesson I learned from my mother, watching her pine all those years for the father and husband who abandoned us. When I started dating, those bitter lessons got drowned in a flood of hormones. The heady excitement of being desired deceived me into thinking fairy tales can happen. The last eighteen months of my marriage brought me back to reality. I haven’t tried for Happy Ever After with any of my Doms, because it doesn’t exist.

But watching Niall and Vashi makes me wonder.

Logan strokes my neck, reminding me of where I am and what I should