Georgia tilted her head, eyebrows knitting together at the strange way Nick reacted to the mention of her fiancé's name. His expression had shifted too fast, too sharply for it to mean nothing. But before she could question him, a knock interrupted her train of thought.
"Come in," Nick called, his voice clipped.
The door opened, and in walked the same woman who had brought folded clothes earlier. She was grinning, mischievously, knowingly...
"Well, well. Lover's quarrel finally over?" Evelyn teased, her tone light and playful as she breezed in.
"Cut it out, Evelyn. I don't even know her," Nick grumbled, gesturing in Georgia's direction like she was some strange artifact that had landed in his room.
"Georgia," she muttered, slightly offended. "My name is Georgia Lewis."
Evelyn turned to Nick with a theatrical gasp. "How rude of you, Captain. You didn't even ask the young lady's name before throwing yourself on top of her? Tsk. So typical of men."
"That was an accident!" Nick barked, clearly losing patience.
"Uh-huh. Sure it was," Evelyn quipped with a wink, then turned her attention to Georgia with a far gentler expression. She extended a hand, her tone softening. "I'm Evelyn, Chief Steward. Don't let this grump scare you. I'm older than him, and he respects me too much to ever misbehave when I'm around."
Georgia found herself smiling, just a little. Evelyn's warmth felt like a balm over her still-rattled nerves.
Evelyn plucked a shirt from the pile she was holding and tossed it at Nick. "Here. Put this on before you traumatize her further. You look like a pervert who just rolled out of a scandal. So shameless in flaunting his abs and toned body in front of a woman."
Nick snatched the shirt and yanked it over his head, grumbling under his breath.
"Take her to the galley, give her something to eat," he ordered as he moved to the door. "Then follow me to the bridge. I have an announcement to make."
Without waiting for a reply, Nick slipped out, the door clicking shut behind him.
As silence settled over the room, Georgia finally exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
Georgia turned her head sharply at the sound of Evelyn's soft chuckle. "Were you… nervous and scared of the captain, too?" she asked with a teasing smirk.
Evelyn grinned. "Not quite. Let's just say we had a memorable introduction."
She handed Georgia a neatly folded stack of clothes. "Here, your silk pajamas, fresh underwear, and a crew shirt that should fit just fine. I dug through every box in the supply room to find the smallest pair of pants onboard. Unfortunately, my size wouldn't exactly do you any favors." She winked. "Now go change. I'll wait."
Georgia nodded and made her way to the bathroom tucked inside the captain's cabin, leaving the door slightly ajar so they could keep chatting.
"How far are we from the next port?" she asked as she unbuttoned the shirt she'd borrowed.
"Hmm… good question," Evelyn replied. "Before your grand rescue, we were about two weeks away. But the captain called for an unscheduled stop last night, so now? Could be longer."
Georgia sighed. "So I've officially disrupted an entire voyage…"
"Well, yeah," Evelyn admitted with a chuckle, "but don't beat yourself up. It actually brought some excitement around here. Last night's rescue? Total chaos. We were all scrambling. It was dramatic. It was messy. And honestly, it was kind of fun."
Georgia emerged from the bathroom, now dressed, combing her fingers through her damp hair. "Fun? Why?"
Evelyn's eyes twinkled as she leaned in conspiratorially. "Because, my dear, it's not every day we get to see our Captain Knight like that."
Georgia raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
Evelyn smirked. "With emotions."
Georgia frowned, questioning what she'd just heard. Emotions? That couldn't be right. The Captain she met this morning was practically dripping with emotions... sarcasm, annoyance, rage… and that sharp tongue of his.
Evelyn, catching her confusion, smirked. "You're wondering, huh? Why was he shirtless?"
Georgia blinked, suddenly remembering the awkward moment with painful clarity.
"He was shirtless," Evelyn continued, "because you were burning up with fever and vomiting all over yourself. The poor man panicked, grabbed the first thing he could find to clean you, his shirts, all of it, until nothing was left.
Well, laundry day is days ahead, so he had already used all his clean shirts. I caught him looking like a deer in headlights, so I offered to handle the laundry. The guy was a mess."
Georgia's cheeks flushed crimson. "Oh my god… I called him a pervert because of that…"
Evelyn burst into laughter.
As they started walking down the corridor, Evelyn threw a glance over her shoulder, still chuckling. "But get this, Captain Knight also ordered the crew to retract the rescue announcement. Claimed it was a false alarm. Said we should wait until you wake up before making anything official."
Georgia's steps faltered slightly. Her stomach dropped.
"He didn't say why, though," Evelyn added casually. "I assumed you asked him to?"
Georgia lowered her head, the weight of what she'd done pressing down harder now. If this reached the port authorities, he could lose everything. "Y-Yes… I did," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's… complicated. I'm not sure I should tell you. I'll leave it to the captain to decide."
Evelyn gave her a soft, understanding nod. "It's alright. You don't have to say a thing. I trust him. Captain Knight wouldn't break protocol unless there was a damn good reason."
Georgia pressed her lips together, guilt swirling in her chest. She didn't know why, but for the first time in hours, she hoped Nick Knight really did understand what he was doing—because she was dragging him into a storm that was only just beginning.
Evelyn opened a wide steel door and stepped aside. "Well, here we are—the galley," she announced. "Breakfast hasn't started yet, since—like you heard—the captain wants to speak with the crew first. So, help yourself. Eat anything you want, there's always more than enough to feed an army. I'll be back once the meeting wraps up."
Without waiting for Georgia's response, Evelyn gave her a wink and disappeared down the corridor.
Georgia stepped in cautiously, half-expecting suspicious eyes or cold shoulders—but the room was empty, save for the long counters filled with trays of food still steaming under warmers. Her gaze swept across golden hash browns, buttered rolls, fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, grilled tomatoes, fresh fruits, and pitchers of juice and coffee.
Her stomach growled so loudly it echoed off the galley walls.
'Right… I never got to eat dinner last night…' she thought, rubbing her belly as the weight of everything she'd gone through made itself known in one sharp pang of hunger.
Throwing caution to the wind, Georgia rolled up her sleeves—well, technically the oversized crew shirt sleeves—and dove in. She piled her plate high, unconcerned about appearances. Eggs, bacon, bread, fruit—if it looked edible, it was hers.
She sat alone, finally allowing herself to relax for a moment. Every bite felt like a small rebellion against the chaos of the past twenty-four hours. Whatever storm was brewing ahead, she'd face it with a full stomach.