Jilt Trip. HEATHER MACALLISTER

      “You went too far!” Carter swept all Nikki’s facts and figures to the floor of the cabin. “You suspect!” His voice rose. “Suspect? Think? Probably?” He was shouting even though it renewed the pounding in his head. “On such a flimsy premise, you ruined my wedding?”

      Nikki, her eyes wide, backed off the berth. “We need more time to verify—”

      “Turn this boat around and take me back to my wife!” He groaned and grabbed his temple.

      When he released his breath, he distinctly heard her say, “No.”

      “What do you mean no? I’m ordering you to sail back to the dock.”

      She laughed. Laughed. “On whose authority?”

      Was he still asleep? Were his dreams turning into nightmares? “On my authority!”

      “The Honey Bee belongs to me now. I’m her captain and I’ll decide where she sails.”

      This was not the Nikki he knew. This was not the Nikki who worked with him. Worked for him. Matching her smug smile, he relaxed. “Then, as your boss, I’m ordering you to return me to shore.”

      “I don’t work for you anymore. You fired me.” She looked thoughtful. “Come to think of it, you fired all of us. Better not count on that eleven percent voting your way.”

      The throbbing at the sides of his temples increased. Without this blasted headache, he’d be able to think his way through this mess. “I rescind my firing. Now, take me back.”

      Lacing her fingers in front of her, she drew a deep breath. “That wouldn’t be wise.”

      “Okay.” Inexplicably, Carter’s anger seeped away, leaving him feeling like a deflated balloon. “Nikki, what’s done is done. Now I’ve got to make things right with Dee Ann, or she will vote against me.”

      “Carter…” For the first time, Nikki’s calm facade cracked. “Any stock she owns, she purchased herself. The ceremony never took place.”

      “But you said—” He broke off and jerked his left hand up. No wedding ring encircled his finger. Mutely, he stared at her.

      Nikki’s mouth twisted. “You aren’t married to Dee Ann, you’re married to me.”

      4

      “TELL ME you’re joking.”

      She shook her head.

      As his hand dropped to the bedspread, Carter’s face took on all the hues of a color television set gone bad. Gray. Green. Magenta. White.

      The gray bothered Nikki the most. It wasn’t a healthy color. With the remnants of the sleeping pills still in his system, she was somewhat concerned. Not overly, because Carter hadn’t ingested enough of Saunders’s pills to depress his system for an extended period of time. But still, she wasn’t exactly an expert on this sort of thing.

      “Saunders has confirmed this?”

      Nikki nodded.

      “But I saw the papers.”

      “Not the right papers. What we have is a divorce in progress.” She braced herself, anticipating the return of the magenta color accompanied by yelling, questions and accusations.

      But mostly yelling.

      Instead, Carter stared at her blankly, closed his eyes and collapsed on the berth.

      Great. The thought of being married to her was so repugnant, he’d fainted.

      She’d known the news that they were still married would come as a surprise—okay, a shock—but somewhere, deep inside, she’d hoped Carter would be relieved that he wasn’t married to Dee Ann.

      And if not relieved, Nikki thought peevishly, he could at least pretend he wasn’t so horrified. After all, that meant she was still married to him. Didn’t he care about her feelings?