Harper caught Elise’s arm even though she didn’t have to. All that yoga had strengthened her core enough to stand firm as the catamaran moved. Balance wasn’t the issue. Her stomach—or, more accurately, her inner ear—was sending conflicting messages to her brain. Damn you, inner ear.
“I’m fine,” she said as convincingly as possible. “Seriously. I’ll be fine. I promise.”
Chapter Fifteen
Harper had never heard a human being make those kinds of noises in her life. She couldn’t even describe it. Or compare it. But if she had to, she’d say it sounded most similar to a distressed seal pup she’d filmed on an expedition to the Galapagos: high-pitched and guttural.
Elise wasn’t just bent over the toilet; she was practically in it. Her nose was almost on the porcelain, her arms braced the seat, and her body folded and unfolded itself like an accordion.
The vomiting had started exactly twelve minutes after they had left the marina. The contestants had barely shrugged out of their dresses and into their bikinis, and Harper had just managed to take a shot of Megan helping herself to an Aperol spritz when, out of the corner of her eye, she’d seen Elise, pale as the dead, bolt past her toward the narrow spiral stairs leading to the hull.
Harper hadn’t even thought twice. She’d abandoned the shoot and followed her. In fact, she’d reached Elise just in time to scoop the majority of Elise’s curls into a low ponytail.
“Just breathe,” Harper muttered, stroking her back, which may or may not have been helping. Frankly, Harper was just waiting for Elise to kick her out. Until then, her aim was to keep her calm and give reassuring advice. “It’s going to pass.”
Elise turned her head slowly, as if she were in quicksand. Her hair was stuck to her forehead in damp, wiry tangles. Her royal blue sundress was bunched around her knees. There was something suspicious caking the side of her lips, but Harper was just going to imagine she never saw it. For Elise’s sake. For her sake.
“It’s going to pass,” she repeated weakly. Her voice was all strained and watery-sounding. “Really?”
Before Harper could answer—and ignore the not-so-subtle sarcasm in Elise’s voice—the sound of hesitant footsteps clattered down the spiral stairs. Harper glanced back to see a young crew member in a sunshine-yellow tank top and jean shorts appear in the doorway.
“Umm… sorry,” she said, blinking rapidly. “The captain asked me to let everyone know we’ve arrived at the cove and will be stopping for snorkeling soon.” She glanced at Elise, at the toilet, at Harper crouched beside it, and immediately backed up a step. “Does she need a doctor?”
“She’s seasick, not dying,” Harper said at the same time Elise lurched forward, giving a wet and miserable retch that echoed off the tiny fiberglass walls. “Now, what do you usually do if one of your guests ends up sick?”
The crewmember flinched. “Umm… we usually tell people to get fresh air, look at the horizon, or chew some ginger.”
Harper was prepared to try anything. “Where’s the best place to sit?”
“The foredeck,” the girl said quickly. “Least motion out there. Bit of a breeze. From what I’ve seen, most people feel better once they’re up front. Though…” she eyed Elise, whose head was so deep in the toilet she looked half-decapitated, and pressed her lips thin. Harper knew what she was thinking: Elise was way past help. Not that Harper wasn’t beyond trying.
“Perfect. Thank you, and bring some ginger up here, will you?” Harper had no idea if there was any aboard, but she didn’t care. She’d flag down a nearby boat and ask them if they had some if she really needed to. She nudged Elise gently on the shoulder. “Come on, we’re going up. You need to look out at the horizon. Sitting in here isn’t going to help.”
Elise answered with another wounded seal gag that suggested she disagreed. But she let Harper help her up anyway, let her steer her toward the stairwell and up to the foredeck. Harper was grateful the contestants were all too busy receiving a snorkeling gear demo and a safety briefing from one of the crew to notice Elise in her current state. Though she did notice a few heads turn their way, and if she were to look back, she’d probably spot a few of them murmuring amongst themselves.
“You know,” Harper said, guiding Elise down onto the warm teak decking. “Seeing you like this kind of reminds me of when I did an expedition in Mongolia and I ate this fermented yak cream they—”
“I don’t care,” Elise interrupted, hanging her head low between her legs. “And don’t even think about finishing that sentence.”
“Head up,” Harper instructed, not even the slightest bit offended. Nothing Elise did or said could offend her, not after last night. “Look at the cove.”
Elise lifted her head a few inches and squinted. Her complexion still had that waxy green look associated with queasy people who regretted every decision that had led them onto a boat. But she did manage a breath in, so that had to count for something.
Harper sat down beside her and looked ahead. The cove was gorgeous. Pale limestone cliffs rose up from the sea, with pine trees clinging to them. The sea itself was turquoise and transparent enough for Harper to see the shadows of fish swimming lazily beneath the surface. If Elise wasn’t in the state she was in, and Harper didn’t have a job to do, she might have been tempted into a little plunge.
“You know, you didn’t have to help me,” Elise said softly, sounding weak enough for Harper to want to wrap her armsaround her and never let go. “To be honest… I didn’t actually want you to.”
“Why?” Harper asked just as the contestants leaped into the water. They both watched them for a minute, some a little more tentative than others. It was clear who liked the water and who didn’t. Jasmine flailed her arms, trying to keep her head above water. Harper hoped one of the crew members was a trained lifeguard. Rebecca was coughing up what Harper assumed was swallowed seawater. Megan looked like a fish diving in and out, and Nadia was using a water polo tread to keep herself afloat.
“Because, how can you kiss me again, or you know…” Elise said finally. She did a little embarrassed bobble of her head, and Harper knew exactly what she meant. “After hearing me vomit my lungs out?”
Harper laughed so loudly that one of the contestants snapped her head in their direction. “Firstly, your lungs aren’t actually coming out of your body.” Elise rolled her eyes. “And secondly, does that mean you want to have sex again?”
Harper would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it all morning. That first time ten years ago had been magical; she’d felt parts of her body open and unfurl. And then last night, it had felt so much more than that. It had felt like she’d been folded in half without realizing it, and Elise had straightened her out with an iron. She couldn’t imagine what the next time would be like with a little more practice.
“I do.”
“Good,” Harper said, doing a bad job of hiding her relief. She was grinning from ear to ear.