Free In Deep Waters by Melissa McClone

told her tales right until he set out on that fateful expedition and didn't return home.
    "Do you know more stories?" Madison asked.
    Kayla nodded. "My father told me lots of stories. I'd be happy to share them with you if we ask your daddy first."
    "Okay." Madison stared at the water. "I wanted you to see the mermaid man, but I don't think we're going to see him now."
    Kayla gave her a squeeze. "Don't worry, sweetie, we'll have plenty of chances to see him."
    She was going to make sure of it.
    Dinnertime rolled around. So far, no blood had been spilled over the fight for Kayla's affection, though the shooting-dagger glances being exchanged between Zach, Stevie and Fitz, who had snagged seats at Kayla's table, and the rest of the crew weren't making Ben feel that relieved. The three other men at his table stared longingly at the trio sitting with Kayla across the room.
    She rose from her chair and tapped a spoon against her water glass. The clinking sound wasn't necessary. Her standing had silenced the room. "I want to make an announcement."
    She was going to say goodbye. Ben sat back in his chair to enjoy the moment.
    "Before dinner, I went to the control room and spoke with Gray and Vance. So they've heard what I'm about to say."
    Each of his men focused their full attention on Kayla. Fitz grinned like a child. Zach almost drooled. Stevie rushed in from the kitchen and nearly took out the cart for the dirty dishes. Monk leaned over the table as if narrowing the distance between him and Kayla. Wolf held Madison on his lap and smiled like a fool.
    Ben had never seen anything like it. Kayla had turned his crew into a bunch of pathetic blubbering idiots. A good thing she was leaving.
    "Working with you guys is so much fun. You've made me feel at home." She looked each one of his crew in the eye, everyone except him. "I'm so lucky I've gotten to meet you all."
    Ben saw the chests expanding and the egos inflating. Not what he needed. But hey, she was saying goodbye. He couldn't complain.
    "But something's come to my attention." She paused and looked at each of the men again. "We need to address it and put a stop to it or I'm going to have to leave."
    Eugene went pale. "Leave?"
    "Over my dead body." Monk picked up a knife.
    "You can't leave," Madison cried.
    "If you leave, I'm going with you." Fitz waved goodbye.
    She '$ leaving. Ben had the urge to do a little two-step. He didn't feel bad for making her leave. It was the only solution. His crew would be upset for a day or two, then things would return to normal and--
    "I know about the bet."
    It was so quiet you could have heard a transponder ping three miles underwater. No one moved. No one even blinked.
    Ben stared at Kayla, unsure where her announcement fell in with her goodbyes.
    "I'm flattered. Truly flattered, but marriage..." She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, and Ben's groin tightened. No doubt she didn't have a clue how sexy that move was or she wouldn't have done it just then. Poor guys. He hoped they knew she wasn't torturing them on purpose. "It's not for me."
    "Ever?" Anguish filled Eugene's voice.
    "Not right now." Her bottom lip quivered slightly. "Or in the near future, either."
    "But in the not-so-near future?" Stevie asked.
    "I, uh, don't know."
    That seemed to give the men hope. They were a pack of rats clinging to lifelines in the middle of a hurricane. It was time to let go and face their fates.
    "What about a boyfriend?" Fitz's constant smile was nowhere in sight. "Are you looking for a boyfriend?"
    "The only thing I want to find is the Isabella."
    Ben heard a collective sigh. He wondered how they would react to her final goodbye. Man, he hoped they didn't cry.
    "What about after we find the Isabella?" Zach asked.
    Ben snickered. Until Kayla stepped aboard, everyone had called the Isabella the Izzy.
    Kayla furrowed her brow. "Do you think mixing business with pleasure is a good idea?"
    "Yes," six voices answered without a hesitation of doubt.
    She