“I’ve never seen so many boats in one place.” Carlita turned in a slow circle.
“It’s the Christmastide Boat Parade.” Pete explained that Merry Bay hosted the event every year. “Christmastide, the Twelve Days of Christmas, is sometimes referred to as Twelvetide. It’s the official beginning of the season celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.”
Mercedes clapped her hands. “How fun!”
“This is my first year participating. I figured I would invite all of you as well as my other business partners.”
“Tori is coming?” Carlita asked.
Tori was a family friend, and, like Carlita, she had invested in Pete’s pirate ship venture.
“She and a few others,” Pete motioned for them to follow him. “Let’s head to the ship.”
Mercedes cast an anxious glance around. “I need to wait for Sam.”
“He’s already on board.”
The group walked single file across the parking lot and through the thick crowd as Pete led them to the docking area and The Flying Gunner, where the ship’s blinking green and red lights danced across the water.
“Dinner will be served topside shortly.” Pete boarded the ship and stepped off to the side. “The food and drinks are one deck up.”
Carlita’s eldest son and his family boarded, closely followed by Ricco and then Roxy, who lingered behind, looking as if she wanted to say something.
Pete must’ve thought the same thing. “Did you need something?”
“I’m Roxy Ciccone, one of Brittney’s bodyguards. I gotta check the place out for security reasons.”
“My ship is safe,” Pete assured her.
“I appreciate that, but I gotta job to do, which is to protect Brittney, so I’ll be having me a look around.” Roxy gave him a curt nod as she walked away.
Pete lifted a brow and turned to Carlita, who stood next to him. “Is she Luigi’s replacement?”
“Yeah,” Carlita sucked in a breath. “She’s a little…rough around the edges. Luigi doesn’t care for her. He kinda warned us what we were in for, but it was either put up with the bodyguards or not see my son and grandson for Christmas.”
“It’s all right.” Pete grasped Carlita’s hand and leaned in. “Well? What do you think of my surprise?”
“I love it.” Carlita’s eyes traveled around the deck, taking in the Christmas decorations, the lighted tree in the corner, the tidy row of striped stockings that hung above the faux fireplace. “You put a lot of thought into this.”
“I had help from my crew. The pirate adventures have been booked solid since Thanksgiving. The Christmas pirate theme has gone over so well, I even added extra events.”
Before Carlita could reply, Roxy returned, flashlight in hand. “I figured I would start my inspection down here.” She nodded to the door marked “Private.” “I’ll start in this room.”
“That’s my office and private quarters, and it’s off-limits to my guests.”
Roxy acted as if she hadn’t heard Pete as she flung the door open.
“Hey.” Pete hurried after her. “You can’t go in there.”
Carlita stared in disbelief. It was one thing to take one’s job seriously, but Roxy was taking her security responsibilities too far. She stood in the doorway, watching as Pete attempted to stop Roxy.
For the most part, she completely ignored him as she shined her flashlight over a pile of books and a tidy stack of manila file folders on top of his desk. “I heard you mention booking events. What else do you do?”
“It’s none of your business,” Pete snapped.
Roxy finished perusing the desk and began humming as she patrolled the perimeter of the room. “What’s this?” She opened the door to Pete’s bathroom and started to make her way inside.
Pete lunged forward, grasping her arm and pulling her back. “That is my private bathroom. If you step foot in there, I’m going to escort you off my ship.” The tone of his voice left no room for argument, and Roxy must’ve realized she had gone too far.
“Fine.” She closed the door, haughtily peering up at him. “There’s no reason to freak out unless you have something to hide.”
“I have an ample amount of security measures in place for my guest’s safety,” Pete gritted out. “The only reason I will continue to tolerate your presence is for Carlita and her family’s sake. Don’t push your luck.”
Pete’s warning was wasted breath. Roxy had already exited the office.
Thankfully, she finished her inspection without further incident and then joined Ricco and the others topside while Pete and Carlita resumed their spot near the gangway, greeting guests.
Autumn Winter darted up the gangway. “This is awesome. The ship looks great.”
“Thank you, Autumn,” Pete looked behind her. “Is your brother and his girlfriend coming too?”
“No.” Autumn shook her head. “Paisley isn’t feeling well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” While Pete explained the ship’s layout and the location of the food and drinks, Tori, along with Byron, her butler, arrived.
Tori waited until Pete had finished and gave them both a warm hug. “Pete, you sneaky devil. This is fabulous.”
“Thanks, Tori.” Pete returned the hug. “This is my way of thanking you for joining my crazy business venture.”
“Who else is here?” Tori looked around.
“Mark and Glenda Fox, Annie Dowton, Carlita’s whole crew.”
“Plus, a pain in the rear,” Carlita added.
Tori lifted a brow. “A pain in the rear?”
“Brittney’s bodyguard, Roxy Ciccone. You can’t miss her. She’s the one holding a flashlight and acting as if she owns the place.” Carlita greeted Byron. “It’s so good to see you. Violet is upstairs. Wait until she finds out you’re here.”
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing her.”
“There’s plenty of food and appetizers topside,” Pete said. “Dinner
