CHAPTER FOUR:
For three days, Vanessa buried herself in work, blueprints, measurements, endless calculations, anything to remind herself that she was in control, that the night with Zack had been nothing more than a wild detour.
And yet she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Every time she looked at the curve of a hull or the tilt of a mast on paper, her mind drifted back to the sailor with the storm in his eyes. She told herself it was just because he was different, bold, reckless, and unforgettable. But part of her knew better. Something about that night had left a mark deeper than she wanted to admit.
On the fourth evening, as she left the dockyard, the wind carried the smell of salt and smoke. The harbor was busier than usual, sailors shouting orders, ropes slapping wood, seagulls circling overhead. Vanessa paused, frowning. A new ship had docked, sleek, powerful, and unfamiliar.
And then she saw him.
Zack.
He stood on the deck, barking orders to his crew with the same raw authority that had first drawn her in. he moved like the sea itself, commanding, untamed, impossible to ignore. And as if he sensed her gaze, his head turned. Their eyes locked across the distance, and Vanessa's stomach tightened.
She should have walked away. She should have kept going, pretended she hadn't seen him. But when Zack descended the gangplank and started toward her, she couldn't move.
"You," he said when he reached her, his smile crooked and shameless. "I was hoping I'd run into you again."
Vanessa crossed her arms, trying to sound cool. "This is a busy harbor. I'm sure you weren't hoping for me specifically."
"Actually," he said, stepping closer," I was."
Her breath caught. She hated the way he could rattle her so easily, hated how her carefully built walls already felt unsteady.
"You said it was just one night," she reminded him.
"I did." He keened in, voice low, almost daring. "But I didn't say I agreed."
For a heartbeat, neither of them spoke. The noise of the harbor faded, leaving only the sharp pull between them like the tide drawing ships whether they wanted to move or not.
Vanessa should have walked away. Instead, she found herself whispering, "You're trouble."
Zack grinned. "Good thing you like trouble."
And just like that, she knew her life was no longer her own.