Second Chance Daddy

Chapter Three

Elodie’s POV

I stand at the Port of San Pedro, California, one hand holding my battered suitcase, the other gripping Callie’s hand tightly as we both stare up at the giant white cruise ship in awe.

‘It’s bigger than our apartment building,’ Callie whispers, ‘how does it float? It looks so heavy.’

I nod, swallowing thickly. yeah, It does . . . it looks really, really heavy . . . and big . . . oh, this is a bad idea I should never have applied for this show. I still have no idea how we are even here; the phone call I received two days ago still feels like a dream.

‘Are you part of the show?’ a perky voice calls out from my right making me jump. I turn around, finding a friendly looking woman in her twenties clutching a clipboard in her hand. Her brown hair hangs down her back in a simple braid and a production headset with one earphone sits on her head, it’s microphone resting a few millimetres from her mouth.

‘S . . Sorry?’ I ask dazedly, blinking slightly.

‘The show. Are you a contestant?’ she repeats, glancing at the security badge hanging around my neck, that I was given at the gate before being allowed to walk down to the dock.

I nod mutely as Callie who bounces excitedly answers for me.

‘Yes, me and my mummy are here to find her a boyfriend’ she states confidently.

‘Oh, I’m not . . .’ I start quickly.

‘Well, that’s great because that is what this show is all about,’ the show employee cuts me off, smiling widely. She holds out her hand to me, and I drop Callie’s reluctantly so I can shake it. ‘I’m Bess, I’m one of the production assistants for the show. I just need your contract . . .’

She eyes me expectantly. I nod quickly, reaching into my coat pocket to pull out the contract that was emailed to me to sign, the one that I had to get printed at the local copier shop as I don’t have a printer.

Bess takes it, glancing over each page with a practiced eye before smiling and nodding. ‘Great! Well, let me show you to the ship. Now remember, as you go up the gangplank, we want big smiles and wave back toward the dock, the camera is already rolling.’

I suck in a breath, ‘we’re already live?’ I ask, my voice rising a little shrilly.

Bess laughs, waving a hand dismissively. ‘No not yet. We won’t go live until this afternoon for the show’s introduction with our host, the great Fallon Monroe. This is all just footage for the website.’ She tilts her head slightly to study me no doubt seeing how freaked out I am right now. ‘We’ll only be live for the team selections, challenges and votings which will be shown on TV.’ She continues soothingly. ‘Everything else will be pre-recorded, edited and uploaded over the next few weeks at specific times each day, before we have the live final on Christmas Day.’

I nod nervously, my stomach twisting. ‘Umm what kind of things will be recorded for the website?’ I ask.

Bess shrugs as she turns toward the ship, ‘nothing hard, I promise. You really don’t need to worry about it. Honestly, just ignore the cameramen, treat them like part of the scenery and do what feels natural.’ She gives me a smile over her shoulder, ‘you are here to have fun after all.’

I give a weak smile, fun . . . nothing about this feels fun!

Bess walks toward the gang plank as I quickly grab Callie’s hand tightly and follow behind her, my feet dragging slightly as my nerves spike higher and higher.

Cassie’s earlier nerves about the ship seem to have vanished as she bounces along beside me, her hand held tightly in mine.

‘I thought there were only ten contestants’ I stammer as we move closer, the ship seeming to get bigger with every step.’

‘Oh, there is but we also have the show’s staff and the crew members, plus, we want you all to feel like you are on vacation and nothing says vacation like this does.’

She laughs as we reach the plank, where a smartly dressed man is waiting. He tips his head to me in greeting as we approach.

‘Welcome ma-am, miss’ he rumbles gruffly, ‘my name is Captain Bartholomew Vance, and it is a pleasure to have you joining us aboard the Azure Horizon. I hope you and your daughter will have an unforgettable time, and rest assured, you are in very safe hands with me and my crew.’

I give him a thin smile, strained smile as I nod. ‘Thank you’ I manage to squeak out.

Bess indicates for me to step off the safety of the concrete dock and head up toward the vessel.

‘Come on mummy!’ Callie gushes excitedly, tugging hard at my hand, her foot already firmly planted on the edge of the gangplank

I swallow thickly before I follow her lead, inching up the walkway, trying not to look over the edge at the water below.

‘Smile and wave’ Bess calls out loudly, gesturing toward the crowd of show employees congregated to our left as I look back at her.

Callie immediately waves frantically to the group, a few wave back, laughing at her enthusiasm. I lift my chin, giving a weak smile as there is no way I am releasing my daughter’s hand while we are standing on a sliver of wood above an abyss.

Reaching the top, I release the breath I was holding as I step onto the firm deck of the cruise liner that feels a damn sight safer than the gangplank right now.

‘Good morning, Ma-am’ a man in his early twenties greets me, holding an identical clipboard to the one Bess had. ‘What is your name please?’

‘Oh uh . . . Elodie’ I stammer, ‘Elodie Blake.’

‘And I’m Callie Blake’ my six year old adds happily.

The young man chuckles as he nods, ticking off our names on his sheet. ‘Well, it’s a pleasure to have you on board, your assigned room is GS six oh Eight, if you head through those doors just down there, and turn left, you’ll find your quarters at the bow.’ He beams at me, ‘you have amazing panoramic views, it’s a gorgeous room.’

‘What does bow mean?’ Callie pipes up frowning, ‘do I have to curtsy to someone before I can enter?’

The steward laughs loudly, ‘no, it’s a special word that we use to describe the front of the ship, and we call the back the stern.’

‘Oh, okay’ Callie replies, as I nod my thanks to the younger man and head in the direction he indicates. ‘Seems silly to have different names, why not just call it the front and back?’ she adds as we make our way toward the doors.

I shake my head as I look down at the crowded dock below. My gaze roams over the sea of faces, most seeming to be staff that work either for the liner or the tv show until it catches sight of a vaguely familiar silhouette that is hard to make out in the harsh sunlight in my eyes. My chest squeezes as I stare down at him, my lips parting as my feet anchor themselves to the sleek deck underneath me. The man shifts slightly, his stance eerily familiar. I shake my head, no, it can’t be . . . he wouldn’t be here . . . Why would he be on something like this?

‘Mummy come on!’ Callie whines, tugging at my hand, dragging me from my stupor as I turn to face her.

‘Sorry angel’ I reply, smiling widely, ‘I must have been daydreaming, let’s go and check out this amazing view in our room.’