No, wait. With the sun dancing over the calm, crystalline ocean’s surface, “beautiful” didn’t even come close to describing it. Stunning was a better word. Gorgeous. Breathtaking.
Libby lifted her face to the sky, the sun warm on her cheeks, and inhaled the salt-rich air. Her lungs expanded for what felt like the first time in her life. It was like flying, and she had the strangest urge to unbuckle, stand up, and embrace the heady sensation of freedom with her entire being.
“Do it.”
She whipped around in her seat to stare at Jude. “What?”
“You want to stand up, do it.”
“No! Are you crazy?”
“Depends on your definition.” He grinned again. “And I know you have a wild and crazy woman buried in there somewhere. I get a peek at her every night, remember?”
The back of her neck burned at the reminder. “That’s different.”
“How? C’mon, unleash her again for me,” he cajoled in a soft, seductive voice she almost couldn’t hear over the wind. “You don’t have to wait until sex to let it all go.”
Oh, was she ever temped, except… She hadn’t done anything wild or reckless since he left and wasn’t about to start now just because he was back in her life for a short time. “It’s dangerous.”
“Life’s no fun without a little danger. C’mon, Libs. Double dog dare you.”
“You didn’t just say that.”
“Triple,” he challenged.
She stared at him in utter disbelief. “Are you five?”
“Is that a no? Okay, then I will.” He lifted his hands off the steering wheel, gripped the windshield, and hoisted himself up. Libby’s heart lurched, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for impact. Horns blared from passing cars, but the convertible didn’t smack into anything or drift into oncoming traffic or jump over the concrete side of the bridge and land in the ocean. After a moment, she peeled one eye open. Then the other.
Holy shit. Jude was holding the wheel steady with his legs.
She released a pent-up breath. “You’ve done this before.”
“A few times.” He held out a hand. “C’mon. Just for a second. Let yourself enjoy the moment, Libs.”
Enjoy the moment. When was the last time she’d let herself enjoy anything? Aside from sex with him, she honestly couldn’t remember. Her life in D.C. revolved around work and more work. Deep down, she knew the stress of it all, the burden she carried to right wrongs day in and day out, was crushing her.
Oh God. Was insanity contagious? Had to be because she was actually going to do this ridiculous stunt.
“Okay.” She gulped down her fear, unbuckled her seat belt before she could think better of it, and set her hand in Jude’s. He hauled her up and guided her hands to hang on to the windshield, then dropped back into the driver’s seat. With a twist of the radio’s knob, he sent Bob Marley’s words of wisdom soaring.
“Wait, wait, wait. What are you doing?”
“Driving.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm as she tried to sit down. “Let it go!”
Wind tore the breath from her lungs and ripped tears from her eyes. She stared in wonder at the Overseas Highway stretching before them, at the ocean, lit with sparks of sunlight, expanding forever on each side of the bridge. On the horizon to the east, she spotted a sailboat cruising toward Key West. To the west, a school of fish jumped into the air, their scales flashing silver before they disappeared under the surface again. It was…wonderful.
Laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside of her, and she lifted her arms, let her head fall back, and sang out Bob Marley’s lyrics to the sky.
And for the moment, she believed them. Everything was going to be all right.
Chapter Sixteen
Jude jumped aboard the small fishing boat called the Gladys Marie and smiled up at Libby, who stood on the dock with an expression of doubt on her face.
“That thing can’t possibly be safe.”
“Sure it is.” He thumped a hand on the boat’s railing. “Old Gladys is as sturdy as…uh…” He couldn’t think of anything reassuring to compare it to and said, “Well, she’s sturdy.”
“Maybe so.” Libby eyed the platinum-blond kid with the nose ring that was to be their captain. “But I’m more worried about him. Is he even old enough to drive this thing?”
“I’m twenty-one,” the kid protested.
Jude shrugged. “See, he’s a responsible adult.”
Libby snorted but finally relented and grasped his hand. He helped her aboard.
“Where are we going?” she asked for the hundredth time as she sat next to him in the bow.
“On an adventure.”
She rolled her lower lip through her teeth. “So I should be worried.”
“You’ll like it. Promise.”
She made a noncommittal sound, dragged her bag onto her lap, and hunted around inside for a moment. She brought out a bottle of SPF 50 sunscreen.
Go figure.
Jude laughed and watched her slather it on, part of him wishing he were the coconut-scented goo she spread so liberally all over her body. She sent him a sidelong glance. “Don’t look.”