Where there's a will, there's a way to get around every stupid policy ever conjured up.
"Fair enough. I'm on vacation, too." I shot him a sly look. I saw no reason to antagonize him right away. Bonding was probably a better tactic in the long run. I patted the side of the boat. "This is a beauty. Why don't you show me what it can do?"
His answering grin was perfectly devilish. "My pleasure."
Target hit. With that, the hot-dogging began. He showed off his boating prowess while I grinned appreciation as we skimmed across the waters.
As we got farther out to sea, the water got rougher and the wind resisted us. I hung on to the edge of the boat, glad I'd taken my less-drowsy Dramamine before we left.
An hour of rough ride later, a tiny island came into view. With spectacular palm trees and white sandy beaches. The kind of deserted isle it would be perfect to honeymoon on someday. Definitely the place to be stranded with the right guy.
As I swept my wind-struck hair out of my face, a gorgeous small house surrounded by blue waters turned dark by the clouds now forming overhead came into view around the island. It was two stories high, with a sundeck on top and a deck running the entire perimeter of the ground floor. Is it really a ground floor, though, when it's actually on the water? Well, whatever. The first floor.
Minutes later, Eli pulled the boat into the covered boathouse attached to the house. The wind was kicking up, rippling the relatively calm waters over the reef, and blowing the palm trees in the distance. The air was fast becoming heavy and humid. Close. My sundress stuck to my back.
Eli jumped onto the dock in the boathouse and gave me a hand out of the boat before reaching for my bags and supplies he'd brought with him. I took me a second to find my land legs.
"I'll just take these inside. Alec gave me instructions on where everything goes." He looked me up and down. "You shouldn't go hungry."
I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment. Did that mean I ate like a bird or a pig? Or simply that his buddy had sent enough food for the original reservation of two?
As Eli unlocked the door and let me in, we were greeted with a cool blast from the air conditioning. The house was gently perfumed with the smell of luxury. You know that smell—quality everything.
It was only five fifteen in the afternoon, but dusk was fast approaching and the growing dark clouds increasingly filtered the daylight. Eli flipped a light on. It was summer in Seattle and the days were long. We would have at least four more hours of daylight left. But it was winter here and closer to the equator. The days were always about the same length. I hadn't really counted on twelve hours of darkness to deal with by myself.
"Go ahead and look around." He set a cooler on the counter by the fridge and a basket on the center island counter.
Everything in the kitchen gleamed beneath the overhead light, beautifully modern and designed to catch the light.
"I'll give you the official tour when I'm done." He looked nervously out the window at the brewing storm. "Then I'm out of here."
In the choppy water with the wind resisting us, the trip had taken longer than he expected. And used more gas.
I sensed his worry and was concerned, too, as I looked out over the rolling waves. Could the house withstand a strong storm? But going back out in those increasingly raging waters were more frightening to me than staying put. "Is it safe for you to boat back in the dark? The seas look stormy—"
"I'll be fine." He hurriedly crammed things into the fridge.
I came up next to him and pulled a carton of milk from his hand, setting it on the counter. "Leave everything here. I'll unpack things later."
"All right." He looked relieved. "Let me show you around. The house is powered by a generator and solar panels. No need to worry about losing power."
Just then a mega gust of wind slammed into the house with the leading edge of the storm. The house shook from the force of it. I jumped, hand to heart, staring out at the deck as a wave crashed spectacularly over it.
Eli's jaw set.
I recognized that foolhardy look of determination. "You can't leave me here. Alone."
Two
A bolt of lightning ran jagged across the sky. I began counting. The thunder crashed when I hit ten. Two miles away.
Eli stared at me. "Are you asking me to stay?"
I nodded, appealing to his hero side to save him more than me. I was self-reliant, but out of my element. Which made playing the damsel in distress card not quite as repellent as it might have been. Maybe I did want him to stay.