"I think I am. You'd be crazy to go out in that storm in the small boat. You can't." I pointed, shuddering as I did. "You wouldn't leave me all alone in this storm to go on a fool's mission, would you?"
Another clap of thunder. This time closer. Another wave washing across the deck. Without thinking, I stepped closer to him, catching another whiff of the Hott cologne his company was famous for. And now I knew why they called it that. It blended perfectly with his body chemistry and made me think hero.
"I have a date on the mainland." He glanced out the window at the swelling waves now pushing regularly over the deck.
"Is she worth your life? Postpone it." I took another step into him. "I'm sure she'll understand. Better to have you alive to date another time than to be permanently stood up by your untimely death. No girl wants death on her conscience. Text her."
Lightning lit the room. The thunder reverberated like it was hellbent on bringing the house down. My hair grew staticky, nearly standing on end. Not a good sign. The lightning was too close for comfort.
"Shit. You're right." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text. "We have to batten down the hatches and shutter this place." He looked around, taking quick stock of the situation.
"I take it this means you're staying," I said, resisting the urge to pat him on the head with a "smart man" comment. "What can I do to help? Tell me what to do?"
The house shook with each blast of wind. My heart raced, egged on by panic and the thought that I really needed a hero about now. And possibly the ability to breathe underwater. Being a real mermaid might come in handy if the waves grew much larger.
"The house is equipped with motorized hurricane shutters. I'll set the switch and get them started. The house is designed to withstand storm surges and waves." He pointed toward the coolers. "We have plenty of bottled water. Just in case. Get the groceries in the fridge. There's an emergency kit in one of the closets. I'll grab it, too."
I must have paled.
He flashed me a sympathetic look. "This house withstood a Category 4 storm just last year. We'll be fine."
But what about a Category 5?
I nodded and started unpacking, keenly aware of him securing the house. He went into the boathouse and closed the door. Activated the motorized shutters. Grabbed the emergency kit as the lightning flashed around us, lighting the house through the dense shutters.
"We're sitting on the water." My teeth were chattering. It had to be from fear because it wasn't from cold. "Water is a conductor—"
"The place is insulated. It's like a Faraday cage, anyway. As long as you don't go for a swim…" He frowned and grabbed a throw blanket, putting it over my shoulders. "You're shivering."
"I don't like lightning. Never have. Well, not since I was nearly struck as a kid." I pulled the blanket tight. Maybe I was cold. With fear.
"Neither do I." He actually looked sympathetic. All that boat-bonding kicking in?
By the time we finished securing the house, it was after six. The sun had set. Darkness had fallen. Eli set electric lanterns from the emergency kit around and was reading up on the instructions for the generator. In case it failed. Or we had to use it as a flotation device. Just kidding about that. It didn't float, obviously.
Wind beat at the house. Lightning cracked at regular intervals. And the sound of waves pummeling the house was unnerving.
And yet, surprisingly, I was hungry. I realized with a start that I hadn't eaten all day. The electricity was on. My meals were neatly packed in catering type foil containers marked with heating instructions. I put dinner in the oven and set the table. Might as well live while I was still alive.
"Should I ration the food?" I joked. "Now that there are two of us?"
Eli looked up from his generator study and smiled. I hated to admit it, but his presence was reassuring.
I grabbed two wine goblets, opened a bottle of white, and poured us each a glass. I handed him one. "I'm glad you stayed."
"For yourself. Or for my wellbeing?" He took the wine from me and made a wry look. "We don't have anything stronger?"
"We might. But I'm counting on you to man the life raft. Until I see how you hold your liquor, I'm being cautious." I took a long drink of my wine. My hands were still shaking. "We do have a life raft?"
"Darling, we have a boat," he said in a deep, joking voice.
But of course! We did have a boat.
"There's not a chance in hell I want to take a boat ride in that water. Let's hope the house can float." I took a deep breath and another drink of wine.
Another gale-force gust banged against the house until the frame shuddered again. "The damn house is as shaky as I am."
Eli flashed me a concerned look.
I lifted my glass. "Alcohol helps."
The timer on the oven went off. We ate mostly in silence punctuated by odd, awkward attempts at nervous conversation. The food was delicious. The company could have been equally delectable under different circumstances. Like sunny weather.