He held out his hand and led her on a tour of the Linda IV, which he explained was named after his mother and not nearly as large as the Lindas II and III had been. For Claire, it was plenty big and intimidating. She swallowed the lump in her throat and focused on the polished wood of the deck, rather than the water that they were cutting through at a million miles an hour.
“You seem uncomfortable,” Will observed as they climbed back down to the main deck.
The climb, in combination with the movement of the vessel, had her coming unglued. She really wanted to sit on the stairs and scoot down on her butt like a toddler. “Not a big fan of boats.”
“You’ll have to be on lots of them if you plan to travel the world.”
“The end result is worth it, so I’ll deal.”
As sure-footed as a cat, he stepped off the stairs and strode to the railing right at the front and held out his hand. “Come join me.”
“I’d rather not.” She parked her butt on the bottom stair. No way was she doing the aquatic equivalent of a wing walk today. Nope. A potential full ten on the Claire-ism-O-Meter.
He kept his hand out and arched a brow. “Please.”
“Forget it.”
His features softened, which of course made her resolve do the same. “Join me.” He waited a moment, then added, “The end result will be worth it.”
Oh, great. The big, hot man had just thrown her own words back at her. Figures. Well, she had made a resolution to live life to the fullest, which is why she was here in the first place. With teeny-tiny baby steps, heart scampering around in her rib cage like a startled rabbit, she shuffled to where he stood. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she grasped the railing and closed her eyes. Fast. The boat was going so fast.
“Look over the water, Claire. It’s beautiful.” He lowered his lips to her ear. “Like you.”
Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes and lifted her head, and then gasped. It was beautiful. The setting sun hovered low over the water, causing shards of light to bounce across the surface like dancing stars.
He tightened his hold around her shoulders, and she relaxed against him. Goose bumps rose on her arms as he brushed his lips against her ear as he spoke. “When I was a little boy, I used to stand here on the Linda II and pretend I was a Viking traveling to conquer distant lands. Sometimes, I was a pirate.”
Leaning down, he gave her a warm, lingering kiss, then pulled her against him, their bodies melting together and his minty scent filling her head.
Smoothly, the boat slowed almost to a stop, but Will didn’t loosen his embrace.
“We’re slowing down.”
Arms still wrapped around her, his breathing was deep and even. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Is something wrong? Are we stranded or something?”
He chuckled and relaxed his hold. “No. It means it’s time to go below for dinner.”
She sighed with relief and melted against him again.
“Are you hungry?”
Yeah, she was. She was hungry for more time with this man who seemed too good to be real. “Starving.”
…
In the candlelight, Will’s eyes looked like they glowed from inside. Gold waves undulated across his skin, making him appear surreal.
A middle-aged woman, dressed all in black with a long white apron, took away their salad plates and refilled their wineglasses with calm efficiency.
“Thank you, Nancy,” Will said.
She smiled. “It’s good to see you again, sir.”
“Two years is too long.”
“Two and a half,” she corrected, “and it is indeed.”
He took a sip of wine and watched her disappear through two metal swinging doors.
“Two and a half years?”
“Since I’ve been on board. The last time I was here was with my brothers before my last deployment. Like T.J., Nancy’s been with us a long time. I think she must have told the three of us to stay away from the edge of the boat and the engine room a million times growing up.”
She tried to picture him as a small boy playing on the deck of a yacht. What an odd life for a child. “What was that like for you?”
His brow furrowed.
“Growing up like this.” She gestured with open palms to the sleek cabin.
“You mean growing up with money? Being rich is fantastic, as you know yourself.”
Nancy returned and slipped a fish course in front of each of them and then disappeared again.
“I didn’t grow up rich. Not at all,” she said.
He cut off a bite of fish. “You live in one of the most expensive parts of the city.”
“Grandpa made a ton of money in oil. They lived the high life for a while. Traveled, bought beautiful things—all before I was born. When the oil crisis happened in the eighties, they were hit hard. Then he got sick. They owned the apartment outright by then and had invested enough to make fees and taxes. We didn’t struggle, but we didn’t ride around in limousines. In fact, the ride here was the first time I’ve ever been in one.”
His face was unreadable as he chewed, with the exception of the slight lift of one eyebrow. She was pretty sure she had surprised him.
“Besides, if I were rich, I wouldn’t be working a temp job at your company.”