Chapter 29
Willa had accepted that her heart wouldn’t slow.
Everything Shawn had done overwhelmed her.
Sure, she’d received flowers before. But never her favorite, sunflowers. Even though she’d told Leo more than once they were her favorite flowers, he always bought her the most expensive ones he could find. He said sunflowers were a “common flower.” That she should’ve appreciated the two dozen red roses he bought her more.
Again, she kicked herself for not seeing some of the red flags he waved.
And somehow, between this morning and tonight, Shawn had coordinated not one but two job offers for her.
She barely noticed they’d been walking toward his boat until suddenly, it was in view. And it had twinkling lights on it—along with a perfectly set table with a bottle of champagne in an icebox and two identical glasses next to it.
Willa stopped in her tracks.
“Shawn,” she whispered.
“The first time I brought you on my boat, I kept wishing it was a real date,” he said, tugging a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I wanted a do-over.”
“Me too,” she said.
He kissed her fingers, still cradled in his hand, and led her onto the boat. As she sat down, he popped the bottle of champagne and she let out a delighted squeal. He grinned at her and poured her a glass, and Willa just couldn’t take it anymore.
As he set the glass of champagne in front of her, she grabbed his wrist, tugged him toward her, and pressed her mouth to his. He grunted in shock, then leaned into it, his calloused hands gently grabbing her neck, her cheeks, tangling in her hair. His tongue lapped against hers and he nipped her lip. Willa gasped, tugging him even closer, standing up so their bodies were closer, tighter.
His hands lazily grazed down her sides, grabbing her hips, pulling her against him so she could feel his hardness.
“Willa,” he whispered against her lips.
She opened her eyes. His were black and half-lidded with desire, his chest rising and falling with deep pants of lust.
“Tonight has been…” Willa took a deep breath. “Amazing. Perfect. The best date I’ve ever been on.”
He dropped his head so his forehead leaned against hers.
“For me, too,” he said.
“And we haven’t even gotten to the dinner part.”
“Or the after dinner part,” he said with a wink.
She laughed.
“Speaking of dinner,” he said, “you have to be hungry.”
As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t eaten since the mullet she fried for lunch, and it was almost 8. Now that he mentioned it, she was starving.
“Yes, please,” she grinned.
Shawn turned around and grabbed a couple of coolers. Out of one, he pulled out a shrimp cocktail, a pitcher of water, and a charcuterie board, setting them gently on the table he’d set.
“Don’t worry, there’s more,” Shawn said with a grin. “But I thought you’d like to start with some apps.”
She reached for a shrimp and dipped it in the sauce before taking a bite.
“How’d you pull all this off?” she asked.
“The shrimp cocktail?”
“Well, yes,” she said, grabbing another one. “All of it. The jobs. The boat. The food. In one day.”
“Ahh,” he said, grabbing a shrimp of his own. “Well, the jobs were easy. I knew both of those guys. After I heard you talking the other night about your job, I gave them both a call. I was going to tell you about it last night, but…”
She smirked.
“So I called them this morning and asked if we could drop by today. They both agreed.”
“I can’t thank you enough, Shawn,” Willa said, her voice growing thick.
It made her want to cry—how wonderful he had been, how sweet he was, how thoughtful and kind and generous. She’d never dated a man like him.
He was the definition of If he wanted to, he would.
“It’s no problem, Willa,” he said.
And she knew he meant it. This is what Shawn did. Helped people. Stuck his neck out for them. Cared for them.
But she appreciated it all the same.
More than he’d ever know.
“And the boat? The dinner?”
“Yes, that,” Shawn said with a chuckle. “Well, I’m not sure if you know this about me, but I run a pretty successful charter boat company.”
She cackled. “Okay, duh, but still.”
“So I have connections. I have supplies. This isn’t the first time I’ve organized a romantic dinner on this boat, Greene. Certainly won’t be the last.”
He locked eye contact with her as he said that last sentence, and she blushed.
Willa continued to snack on the appetizers and sip her champagne as she sat with Shawn in a comfortable silence. That’s what she loved most about him—how easy it was to just be with him in silence, not feeling like she had to be anything other than herself. She loved how easy it was to?—
Willa startled. Sat up.
“You ok?” Shawn asked.
Yeah, it’s just that I realized I’m in love with you, she thought.
No, she wasn’t going to say that.
“Willa?”
She cleared her throat.
“Sorry,” she said. “Just… I think I forgot to turn off my curling iron.”
He chuckled. “Your hair is straight tonight, Greene. But whatever you say.”
She blushed again.
Maybe that’s what she loved most about him. He trusted her. It made it all the more easy for her to trust him.
“Ready for the main course?” he asked.
She nodded, and he cleared away the empty appetizer plates, then pulled two covered plates out of a different cooler.
“Crab cakes, asparagus, and mashed potatoes,” he said. “And they should still be warm.”
She grabbed her fork and took a bit of the crab cake.
“Holy shit, this is amazing,” she said. “Where’d you get this?”
“One of my favorite restaurants on the water,” Shawn said, refilling her champagne glass. “It’s called Fish Food. I’ll take you there next time.”
“I’d love that,” Willa responded.
Shawn beamed at her and tucked into his food. As they ate their dinner and chatted a bit about their weekend, they watched the sun set over the Bay. Willa couldn’t help but feel like maybe this was a fairytale—a bit fairytale-ish, at least. The sunset was so picturesque she didn’t want to look away, and her brain was just fuzzy enough from the slight buzz the champagne gave her.
And then there was Shawn—who was wearing an outfit she’d never seen him in, his hair styled just so, in a way, she could tell he’d put in the extra effort. Not to mention how he smelled. He always smelled good—like soap and the ocean and the salty air—but tonight there was something else. Cologne, probably. And even outside, sitting across from him at the table he’d set on the boat, she could smell him.
“Ready for dessert?” he asked her, interrupting her thoughts.
“Dessert?” she asked with a giggle.
He pulled out a small box from one of the coolers and opened it up. Inside was a decadent chocolate cake.
“I’m so full,” Willa said. “But…”
She reached for a fork, took a bite, and groaned.
“Oh my god, please tell me this is from that same restaurant and I can have this again when we go on the actual date there,” she said as she grabbed another bite with her fork.
Shawn chuckled. “It’s all from the same place.”
“Thank God,” Willa said. “Give my regards to the chef.”
“Will do,” he responded, grabbing a bite of his own.
The cake was gone before they knew it, and the sun had set behind the Bay. Willa was full and sleepy, but mostly content, as she wandered over to Shawn’s side of the table and sat in his lap, cuddling close to him.
“This was the perfect first date,” she whispered into his ear. “Thank you.”
He tipped his head down and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. “Only for you.”
Shawn was on cloud nine.
Their date couldn’t have gone any better. The day he’d spent prepping it was entirely worth it.
Anything for Willa was entirely worth it.
She rested her head against his shoulder, her fingers gently twiddling with his right hand. His left was on the steering wheel as he drove them home, ready to take her inside to bed. He didn’t care if they had sex. They were both probably too full for that, anyway. He just knew he wanted to wake up next to her again.
As he pulled into her driveway, he gave her a quick kiss on the head and whispered, “We’re here.”
She sat up and grabbed his cheeks between her hands. “Come inside?”
“Of course.”
She kissed him, gently, slowly. He got out of the car and walked around to her side, opening her door and helping her out. She leaned into him as he led her toward the house, and Shawn never thought he’d been so happy, never thought he’d find a girl like Willa, never thought she’d?—
“Willa?” a deep, piercing voice came out from the front porch.
Willa stiffened, and Shawn looked up to where a man in a suit stood, arms crossed, a frown on his face. He glanced back at Willa. Her face was pale, and she clutched Shawn’s arm so hard he could see the whites of her knuckles.
“Leo?” she asked, breathless.