Chapter 15 #2
By the time he finished, he was hungry, so he stopped at the Cremorne Point Wharf kiosk, where he got a coffee and a bacon-and-egg roll.
Normally something like this would be the reward after his run, but he figured he’d run enough already.
And running back to his and EJ’s usual spot felt lonely, so he was happy to eat now while he waited to catch a ferry instead.
As he ate, he watched the harbour boats shimmy across the water, wondering which one of the yachts was Eric’s. He’d seen pictures of superyachts and figured it was probably something huge and sleek and black. Whatever.
Lord, help me be salt and light. Not jealous.
Jordan finished his last mouthful, was about to toss away the paper, then traced a finger through the last of the barbecue sauce and stray onion remnant, and swallowed the sauced onion too. The sweet-yet-salty tang dissolved on his tongue. Yum.
A ferry slowly prowled its way toward the wharf, so he threw his rubbish in the bin and joined the short line for the ferry.
He tapped his Opal card and boarded. And as he passed the block of units where EJ lived, he prayed a blessing over her.
That God would keep her safe and help her know that she was loved. By God. Her family. And him.
Now this was living.
EJ struggled to keep the broad grin from busting out all over her face.
She’d seen a few episodes of Below Deck and had always wanted to know what it was like to be aboard a luxury yacht like one of the rich and famous.
And now, here she was, living the dream.
Being waited on hand and foot by Eric’s crew.
She really wished Alissa could see her now.
Just like in the show, the crew were all very respectful, very obliging; nothing was too much trouble.
So she did what she could to make the most of it.
Who knew if she’d ever get the chance to do something like this again?
But the wintry air didn’t make the on-deck hot tub terribly appealing.
She didn’t know Eric well enough to want to slip into a swimsuit.
That felt like asking for trouble. And besides, he’d only invited her because he wanted her to see what kind of lifestyle could be hers if she said yes to his proposal.
She coughed. His proposal to invest in Dream Match.
Nerves skidded through her stomach as she wondered what Jordan would say if he knew what Eric was offering.
A fifty percent stake, which would mean she’d have to sell some of her shares, but Eric’s investment of millions of dollars would take their app places she’d never dreamed possible. How could she knock that back?
Such generosity had also made it hard to knock back Eric’s invitation this morning to go on his yacht.
For a moment, she’d wondered if she would be the only one on board, but it turned out he expected to collect a few of his other friends.
She had been relieved to find out that Gwen was one of them.
Not so relieved to find out Eric had invited Neil Elton too.
But no matter. The wedding recently had made it fairly clear that Neil had moved on, and unless he was going to embarrass himself severely, she didn’t need to worry.
She could hopefully avoid him, just as he’d been keen to avoid her at the wedding.
They passed the little beach and café where she had been due to meet Jordan.
Regret panged for a minute, as she wondered whether Jordan had received her message in time.
She winced. Maybe not. He liked to be on time, so he’d probably been travelling to get there when she sent her message.
She felt bad for blowing him off, but Eric had said this would be the last outing he’d be taking the yacht on before he had it taken north for the winter.
“So it’s now or never, babe.”
She’d chosen now.
The yacht cruised in, and she recognised Gwen and Neil and Neil’s girlfriend standing on the wharf, along with a few others. It might be a guess, but she still felt rather special that Eric had chosen to pick her up first. It had allowed them to talk some more about Dream Match.
“Hi there!” EJ waved at Gwen, who grinned at her.
“Look at you, standing up there like a queen.”
EJ posed, and Eric chuckled, and she felt herself blush.
“Don’t be embarrassed. It’s cute to see someone having fun.”
Cute? She rankled inside. Maybe she was just taking things a little too personally, as he probably didn’t realise just how patronising he could sometimes sound.
Gwen boarded; then EJ air-kissed her and smiled at Neil and his girlfriend, whose name was Julia.
“I’m surprised that your little watchdog isn’t here,” Julia commented.
“I beg your pardon?”
“She means Jordan,” Gwen murmured.
“Oh.”
“Perhaps he wasn’t invited,” Neil said, with a sneer at Eric. “After all, he’s hardly the sort of person to appreciate a fine boat like this.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is ship,” Eric corrected.
EJ exchanged glances with Gwen and motioned to the platter of fruit and cheese on the outside dining table. “This is certainly the way to see Sydney Harbour.”
“Champagne, anyone?” Eric said, gesturing forward a white-clad crew member, who approached with a bottle of Dom Perignon and corkscrew.
Seriously? She’d heard of champagne breakfasts, but this seemed a little excessive.
There was a pop, a gush of champagne, then glasses were filled. One was shoved into EJ’s hand. “Oh, but—”
“But nothing,” Gwen said firmly. “It’s the weekend, it’s a beautiful day, we’re out on the harbour, so let’s enjoy. Okay?” She clinked glasses and watched as EJ sipped her drink.
Mm. It was just as nice as the glass she’d had at the Opera House all those weeks ago.
She glanced across and saw Eric watching her, a crooked smile on his face. She raised her eyebrows at him, and his smile broadened. “It seems like you are becoming a little more used to that.”
Why did he have to spoil a moment by saying things like that? She placed the glass down.
“Oh, don’t be offended. It’s nice to see the good girl letting her hair down a little.”
“I’m not good.”
He eyed her, heat in his eyes, and the fluttering sensation she’d experienced previously took flight in her chest. Well, maybe she was good, a little too good, because she’d never felt like this with anyone before.
The conversations of the others faded as Eric drew closer, his gaze fixed on hers. He didn’t seem to mind that the others were still nearby, watching. He seemed only interested in her.
“Are you sure you’re not good?” he asked in a low voice only she could hear.
Something protested, but she ignored it, as he drew closer still, then reached up and pushed a strand of hair from her eyes.
From this distance, she could see the golden specks in his dark eyes, could see the tiniest haze of reddish stubble on his chin, could see the way his lips were so quick to move.
She wondered what those lips felt like, tasted like. And shivered.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
The others had moved away, Neil pointing out the view to his girlfriend.
“Don’t look at them. Look at me.”
She returned her gaze to Eric, her heart beating fast.
“Are you cold?”
“No.” Warmth cascaded within. She felt flushed with heat. Maybe that was the effect his gaze had on her.
“Come here.” He lifted an arm and drew her close, tucked against his chest.
She could smell his aftershave, feel the buttons of his shirt press against her cheek. Closed her eyes as the moment threatened to overwhelm her. She was being hugged by Eric Churchill! He was kissing her forehead. Caressing her cheek! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!
His lips slid to her cheek, and then she realised he was going to kiss her. He was going to kiss her!
And she hadn’t been kissed since high school, when a boy at the year 12 formal had placed his lips on hers, shocking her, and Jordan had quickly intervened.
Since then, she’d kept her lips to herself, thank you very much, and focused her energies on work, work, work.
The subject of boyfriends, let alone kissing, had always been far from her mind.
Besides, there had always been Jordan to run interference for her when men had been a little too interested.
But there was no Jordan now. She was on her own. Just like she’d wanted.
And she realised she now wanted to know what it was like to be kissed by someone like Eric. Someone rich. Someone famous. Someone who, for all he had, seemed to want her. Who didn’t think she was second-rate.
She closed her eyes and felt his breath wisp over her skin as he lowered his face to hers. “EJ,” he whispered.
“Mm?”
“Oh my gosh! Is that a whale?” Julia screeched.
EJ’s eyes flew open, and the boat hit a bump, making her stumble.
Eric muttered something about the fools running the boat, then disappeared below deck.
“You two looked like you were getting pretty cosy,” Gwen murmured.
Words stalled, as she struggled with what to say. No way was EJ going to admit he’d been about to kiss her. Well, she hoped he had been about to kiss her. Oh, if only they hadn’t been interrupted.
“Look!” Julia gestured for them to come closer and pointed over the deck.
“What are we looking at?” Gwen asked.
“See? Over there, that water spray? That’s the whale. It just jumped up.”
“That’s called breaching,” Neil said.
Hmm. EJ watched, the breeze whipping her hair into her face, forcing her to snag a hair tie from her pocket and pull back her hair. She should’ve brought a hat, something to keep the sun off so she wouldn’t squint. She could get her sunglasses, though. That way she might see better.
She went inside, down the wooden stairs to the luxurious cabin filled with leather lounges and wooden trim. Someone giggled, then was hushed. Someone was having fun down here who probably wasn’t meant to be. She retrieved her sunnies and headed back up, joining the others at the railing.
A minute later, Eric joined her. “See anything?”
EJ pointed to where the spray of the whale could be seen. “It’s so amazing.”
“Very amazing.” He grasped the railing, the heat of his body next to hers as he murmured close to her ear, “But not as amazing as that moment before.”
She shivered as his breath tickled her ear, and was very tempted to turn her face so her mouth could meet his.
But a murmur from someone nearby made her realise that they still weren’t alone, and she didn’t want her first real kiss to be in front of witnesses.
He smiled, and she found herself swaying closer. He grasped her arm, his hand sliding to her shoulders. “Maybe that champagne has gone to your head if you’re unsteady on your feet.”
She blinked. “I didn’t have that much.”
But maybe she’d had more than she realised, seeing she was feeling these feelings that she hadn’t experienced in a long, long time. If ever.
A round of oohs drew her attention away from the golden glints of his eyes to the water, where the whale breached again, as if knowing it had an audience. “So spectacular.”
“Mm.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, and this time she didn’t shudder. This time she felt treasured, like the fact that this man noticed how her hair was bothering her made her feel like she was special.
“I just love how nature puts on shows like this,” Julia said.
Once upon a time, it would’ve been on the tip of EJ’s tongue to say it was God who was putting on such a show.
But these people didn’t believe in God, and she didn’t want to ruin the moment by expressing her beliefs that more than one of them had described as quaint.
Guilt struck as, for a second, she wondered about the wisdom of letting a man whose faith in God she didn’t even know claim her with his kiss.
She wasn’t the kind of girl who kissed without it meaning something. What was she doing?
“Hey, EJ, come and look at this,” Gwen called, pointing to something on the other side. Port? Starboard? EJ didn’t know which was which.
She joined her as a smaller Sydney ferry chugged by, like one of those used by the smaller north shore wharves, not the more popular places like Manly or the zoo. A few kids waved, and she waved back, grinning.
Gwen laughed softly. “You’re having fun, aren’t you?”
“This is amazing.” So what if she sounded gauche? Yachting on Sydney Harbour wasn’t her normal, that was for sure.
“Not the usual sort of Saturday morning in Wattle Vale?” Gwen teased.
“Not at all. The only whales we see are in the swimming pool,” she joked. Then blinked at herself. How cruel did she sound? Lord, I’m sorry.
But Gwen was chuckling softly. “It seems our sweet EJ has a wicked tongue.”
“I didn’t mean to sound quite like that,” she said quickly.
“Don’t apologise. We like seeing you with a little bit of salt and spice, not just sugary sweetness.”
Misgiving panged. Had she come across as too nice? A pushover? Was that why she was here?
Gwen laughed again. “I see you don’t like that description either.”
“What’s all this laughter between my two best girls?” Eric said, drawing near, then placing his arms over their shoulders.
“We’re just enjoying ourselves, aren’t we, EJ?” Gwen said.
EJ nodded, the weight of his arm heavy. Then he kissed Gwen’s cheek then hers, and everything seemed to tingle.
“I’m glad. People who work hard should play hard, am I right?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
Eric bent closer to her. “We’ll have to do something like this for your birthday soon, won’t we?”
She smiled up at him. “Can you top this?”
His eyes danced at hers. “Oh, EJ, you’ve not seen anything yet.”