Chapter 5 #3
Casey was talkative, like Jake. She had an effortless way of filling conversation, and she was upbeat, generally happy, and agreeable.
Even when she disagreed, she could manage to spin her opinion in a way that was so polite and gracious that you almost forgot that you’d disagreed in the first place.
That was what made her a great lawyer. She could command attention without even trying.
Jake, who seemed to be genuinely curious about people, and openly friendly would surely find Casey interesting.
“The food’s ready downstairs,” Rich said, only his head and shoulders visible from below deck.
Casey ushered Isabella gently toward the stairs, their mom following behind, leaving Faith standing with Jake.
He put out his hand to allow her to go ahead of him.
“Oh, no thanks,” she smiled, trying her best not to be rude.
“I think I’ll stay up here. I’m not hungry.
” Truthfully, the rocking of the boat and thinking again about Casey and Jake had made her stomach a little queasy.
She didn’t know if wine and food would be her best bet.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she lied.
He looked at her, thoughts behind his eyes. “Don’t move,” he said with a grin and began walking away.
Where was he going? Faith sat down on a built-in bench at the end of the boat and tried to focus on the whitecaps at sea.
The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, with white, puffy clouds in the distance.
About a mile out, a dolphin fin slipped above the surface of the water and then went back under.
She took in a deep breath, the open air and quiet sound of the sail against the wind calming her upset stomach a little.
As Faith waited for Jake to return, she thought again how good he’d been with Isabella. Why hadn’t he married and had children? There were so many things about him that she wanted to know.
“Here you go. This should help,” he said, emerging from below deck with a can of ginger ale and a small plate of crackers. “The bubbles will help with the nausea, and the crackers will ease your stomach a little. Hopefully.” He smiled.
“I didn’t say I was feeling ill,” she said, not in an accusatory manner, but surprised that he’d figured it out.
“I could tell by your face.” He handed her the ginger ale and set the plate on the bench next to her.
“How so?” she pressed. She wanted to know how this stranger, who’d only known her for two days, could read her so easily.
He looked at her, his lips wanting to smile.
It was right there waiting, and she wondered how a person could be that happy all the time.
“You were blinking more than usual. I thought the sun was in your eyes, but you kept doing it even when the sun went behind a cloud. Your expression had turned serious, and you hadn’t been like that quite as much yesterday or today. ”
“Quite as much?” she asked. She didn’t remember being serious. “When was I serious?” Was that her problem? Did she come across too serious?
“You were like that when I first saw you at the cottage and again at breakfast.”
“You sure are perceptive,” she said, trying not to sound too defensive.
The truth was, both times she’d been deep in thought.
She’d been contemplating things, and it surprised her that he’d noticed.
She could feel the tiniest of emotions at the pit of her stomach—affection for him that she hadn’t expected.
She could feel a connection with him, and she wondered if he felt it too.
Or did he feel that way toward Casey? How odd that two days ago, she didn’t even know he existed and now, he was dominating her thoughts.
He smiled again, and her queasy stomach fizzled with excitement. “Are you having a good time?” he asked out of the blue.
“Yes. Thank you for inviting me.” She was still contemplating her fears about him and Casey. She knew that she shouldn’t be, but her old wounds were surfacing without warning.
“You’re welcome.” He chewed on a smile.
“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked.
“I can tell you’re thinking again.”
“This is going to get really difficult for you if you stick around because I think all the time,” she laughed. “Are you going to read my mind all day?”
“Maybe,” he winked at her, and she couldn’t help but think how she wanted nothing more than to have him stick around.
“Come with me.” He took her ginger ale in one hand and held her hand with the other.
The gesture was startling, but in that instant she didn’t want him to let her go.
He led her to an area to the side of the cabin and took a step up, turning to guide her in the same direction.
She followed, standing with him on the ceiling of the cabin.
“Can we be up here?”
He chuckled as if her question was silly, but his face was affectionate.
“Yes. Just be careful.” He walked her to the bow of the boat and sat, motioning for her to sit with him.
She stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed them at the ankle while leaning back on her hands.
The only thing between her and the ocean was a thin, silver railing.
He’d been right: It was like flying. The wind in her hair, the sound of the waves and the rushing air over her ears so loud that she couldn’t get a single thought to process.
Her senses were so overwhelmed by what was in front of her.
When she finally managed to pull her gaze away from the incredible view in front of her, she looked over at Jake to find he was looking back at her, that smile on his lips.
“Not feeling ill anymore?” he asked loudly over the noise.
She wasn’t. It really was like magic. Right there with him, she was fine.
And he’d just known how to make her okay.
Faith shook her head, that affection for him swelling in her chest. What was happening?
She wasn’t supposed to feel this way about a person she’d only just met. But there was no denying it.
“I’m glad,” he said. “I love sailing. No matter what happens in a day’s work, it all fades away out here.” He looked out at the ocean.
“I always wanted to go sailing as a kid. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a sailboat.” She didn’t know where this confession had come from, but, once again, she just felt able to share everything with Jake.
“Really?” He looked over at her. “I can’t say I did a lot of sailing as a kid either, but I do now. I need it. It calms me. And it gives me time to hang out with great people like Rich,” he said as she noticed the crew begin to bring the boat to a stop.
Slowly, it glided along the water, cutting through the surface until it was but a bobbing vessel in the gentle swells of the ocean. They lowered the anchor.
“You have your swimsuit underneath your clothes, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Feel like swimming?”
He stood up, and as he raised his shirt, she realized his shorts were swimming trunks.
He slipped his T-shirt over his head, and she quickly turned to look out at the water, although her eyes slid back over to him as if they were under some sort of magnetic pull.
Every muscle was perfectly shaped, his wide chest tapering to a fit waist. She took in the curve of his biceps, the flawless square of his shoulders, the ripple of muscle along his stomach.
“Hop up! The water is considerably refreshing when you get out this far. It’s a great escape from this North Carolina heat.”
She’d never been so glad that Casey was below deck.
There was no way she wanted to stand next to her sister, wearing a bikini.
She got up slowly, shimmied off her shorts and suddenly felt nervous standing in front of him in her swimsuit.
It was the new one she’d bought before the trip—a black two-piece that tied at the hips.
He was taking her in, and it made her feel nervous.
She turned around and set the shorts down, checking under her shirt quickly to ensure that everything was where it should be.
She adjusted her top. Then, there was nothing else to do but take her shirt off.
As she put her shirt beside her shorts, she surveyed the deck floor.
She didn’t want to look up for some reason.
She was right at the edge of the boat, and he was now behind her on deck.
She could see him in her peripheral vision if she turned her head just slightly.
She didn’t stand there long before there was an enormous splash, water spraying up against her skin. She spun around to find a gurgling circular spray of bubbles, and then Jake’s head popped up in the center of it.
“Come in!” He flicked water up in her direction and she dodged it.
He was smiling, baiting her. “Come in or I’ll come get you,” he teased.
He didn’t stop his eyes this time from moving along her body.
The way he was looking at her took away any remaining self-consciousness.
She felt pretty. “Stand on the edge right there,” he lifted a dripping finger toward the back corner of the boat.
Carefully, Faith stepped over the railing until she was standing precariously on the edge of the boat. “How cold is the water?” she called down to him.
He went under and back up, shaking the water from his hair. “It’s perfect.”
She debated how to jump in. Feet first? That might take her top off. Should she dive? What if she belly-flopped? That would hardly be the picture of elegance she wanted to paint. Who knew it could be so difficult just getting in the water!
“If you jump, I’ll catch you,” he called up.