Chapter 20
Captain Kendra’s Log: It’s just a coincidence.
An incessant knocking at the houseboat door jolted me from my thoughts, causing my heart to race with excitement and impatience.
Hastily, I tied a robe around my damp body, the fabric clinging to my skin, and threw my wet hair into a towel, my pulse quickening at the thought of the evening ahead.
“Coming!” I yelled, my voice barely masking the thrill that coursed through me as I hustled out of the bathroom.
A young man in a delivery uniform stood outside the door, a playful smile lighting up his face as he waved at me through the window.
I caught my breath, a hint of annoyance mingling with surprise. I opened the door. “Why didn’t you leave it on the mat?” I asked.
His headphones blaring music made it impossible for him to hear me, but he simply beamed and shoved a garment bag into my hands. Without another word, he turned and bounded down the gangplank, disappearing toward the parking lot.
I rolled my eyes, a smile creeping onto my face despite myself as I shut the door. I had been in a great mood all day. We sowed the seeds of doubt between True and Jesse, which was good. My giddiness had nothing to do with kissing my handsome fake fiancé for the first time.
Even if it was earth-shattering. I closed my eyes and touched my lips, remembering the all-consuming way he kissed me back.
I felt a flutter behind my ribcage and opened my eyes—no time to think about last night. I needed to get ready for the party. The garment bag was a surprise, though.
I gingerly laid it over the dining table.
It was black, sleek, and elegant, with the name of a clothing company written in silver script across the front—a promise of glamour.
Tied around the hanger was a big red bow, a surprising touch that made my heart skip a beat. Attached to it was an envelope.
With eager fingers shaking slightly from excitement, I opened the envelope and pulled out the note inside. Saw this and thought it would match your beautiful eyes.
It was signed “A secret admirer.”
My heart raced with anticipation as I unzipped the sleek garment bag, the sound revealing the secrets within: royal blue silk shimmered in the fading light of day.
I gasped as I slowly pulled a dress from its confines.
It was a simple yet enchanting sleeveless party dress.
Its fitted, crisscross corset bodice beautifully accentuated the waist before cascading into a swishy skirt that danced with potential.
I was already smitten before I had the chance to try it on.
With a giddy squeal of excitement, I dashed into my bedroom, tossing the robe and damp hair towel aside.
I carefully slid the dress over my head, avoiding my damp tresses.
The silky fabric glided against my skin like a gentle caress.
It felt so smooth that I hesitated to even reach for undergarments; the fabric enveloped me in comfort and confidence.
But then I twirled in front of the mirror.
The skirt billowed out - showing off my hoohah.
Okay. Maybe I would wear underwear; otherwise, my family would undoubtedly get a rather embarrassing glimpse of what I had for lunch.
I snickered.
As my hands slid down the silky fabric, I made a delightful discovery—the dress had pockets!
Beautiful and functional. I couldn’t help but grin. Realizing that this stunning dress thrived in aesthetics and practicality only fueled my growing affection for it.
Rowan.
It had to be from him. He was the kind of guy who would kiss the daylights out of a woman and send her a beautiful party dress the day after.
We didn’t discuss that kiss because I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what came over me at the end of the game, but it probably had to do with winning BIMBO and raising enough doubts in Jesse’s relationship to break off the wedding.
I should feel like I was walking on Cloud Nine, so why were my guts in knots?
I could barely focus this afternoon on the pirate lunch cruise. Rowan wasn’t on board, and it took me three tries to dock the boat when we returned to Pleasure Point. I shook my head. I needed to get it together before the engagement party.
“Goldilocks?” Rowan called from the main area as if I summoned him with my thoughts. “You in here?”
“Yes. But I’m not ready yet.” I poked my head out my bedroom door, and the words dried up on my tongue.
Rowan stood in the middle of my houseboat wearing a dark suit, black boots, and a royal blue button-down shirt that matched my dress.
He wore no tie, and I caught the faintest glimpse of chest muscles in the open collar.
I forgot my name.
“Kendra? You okay? You look flushed,” Rowan chuckled.
Kendra. Yes. That was my name.
I pressed a cold hand to my cheeks. “It’s hot in here. Just got out of the shower. I’ll be about 15 minutes.” I shut the door and pressed my back to it, trying to get my breathing under control. I also fanned my face because it was hot in here. The shower didn’t vent well.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Sixteen minutes later, I emerged from my bedroom and spun in a circle for him to see the dress. “What do you think?”
“Goldilocks.” Rowan’s voice turned gravelly. “I didn’t think you could top the black dress, but this is—” He shook his head. “I have no words.”
I crossed the room and gently placed my hands on his forearms. “I wanted to say thank you for the delivery.”
His eyes lit up. “You like it?”
I flipped my hair. “What’s not to like?”
He kissed my cheek and lingered. His hot breath on my neck caused goosebumps to pop on my skin. “You look gorgeous, Kendra.”
My heart pounded. I felt up the smooth fabric of his jacket, then pulled away, nodding. “Thank you. Now, let’s get this party started.”
As we walked to the parking lot, he grabbed my hand and laced his fingers with mine.
There wasn’t anyone around, but I wouldn’t say a word about it.
I liked holding his hand. I liked standing next to him.
And truth be told, he was easy to be with.
Except when he was meddling in my life, but I couldn’t think about that too much tonight.
This was the Engagement Party Night, and we had four hours to sow more doubt in the minds of True and Jesse.
I slid behind the cart’s wheel, and Rowan gingerly sat in the passenger seat. I reached for the key, but he stopped me with his giant hand. I didn’t spare a thought to what other giant appendages the man sported. Nope. Not one thought.
“Kendra.” He turned to face me on the bench seat. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Do what? Drive my golf cart?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Ruin Jesse’s wedding.”
“We’ve been over this. Yes.” I sighed. “But also, no.”
“No?” Rowan’s eyes lit up. “What’s the no part?”
I heaved a breath and looked toward the edge of the marina. “I didn’t think I’d like True.”
He laughed. “Yeah. That’s the trouble, isn’t it? If you ruin Jesse’s wedding, you ruin hers, too. And she’s so nice.”
“So nice,” I emphasized, turning back toward him. “She’s so nice.”
“Definitely. So nice.”
“It’s like she’s an angel.”
“Looks like one, too,” Rowan said.
I chuckled. “She does!”
“She also looks a lot like you.”
I raised my eyebrows in confusion. “What?”
“You didn’t notice?”
“Notice what?”
“That she looks like you. Blonde hair, blue eyes.” Rowan waved at me. “You could be sisters.”
I snort-laughed. “Well, my real sister might have an issue with that. But, okay.” I thought back to the bridal store. She did have that curly blonde hair. “What of it?”
“Isn’t it interesting Jesse picked a woman that looks exactly like you?”
My pulse picked up a beat. “Maybe.”
“What did his first wife look like?”
Good question. I couldn’t remember. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, opened InstanTick, and pulled up the ex-wife’s profile.
I never cyberstalked her when they got together because that was before social media was so prevalent.
Finding her didn’t take long because she was still friends with Jesse.
“Here she is.” I zoomed into her profile picture and gasped.
Rowan leaned over my shoulder and clucked his tongue. “What a surprise. He has a type.”
“It is a coincidence.” I shook my head and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. He met all those women after he knew you,” Rowan said. “So, if there’s a type, you started it for him.”
I never thought about it, but he did have a good point. “Fine. That’s—”
“Good for you,” Rowan finished. “It means he has been picking a version of you subconsciously.”
I slouched back into my seat.
“Why aren’t you happier about this?” Rowan’s eyes searched mine.
“I’m happy about it,” I said weakly. “It’s great news.” I turned on the golf cart, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed toward Demeter House.
“Have you thought about what comes after?”
“After what?” I peeked at Rowan out of the corner of my eye.
“After the wedding breaks up and you get together. What’s next? Will you go into business with him? Get married?”
I couldn’t help the shudder at the word “married.”
“Don’t you want to marry the love of your life?” Rowan asked.
“Sure. Who wouldn’t?” I kept my eyes on the road, but my mind raced. I hadn’t given it that much thought. I’d been so obsessed with finding a way to stop him from marrying True that I didn’t think about the day after. Or the week after.
“You don’t want to get married? I thought all women dreamed about their big day.”
I raised a shoulder. “I guess I’m not like other women.” I snickered. “I briefly considered what I’d want if I had a wedding, and it’s not a wedding dress that cost ten grand.”
“True’s dress was more like fifty,” Rowan said.
I slammed on the brakes of the cart, and Rowan put up his hands to stop from going through the windshield. “Oops. Sorry.”
“I see you learned to drive from your dad,” Rowan quipped.
“Ah, you’ve already taken a ride with him in The Bolt.”
Rowan grinned at me. “I have.”
That grin and the thought of him riding around Pleasure Point with my dad warmed my heart for reasons I wasn’t ready to explore. I steered the cart back along Eros Street toward town. We rode in silence underneath the tree canopy until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Do you ever want to get married?” I asked.
“I did get married,” he sighed. “Turns out she was the wrong woman. She left me.”
“Did she have a tumor? An aneurysm? Why would she leave you?”
“She didn’t have a tumor. I did,” Rowan answered quietly.
“Damn.” I swallowed. “Are you okay?”
“I am now, but wasn’t at the time.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Rowan assessed me from the passenger seat, and I nervously smiled at him. He pulled one of my hands toward his lips and kissed my fingers. “I do want to talk to you about it, but not right now. We’re about there, yeah?”
We had reached Amour Avenue, which marked the boundary of the downtown area.
I nodded and steered us toward Venus Avenue, which would take us to Demeter.
Golf carts packed all available parking spots, and rain splashes began to pelt the windshield.
I stopped the cart and leaned over the wheel to look at the sky.
“Shit.”
“Goldilocks, you pull up to the front door and get out. I’ll find a parking spot and join you inside. You shouldn’t get that dress wet,” Rowan said.
Normally, I’d fight this macho attitude. It was raining. I wouldn’t melt. But he was right about the dress. I didn’t want to get his nice present wet. It would ruin the silk. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so I put the cart in park. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure,” he said. “Now hurry inside. I’ll be right there.”
Without another word, I threw open the door and made a break for it.
Luckily, we were on the early edges of the unexpected rainstorm, so only a few drops caught me before I made it inside.
I chastised myself for not having an umbrella in the cart, but most of the time, I wore jeans or shorts.
Getting those things wet wouldn’t ruin them.
And I certainly didn’t care about getting my hair wet.
It was pulled into a ponytail or messy bun most days.
I glided a hand over my straightened hair and searched for a mirror in the B & B’s foyer.
I was checking the back of the dress for wet spots when I caught Rowan entering through the front door.
His jacket had more rain spots than I did, but the man looked like he stepped out of a wet dream. Or a romance book.
“You look amazing.” Rowan joined me at the mirror and tugged on his lapels, straightening his already straight jacket. “You certainly class this sailor up by being on his arm.” He smiled down at me and offered his arm, which I took.
A slow smile spread over my face. “You always know what to say. I can’t believe that woman left you.”
The smile disappeared from Rowan. “Well, maybe you’ll understand when I tell you the story later.”
“You’re worse than Thorn and Avery when you tell a story.”
“Who are those people?”
“They’re the town journalists, and you may meet them tonight,” I said, pulling his arm toward the din from the ballroom. “Now, take a deep breath and prepare for the fire.”
“Fire?”
“If BIMBO was the frying pan, we’re about to hop feet first into the fire,” I said.
“Bring it on, Goldilocks.”