Chapter 4 #2
“Here they come.” Jack gestured to the rowdy group pouring out of Frannie’s Range Rover.
Jack had bought the car for her to run the kids around in.
He never let anyone use Clare’s Volvo wagon, which still sat in the garage.
“You remember Jamie, right? Well, he’s got my sister, Frannie, and my daughters, Kate and Maggie, with him. ”
Jack made hasty introductions as the group boarded.
“Hey, Andi, nice to see you again.” Jamie shook her hand. “I hope Jack is showing you a good time so far.”
“Nice to see you, too. We’ve had a great day. I can’t wait to get out on the water.”
Jamie rubbed his hands together. “Then let’s do it.”
Jack handed out beers and sodas to the crew and told Andi to relax and leave the work to them.
Jack joined Andi on the bow to watch the sunset. Sitting next to her, he said, “Can I get you anything?”
“No way! I haven’t eaten this much in one day, well, ever. Dinner was great. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He nodded to the colorful sunset. “Pretty, isn’t it?”
“I feel kind of guilty calling this work.” She wrapped her arms around her knees and turned to him. “Your girls are lovely. You must be so proud of them.”
“I am. They amaze me in some new way just about every day.”
“It’s fun to watch you all together. You’re obviously very close to Jamie and Frannie.”
“Jamie is the brother I never had, and Frannie is much more than a sister. She’s always been one of my best friends, too.”
“You’re lucky to have them,” she said wistfully. “I’m an only child.”
“Sometimes when Frannie was trying to dress me up or get me to play tea party, I used to dream about being an only child,” he said, and they laughed at the visual.
Frannie stood next to Jamie at the helm.
“Is my brother laughing up there?” she whispered.
“Nice to see him so relaxed.”
“She’s a knock-out.”
Jamie leaned down to kiss her forehead. “So are you.”
Startled, Frannie looked up at him. “Are you flirting with me, Jamie Booth?”
“Maybe.”
Flustered, she turned the conversation back to Jack and Andi, who sat close to each other on the bow, engrossed in conversation.
“He’s attracted to her,” Frannie said.
Jamie took a long swig from his beer. “You’re seeing things.”
“What’s her deal anyway?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t spend much time with her outside the office in Chicago.”
“She was so nice to the girls and genuinely interested in them.”
“I know what you’re thinking, Fran.”
“And what’s that?”
“He might look, but he won’t touch. You know how devoted he is to Clare.”
“So he’s supposed to spend the rest of his life alone?”
“That’s the bitch of this whole situation. Who knows what the rules are?” He glanced down at her. “What about you? How do you plan to spend the rest of your life?”
Stunned, she could only stare at him—tall, blond, and devastatingly handsome.
She’d loved him her entire adult life but had never acted on it because of his friendship with Jack, not to mention the groupies who followed him around like useless fools.
She had no desire to join the parade. “What are you up to?”
He shrugged. “I think about you. A lot.”
A lump formed in her throat, and her heart pounded when she looked up to find his blue eyes trained on her. “I think about you, too. Far too much.” The craziness of this sudden shift in their relationship filled her with nervous laughter.
He hooked an arm around her to pull her close to him and kissed her cheek. “We’ll have to talk about this at a more appropriate time.” Calling to Jack and Andi, Jamie said, “Hey, you guys, we need to come about, and you’ll get wet on this tack.”
Jack held Andi’s elbow to steady her as they made their way to the boat’s spacious cockpit.
Frannie tossed a look to Jamie to draw his attention to the gentle way Jack handled Andi. As Jamie rolled his eyes at her, Frannie held a hand out to help Andi down to the sitting area.
“Thanks, Frannie. How about that sunset?”
“We ordered it just for you,” Jamie said.
Jack refilled everyone’s drinks before he joined them on deck. He caught Andi stifling a yawn. “Did I run you ragged today?” he asked with a grin.
“No, not at all, but my flight was early, and I’m turning into a pumpkin. Will your wife mind the long day alone with the baby?”
The three of them stared at her in stunned silence.
Andi’s face radiated with embarrassment. “What?”
“Maggie is my baby.”
“Oh God, Jack, I’m sorry. I thought when they said you were on family leave…I thought you’d had a new baby. I have no idea how I leapt to that conclusion.”
“It’s an obvious conclusion,” Jamie said. “You shouldn’t feel bad.”
“I’ve really put my foot in it. I apologize.”
“That’s not necessary,” Jack said.
“Hey, girls, we’re about to dock,” Jamie called to Kate and Maggie in the cabin. “Can you come give us a hand?”
“Sure.” Kate avoided eye contact with the adults when she came up the stairs to help her father lower the sails.
Awkward silence hung over the group as they docked, cleaned up, and prepared to head home.
“I can do the rest,” Jack said.
Jamie gave Andi’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. Then he put a hand on Jack’s arm, and their eyes met.
Jack nodded, and Jamie left with the others.
“I’ve obviously upset everyone,” Andi said. “I’m so sorry.”
She was so distressed that Jack couldn’t help but reach out to her.
He took her hand. “It’s my fault. I assumed everyone knew what happened.
You did nothing wrong, so please don’t be upset.
” He guided her to sit next to him. To ward off the sudden chill, he tossed his jacket over her shoulders and took her hand again. “Look at me.”
The impact of her soft brown eyes meeting his was like a punch to the gut.
“You didn’t know, okay?”
She nodded.
“Just over a year ago, my wife was hit by a car. She’s in a coma and, well, she’s lost to us.”
Andi gasped and clutched his hand. “Oh! What I said! The girls, they heard me… I made such a big assumption!”
“They’re much better than they were. We all are.”
“Where is she now?”
“In a home of her own with twenty-four-hour nursing care.” He braced himself for the blast of pain that never materialized. At some point, he’d apparently gotten used to the new arrangement.
“I’m so sorry. You’re all heartbroken.”
“We’re resigned now. There were months and months of heartbreak. I didn’t work for more than a year and just went back almost two months ago. I had to get things back to some sense of normal for my girls. My oldest daughter, Jill, will turn seventeen soon.”
“You adore them,” she said, squeezing his hand.
“Yes,” he said, “and I had no choice but to get on with it for their sake. Frannie’s also been a godsend. She moved in with us right after it happened, and she helps me with everything.”
“That’s amazing. I liked her right away.”
“We’ve always been close, but now we’re on a whole other level. It was so incredible of her to put her life on hold when we needed her.”
Andi rested her hand on his arm. “You’ve had quite a time of it, haven’t you? All of you.”
“It’s been rough.” As he watched her hand gently caress his arm, the urge to kiss her overtook him. Alarmed, he sat up straighter and broke the spell. “I’d better get you back to your hotel. It’s been quite a day, and we’ve got a big week ahead of us.”
“Yes, you’re right.” She stood to gather her things. “Thank you for today. I’ve had a lovely time.”
“Me, too.”