Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
F rankie and Lucas decided to set up camp on the forward deck, which had wraparound seating and a small table that reminded Frankie of the ones RVs had. It seemed removable, maybe so the seating area could be expanded into more of a lounging space? She wasn’t sure. But it was a nice spot.
Made even better by Lucas’s presence.
He sat and stretched his arms out along the back of the seat. “This is way more of a boat than I thought it would be. This is really nice. I might have to do a little social media posting myself.”
Frankie grinned. “It’s gorgeous.” She lowered her voice and leaned in. “What do you think a boat like this costs?”
“Easily a million.”
“Get out of here.”
Lucas nodded. “I’ve shopped. This one is out of my price range, but it’s fun to look at.”
She’d never been on such an expensive boat before. It was very impressive. She might have to get a selfie, too. Maybe she’d send it to Jason.
Harper walked through the entrance from the cockpit. “I see you two have claimed your spots. Planning on getting some sun?”
Frankie nodded. “At least a little bit. I’m sure at some point I’ll have to retreat to the shade, but right now it feels great.”
“Just so you know, there’s a full bathroom in the cabin. There’s a kitchen and a dining booth and bedroom and everything.”
“I want to see that,” Frankie said. Mitch had invited them. He wouldn’t mind if they had a look around. She’d be down there at some point anyway to use the facilities.
“You should. It’s amazing. He said he and Jeanie went to the Keys a few times in this boat. Or on this boat. Not sure the right way to say that. But I could see how that would be fun. A little like camping, but way more luxurious.”
Mitch appeared at Harper’s shoulder. “If that table’s in the way, we can stow it and open up the sunbed.”
Lucas looked at Frankie. “What do you think? You want more space to stretch out? It’s not like we’re eating for a while.”
Did she want to turn this whole area into one giant sunbed where she could lounge beside Lucas? Did he really have to ask? She gave a quick, nonchalant shrug, like it didn’t make that much difference to her. “Sure, that sounds nice.”
“Come on,” Harper said. “I’ll show you the cabin while the guys swap it around.”
Frankie went into the cockpit with her sister, then through the sliding door and down the three steps that led into the cabin. “Oooh, this is very nice. You really could live here. Maybe not for years, but for a couple of weeks, at least.”
“Right?” Harper opened a narrow door. “And the bathroom, as promised.”
Frankie peeked in. “I am good to go. No pun intended.”
Harper laughed. “I figured you’d appreciate it.”
“Jason would love this. I have to send him some pictures. Hey, speaking of sending things, any word from Buck?”
Harper shook her head. “You were on the email. You’d have gotten a response if he’d sent anything.”
“Just thought I’d check, in case he forget to hit ‘reply all’ or something.”
“Good point.” Harper got her phone out and looked at the screen, swiping and tapping. She shook her head. “Nothing new.”
“Maybe we scared him off.”
“I don’t think so. His first email was too open for him to get scared off now. I just think older people aren’t as on top of email as we are.”
“Maybe.” Frankie hoped she was right.
“I’m sure he’ll respond soon. Maybe he’s waiting for his wife to get home from work to help him. Let’s just try to enjoy the day and not think too much about it.”
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this day plenty.” Frankie smiled, took out her phone and got a couple of pictures.
“I’ll leave you to it. Archie’s been oddly quiet. So has Scout. I’d better go see what they’re up to.”
“Be there in a second.” Frankie took a few more pictures, then sat in the dining booth and tried a selfie. She didn’t love the picture, so she deleted it and tried again. Three more tries and she got one she liked.
She texted it to her son, Jason, along with a note. You won’t guess in a million years whose boat I’m on.
His response was oddly quick. Mitchell Ripley
She frowned at her phone. How did you guess that?
Willa already sent pics. He added a face laughing so hard it had tears coming out of its eyes.
Frankie rolled hers. Wish you were here.
So do I! Have fun!
Already am. Frankie went up top again and to the back of the boat, which was mostly shaded by a roof that extended from the cockpit.
Willa was slightly further back, near the platform that was almost water level. She was in the sun, now in just her bikini. The dogs were laying on the deck next to her and Harper was in the process of taking her T-shirt off.
“Mom, is this not the best ?” Willa was all smiles. “I want this to be my life. How do I do that?”
“Marry well?” Frankie offered. “Sorry, Willa. If I knew the answer to that, we’d be on my boat.”
Mitch returned from the front of the boat and went to stand behind the wheel. “Front is all switched over. And now, unless you all want to stay in the slip all day, I’m going to get us moving.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Harper answered.
Mitch gave her a smile, his gaze quickly skimming her newly exposed upper half before looking straight ahead.
The motors kicked on and the low rumble vibrated through the craft.
“Maybe we should take a seat,” Frankie said.
Harper nodded. “Yes, we should. Although I’m sure Lucas is wondering what happened to you.”
“It’s a big boat, but it’s not that big,” Frankie said. “I doubt he thinks I’ve gone missing.” All the same, she made her way back to the bow, where nearly the entire open area had become one large sunbed.
Lucas was shirtless, stretched out, hands behind his head, sunglasses on.
Her heart skipped a beat.
He turned his head toward her. “There you are. This is the life.” He moved his arm to pat the open spot next to him. “Come join me. Get comfortable. If we can’t own the boat, we can at least enjoy it.”
This was awkward. She thought she’d wanted this kind of alone time with him, but it suddenly seemed so much more intimate than she’d expected. She gave him a smile she wasn’t quite feeling, slipped off her flipflops, and lay down beside him. Did he think she’d set this up on purpose? That she was going to try something?
She liked Lucas a lot. The idea of being in a romantic relationship with him didn’t seem real. Not that she couldn’t imagine it. She could. She had . But she just couldn’t wrap her head around him liking her that way.
She settled in next to him and groaned at her own feelings, realizing too late that she’d actually made the noise out loud.
Lucas leaned up on his elbows. “You okay? You’re not getting seasick, are you?”
“No. I don’t even know if I get seasick. I’m fine. I was just…” Mercy, this was uncomfortable, but ignoring it wasn’t going to make it go away. She sat up. “I don’t want you to think that I set this up.”
His brow furrowed. “Set what up?”
“This. Us being together up here. Laying down. Oh, Lord, this is not a conversation I should have started.” She glanced back at the dock. Was it too far to swim?
He laughed. “Frankie, I don’t know if I’m exactly following the conversation, but do you think that I think you’re the reason we’re hanging out here? Because if you are, I need to stop congratulating myself on getting you to myself.”
Her jaw unhinged ever so slightly. “Say what now?”
He shrugged. “I just thought this would be a chance for us to spend some time together and see how things go. I’ve been trying to go slow, but maybe I’ve been going too slow. After getting burned…”
She was an idiot. “You were going slow so we could get to know each other. So you wouldn’t…have your heart broken again?”
“Yeah. That.” He sighed, sat up, bent his knees, and hooked his arms around them. “I’m not good at this, am I. Obviously not, if you didn’t even realize what I was doing. Did I misread things? If so, just tell me. I do not want to ruin things between us. I would much rather be friends than not be anything.”
She swallowed and did her best to decode every word he’d spoken. “Just to be clear, are you saying you want to pursue a relationship with me?”
“Poorly, apparently, but yes, that’s what I’m saying. Is that all right with you? Or do you want me to back off?” They were only inches away from one another.
She shook her head. “No.”
“No, it’s not all right?”
“No, I don’t want you to back off. Look, I’m not good at this, either. Obviously. I need things in plain English.”
He grinned, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head to look directly at her. “Frankie, I like you a lot. I want to see more of you, and I want to find out what comes next. With us. How’s that?”
“That’s perfect.”
He leaned across the tiny gap that separated them and planted a kiss on her mouth. “So are you.”
I think you’re the perfect one , she wanted to say. But the fireworks going off inside of her made words impossible.
At least for the moment.