Chapter 22
SAGE
Sage stared up at the obsidian sky framed by the butterfly hatch overhead. The ocean rumbled and roared, and the thick salt-slicked air hung around her like a damp curtain. Mira lolled from side to side, but despite the soothing motion, she couldn’t sleep.
Her mind still reeled from her earlier conversation with Flynn. And the haunted glint in his eyes when he spoke about his brother’s bucket list.
He’d devoted ten years to completing all thirty of Kevin’s youthful ambitions. Is that why he’d left Blessings Bay? Why he’d left her ?
She’d wanted to ask him, but the words wouldn’t form past the lump of trepidation caught in her throat. What if she didn’t like his answer? What if his answer confirmed what she’d long suspected? That she simply hadn’t been enough for him. For all the years she’d craved closure, she wasn’t sure she could bear the truth.
The last item on the list flashed into her mind. Become vice president of Cahill Enterprises . Kevin had lived and breathed all things business. As kids, while she and Flynn built sandcastles for pirates and princesses, Kevin constructed Cahill Tower, a commercial skyscraper with an attached parking garage made of driftwood.
Kevin was born to be VP. But Flynn? If someone had asked her ten years ago if he’d take over the family business, she would’ve scoffed. The old Flynn Cahill wouldn’t last two seconds in a boardroom before he got bored, in the literal sense.
But now? She wasn’t so sure. For the last decade, he’d lived the life Kevin always wanted. He was wealthy, successful, and highly esteemed in the business world. But she couldn’t stifle the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with Flynn’s flawless facade. He wasn’t being true to the man God created him to be, and ten years ago, she would’ve told him exactly how she felt.
A rogue wave slapped against the hull, rocking Mira to one side. Sage tumbled in the sheets, nearly toppling out of bed. She gripped the bed frame, clinging with all her might until Mira righted herself.
Her heart racing, she maintained her tight grasp on the frame, waiting a beat for her pulse to return to its resting rate before letting go.
The wind howled, and every inch of Mira creaked and groaned in response.
Were Flynn and Cap okay above deck?
Another wave assaulted Mira ’s starboard side, and Sage scrambled to secure a safe grip as the boat lilted. Did the bed have some sort of guardrail for this kind of situation?
At the thought, she wondered, once again, how Flynn and Cap were faring topside. Maybe she should invite them below deck until the waves calmed?
A vision of Flynn in his pajamas with sexy rumpled hair invaded her vivid imagination, sending her already racing pulse soaring.
Nope. Definitely a bad idea .
The howling wind settled to a low whistle, and the boat’s violent sway simmered to a slow bob.
Maybe the worst was over?
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…
Raindrops played a gentle percussion on Mira ’s wood siding.
Great . Just what she needed. She couldn’t leave them up there in the rain, could she?
Apprehension built in her chest. With each stumbling step she took toward the companionway, aided by the flashlight on her phone, her heart whispered a warning.
This will end in disaster.
The rain grew louder and more persistent, pelting Mira on all sides. The boys would be soaked by now.
A noise in the galley caught her attention, and she aimed the beam of light inside. A dripping-wet Flynn knelt by Cap’s side, drying him off with dish towels.
“Sorry.” Flynn winced in the harsh glare, and she tilted her phone away from his eyes. “I know we’re encroaching on enemy territory, but it’s dumping buckets up there.”
“I was just going topside to get you.” Her gaze fell to the white T-shirt plastered to his rock-solid chest. Even in the dim lighting, she could trace the outline of his contoured abs. Her cheeks heated, and she quickly averted her gaze. But not before her mouth went as dry as a sand dune.
“You were?” He cocked his head in surprise. Could he tell she was blushing?
“Okay, I was actually coming up to get Cap, but I figured he’d only agree to come down with me if you came along, too.” She tried to sound breezy and casual, while inside, her heartbeat thundered as hard as the rain.
“Thanks.” He stood; his features relaxed with relief. “Cap and I can throw together a makeshift bed on the floor. You’ll barely even notice us.” He combed his fingers through his wet hair, and the strands by his forehead curled into sexy tendrils.
Yeah, right . Her stomach swayed even more than Mira . She wouldn’t be able to breathe with Flynn nearby, let alone sleep. And yet, the realization didn’t stop her from blurting, “We can share the bed.”
His eyes widened, and his slack jaw conveyed all the shock she felt.
“I—I mean,” she stammered, trying to talk some sense into her traitorous hormones. Or was her heart the more likely culprit? “All three of us can share the bed. It’s a queen, so there’s plenty of room. You can sleep on top of the sheets, and Cap can sleep in between us.”
Had she lost her mind?
The boat pitched to one side, and she braced herself against the doorjamb.
Cap barked in excitement, as if he enjoyed the amusement ride.
“Don’t trust yourself, huh?” Flynn’s athletic frame followed each swell and dip of the boat, matching Mira ’s movements.
She tried not to notice the way his muscles flexed with the motion. Or the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Not to shave your eyebrows in your sleep?” she teased, deflecting with humor. “No, I don’t. And you shouldn’t trust me, either.”
He laughed, and the rich, rumbling sound made her feel more unsteady than the shifting floor beneath her feet.
Their eyes locked, and a current of heat surged between them.
He took a step toward her, but another wave struck Mira ’s side, launching Sage forward. She met Flynn’s chest with a thud, and his back slammed against the wall.
Cap barked again, having a ball as Sage’s phone clattered to the floor. With the flashlight facing down, they plunged into moonlit darkness.
Flynn’s chest rose and fell beneath her fingertips, his breath deep and ragged. Her fists coiled around his damp shirt, while his hands splayed across her lower back, pressing her against him.
She inhaled sharply, not daring to breathe as their bodies moved together, in time with the rhythmic waves.
“Are you okay?” His voice finally broke through the scintillating silence, strained and raspy.
She tipped her chin until their eyes met.
His gaze glowed in the darkness, fiery and intense, his desire unmistakable.
She couldn’t look away.
“I—I don’t know,” she answered honestly, her emotions an indiscernible jumble.
He pressed harder against the small of her back, leaving no space between them. His lips were so close, she could almost taste them.
In all her life, no one had ever kissed her like Flynn Cahill. The man kissed the same way he handled a sailboat—with passion, skill, and flawless intuition.
What would he do if she lightly pressed her lips to his? Would he stop her? And more importantly, would she want him to?
Her heart hammered its answer so loudly, it muffled the pounding rain.
At that moment, she didn’t care about self-preservation.
She simply wanted to pretend. To exist in what could’ve been.
Let Future Sage deal with the fallout.