Page 119 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“I don’t know. I’m from Iowa,” she said, trying to undercut her feelings with humor. “Not a lot of giant bodies of water there.”

He nodded. “The sea is not rough today, so you should be fine.” He released her hand. “Wait here a moment.”

With a fluid motion, he stepped from the dock onto the craft’s side and then onto the deck. Then he turned and held out both hands to her.

She suddenly realized she was still wearing her overused blue dress and high-heeled pumps. “I’m not really dressed for a sea voyage.”

“Ay, of course.” Luis made a sound of apology. “There are clothes for you in the cabin. For now, perhaps you could remove your shoes? I will make sure you do not slip and fall.”

She hesitated. “Are you sure you should be exerting yourself like this?”

“Dr. Ibarra has cleared me, I swear.” His expression was mock solemn as he drew a cross over his heart with one finger. “I knew you would not come if I did not consult with the good doctor.”

She would believe him because he didn’t lie to her, although he didn’t specify what precisely the doctor had cleared him for.

Eve slipped off her heels and handed them to Luis to place on the boat’s deck. When he turned back, she took his hands and stepped carefully onto the side of the boat. As she balanced there, he shifted forward, supporting her with all his strength. When she took the next step onto the deck, her body slid down the front of his with enough friction to fan the heat already flickering through her at his nearness.

When he did not move back, she looked up to find his face taut with the same desire that seared through her. For a moment, they stood, just barely touching, their gazes ensnared.

And then he surprised her by releasing her hands and turning. “The cabin is this way,” he said, placing a hand on the small of her back to bring her in front of him.

As they went forward into the cockpit, she was startled to see a large blond man in a white shirt and teal shorts standing at the wheel.

“Our captain, Gervais,” Luis said.

Gervais nodded. “Welcome aboard, madame.”

“And here are the stairs to the cabin,” Luis said, gesturing to a low door beside the helm. “Your bag is in the large bedroom.”

He stepped away so she could duck through the hatch and descend the stairs. The interior of the boat was as sleek as the exterior, with highly varnished wooden built-ins. The bedroom held a king-sized platform bed tightly made up with snow-white linens. Her carry-on bag rested on top.

Who had packed it? Given Grace’s complicit wave as the car door had closed, Eve suspected her daughter. She closed her eyes for a moment in sorrow. Of course Grace would like to see Luis and Eve together, but she didn’t understand that it wouldn’t be a lifetime commitment.

Shoving the thought aside, she unzipped the bag and spilled the contents onto the bed. Her toilet kit and hairbrush. Pink rubber-soled sandals that were actually Grace’s. Her sundress and her bathing suit. No shorts or shirt. What had Grace been thinking?

Well, she couldn’t wear the silk sheath on a boat, so she yanked down the back zipper and shimmied out of it. She wasn’t going to wear the bathing suit, though, so she pulled on the sundress, a gauzy cream-colored sleeveless affair with a split neck held together by tasseled ties. Grace had talked her into buying it at a store in San Ignacio, even though Eve had thought it was a bit too young and Bohemian for her middle-aged Iowan style. She ran the brush through her hair and slipped on the sandals.

When she emerged from the hatch, Luis was still standing in the same place. The moment he saw her, his gaze focused like a laser. She could feel the intensity of it. “You look breathtaking, querida. The embodiment of summer.”

His voice vibrated down into her bones like the deep purr of a big cat. She shivered at the endearment. “I bought the dress in San Ignacio. Grace picked it out for me.”

“Our daughter has excellent taste,” he said, his eyes crinkling with a father’s affection.

Our daughter. He drew Eve in with every word.

“Let us sit on the front sundeck so you can see our destination as we approach it,” Luis said. “Gervais will go slowly so we don’t get wet.”

He led her to a narrow walkway alongside the cockpit. Once they passed it, the deck opened up all the way to the bow of the cruiser with silver-gray sectional seating lining the space. The boat’s engine rumbled to life, and a dockhand jogged up and down the pier, casting off the ropes.

Luis waited as Eve surveyed the seating options and chose the end of the sectional facing forward. He frowned a little at her message that she wasn’t looking to sit beside him but settled in the corner, stretching out his long legs diagonally. She was surprised that he wore boat shoes with no socks. In fact, she had never seen him dressed so casually. He spread his arms across the back of the cushions and tilted his head back to bask in the sun, looking as though he hadn’t a care in the world.

He didn’t fool her. Kings always had cares.

The boat’s engines changed timbre, and the cruiser eased away from the dock. When they motored out of the inlet and into open water, a chorus of engines rose as a small armada of motor craft moved into position around them. Not too close, but clearly in a defensive formation.

Their security escort.

Luis did not pay them any attention. In fact, he closed his eyes, although his posture did not indicate exhaustion, but rather enjoyment of being on the water in the sun with the breeze ruffling his silver-and-gray hair.

---