Page 40 of Embracing the Change

“Goodbye, Mika.”

“Try to make the most of it, Nora.”

Impossible.

We rang off and I finished with my subtle, on-a-yacht makeup. With a curling iron, I then refreshed some of the waves in my hair that needed it, and did a half-up, half-down style. I spritzed on my perfume and donned my Ferragamo dress that was stark white with a pattern of a spread of oranges on the branch with leaves. It had cape sleeves, a plunging neckline and was completely backless (thank you, Dr. Fierstein, for my still perky breasts), with the added feature that the sleeves could come up to wrap around the neck to make the dress a halter and expose the arms.

I did not do this last.

I paired the dress with bronze, kitten-heeled slides, minimal gold jewelry, massive, black-framed sunglasses, and steeling myself for whatever was to come, I headed to the aft deck.

I found Jamie sitting at a table adorned with an extraordinary bouquet of fresh flowers. He was wearing khaki trousers and a blue button down I knew on sight would cause hot flashes with what it did to the color of his eyes.

Fortunately, he was wearing a handsome pair of Tom Ford sunglasses, something I saw when he heard me coming and turned my way. Unfortunately, those sunglasses swept me from top to toe to top again, and his beautiful lips formed a sexy smirk that instantly affected three very private places on my body.

“Good morning,” he rumbled.

The three affected areas were more affected at his rumble.

“It is?” I replied.

The sexy smirk turned into an even sexier bright white smile.

I stopped by the table and took in the silver coffee service, his half-full cup and opened laptop with papers strewn around, his attractive attaché that had files stuffed in it resting on one of the other chairs.

“You haven’t eaten?” I inquired.

“I was waiting for you.”

“That was unnecessary,” I remarked.

He pushed back his chair to get up. “Do you know me?”

I very much did.

He was a morning person, so he’d probably been up for hours, and further, was likely quite hungry.

But beating that, he was a down-to-his-bones gentleman.

Therefore, I didn’t reply.

I went to the buffet and made myself a plate that included lots of fruit, a spoonful of scrambled eggs, two rashers of bacon, and an almond croissant.

I liked food, and I partook of it at will.

Mother had instilled in me that you should always have whatever you wanted when you wanted it, “The key, dear, is careful moderation.”

My careful moderation differed from hers, which was why she had been a size six, and I was a size twelve, and would happily go up a size, if most of the designers I wore made clothes in it.

Since they did not, I reined my version of moderation in a notch.

I began to seat myself at the table across from the space Jamie had claimed but froze when his voice came from the buffet.

“If you sit there, I’ll pick you up and put you in the chair beside mine that has a damned view.”

I looked to him and noted, “Every seat has a view.”

“Not that one.”

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