Page 23 of Merry with a Captain

"I'm not sure, a boat, like the other ones at the docks. Definitely not that, wow." She was silent processing this new discovery “Why didn't you say that was so big? It's what they call mega yacht." She shook her head confused and felt like he been keeping secrets from her.

"I don't know, it just didn't seem all that important. Why has this upset you?” he asked.

She looked up at him and saw concern on his face. His eyebrows pulled together.

Robyn thought for a few seconds. Why was she upset? “It's difficult to explain. Almost like you were holding something back about yourself. Like it was a secret, and I don't know why you would.”

She was worried now.

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, gazing into her eyes. "Does it make me a different man? I’m still the same guy. You knew I was a captain, I guess I assumed you would have an idea it would be something likeIntrepid.Either way, though, I'm still me. It doesn’t change me.”

Robyn looked up at him, considering what he just said. “No, it doesn't change who you are, that's for sure. But it does change something, and I can't quite figure out what it is."

"If you can't figure out what it is, then how important is it? Like I said, I'm still me. And I always will be me. We both had lives before meeting each other, and mine was aboardIntrepidand being part of the business."

Robyn nodded. “I guess so. What business? It never really occurred to me what you did for a living. Isn't that weird?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think it's weird. It never came up. We’ve shared a lot about ourselves with each other and maybe not everything. But it certainly wasn’t intentional. Plus, it's no different than me being surprised that you were my physiotherapist. Right?” His voice was gentle.

"This just shows how much we really don't know about each other. Are we moving too fast?” Saying those words aloud almost wrecked her. What if he thought it was too fast, and wanted to slow things down?

It would be best to know this now and not later down the road after she gave her heart to him. She sighed. It was too late. He already held her heart in his hands.

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"Robyn, I think you're getting ahead of yourself. You're working yourself into a frenzy.” Fletch kept his voice calm, but he was a riot of emotions inside. He hadn't seen this coming. “I don't understand why the size of the ship matters."

She was quiet, and he could tell she was thinking about what to say next. He gave her the time to organize her thoughts and poured them both some eggnog. She sat by the table littered with wrapping paper and he sat on the other side.

“Alright, I think, and this is going to be a bit blunt, it’s because you're rich."

Fletcher's eyebrow shot up. No, he wasn't expecting that.

He nodded. "Yes, I don't have money problems. But again, I'm not sure why that's an issue. It really doesn't change anything."

"But I'm basically paycheck to paycheck, and you don't have money worries.” She lifted her glass and took a drink.

He thought about that for a minute, trying to see it from her perspective. "I can see why that may be a shock. But I came from a background, as you know, where there were many moneyworries. I've lived both sides of the fence, and I will say this side has its benefits.”

He paused to choose his next words. “Beck and I worked hard to get where we are. One thing is for certain, wealth aside, I've never met anybody like you. You give me something that I never thought I would have." Her eyes met his and they widened. “This relationship – and I do look at it as a relationship – it has been quick, but this past week we’ve probably talked more over the phone and texts that most people would do in months.”

He smiled and reached across the table taking her hand. “I want to get to knowmoreabout you, your life, your family and take you places. Like seeing the sunset aboardIntrepidfrom the middle of the ocean. I don't want us to end, I want us to grow. Do you think you can work with me on that?"

Her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled. He didn't want to make her cry, he just wanted to share with her how he felt.

"These are happy tears,” Robyn sniffed and grabbed a napkin to wipe her nose. "I think what also bothered me is I didn't want you to think I was only with you because of your financial situation. Because I'm not."

"I know that."

She let out a big sigh, and continued. “Meeting you in that dive bar, and the motel that you were staying in isn't where rich folks usually hang out. So you telling me all of this, about your career, affluence, business, was a shock, and I think I felt like it was a bit of a betrayal. But, I understand now that it wasn't."

"No, it wasn't. We just had a lot going on and talked about so many other things that it just never came up organically. And while we're being honest here, I was hesitant when we met again at the market, worried that you might take off again without any warning." He watched the emotions play across her face. "You see, I can be just as vulnerable as the next person. And myearly years were based on being abandoned, so I can be a little guarded."

Robyn got up and came around to him, he pulled her onto his lap, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I would never do that to you again. I hated that I did it in the first place. I fell for you that first night and I had to start a new job the next day. If I had waited until the morning, I don't think I could've ever left you. And, I had no idea if we were just a one night stand, a fling, or an amazing night between strangers. But I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Nor I you.”

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