Page 82 of Sail Away with Me

“Yeah.” But the thought was still there. Sail was a nobody on the circuit, whereas Lex Danke was a champion. If the tables were turned, Sail would be pissed and would likely look for any loopholes.

“Congratulations, Sail,” the official said as he returned. “Well done. You’ve put on quite a show this week.”

“Thanks,” Sail shook his hand.

“We’ll start in five minutes.”

Five minutes later, all the winners stood on a makeshift stage. The younger categories went first with the gold group going last.

“In second, returning champion, Lex Danke.”

People clapped as Lex stepped to the podium. He accepted his trophy and check.

“And this year’s champion,” the official said. “Sail Carter.”

This time, everyone erupted into a loud cheer. It seemed word had spread fast that a local had won the regatta. Sail stepped to the podium, shook hands for the photographer, and then lifted the trophy up high.

As he stood there, looking out over the crowd, he knew nothing would be the same ever again.

galvin

. . .

To say the past few months had been a whirlwind of activity for Galvin, would be an understatement. After Sail won the regatta, he competed in two more. Taking second in both. Each time, he had to leave Seaport for two weeks—one week to train and get to know the water where the competition was—and the other week to compete. He offered to pay for Galvin’s expenses so she could go with him, but she declined. The start of law school loomed, and she wanted to make as much money as possible. The first year and first semester were crucial and she wanted to be ready.

Thanksgiving came and went, with her dad flying out to celebrate the holiday with her. She gave him a tour of Seaport, stayed on shore when Jack took his old college friend out on their boat, and spent the day in Boston exploring. They’d all gathered at the Carter’s for Thanksgiving dinner, which was more of a buffet than a sit-down event considering the number of people there. Galvin had lost count of the new names and faces she met. It was like a revolving door of people that day, coming and going until Pearl turned off the porch light.

Now it was December, and she was weeks away from starting law school. Galvin was already a semester behind andwas giving serious consideration to going through the summer. However, everything she’d been told about the amount of money she would make by working full-time kept her from enrolling. She’d made a decent chunk of change already and if she could somehow triple it, she’d be foolish not to.

On a Sunday afternoon, with the diner closed, Sail picked Galvin up. He hadn’t told her what they were doing, only that she needed to dress warmly. With Seaport being an island, it was cold. The wind could be a bitch when it wanted to be, and no one liked chilling winter weather.

Dressed in her new winter wear, Galvin headed down the stairs, thankful for Jack who kept them clear of ice. It hadn’t snowed yet, but she suspected it was only a matter of time. She met Sail out front, much to his displeasure. While she wanted to save him time, he didn’t like not going to her door to get her. He wasn’t her uber, but her boyfriend and he told her it was his job to escort her from her door to his car.

“Hey,” he said as he greeted her outside. Sail kissed her right there, on the street, for everyone to see. They’d agreed that some PDA was allowed, just never at the diner, even when she wasn’t working. Galvin felt this doing so in her workplace sent the wrong message, especially to Jack. While she may be in good with the Carter’s, she still respected Jack as her boss.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly when they part. Galvin hoped she’d never get over how Sail made her feel each and every time she saw him. It was like butterflies took up permanent residence in her belly, always fluttering when he was near.

“You look cute.” He touched the tip of her nose with his finger.

Caroline and Galvin had gone to the mall, which was about an hour away due to traffic. Although had they taken a boat they could’ve been there in something like ten minutes. That was something she’d learned about being in Seaport—the mappingsystem would tell her; her desired location was five or ten miles away—but would take her an hour or more to get there. The app never accounted for the bay, and it gave her the most direct route—through the water.

The day of shopping, which had been exhausting for Galvin, not so much for Caroline, who despite being pregnant could literally shop until she dropped, procured a nice winter wardrobe. The items she’d brought from California were great for fall or a mild winter, but according to Caroline, Galvin needed cute, stylish, winter wear.

“Thanks.” Galvin’s eyes looked upward at the white knit hat she bought to go with her new red parka. Everything had to be color coordinated, which mean the turquoise-colored hat and mittens set Galvin wanted, she couldn’t get. Mostly out of fear the fashionista in the family would tsk.

Over the past month or so, Galvin and Caroline had grown close. They were the two on the outside, dating the brothers of the most prominent family on the island. Well, Galvin was currently dating. Caroline was engaged and carrying the first grandchild of said family. As far as anyone was concerned, the red carpet had been rolled out for her, and no one missed a beat when it came to her.

The currently dating situation thing weighed heavily on Galvin’s mind. Sail would be returning to Miami soon, and the last thing Galvin expected was a long-distance relationship with him. Sail’s adamant nothing has to change between then, and in hindsight it’s only a few months and then he’ll be back. And he’s promised to come home for spring break, which unfortunately isn’t at the same time as Galvin’s.

Sail led her to the car, held the door open for her, and then ran around the front. He wore jeans and a peacoat. Galvin suspected he had a sweater or pull over on underneath thejacket. Sail always dressed impeccably and very preppy, which was a far cry from the other guys Galvin used to date.

“Where are we going?” she asked as Sail pulled away from the curb.

“It’s a surprise,” he told her, much like he’d said each time she asked before.

“Are we leaving the island?”

Sail glanced in her direction and smiled. “Not unless we need to. Do you need to do some Christmas shopping?”

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