Page 19 of Merrick

“Okay.” She started to turn back into the ballroom, when he stopped her.

“We can leave from here.” Letting go of her; he turned towards the steps that led to the immense parking lot.

Biting back a groan as she minced her way in the heels, she wished she could take the damn things off and heave them. They were new and she cursed the day she had bought them.

His strides were long, but so were hers and within minutes she had caught up to him. He stopped at a bench facing the water with the boats bobbing on the surface. It was getting cold and she just realized she had come out without a jacket.

As if sensing it, he shrugged off his navy-blue sports jacket and draped it around her shoulders. “I can see you shivering.” He started to say something else but changed his mind and sat down.

Stretching his long legs out, he crossed them at the ankles and looked out at the water in silence. Seated next to him, Margo was so acutely aware of him that she had to force herself not to shift.

He continued to sit in silence for a few minutes before reaching into his pants pocket and taking out a slim gold case. Flipping it open, he took out a cigar and finally glanced at her.

“Do you mind?” He asked politely.

“No.” She shook her head and watched as he extracted a solid gold lighter and lit the cigar.

“You smoke.”

He squinted at her through the fragrant smoke as he slid the case back into his pocket. “I do, yes.”

“No one told you smoking is bad for your health?”

He gave her a lazy smile. “They might have. I only smoke when I am stressed. Curiously, since meeting you the first time, I have picked up the habit.”

She did not dare allow herself to react. She was on the job and that was that.

“Meaning, I’m bad for you?”

He flicked her a glance again. “Meaning, I cannot seem to stop thinking about you.” Before she could respond, he nodded to the boats bobbing on the surface. “Want to go for a ride?”

“You own a boat. Of course you do.”

“Several actually. The company keep a couple on hand for when associates come for a visit. What do you say?”

She wanted to tell him that as a black woman she did not think about going near the water, but that would have been a damn lie. She loved the water and swam like a fish.

“Why not?”

With a pleased expression on his attractive face, he rose and offered her a hand to help her up. Ignoring the hand, much to his amusement, she stood up and started forward.

“Which one is yours?” The night had a romantic feel about it, with the star-studded sky and the moon peeping through the clouds.

“This one.” They climbed onto the boardwalk, and he had to force himself not to take her hand. She was a self-sufficient woman who did not need any of that.

“A speedboat?”

“You expected something else?”

“A yacht, maybe.” He started to climb aboard when he noticed she was just standing there.

“Problem?”

“I am not wearing the right shoes. You know what? Screw it.” To his amusement she simply bent and slipped them off, hissing out a sigh of relief.

“I take it that’s much better?” Taking her hand, he helped her onboard.

“You have no idea.” Her eyes roamed the deck slowly, noticing the trim lines and the sleek built. “Impressive.”

---