Page 21 of Unmoored

But I’m not going to give up that easily. It’s more than me trying to be a gentleman, or keep him from falling in. I want an excuse to touch Eden, and I want him to know it.

“I’d like to. Please?” I ask.

Eden pauses, his lips parting with surprise… and then his defensive coy smile falls away, leaving him all soft and shy.

“Okay,” he breathes out, taking my arm and stepping down into the boat to join me. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” I murmur, swallowing hard. It’s impossible to miss the nervous spark in the air as he glances up at me. “Now, put this on,” I add, passing him a lifejacket, since Idoalso feel some responsibility to keep him from drowning.

It takes both of us to wrestle him into it again, but this time we’re laughing from the beginning. Once he’s finally buoyant, I gesture at the passenger seat.

Eden shakes his head and plops his ass down next to the outboard engine. “I wanna watch. I might learn something.”

I pause with surprise, and then I finally shrug. “All right.”

Eden might be a landlubber, but he’s trying to show me that he really does want to become an islander.

“Besides,” Eden adds with that naughty twinkle in his eyes, “everyone likes to watch.”

I roll my eyes, lowering the engine into the water to show him how to prime it. “Make sure the throttle’s in neutral and then start it up,” I tell him. “And don’t overdo it on the choke.”

“Only a little bit of choking,” Eden nods. “Gotta breathe sometime.”

I’m starting to suspect he has other reasons for sitting so close to me, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. I scoff and shake my head as I start the engine over the sound of his laughter.

We’re underway in the blink of an eye, and it feels like I’m on my home turf again. The cool breeze steadies my nerves, and I sneak another peek at Eden. He’s sitting upright, legs crossed at the knee as he drinks in the view.

“Had a good time today?” I call out.

Eden beams, nodding vigorously. “You?”

“Yeah.” I shuffle closer, until our knees touch, so I don’t have to shout over the engine. As we round the corner of the island, I nudge back the throttle. “I’m not as rusty as I thought.”

The first date nerves, though? So much worse than I remembered.

It’s like I’m about to drop him off at his front door, and we’re silently negotiating the goodbye kiss situation. The less noise fills the air, the more room there is for nervous tension, thick as pie filling and sweet with possibilities.

Eden bites his lip, gazing at Dawn’s Embrace as we approach his boat. “I forgot what it was like,” he says softly, as if to himself.

I may not know Eden well enough yet to understand what’s going on, but I can feel the waves of emotion off him, clear as day. “What what’s like?” I ask, trying to speak lightly despite my sudden worry.

“Being treated like I’m special.”

Shit. It hits me like a punch to the gut. I’d guessed as much, of course… but I wish I could make him feel ten times as special for every day he’s been made to feel like he isn’t.

“You should be,” I tell him at last, slowing the boat even further until the engine is just a quiet purr. I reach down, putting my hand on his knee. “Always.”

Eden rests his palm against the back of my hand, rubbing his thumb over my fingers in gentle circles.

God. All of a sudden it feels like one of those perfect summer mornings when it’s just me and the open water, a breeze on my face, and I’m tipping back my head to drink in pure sunshine.

But this time, the light is coming from Eden’s smile.

We’re both quiet for a minute, and Eden keeps on tracing little shapes on the back of my hand that make it very difficult to remember how to steer in a straight line.

“I’m sure it gets old when you live here, but getting picked up and dropped off by boat? So cool.” Eden grins at me. “Like I’m on the back of your motorcycle… but without the risk of road rash.”

I grunt at him as I shut off the engine, resisting the urge to point out how many other risks there are—all of which are multiplied when Eden’s around.

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