Page 11 of Austen

The squall had rolled in quicker than she’d thought it could.

But where was her boat?

She searched the water, the sun darkened despite the daytime hour, and a realization climbed into her gut and squeezed.

Somehow, her anchor had broken free.

TheFancy Freewas adrift in the Caribbean.

And so was she.

* * *

Finally, a blue-skied day, and Declan stood on deck, searching the Key West Bight harbor as theInvictuspulled into dock.Two days of dodging intermittent squalls on his voyage north from Mariposa cut precious time from his trip.

Aw,who was he kidding?He should have gotten on that plane with Ranger for a hop to the Keys.It would have at least cut down the two days of trial-and-error conversation replaying in Declan’s head.

“Hey, Austen.Thought I’d stop in and see if you want to have dinner.”

Weird.

“Hey, Austen, how are you?Haven’t heard?—”

No.That was on him.

“Austen, what a surprise!”

Okay, so lying wouldn’t be a great way to ignite their relationship.

Relationship?He had clearly flung his hopes far and long, but a guy who didn’t have a vision couldn’t create a strategy, right?

So, he would settle for, “Hey, Austen.I thought maybe we could start over.I’d really love to take you to dinner.”

And if she wondered why he’d traveled fifteen hundred miles for a date, maybe that would work in his favor.Show her that, yeah, she meant something to him.

“Declan, you are a surprising man.”Her words, spoken while he’d danced with her two months ago under a moonlit night at his charity event.She’d smiled up at him, her green eyes almost magnetic, and right then, the sense of her had crashed into him.

This woman.

Like a brilliant star, she’d lit up the darkness inside, and it had been all he could do not to dance her into the shadows, ask her if he could kiss her.

But...he was heremployer.At least for that weekend, so...

Not today.Today he was just a guy—how had Tia put it?Asking a girl on a date?

For starters.

Standing in shorts and flip-flops, the sun baking through his linen shirt, Declan held on to the bow railing, searching the Key West Bight harbor for theFancy Free.From the pictures Austen had shown him, it was an old fishing trawler with a blue canopy, maybe forty some feet long, and spiffed up as a liveaboard.

He spotted a few sailboats, their masts piercing the blue sky, a couple yachts, and a few dive boats, but no trawlers matching the description.

Maybe she’d put out for a day of diving.

He’d dock at his private slip, find hers, and wait her out.Not creepy at all.

“Sir, we’re about to dock.Would you like a car to meet you?”Jermaine Rhodes, his ship’s steward, had come out of the salon, sliding the door behind to keep the air-conditioning trapped.

Declan turned, his hands in his pockets.“No, thank you.I’ll wander around.Maybe grab a bite to eat at the Half Shell.I love Camille’s coq au vin, but I need something from the sea today.”

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