Page 121 of Falling Overboard

That made me laugh as I put my arms around his neck. He carried me inside and then set me down near the king-size bed. The room was gorgeous and modern. It was mostly white with bright blue accents to mimic the ocean visible from the massive windows.

The same blue as Hunter’s eyes.

I went over to the balcony and opened the doors. The night air smelled of the sea, the breeze was warm, and the stars twinkled overhead.

Including Hunter’s lucky star.

He came out and joined me. We stood, staring out at the inky sea.

“I’m grateful that we’ve had this time together,” I said. “Although I don’t know how you can prove that you’re doing a good job on the boat if your parents give you two days off.”

“This wasn’t my idea. It was theirs. I told them how hard everyone works all the time and that we don’t get a lot of breaks. You especially needed the time off.”

“Me especially?” I echoed.

He turned his head to look at me. “You’re the one that concerns me the most. I see how hard you work and how you take on the responsibility of two or three people because Emilie won’t do her job and I worry about you getting burned out.”

I knew that he cared. And everything he did and said showed me how much.

A moment passed between us, charged and electric. He cleared his throat and then went back into the room. I watched him as he went over to look at some papers on the desk. A lock of his blond hair flopped over his forehead as he studied them.

I thought of everything that had happened, all that he had done for me. He had given me back a piece of my nonna, and I didn’t know how to thank him for that. My stomach fluttered in anticipation.

Words were inadequate.

I’d told him I didn’t want more. That we couldn’t date. I didn’t want to risk my heart.

But my heart already belonged to him.

I came back into the room and closed the french doors behind me. I walked over to him, mind made up, pulse racing.

“They have some movies we could watch, but they’re in Italian,” he said. “Do you want—”

I wanted.

I threw my arms around him and kissed him with all the wildness and desire and love that I felt for him.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Lucky

I felt his surprise, the way his body tensed up. He was the one who put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back. I saw his throat tighten, the tense line of his jaw.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he said in a rough voice laced with want, “but what was that? I’m confused.”

“So am I.”

“I thought that was supposed to be a one-and-a-half-time thing.”

“Two times. Twice seems okay. Two times isn’t so bad for breaking a rule.”

“I’m pretty sure if you murdered someone two times, it would be bad.” I couldn’t even laugh at his joke because I was so intent on kissing him again.

His hands moved from my shoulders down to my waist. “You know how much I want to kiss you, Lucky. I’m not sure I’m stroganoff to resist you if this is what you really want. I’m ready to go over to the dock side if you are.”

How could he keep making jokes at a time like this? All the blood had left my head and was pooling in other parts of my body, making it impossible for me to think.

“My mom used to say in for a penny, in for a pound,” I said. We’d already kissed. What was a little bit more?

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