Page 24 of Knockin' Boats
“Just use your lips and make words, Ash. It’s not that hard!”
She had no idea how hard it could be. I’d been pushing down my true emotions for so long that trying to identify and understand them was an undertaking, much lessexpressingthem to another person.
Especially if that person was Sawyer.
We watched Danny flirt with a few more customers while we finished our drinks, then parted ways outside the shop. I headed for the resort on foot while Mel went to meet her sister at the Outdoor Market. She came over here nearly every week, so Sawyer couldn’t possibly have avoided her the way he did me.
It was a long walk to the resort, but I didn’t mind since the weather was mild. Still, Mel was right, moving here would save me a lot of trouble.
I’d spent the past day scrubbing out the food boat, but there were years of grime built up, so I wasn’t done yet. I went into the resort and collected the mop, bucket, gallon of water, and jug of Simple Green degreaser to continue my work.
I was doing fine until I reached the dock and tried to roll the bucket over the slightly raised edge. The wheel hit it, the bucket tipped, and I ended up dropping everything.
Including my gallon of fresh water directly into the freaking lake.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed, dropping down to my belly to try to grab it. I wasn’t worried about losing the gallon of water. I could always grab another. But I didn’t think Sky would appreciate me polluting the lake with trash right outside the resort.
There was a golf clap behind me. “Nice work. I thought you were less clumsy than this.”
I didn’t bother rising to Sawyer’s bait. I had other problems right now. If he wanted to watch and laugh, then he could have at it.
I shoved my sleeve up and leaned half my body over the edge of the dock to grab for the gallon. My hand closed around the handle.
“Got you—oh shit!”
I slipped too far over the edge, and the water rushed toward my face. I clenched my eyes and braced for a cold bath, but I jolted short just above the surface of the water.
A strong, bruising grip held my thighs.
Sawyer yanked me back, dragging me roughly over the edge of the dock. I hissed as my shirt came up and the boards scraped my stomach.
I turned over, placing the gallon beside me and rubbing my abs. “Damn, that was close. Th?—”
Sawyer strode away without another glance.
Well, at least he hadn’t let me fall into the lake? That was more than I would have expected.
I clambered to my feet and collected the cleaning supplies that had spilled all over the place. My thighs still tingled with the imprint of his hands around them.
I wondered if he’d left bruises? The thought sent a weird shiver through me. I shook it off and got back to work.
For the next few hours, I mopped and scrubbed the boat to within an inch of its life, until every part of it was…if not gleaming, certainly clean enough to eat off.
Then I headed to kitchen to consult with Vera. We’d been tweaking our menu, and her staff had even helped me prep samples of it so we could test all the recipes ahead of launch.
The day flew by, and by the time I returned from another test drive—this time stopping and making myself an early dinner to test out the grill—it was getting dark.
I docked the boat, and Hudson came over and helped me tie it up.
“How’s she handling for you?”
“Great,” I said. “The grill runs a little hotter than I’m used to. I burned my grilled cheese.”
“Just makes it taste better,” Hudson said with a grin.
“That’s the magic of grilled cheese,” I agreed. “It’s tough to really mess it up.”
“Well, I can’t wait to try some of your food. I’m betting some of our tours will love it. We let folks bring snacks, but sometimes they forget or underestimate how hungry they’ll get.”
