Page 15 of Finding Forever

Startled, the waiter looked at me. Then Gina. But Gina was looking at me, so he missed out on the eye contact he was hoping for.

“I’m the best server on the ship and I just want to guarantee you all have a pleasant visit.”

Mycah and Penny traded glances before going back to their game of tic-tac-toe on the other side of the table.

“Could you excuse us. I am hoping for a more intimate meal with my family,” I said in a voice calmer than I felt.

The man drew a blank and blinked, at a loss for words.

“Get lost before you lose your job.” Those were the magic words because he vanished and left us to our breakfast in peace.

“Your family? What was that about?” Gina asked with a raised brow when he’d fled the scene.

“He was hovering,” I answered, avoiding her searching eyes.

“Hmm, I think it was a little more than that. You seemed jealous,” she pointed out.

My body tensed because she was spot on.

“But that can’t be true. You have no reason to be envious of him.” She paused. “Or do you?”

I met her eyes fully prepared to tell her exactly what I was thinking the whole time that dimwitted waiter was hitting on her. But curiosity from across the table won out.

“Mommy, what does envious mean?”

Gina looked at Mycah briefly and then shifted her gaze to me, not breaking eye contact when she said, “It’s another word for jealous, baby.”

∞∞∞

I’m a genius,I thought to myself as I watched Gina sunbathe on the deck of the yacht. If it were possible, her golden skin seemed to glow even more.

After watching how much she loved sitting pool side in the direct line of the sun for the past few days, my idea for today had seemed like a solid one. But I was nervous she’d think I was being over-the-top or trying to throw around money. Now I was glad I’d followed through on it.

“I can’t believe you got us a yacht,” Gina said, turning to me.

Sunglasses shielded her eyes, but the smile on her face was radiant and enough to stroke my ego for eternity. Not only that, but Penny and Mycah were having the time of their lives.

“Ready for your lesson?”

She stopped and turned to me. “Lesson?”

I nodded. “You didn’t think that we’d have the yacht for the day and pass up the opportunity to teach you to sail, did you?”

She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but then thought better of it. She replaced it with one of those beautiful smiles. “I’m game.”

I gestured for her to follow me until we were at the cockpit, where the captain lounged drinking coffee and paid us little mind. “This,” I stood over the wheel and pointing to the wheel, “is one part of what controls the entire yacht.”

Gina laughed as she gestured that I move over for her to stand at the wheel instead. “I think I could’ve figured that part out on my own,” she said playfully.

I kept hold of the wheel before the lesson officially started. Our hands were mere centimeters apart from each other and I could practically feel the energy humming between our fingers, drawing them closer to one another.

It was an effort to rein in my attention and redirect it to the task at hand, especially when she was standing before me in nothing but a bathing suit.

“So, the first thing you have to know is if the wind is on your side,” I said when I finally managed to get my mind out of the gutter.

We weren’t three minutes into the lesson before I realized that standing at the side and teaching her was just not going to work for me.

I took a tentative step behind her and closed her within my arms so that I had a good grip on the wheel before her. Try as I might to think about anything other than the proximity of our bodies, it was nearly impossible.

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