Page 16 of Finding Forever

“Am I doing it right?” She asked as the wind picked up on the sails. I heard the slight tremor in her voice when she spoke.

Our hands were now touching on the wheel. I’d grown used to the familiar buzz that traveled through my body when we were connected. My eyes drew a trail up her arms and over her smooth skin.

Never in my life had I wanted someone as much as I wanted her.

“You’re perfect,” I heard myself say.

“Huh?” She turned her head, having not heard me over the noise of the wind. It was enough to decrease the space between us to almost nothing.

Her slender neck was being begged to be kissed. Would she be offended if I laid a gentle peck right below her ear lobe?

“I said that you’re doing perfect,” I repeated, though those weren’t the words that I’d initially said. My mind wasn’t my own to control at the moment.

“Oh,” she said, sounding deflated.

Realizing my mistake, I was about to correct it when she continued, “I think that we should go check on the kids.” She offered a smile that wasn’t fully convincing. “They’re probably hungry right now.”

She was gone before I had the chance to protest.

∞∞∞

“You’re a good teacher,” Gina said later as we moved back into the main area of the yacht.

She’d been relaxed since we got back from the navigation panel, but I couldn’t say the same for myself. Having her this close to me was both distracting and tantalizing. Her eagerness to learn made the energy between us flow naturally. If I was being honest with myself, I was beyond attracted to her. I’d tried my damnedest to write it off as a matter of convenience and proximity. But I knew it was more than that.

Gina was…

“Cool!” Penny cried out after spotting movement in the water followed by the appearance of a dolphin.

Mycah wasn’t far behind her discovery as they moved as close to the railing as Gina had deemed safe. Awe-struck, they watched as the first dolphin was joined by two more. As if the dolphins were aware of their audience, they began putting on a show that had Penny and Mycah beside themselves. Gina looked just as entertained when they all applauded the impromptu show.

The staff called us below deck shortly after that for lunch and I was relieved to not see the flirty waiter from earlier. We fell into an easy conversation with the kids about their favorite part of the day so far and they had listed everything in order from the time we got onboard until that very moment.

Gina and I shared a glance and I read the gratitude in her eyes. She was silently thanking me, but I felt it was misplaced. Without her, this outing wouldn’t have been as much fun. She was making everything better. Just by being here and being her wonderful self.

There was a lull in the conversation and seemingly out of nowhere, Mycah had peered up at his mother lovingly in a gesture I was starting to understand the more time I spent around her.

He got as close as humanly possible to her side and made the declaration, “My mommy tells me the best stories.”

Not to be outdone, Penny took only a second to digest this information before she followed up with a fact of her own.

“My daddy is the best at playing games. Right, Daddy?” Penny stared at me with a certain earnestness in her blue eyes. Eyes that reminded me too much of her mother at times.

The kids went on like that back and forth while Gina and I exchanged amused looks. It didn’t really matter what they were talking about. I was just happy Penny was surrounded by the undivided attention she’d clearly been lacking from not only Victoria but me as well.

I was still pissed at my ex-wife but grateful for the delight we’d found with the people next door. Gina and Mycah had softened the blow of abandonment, and I knew Penny and I had done the same for them.

I tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Mycah bragging about Gina’s roasted marshmallows.

“Penny, I think we have to give it to them,” I said dramatically, looking down to find Penny grinning ear to ear. “Marshmallows have always been my weakness.”

“You always burn them!” Penny laughed uncontrollably, pulling laughs from everyone at the table.

Before the chef could bring out dessert, the kids were fast asleep on the couch in the living room adjacent to where we’d eaten.

Gina and I ate the strawberry shortcake in companionable silence until she looked across the table at me with a knowing smile.

“Thanks for letting me win the ‘best parent ever’ contest.” She laughed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know where they come up with these things. “

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