Page 42 of The Bossy One

I read to Catie and Declan, knowing I was in the midst of a moment I’d cherish for the rest of my life. And most of it had to do with the man lying on his stomach next to me, dutifully flipping through a picture book because his niece told him to.

13

DECLAN

I’d proposed a beach day for Olivia, but I hadn’t realized how much I needed it too.

Anil and I were in the process of deciding whether to acquire a new tech company in Prague that would add organic in-app video to Snug. Right now people could watch linked videos in the app, but it was primarily a text platform. Adding video would help us compete with all the video-based social media platforms. But it would also change the feel of the platform.

It was a tricky balance in tech. Fail to keep up with the times, and miss out on new users. Change too much, and you lost existing users—and risked wading into an area where you really couldn’t provide as good an experience as the competition. Needless to say, it was a stressful state of affairs.

It had felt good to unplug for a few hours and listen to the waves. Even Sinead had noticed I sounded more relaxed when I talked to her that night.

Although it was a good thing the water was cold. Olivia’s demure swimsuit had clung to her curves in a way that had me fantasizing about untying that little bow at the base of her neck so I could finally…well.

As my grandad used to say, cold water is a gentleman’s friend. My gran used to scold him when he said that in front of the little kids, but he wasn’twrong.

The next morning, I strolled into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea while Olivia and Catie were having breakfast.

“Uncle Declan! My mom said last night you have a boat.”

“I do.” I grabbed my favorite mug out of the cupboard.

“Can we go out on it today?” She practically bounced in her chair with enthusiasm.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes when I remembered what Olivia had said about structure. “Not today, love. I have work. But we could go out this weekend?” I glanced at Olivia to see if I’d handled that right.

She gave me an approving smile. “I think this weekend would be a great idea.”

Catie heaved a dramatic sigh and returned to her breakfast. “I guess that’s okay, too.”

I bit back a smile. Sinead had been a drama queen too at that age. The women in my family had big emotions.

I made my tea and returned to my office, my new weekend plans already making me feel more optimistic about the workday ahead.

* * *

Saturday morning dawned gray and misty, but I didn’t mind. That’s what sweaters were for. Besides, the mist would burn off. I helped Olivia and Catie climb aboardThe Selkie, the sailboat I kept docked in Galway Harbor. It was big enough to be comfortable with all three of us, but small enough I could easily steer it by myself.

I made sure everyone was in their life jackets and knew the safety rules before I turned on the inboard engine to steer us away from the dock. Once we were out in the open water, we’d have enough wind I could shift to using the sails to navigate.

It was early enough in the morning that the still-waking-up Catie was happy to sit still and stare wide-eyed at everything around her.

I glanced at Olivia and saw her hand was tight on the railing.

I frowned. Was she nervous?

Olivia saw me watching her. “How long have you had this boat? Is this a new hobby?”

“I bought it a few years ago. But I’ve been sailing since I was a boy. My mum’s da was a fisherman.” I smiled into the wind. There really was nothing like being out on the water. “Are you feeling queasy? It’ll calm down once we’re out there,” I assured Olivia.

“No, I…my parents.” She grimaced. “I used to love boats.”

Shit. I felt like a fucking idiot. She’d told me her parents had died in a boating accident.

“We can turn back,” I said, quietly enough that Catie couldn’t hear. “I’ll make up an excuse.”

“No,” Olivia said stubbornly. “I’ve been on boats since. One of the families I nannied for loved yachts. If I do it often enough, then it won’t…” She tilted up her chin. “I want to do this.”

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