onto the pavement and pulled her hand away, not wanting to touch him. It was a double whammy now because his touch still inspired so much desire in her that it made her knees weak, but she was too afraid of who he was. Too concerned with getting hurt again.
“The ferry is the fastest way to get over to the island.”
She sighed with fatigue and irritation. He wasn’t going to tell her anything. “Fine,” she practically snarled. “Lead the way.” She wanted to add on “oh Master” but she kept the snarky response to herself. He would only chuckle at her irritation and that would increase her irascibility. So why let him make her angrier than she already was?
He stepped ahead of her in the ferry terminal and purchased two tickets, then put a hand to the small of her back to lead her onto the ferry that was already half filled with other tourists. The ferry cast off moments after they stepped onto the deck. “Want to go up on top?” he asked, carefully surveying her? “It might be chilly this time of the year.”
“It isn’t too cold now,” she told him almost belligerently.
But did the man recognize her irritation? No! He only chuckled at her tone of voice. “Yes, it’s warmer on land, but once we get out into the harbor, it’s going to get chilly. Why don’t we just stay down here where the windows will protect us from the harbor breeze?”
“You go ahead and stay down here,” she replied, determined to get away from him. “I’ll go up on deck.”
She stepped out onto the upper deck and immediately breathed in the salty air of the harbor. The ferry wasn’t fast, but it efficiently plowed its way through the harbor waters. At first, she enjoyed looking out at the various fishing and lobster boats that were out this early in the morning or catching sight of a harbor seal poking its sleek, dark head out of the water. But once the ferry had moved out of the smaller cove where it had been docked, the temperature dropped about ten degrees. A part of her said to go back inside where it was warmer, and admit that Emerson had been right and it was too cold out here to stay. But another side of her, the side that didn’t want to give him anything, even the prestige of being right on something so minor, refused to admit that it was cold, and getting colder. Instead, she curled her arms around her legs and tucked her hands into the warm sleeves of the sweater he’d bought her. It was nice that the sweater also had a thick neckline so she could tuck her face into the warmth as well.
“You’re going to freeze out here,” Emerson said, putting his arms around her and bringing her close against his chest.
Rachel instantly felt warmer but she didn’t want to tell him that. She was being ridiculously stubborn, but she was too tired, too cold and too hurt to give in.
It was only a twenty minute ride before the ferry pulled into the dock of the island. “What’s out here?” she asked, squinting her eyes against the sunshine. It looked like just a bunch of very picturesque houses perched above the relatively large dock.
“It’s an island.”
She continued to stare, waiting for him to explain further. But when she only received silence, she turned to look up at him. “And the island has…?” she prompted, her eyes daring him to be evasive again.
He smiled ever so slightly, enchanted by her challenge. He’d missed how cute she could be when miffed. “Pretty houses, great views, a restaurant that serves awesome seafood and great beer.” He walked forward off of the ferry, leaving Rachel staring at his broad shoulders with deepening confusion.
She slumped as she contemplated staying right here on the ferry. It wouldn’t be a horrible fate to simply ride back and forth across the harbor for the rest of the day. But in the end, the allure of being with Emerson, even though she didn’t really want to “be” with him, was too strong.
“Great. More beer,” she muttered under her breath, but started following him. She didn’t get it. What was going on? This was such a complete diversion from their normal days, she couldn’t figure anything out.
He turned left at the top of the hill and Rachel hurried to catch up to him. “Emerson, what’s going on? Why are we here? Is there