one of her beautiful shopping bags printed with bright-yellow daffodils.
When the customer turned to leave, Colton’s deep baritone jolted Kerri. “Hey,” he said.
She looked up to find him standing amid her girlie merchandise with hands shoved into his pockets. “I guess you’re really busy tonight, huh?” he asked like Captain Obvious.
Lust pooled in Kerri’s middle. “Kind of. I’m—” She bit off her words. What the hell was she doing? She’d just been lusting after this man and indulging in self-pity because he liked her tenant more than he liked her. But he hadn’t gone upstairs, had he?
He’d come in to talk to her. But did he want her? Or was he trying to make the woman upstairs jealous?
She didn’t know. But she didn’t actually care. Life was short, and a person had to grab happiness when it walked through the door.
“I’ve got help coming in a bit,” she said. “Did you have something in mind?”
A full-frontal grin opened on his face, and his moss-colored eyes ignited as if someone had put a match to his fuse. “Good,” he said in that incredible voice, “because Jude gave me a couple of free tickets for tonight’s sunset cruise on the schooner Synchronicity.”
“The sunset cruise?” she asked, her mouth going dry. The sunset cruise was a favorite for lovers and newlyweds. At least one couple every week got engaged during those cruises. In fact, Colton’s younger brother, Synchronicity’s owner, had taken to advertising his yacht as the perfect place to pop the question.
Damn.
She would have been happy to go back to his place for late-night Netflix. But he’d just upped the ante. And her stupid heart was totally down with the program.
“I’d love to go,” she said, making a snap decision for once in her life. Katia and Dottie could manage.
Colton’s grin widened. “That’s great, because to grab some dinner and make the sailing, we have to leave now.”
“Now?”
He checked his watch. “The boat sails at six.”
“Just let me call my helpers. They both have keys to the shop.”
Kerri ran to the back room, made her phone calls, checked her lipstick in the bathroom mirror, and emerged three minutes later. She posted a note on the front door that said, “back in five minutes,” and then boldly took Colton’s arm.
And oh boy, the feel of his warm skin and ropy muscles under her palm was enough to set off fireworks hours earlier than expected.
Chapter Fourteen
Monday dawned cooler, with a brisk wind that whipped Jessica’s hair as she walked down the long pier to where Bachelor’s Delight was moored.
She’d logged a bunch of hours this weekend working on Topher’s house. This trip to the island would solidify a lot of things, but she wasn’t entirely sure that sailing out there was a good idea.
For one thing, the bay was choppy this morning, so she’d worn her foul-weather gear. It wasn’t going to be the same sunny pleasure cruise it had been the last time.
And for another, she still hadn’t forgotten the way Topher had touched her on Thursday night. She wanted him to touch her again, but she didn’t want to admit that to anyone, least of all him.
As she walked down the pier, it was fair to say that just the prospect of seeing him again had raised a tempest inside her.
The moment she saw him standing at the bow of his yacht making adjustments to the jib that unwanted awareness almost blew her over. He’d ditched the Hawaiian shirt and the holey jeans in favor of tactical sailing pants and a tight-fitting sailing shirt. His red, white, and blue Helly Hansen foul-weather jacket made him look like a member of the America’s Cup team.
He looked up, the wind whipping his much-shorter hair. “Ah, I see you dressed for a sail,” he said, his mouth tipping up in a smile that hit her like a gale-force wind.
“It’s a little breezy for cruising,” she said, stating the obvious.
He made a final adjustment to the jib halyard and swung around one of the shrouds, making his way aft. “The last time we sailed out to the island, I got the impression you were disappointed that I used the engine. So I thought we’d use wind power today.” He glanced up, studying the top of the mast, where a small vane marked the direction of the breeze. “We should make pretty good time.”
Her heart rate kicked up. It had been years since she’d sailed with PopPop. “I’m a little rusty when it comes to trimming sails.”