in her at the surprised look on his face. It was nice to know she could impress the guy, and she took a quick beat to enjoy it before rushing along the starboard side, ducking under the mast, and going to work.
With the headsail turned to catch the backwind and keep the boat in place, easing out the mainsail reduced the ship’s forward drive. With that done, the boat slowed, and Danae felt Josh turning the rudder to windward.
Fat drops of rain trickled down, and then the clouds opened up and released more and more, faster and faster. Her job done, Danae returned to the helm.
Josh locked the wheel, and they managed to park, so to speak. The ship lightly bobbed in a seesaw motion, but they were no longer at the mercy of the choppy waves.
“Let’s make our way into the cabin.” Josh extended a hand. “Careful, it’s slippery.”
Danae was pretty sure she could manage, but there was his open palm and when it came to not slipping and falling into the icy ocean, employing the safety-first method seemed like the best course of action.
Her palm hit his, and he clamped onto her hand as they hurried toward the main cabin. His strides were twice as long as hers, and she worked to keep up, a flutter going through her as he maneuvered her around the deck of the ship with such ease.
Then they were in the entryway of the cabin, the closed door muffling the sound of the wind and lashing rain.
Droplets clung to Danae’s glasses, obscuring and blurring everything. She slipped them off and wiped them on her damp blouse, her breaths sawing in and out faster than usual.
“That was impressive,” Josh said, and she met his blue eyes, her heart thumping harder at his praise. “This isn’t your first time sailing. Not even your second or third.”
“You caught me. I’m a spy who’s been sent to see how good a sailor you truly are.”
“Are we sinking?” Paige asked, poking her head through the open doorway and wringing her hands together. “I knew this was a bad idea. I should’ve stayed home with my fiancé, with the solid ground beneath my feet.”
Danae quickly assured her they’d be okay. “Storms happen all the time, and remember the specs on our ship? We use only the strongest materials at Barton Boats.” Sure, she sort of sounded like an infomercial, but as team leader, she needed to make certain that no one panicked or did something as drastic as leave the trip early. She glanced at Josh, silently pleading for him to help.
“Danae’s right. I’ve been through way worse storms. This’ll pass soon, and it’ll be much smoother sailing.”
“Soon?” Danae tried to raise one eyebrow, but both of them came along for the ride. “Are you purposely using a vague term? Because I clearly remember mentioning you had to be accurate within fifteen minutes to earn a gold star.”
His laugh filled the entryway. “How about I just tell you whether or not I was right once we get to shore? Spoiler alert: I’m gonna be.”
She snorted at that, and they entered the kitchen cabin to find all eyes on them.
Mark slowly extended a water bottle her way. Right. She’d asked for one of those.
“Thank you.” Danae twisted off the lid and gulped it down. Funny how you could be soaking wet and still ridiculously thirsty.
Josh shook out his hair like some kind of overgrown puppy. Danae flinched and brought up her shoulders to block the water, despite the fact that it was too late and she was already wet. “Dude.”
Since everyone was still studying them, and she realized she’d accidentally-on-purpose leaned into Josh slightly, she decided she should move away from him before people got the wrong idea.
Before she got the wrong idea.
“Did you find the snacks?” she asked, as she stepped into the center of the kitchenette and peered inside grocery bags.
“Not a whole lot of places to search,” Vanessa teased as she boosted herself up on the tiny counter. “But we managed.”
Danae dug out the pretzels, and since Josh had to be thirsty, too, she grabbed a bottle of water. As she handed it to him, a shiver racked her body.
“You guys have to be freezing,” Vanessa said. She crawled inside the cabin she was using and yanked the comforter off the bed. She wrapped one side around Danae, the other side around Josh, and nudged them toward the table. “You two sit, and I’ll make some hot