from the marina filtered in—someone hadn’t secured their halyards, leaving a hank clanking against the mast. Under other circumstances he’d grumble about people not knowing how to properly button up their boat, but right now he was grateful for the sounds that jerked him back to reality.
What on earth was he doing? While it might be fun to forget for a while that he didn’t date anymore, flirting with a client was an epically bad idea.
After his divorce shattered any romantic notion he’d ever had, he’d sworn off attachments to anything besides his boat and carefree lifestyle. Sworn off anything that would cause future pain.
While he knew nothing could happen between him and Danae—not really—he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. “I’d better go tie up the ship and get us secured for the night.”
“Need help?”
“No, thanks,” he said, resolving to be more reserved around her for the rest of the trip. “I’m used to doing things alone.”
Chapter Ten
“So, you’ve probably visited here a whole bunch of times,” Danae said to Josh as they exited the Oak Bluffs Marina and headed to check out the north end of Martha’s Vineyard. She’d worn her contacts today, and while both with and without glasses were a win in his book, he enjoyed the unobscured view of her eyes. She also had on a blue-and-white striped shirt and blue pants with a bow, making her look like the cutest sailor he’d ever seen.
An observation he was going to tamp down in order to stick to the vow he’d made last night. Instead, Josh let his many trips to Martha’s Vineyard flicker through his brain. “It’s a popular destination, so enough times I can’t even count.”
Honestly, this side of the island was busier and more touristy than he preferred, but beautiful, with old-timey shops that lined the streets. Since everyone here seemed to be in vacation mode, both visitors and locals alike, things ran at a slower pace that suited him.
“Tell the truth…” Danae leaned in conspiratorially, as if she were about to confess something. Josh held his breath, an ill-advised surge of adrenaline rumbling through his veins. “Do you know Martha?”
“Martha?”
Vanessa giggled, signaling she’d overheard. “She means Martha of Martha’s Vineyard.”
Danae skipped more than walked, as if her energy had been cranked to high, and he’d thought she was plenty zippy before. Must’ve had a good meeting this morning as they’d sailed from Cuttyhunk to the vineyard.
“Hate to break it to you,” Josh said, “but Bartholomew Gosnold named it in the sixteen hundreds, which is just a wee bit before my time.”
“You weren’t around then?” Danae asked, having the audacity to act surprised by that news. “Are you sure? Because yesterday you told me you were in the older demographic.”
He raised an eyebrow that only made her grin spread into the canary-eating range.
“Sorry. What I meant was”—she tapped a pensive finger to her lips—“go on.”
His first instinct was to tease her back, but that would only lead to conversations that would get him in over his head. Facts were his friends; being an uber-professional tour guide his new rule of thumb. “While its namesake isn’t definitively known, his mother-in-law and his daughter were both named Martha.”
“That leads me to believe it was for his daughter.” Vanessa gathered her thick head of hair into a loose curly bun and then readjusted her sunglasses. “I don’t know many guys who like their mothers-in-law well enough to name an island after them.”
Mark sniggered. “I’m glad she said it so I didn’t have to.” His gaze drifted to Danae and the amusement in his features faded to something softer. “Although, for the record, Danae’s mother is lovely. Wanted to put that out there so no one assumed otherwise.”
“Aww, thank you, Mark. You know she adores you, too.”
Wait. What? Were Danae and Mark…?
Obviously they weren’t married anymore, or he would’ve picked up on it. Or Danae would’ve surely mentioned it. Someone would’ve said something. If Josh had witnessed a guy helping his wife—or even girlfriend—reel in a fish, arms wrapped around her, he certainly would’ve given the dude a heads up.
Of course, he had noticed a weird vibe, but it was more like they tiptoed around each other. They didn’t sit next to one another, and there was a competitive spirit crowding the air whenever they discussed business.
That would fit if they’d gotten divorced, he supposed, although he couldn’t imagine working with Olivia after everything had fallen apart.
Josh hadn’t realized he’d stopped walking along until Danae