Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,57

drifted up and met Josh’s, and it felt like someone had hooked him up to battery cables. A shock of electricity, followed by the purr of a motor—in this case, his galloping heart.

His emotions had been set to high all morning, even before she’d announced the itinerary change. The sun was brighter, the air fresher, and the sway of the ship added an extra bounce to his step. Josh had even sacrificed half his bagel to feed a flock of seagulls, and the entire time he’d hoped Danae might just happen across him—he knew she’d love watching the birds bob for crumbs.

While his skeptical side warned it might be a bad idea to get too caught up in Danae Danvers, the fact that she was willing to bend made him think that maybe he’d give her a call after they arrived back in Newport. Maybe even ask her on an official date.

It was the first time he’d been open to the idea since his divorce. Scary, yet exciting.

“You wanna do the honors?” Franco asked.

“Is that even a question?” Mark squatted next to the dish towel they’d placed over their craft and, with a flourish, revealed their makeshift sailboat. “Ta-da!”

“Whoa,” Paige said. “Their boat is giant compared to ours.”

Vanessa withdrew the ladies’ vessel from behind her back, forgoing the big reveal route. Paige was right—their ship seemed extra tiny as they placed it next to the one the guys had made.

Franco and Mark had packed a discarded water bottle with batteries and a couple of other random odds and ends—presumably to add weight—along the bottom. Then they’d used wooden skewers from their marshmallow roast and a plastic bag to fashion a mast and sails. Josh had seen this challenge done several times, and their boat looked to be one of the best-engineered, as far as sailing went.

No surprise, the one Danae and her team had constructed was the flashiest, prettiest one he’d seen, although he was relatively sure it’d be top heavy.

“It’s not the size of the ship in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the ship,” Danae said, rallying her team.

Mark squatted next to the water bottle ship and adjusted the plastic-bag sails. “Hate to break it to you, but our ship is packed full of fight.”

Mark and Paige placed their ships in the water. As soon as they straightened and stepped closer to their groups, the two teams yelled instructions to their boats, like football coaches to their teams on the field.

“Go, go, go,” Mark shouted, while Danae encouraged their ship to “Be strong.”

As Josh had privately predicted, the ladies’ boat capsized.

Danae sighed, and then put one arm over Vanessa’s shoulder and the other around Paige. “Well, crookedly or not, at least it floats.”

“Are you saying I should sail our ship on its side like that?” Josh joked, and Danae raised an eyebrow that promised she’d get him back for that remark.

He could hardly wait.

The guys’ boat floated serenely along, the sail catching the breeze and propelling it to the other end of the cooler. Mark crouched and blew a breath that filled the sail and sent it rushing to the other side.

Then he straightened and held his hand up to Franco for a high-five. “That was all you, man. Twisting that bag to form rope was genius.”

“You’re the one who pointed out that it needed extra weight to keep it from capsizing,” Franco said.

“A tip that we could’ve used, clearly.” Danae glanced at her team. “Our boat’s beautiful, though, and I enjoyed building it.”

“Me too,” Vanessa said, and Paige echoed the sentiment.

Danae stepped between Mark and Franco, gripped their wrists, and lifted their arms in the air, as if they’d won a boxing match. “Congratulations to Mark and Franco, the winners of the ‘Use what you have’ challenge.”

The two men bowed before breaking into over-the-top celebratory gestures. Everyone cheered and laughed, the atmosphere happy and light, and best of all, vastly different than the first day.

“Do you mind if I tinker with your boat, ladies?” Mark asked, already reaching for the watercraft. “See if we can’t get it to float?”

The three women agreed they were fine with it, as long as they also got to be part of it. Franco gathered the glue and crafting supplies, and the entire group plunked themselves down on the deck and worked until both boats could float.

Danae glanced up and cocked her head. “Josh, don’t just stand there. Come build a boat so you’ll have one to race, too.”

Josh