Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,67
spontaneous nature.”
He burst out laughing. “Not quite. When it comes to swimming, I’m all for planning—at a minimum, five minutes in advance. Enough time to shed my shoes at the very least. But if anyone knocked you in, rest assured, I’d jump in, shoes, jacket, and all.”
“You’d better,” she said with a smile, and he tugged her to a stop. She swallowed, and her eyes widened as they met his. “What are you doing? I’m warning you, if you even think of pushing me i—”
Josh cupped her cheek, and the rest of her sentence died on her parted lips. He took a couple of seconds to soak in the way the harbor lights lit up her profile, her sharp intake of breath, and the endless stretch of water behind her.
Sometimes life gave you perfect moments.
It was up to you whether or not you did something with them.
“I’m improvising,” he whispered, using his thumb to tip up her chin. Time slowed, and his entire body hummed with emotions he thought he’d rid himself of long ago.
He dipped his head, and then there was a mere inch of space between his lips and hers.
She gripped his elbows, her fingers wrapping around them as she angled closer, and Josh closed his eyes as he lowered his mouth to—
“Danae. Hey, I’ve been looking for you. I even called your phone, but…”
Of course it was Mark.
Danae’s eyes flew open, going from fluttering to panic mode, and Josh cursed her ex-boyfriend’s timing. He couldn’t help wondering if it was happenstance or purposeful.
Josh’s arms complained as he lowered them to his sides, his entire body protesting at putting space between him and Danae. He longed to collect every wasted second and pile them together until he had a handful for the kiss he hadn’t gotten to follow through on.
Although he couldn’t call any of tonight’s seconds a waste, not when he’d been completely captivated. What did Mark want? Too bad, so sad, you missed out, he wanted to tell the guy. Now it’s my turn, so get lost.
Danae tucked a loose curl behind her ear and cleared her throat as she turned to address her ex. “I’m right here. What did you need?”
Mark glanced between them, and Josh silently encouraged him to say whatever it was so they could get their moment back.
“I told everyone how great you were at charades, so we thought we’d have game night.” Mark gave Josh a smile too smug for his liking—not that he’d be a fan of anything of Mark’s right now. “You’re free to join us, if you’d like. Everyone else is onboard already, eager to get started.”
“Well, guess we’d better not keep them waiting,” Danae said, her voice a pinch higher than usual.
Josh didn’t mind if they waited all night. He was the one who only got Danae for a little while. They could play games at the office.
Not in a million years would Danae ever do that, but couldn’t they give her a few more minutes?
Wait, that wasn’t long enough. Twenty minutes. No, more like an hour.
The fact of the matter was, he’d beg for one more minute all night long. Stifling a groan, Josh nodded. “Sure. Yeah. We’ll be right there.”
As if he hadn’t spoken, Mark stepped up to Danae. “Are you cold? You look cold.”
Before she could answer, the guy took off his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders. As if he was trying to mark his territory. What a jerk move. For one, Danae wasn’t anyone’s territory, least of all Mark’s.
It hit Josh that he’d done the exact same thing with his own jacket the night they’d gone fishing…which left him without a leg to stand on, dang it.
“Uh, thanks,” Danae said, too polite to refuse the gesture. She cast Josh one last glance, and then the three of them headed down the wharf and climbed onto a boat where there were suddenly too many people.
For the first time in the past couple of days, Josh missed Solitude. Both his boat, and his privacy. Only, if he had his way, he’d make room for one extra person onboard. She had blond hair, a sharp wit, and an amazing laugh.
Unfortunately, she was also walking away from him seconds after he’d made a move.
What are you doing?
Who asked a question like that? Especially after a romantic stroll?
Evidently, she did. The instant she’d blurted it out, Danae wished she could stuff it back in. Then she’d winced at how easily she could ruin a moment.