instead, so he could see her in the oversized garment again.
So it would smell like her the next time he put it on.
Footsteps alerted him to the fact that he was about to have company. He smoothed his features into an emotionless mask, doing his best to prepare himself for the news that Danae had decided to give her ex another shot. After all, Mark’s goals were sure to be more in sync with hers. The guy could give her the conventional type of life Josh had no desire for.
Even though their course was already set, Josh gripped the wheel for something to do.
“Sorry,” Danae said, rounding the corner of the cabin wearing her pink cardigan and holding a box that matched. “I got held up.”
“Oh yeah?” He was proud of how evenly his voice came out, as if he were neither interested nor disinterested. Completely neutral, that was him.
“Yeah.” The light from the full moon lit up the pale strands of hair around her face, casting her in a soft angelic glow.
Ironic that someone so sweet was about to crush his ego with so little effort.
“I’m not sure whether to…? Or if I should just…?” She sighed and set the pink box on the seat she’d been occupying earlier, before the breeze made her go in search of a sweater. She’d also exchanged her contacts in favor of her glasses. Since he didn’t want to see his own reflection as she let him down easy, he craned his neck to see the bow of the ship, as if he needed to affirm they wouldn’t run into anything in a whole lot of endless ocean.
Earlier they’d sorted through pictures from the trip, Vanessa collecting several of them for their social media. One by one, people had split off to head to their respective beds, until it had been just him and Danae above deck, alone at last.
Now he was tempted to call for everyone to come up and delay the inevitable. At least for another hour or two.
Then again, if she wasn’t sure whether going on a date with Mark was a good or bad idea, Josh hadn’t gotten through to her as much as he’d hoped.
Urgency surged as a voice in the back of his brain shouted for him to do something. Disappointment came on its heels, because there was nothing for it. Not with so much stacked against them as it was. This was exactly why he never should’ve crossed the line in the first place. He’d known it would end badly.
“Is something wrong?” Concern swam through Danae’s eyes as she placed her hand on his forearm and studied his face. “Are you feeling okay?”
He tried to hold onto his irritation so he could use it as a shield, but it faded with her so close, her palm warming his bare skin.
Instead of playing dumb—a condition he feared might fit all too well right now—he figured he might as well come clean. “I went to check on you and heard the tail end of a conversation between you and Mark.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh.”
“I, uh, didn’t know he was interested in rekindling things. I’m as surprised as anyone.”
Josh tilted his head. “Really? I’m not. He’s been trying to get close to you this entire trip.”
“Not very successfully. As you’ll recall, I’ve spent most evenings with you.” Her gaze locked onto his. “Josh, I’ve had so much fun with you this past week as we’ve been getting acquainted and hanging out.”
Hanging out. Right.
“But you have a lot in common with Mark, including a history,” Josh filled in for her, “and you want to give the relationship another shot.”
“Not at all where I was going with that.” Her hand slipped off his arm and fell to her side. “Wait. Are you saying you wouldn’t care?”
“You’re free to date him or whoever else you want.”
The hurt on her face made him want to take it all back. “I thought you and I were going to see where this thing between us went.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “When it comes down to it, you and I want different things. We were both just fooling ourselves anyway.”
“I don’t understand what’s happening. I said I’d consider taking it a day at a time with you, even though that’s not what I normally do. I’m not asking for some huge commitment, but I also don’t want to sit around hoping you’ll call, only to end up staring at the phone all night.”