by Cindi Madsen
Down the way, a speckled harbor seal wiggled across the sand, jigging the entire way, and settled next to a seal Josh assumed was its mom. Danae retrieved her phone and took several pictures, and Josh dug his own phone out of his pocket and snapped a couple as well. Something to show George and Nancy.
Just before he put away his phone, he lifted it higher and captured Danae’s smiling profile. The sun hit just right, the cresting waves and seals providing a stunning backdrop.
Between last night’s amazing stroll and her decision to do a challenge he’d put on the itinerary, a big old soft spot was forming. Problem was, he was getting sucked in by Danae. By her smile and her laugh and her swinging ponytail and…
Man, she’s pretty.
Was it so bad that he wanted the ability to pull up her smile on his phone screen once in a while? To consider using the image to cheer him up during lonely nights and long trips?
“I really wish we could pet them,” Danae said, yanking him out of his jumbled thoughts. “But don’t worry, I’m a rule follower.”
Josh bit back his laugh, so she wouldn’t accuse him of mocking her, slightly accurate or not. “Pretty sure that last sentence was unnecessary.”
Her jaw dropped. “Ah! We can’t all be rebels like you.”
Sure. That was him. A rebel. One who wanted to ignore the complications that would inevitably rise, grab her hand, and hold it.
He probably should’ve kept the distance he’d originally attempted to maintain on this walk. No worries, though. He could practice self-control.
“Aww, check out that one. His eyes are so big.” Danae knelt down in the sand, several yards away. “Hi, dude. Or dudette.”
As if the seal could understand her, it barked back.
Pretty soon, everyone on the beach had come to watch Danae talk to the chatty seal. She mimicked its movements, and a couple of other seals scoot-jiggled their way over to see what all the ruckus was about. Ironic that Franco and Vanessa had just been talking about The Little Mermaid, because right now, Danae seemed to be auditioning for the role.
Eventually they said goodbye to the seals, who’d abandoned chatting for snoozing. They reached the last stretch before the lighthouse, a narrow strip of land with the harbor on one side and the Atlantic Ocean stretching out on the other.
“Hey, new marketing idea,” Danae said, pausing in front of the mansions that lined the beach. While Josh was all about ocean views, he’d be too afraid to build here. It was only a matter of time until the strip of land disappeared, the way it had in Martha’s Vineyard a handful of years ago. “Door-to-door boat sales.”
Mark, Vanessa, Paige, and Franco glanced at the houses and began discussing which boat they’d pitch based on the exterior design of their houses.
“Wow, check out that old sailboat,” Vanessa said. “Looks like it washed ashore, and they left it to die.”
“It just needs a bit of polish,” Josh said.
Danae blinked at him. “A bit?”
Josh didn’t want to violate any trespassing laws, but he wandered a few yards closer. “I bet it’s a seventies model. I bought a similar boat a couple of years ago. Solitude was awfully beat up when I bought her, so I spent the last year restoring her. She turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself.”
“Solitude? Sheesh, why didn’t you just name it sadness?”
“Hey,” he said with a laugh. “I like my private slice of heaven. If the whim hits me, I can head out onto the ocean for days or weeks. Leave my worries behind. Change my destination. Begin a new adventure.”
Danae wrinkled her nose in that adorable way she did when she was processing. “I don’t think I could handle that much quiet.”
No, quiet wasn’t a word he’d use to describe Danae. While he’d become accustomed to the peaceful silence of living on a ship by himself, he had a feeling that once this journey was over, he would miss the hubbub.
He might even miss Danae bouncing to her feet in the crowded kitchen to recite the itinerary for the day.
What a silly thought. He’d be fine. Same as always. There were other people at the marina if he did get lonely.
Although Danae wouldn’t be one of them, and a pang thumped deep inside his chest at the thought. “Someday you’ll have to come to the marina and check out my pride and joy.” Josh realized everyone else was still around as well, and he hadn’t meant to exclude them, so he tore his gaze off Danae and glanced around. “All of you.”
The idea of five extra people onboard his tiny ship made air leak out of his lungs. Surely they wouldn’t show up all at once, though.
Thinking of Danae aboard Solitude, pitching in with the sails as he steered, on the other hand, caused a flush of excitement. He’d like to take her for a quick sail on Solitude sometime. See how much fun they could have with absolutely no schedule whatsoever.
“When did you christen her?” Danae asked, and the entire group focused on him, waiting for the answer.
Josh swiped a hand through the air. “Eh. I didn’t do the whole christening ceremony.”
Danae gasped in horror, and she wasn’t the only one. You would’ve thought he’d told them his ship had an enormous leak. “Josh, that’s not okay,” Danae said. “Not only is it tradition, you’ll anger the sea gods. They’ll think you have underhanded motives if you don’t do the renaming ritual.”
Vanessa’s eyes flew wide. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. We can’t have that. It’s been a lovely trip, and I’d like for it to keep going that way.”
“Danae’s kidding,” Josh said.
“Danae doesn’t kid,” Mark countered, and Josh had to work to not glare at the guy. All day, the entitled jerk had been making a point of showing how well he knew Danae. Mark wasn’t the one she’d been out with last night, though, was he?
Instead of the sense of smugness Josh had expected, conflicting emotions tugged at him. As much as he’d enjoyed their time together and Danae’s awe at the beauty he’d shown her, he still couldn’t decide if spending time alone together had been a good idea.
“Not about this,” Danae said. “You need to have a christening ceremony ASAP, Josh.”
He was fairly sure she’d said his name more in the last few minutes than she had for the entire trip, and while he liked hearing it spilling from her lips, he was done being the center of attention. He also needed some of that space he’d mentioned to pull himself together. “It’s not a big deal,” he insisted, but Danae was already shaking her head.
“It’s a huge deal. And we’re gonna fix it.”
Chapter Seventeen
As Mr. Barton had suggested before they left, Danae had made reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in Nantucket Island to celebrate finalizing the business plan. She’d included instructions to bring a couple of nicer outfits, and everyone was all dressed up.
The overhead lights in the restaurant caught the silver overlay on Danae’s pink dress as she led the group inside. Thanks to her hair having been in a ponytail earlier, she’d gone with an updo to hide the bump, although she’d loosened a couple curls to frame her face. She’d also switched from her regular bag to her clutch, because glitter. The ankle straps on her matching heels made her feel like a sparkly ballerina, and she barely refrained from doing a spin.
Vaguely she’d realized previously that they were an attractive group of people, inside and out, but tonight, they shone. Even Josh wore a black button-down shirt and a leather jacket, giving him a refined yet rugged edge that suited him. He’d mentioned he did have a tie if he had to wear one, and she’d responded that he looked nice enough without the tie. And he certainly did. She couldn’t stop staring.
Once they were settled at their table, their drinks placed in front of them, it was time to choose entrees. Since the other side of the table knew what they wanted, Danae told them to go ahead, leaving her and Josh up last.
; “Um…” Danae studied the two entrees she’d narrowed her options to. “I keep going back and forth between lobster or the filet mignon. Which do you recommend?”
“I was eyeing those as well,” Josh said. “It’s hard to beat a good steak, but the same could be said about lobster.”
“Ah, you want the romantic meal.” The waiter scribbled on his notepad, and Danae froze in place. She hadn’t accidentally flirted with Josh, had she? She was struggling to draw lines. Even earlier, when he’d offered her a fist bump, she couldn’t decide if it was the kind of move she should avoid. Then she’d felt like a jerk for rejecting it, and that was the perfect example of why she favored knowing what was going to happen in advance.
Danae skirted her fingers along the edge of the linen tablecloth at her thighs. “Oh, we’re all on a work trip.”
The waiter nodded. “Okay. I can put in an order for both of you to get that meal, but see this here?” He pointed at the last entree on the menu. “The romantic meal for two is less expensive, and you still get to try both.”
“On two plates?” Danae asked, and the waiter scrunched his forehead.
“Yeah. Unless you want our chef to cram it on one.”
Danae shook her head. “No. Two plates is good.” Great. She could feel herself heating up, and her face was undoubtedly as pink as her dress.
In order to preserve what was left of her confidence, she changed the subject. “Okay, so let’s talk guest list.” She tapped her pen against her notebook, only halfway glancing at Josh. “Who do you want at your boat’s christening party? Besides all of us, of course.”
Once she’d explained the ceremony and how it ensured good fortune to the owner and crew, everyone helped convince Josh to perform one. So naturally they were coming, too.
Appetizers that included oysters, wild rice and smoked ricotta, and beef carpaccio—she wouldn’t be touching that last one—arrived. They paused the conversation while two members of the waitstaff placed the plates on the table.
“You really don’t need to go to all that trouble,” Josh said.
“You probably don’t know this about me, but I actually enjoy planning things.”
A crooked smile slanted his lips. “Wow, I never would’ve guessed.”
“Every improviser needs a planner. Someone to consider all the scenarios and be prepared, granting the impulsive person the freedom to change without ending up in trouble.”
“I’ve survived so far.”
“You’re tempting the gods every day that ship’s in the water without being properly christened. Someone back me up on this.” Danae glanced around the table. Most everyone was nibbling on appetizers and sipping celebratory cocktails.
“I might not know much about the ceremony,” Paige said. “But thanks to reading the Odyssey, I assure you that angering Poseidon is a bad idea. He didn’t let that guy go home for so, so many years.”
Danae placed her hand next to Josh’s plate, drawing his attention away from his food. “Please let me do this for you. I won’t be able to sleep worrying about you out there tempting fate.”
Josh’s features softened, and when his eyes met hers, everything inside of her went gooey and warm. “You worry about me?”
“You are our captain. We should look at the calendar and choose a date.” Danae flipped through her planner. “How’s two weeks from tomorrow? Do you have any unprotected journeys scheduled before then?” The question hung in the air, time stuttering to a halt as she realized that setting up this event would mean seeing Josh even after this trip came to a close.
“Two weeks from tomorrow works for me.”
Danae’s stomach completed a full somersault. Before she could warn her brain not to get carried away, she was envisioning him standing on the deck of his restored boat, a crooked grin spreading across his face as she approached. “Don’t you need to check your calendar first?” She twisted one of her curls around her finger, doing her best to not seem overeager.
“Oh, that’s a good idea.” Josh tapped a finger to his temple, and his eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “All clear.”
She shook her head but couldn’t hold back her smile. He could tease all he wanted. In fact, now she was picturing joking around as the two of them prepared his boat for the ceremony. Plus, she wasn’t lying about how much she loved planning. “Does that work for everyone else?”
Everyone answered that it did, so Danae penciled it in, along with the names Josh gave her.
Then she held out her open palm to him. “Hand me your phone, please.” When he hesitated, she added a finger wiggle. “I just want to see for myself that it gets added to your calendar.”
After acting like he was going to relinquish it, only to yank it away, at long last, he relented. She opened up his calendar, scheduled the christening, and set an alert the week before, two days before, and the day before.
One more for good measure. An alert for thirty minutes before, and she called it good and returned his phone to him. Her inner prankster laughed at how hard he’d roll his eyes and grumble during each and every alert.
Their entrées arrived, the aromas causing her mouth to water, and she slipped her planner in her bag so it wouldn’t get food on it. No surprise, the many glowing reviews were spot on. The restaurant was every bit as good as they claimed.
After dinner, everyone split off to go sightseeing. Danae hung back to settle the check and enter it into her expense spreadsheet. She exited the restaurant, slightly disappointed that no one had waited for her.
Okay, mostly that Josh hadn’t waited for her.
But then there he was, leaning against the white railing. He straightened as she approached. “Hey,” he said. “I figured it’d be best if we followed the buddy system. Even though you probably have at least three apps that could safely direct you back to the harbor.”
“Is any app as safe as a personal guide who’s familiar with the area, though?”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “Not if I’m the personal guide.”
Together, they headed in the direction of the shore. With the sun dipping low in the horizon, the clouds were turning varying shades of orange and pink. Lights began clicking on across the city, a flash here and a glimmer there, tiny squares that glowed brighter the closer it got to dusk.
“For the record,” Josh said, “Vanessa was going to wait for you until I informed her I would do the honors. Hope that’s okay.”
It meant Vanessa would be asking twenty questions tonight in their cabin, but too much happiness was coursing through Danae to care. “It’s perfect.”
Too late, she worried that had come out sounding too bold. She contemplated leaping into a discussion about the boat christening, but then her fingers and Josh’s brushed together.
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, rendering her speechless.
With their arms loosely swinging and the narrow sidewalk, it wasn’t like it was a big deal. Surely he wouldn’t think she was making a move on him.
His fingers grazed hers again, and dozens of butterflies swirled inside her.
Josh curled her hand in his, nothing accidental about the move. In this moment, holding Josh’s hand and nearing the beach around sunset, she wanted to be bold.
Her heart ticked out of control as she spread her fingers apart and laced them through his. It galloped faster as he tightened his grip so their palms perfectly aligned.
None of this had been in the plans. While it felt like free-falling, it was all thrill, that instant when you let go and give in to gravity and its pull. It didn’t happen very often—especially in her life—so she shut off her overly analytical side in favor of embracing the here and now.
As they reached the beach and her pink heels sank into the sand, she bent, undid the ankle straps, and held the shoes in her free hand. Down shore, the light from the Brant Point Lighthouse flashed,
nearly as pink as the sky behind it.
“Your dress matches the sky,” Josh said. “It even glitters like the lights across the harbor.”
For some reason, she lifted one side of her skirt and curtsied. Before she could try to explain the odd move, she caught sight of two glowing eyes. A few yards away, a cat prowled through clusters of white and pink flowers. An older woman stood at the edge of her lawn, shaking a box of treats and calling to the cat, who ran in her direction at the sound.
“Ooh, a black cat. Another good luck sign. Did you know that Irish sailors often adopted black cats for luck?” Danae paused, then rushed to fill the silence. “There were also all kinds of beliefs surrounding them. Like if they licked their fur against the grain, it meant a hailstorm. Sneezes meant rain, and if the feline was extra frisky that day, it meant wind.” Obviously she was more nervous than she’d realized, because now she was rambling. Amusement filled Josh’s expression, along with a dash of aren’t you adorable. “Again, I’m not superstitious. People make their own luck. With hard work.”
“For someone who’s not superstitious, you sure have a lot of information stored in your brain about good and bad omens.”
Danae dug her toes in the sand, and memories flooded her brain. “My dad was superstitious, especially about sailing.” Fishing was a waiting game, one where it could often be hours between bites, so he’d recite folktales and fables, along with a few stories she was sure were urban legends. “He used to have this chant, too. Everyone thinks that ‘yo, ho, ho,’ came from pirates, but the Song of the Volga Boatmen, which includes the lyrics ‘Yo, heave ho,’ was originally a Russian folksong.”
“Oh, I’m going to need to hear the chant.”
She vehemently shook her head. “No way. I’m getting embarrassed just thinking about it. Luckily, when I was a little kid, I didn’t think about people seeing or hearing.”
