Diving into Love (The Armstrongs Book 11)

by Jessica Gray

  River felt himself blush when he noticed the coffee spots on the paper. He usually swiped everything on his desk aside to unroll the nautical chart. He might be the most disorganized businessman on earth, but he never permitted himself to be sloppy about navigation or safety.

  “Hey Pippa, you didn’t see a pink sheet of paper laying on the top of everything, did you?”

  Pippa looked up. “No, but honestly, how do you find anything in this mess?”

  “Could you just look through there and find me that piece of pink paper?” River asked, trying to hide his embarrassment. That’s why he needed an assistant. He was a hopeless case, and too lazy to even try.

  Pippa nodded and began shuffling through stacks of papers. After about five minutes, she finally pulled out a crumpled pink sheet of paper. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

  “Great. That’s it. I’ll rush over to the customs office. We need to get underway.” River took the paper from her hand. As far as he could tell her fingernails were perfectly manicured, filed into nicely rounded short ovals.

  He rushed to the gangway and jumped off the boat, headed for the marina office to check out. Like always, it took ages, because he hadn’t filled out the form properly and they made him return to his boat to get his and Pippa’s passports. As if those stupid officials didn’t know me.

  By the time he finished the paperwork an hour later, his mood had taken a nosedive and all he wanted was to hit the open water and put the morning’s aggravation behind him.

  “Do you know anything about boats?” River asked as he prepared to untether Moana from the dock.

  “Yes.” Pippa had come upstairs to the deck letting him know she’d organized the papers on his desk.

  “Good. Can you use the big fender to keep us off the other boats while I maneuver out of the marina? Once we get beyond that first buoy we don’t have to worry about much, but some of these hobby captains seem to have won their license in the lottery.” River pointed to the boat three down from his berth obstructing the way out.

  “Case in point. That guy seems to think the entire marina is his private parking lot.” Pippa hid a smile, but River had already noticed the sparkle flaring in her eyes for a brief moment.

  “Okay. Let’s get going.”

  “How long will it take to get to Curacao?” she asked, taking the fender into her hands.

  “Most of the day.” He glanced up at the cloudless blue sky and then smiled. “It’s going to be a beautiful day.”

  Pippa shrugged and walked along the rail to the broadest point of the ship. While he slowly maneuvered out of the berth, she expertly shoved the fender between the Moana and the neighboring boat, protecting both ships, as the Moana gently shoved the other boat out of her way.

  Then she collected all the fenders hanging from the rail and stored them in the starboard locker. His trained eye noticed the ease of her actions and he couldn’t help but wonder where she’d learned the ropes so well. It didn’t mesh with the way she’d freaked out earlier this morning.

  After they reached open water, he called to her, “Why don’t you go put on your bathing suit and get some sun?”

  “Don’t you have something else I should be doing?” Pippa asked skeptically.

  “Not until later in the afternoon. Take your chance to relax, as soon as we have the guests aboard you won’t have a single minute for yourself.”

  She nodded and slipped below deck. When she returned, he wished he’d kept his damn mouth shut. Now he would have to stare at her perfect curves, barely covered by a burgundy wrap-around bikini top. The matching bottom had enticing bows at either side, and he wondered what would happen if he were to untie them. Either way, her outfit wreaked havoc on his libido and the half-transparent wrap around her waist displayed more than it concealed.

  She made herself comfortable on the bench next to him, and he did his best to keep his eyes on the horizon, pretending he was terribly busy maneuvering the ship through the clear and calm turquoise waters that slowly changed their color into a dark, bright blue as they reached bigger depths. The brilliant sunshine overhead sent sparkles across the waves and it would have been a perfect day to laze on the boat, except for the raging hard-on he had to keep under control.

  “Oh, look!” Pippa called out, pointing ahead of the bow. “Dolphins.”

  River grinned as he watched them playing in the wake the boat left behind it. They swam, jumped, and raced each other alongside for several miles and then disappeared, off to play elsewhere.

  As the minutes trickled into hours, River realized it was already way past noon. “Hey, you hungry?”

  “Now that you mention it.” She sat up, her slinky wrap exposing the bikini bottom with the alluring bows, and pushed her oversized sunglasses back on her head. “Do you want me to fix us some sandwiches or…”

  “Sandwiches sound great. You remember where the galley is?” On her nod he continued, “Everything you need should be down there. I’ll take mayo and no mustard on mine.”

  Pippa stood up and stretched, her slender waist bending slightly first to the left and then to the right side. River’s cock sprang up and thrust against the material of his surfer shorts. Holy shit. Employing Pippa hasn’t been one of your brightest moves.

  “Shall I bring your sandwich up here?” her sweet voice asked as she looked at him with an expectant smile. River thanked Neptune that she couldn’t see his lower body hidden behind the big wheel.

  “No. I’ll come downstairs. Just give me a few minutes to put this lady on autopilot.”

  As soon as Pippa disappeared below deck, River set his course and then turned the autopilot on, watching it for a few minutes and giving his blood the time to return to other parts of his body. Then he headed to the galley to help her set the table. He fetched two ice cold bottles of water and some orange juice from the fridge, and poured it into glasses.

  “Here you go.” She handed him a plate piled high with two sandwiches, chips and a few cookies.

  “Looks great. I didn’t notice I was that hungry.” For food and for you.

  “Are you sure the boat is okay left unattended?” Pippa asked concern etched into her face.

  “Yeah, it’s on autopilot. And in case we see another ship, I can be at the wheel within twenty seconds. Don’t worry, I do this for a living.”

  Pippa nodded and took a bite of her sandwich. A drop of mustard fell on her bare thigh and all the blood drained from River’s face as he forced himself not to dip his head and lick it away.

  When they’d finished eating, they cleared the table and washed up their dishes together.

  “Let’s go soak up some rays for a while,” River suggested.

  She followed him up to the sun deck and flopped down on a lounge chair. River took the chair next to her and they lay there, listening to the lulling sound of the motor and the waves lapping against the hull.

  “My brother Chuck called this morning.” River finally broke the silence.

  Pippa rolled her head to the side and slid her sunglasses up to look at him. “You have a brother?”

  “I have several siblings, actually. Anyway, I mentioned that I’d hired you and he scolded me for not having done a proper background check on you.”

  “And now you want to know who I am?” Pippa asked, her eyes squinting.

  I know who you are. You’re the sexiest woman alive. The one who’s kept me strung tight since I met you yesterday. He didn’t give a voice to his lust. Instead he looked into her eyes and it suddenly hit him. She’s lonely.

  “Well, Chuck’s a private investigator and …he remembered reading about you and a Daniel Lacrue in the papers.” River felt like an intruder and as he watched her expression close off, he wished he hadn’t brought up the past.

  She dropped her sunglasses back down over her eyes and looked away. “My ex.”

  “What happened? If you don’t mind me asking?”

  Pippa stayed quiet for several tense seconds and he thought she
would ignore his question. But then she sighed and started speaking.

  “I might as well tell you before you find out in the Internet. I eloped with Daniel when I was eighteen. I…I guess I was lonely. My mother had passed away a few years earlier, and my father was a workaholic, rarely at home…” She paused and without thinking, River took her hand into his. It just felt right to offer her physical comfort.

  “Anyway, Daniel said all the right things and made me feel valued. Of course, that didn’t last for long,” she huffed.

  “You don’t have to tell me,” River said. He couldn’t stand hearing the hurt in her voice.

  “You’ll find out anyway.” Pippa finally turned her head to look at him. “My father was less than pleased when he found out. We’ve always been a target for gold diggers and he has limited tolerance for money grabbers. He disowned me and hasn’t spoken to me since.” She grew quiet again and River waited her out. Finally, she began talking once more, “Daniel cheated on me multiple times, from the very beginning, but I didn’t see it for a while. Didn’t want to see it. He never loved me. He only loved my money, my name and my connections.”

  “But finally I had enough and filed for divorce. If you’ve seen the tabloids, you know how well that went…” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m a total failure. Twenty-two, divorced, without a penny and no practical education, no family and after Daniel’s lies and antics during the divorce, I’m not even sure I have any friends left.” A tear slipped down her cheek and River wiped it away with his thumb, his big heart breaking for her.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to dwell in sad memories.”

  “It’s okay, really. It was my own fault for believing Daniel’s lies for such a long time.” Pippa’s voice turned brittle.

  “No, it wasn’t your fault!” His outburst surprised him and caused Pippa to remove her sunglasses and sit up straighter. “There’s no excuse for cheating. Ever! Any man who does that isn’t worthy of a wonderful woman like you.”

  “And I had you pegged as the kind of guy who sleeps with every woman he can have.” A small smile pursed her lips, and he stared. Her full bottom lip beckoned, begging to be sucked.

  River felt his ears burn and rubbed his beard. Suddenly his player days seemed disgraceful. “I may have played the field a bit, but I never once cheated on a woman, or told her sweet lies to…you know.” His ears burnt even hotter. How did he allow himself to dive this deep into uncomfortable territory?

  “I can’t imagine anything that would cause my parents to stop speaking to me. Or even think of disowning me. Not that there’s much to inherit,” he said, grinning in an attempt to divert her attention from his not-so-perfect behavior.

  “I couldn’t, either. But it is what it is.” Pippa shrugged. “Tell me about your family. Are you close?”

  So she’s as desperate as I’m to change the subject. River exhaled a sigh of relief as he jumped to comply. “Yes. My mother has spent more than twenty-five years to raise the six of us into more or less decent adults.” He chuckled, thinking about all of his siblings, and their unique personality traits.

  “Six kids? You’re lucky. I always wanted a brother or a sister, but my mother and father were more interested in their social status and their careers. I was the requisite baby needed to carry on the good family name, but I messed that up when I married Daniel.”

  River heard the sadness and resignation in her voice and wanted to soothe it away. He had the strongest urge to lean over and kiss her, but that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. After all, she’s my employee.

  “Yeah. I have no idea how my mother managed with that many of us. Of course, my father helped, but he worked a lot, too, so it was mostly her.” He carried on their conversation.

  “Where do you fall in the familial order?” Finally the sadness left Pippa’s eyes and she smiled at him.

  “I’m the youngest.”

  “The baby.” Pippa giggled and he threw his hands over his heart in mock indignation. “Don’t you ever dare say that word again! It’s bad enough that my siblings like to call me by it.”

  “Let me guess. They called you baby one too many times, and you ran away from home, bought this boat and never had to listen to the offensive nickname again?” Her eyes shone bright and he could feel the energy rolling off of her, taking possession of him, drawing him closer to her. Her full lips parted slightly, as if expecting a kiss, a kiss he was so eager to give her, but wouldn’t.

  “Not quite, but close. I do love all of them to pieces, but I prefer to enjoy them in homeopathic doses. A week is about the maximum I can stand with all of them together. And the boat I bought because I love the ocean, love being on it, in it, around it. I could never live far away from the sea, without the possibility to step onto a boat and leave the suppressive land behind me. The ocean represents freedom for me, and peace. I belong here, where my heart beats.” River was so caught up in his monologue he hadn’t noticed how her face closed up with every word he said.

  “I guess I should get back to work,” Pippa said, standing and bracing her arms in front of her breasts. The spell between them was broken.

  Dammit, I did or said something wrong again.

  “It’ll take another hour or two until we arrive in Curacao, but maybe you could go into my office and find the proper customs forms? It would be great if you could familiarize yourself with them and start filling them out?” He’d almost forgotten, why he’d hired her.

  “Sure, I can do that. I’ll let you know if I have questions.” She grabbed the towel she’d been lying on and escaped downstairs. As much as it hurt to let her leave, he resisted the urge to chase her.

  Keeping his distance was for the best. There could never be anything between them. She was his employee. Off limits. Period.

  Chapter 10

  Pippa needed to get away from River and her overwhelming desire to sink into his arms for a passionate kiss. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he felt the same undeniable pull toward her. But it was so wrong.

  Wrong!

  After the fiasco with Daniel, she doubted her own good judgment with men. How could she be sure, River wasn’t cut from the same cloth? Sweet-talking her until she succumbed to his charms, only to drop her like a hot potato afterwards. Except he hadn’t even tried to sweet-talk her. He’d been nothing but honest and sincere since the moment they’d met.

  In spite of his desire, he’d shied away from the kiss lingering in the air the same way she had. Pippa shook her head and climbed downstairs to the mess he called his office, feeling his hot gaze boring into her back. She half-wished he would give chase, claim her, demand the kiss from her that both of them wanted so much.

  She sat at his desk, trying to ignore the churning feeling in her stomach that had intensified with every step she took away from River’s soothing presence. He had a way of making her feel safe – and wanted.

  Her fingers flicked through the mountains of papers, neatly piling them into stacks and putting post-it notes with Guests, Customs, Food, and Diving Gear on top of them. She’d never realized how much administrative work went into hosting a weeklong cruise for eight diving guests.

  On her father’s yacht they’d always relied on the skipper and crew to have everything ready when they arrived. Just like River’s guests did. Pippa smiled at the thought. No wonder he’d been desperate enough to hire her, because organization definitely wasn’t his strength.

  After clearing the desk, she pulled out the pink customs forms for Curacao, surprisingly similar to those of Aruba. Well, they both belong to the Netherlands. She was just finishing the customs forms when River’s ruffled shock of dark hair peeked through the door.

  “Hey, we’re about to arrive at the marina in Curacao. Did you find those forms?”

  “I think all they need is your signature.” Pippa handed them to him.

  River looked them over and gave a low whistle. Then his glance fell on the labeled stacks of paper. “Holy shit! You did all this?” />
  Pippa nodded and felt herself flush with pride. Seems like I’m not a complete failure after all.

  “Can you lend me a hand to get us docked?”

  “Sure.” Pippa followed him onto the deck. To her left, the sun hung low over the horizon and cast the ocean into a glowing fire-like orange as the boat slowly sailed northwards. The hinged Queen Emma Bridge was open and River put the Moana in queue behind a huge cruise ship to travel the St. Anna bay. Minutes later the colorful buildings of Willemstad came into view.

  Pippa was surprised at how much the skyline reminded one of a small town in the Netherlands, instead of a thriving seaport in the tropics. A surge of excitement hit her as she hung out the fenders while River navigated the boat into the assigned berth. She tied a bowline knot and tossed it expertly over the metals bollard on the dock, yelping a quick “Yes!” when she hit with her first try.

  Only after River switched off the motor and grinned at her, did she remember her fear and her mother. A chill ran down her spine as she thought about her mother’s smiling face and the tragic way she’d died, but then River was there, his deep voice dispersing the demons of the past as he asked her to accompany him to the customs office.

  “Be forewarned, this usually takes hours.” He grimaced his displeasure around the expected delay.

  “Sounds fun.”

  “This may easily be the part I hate most about the business.” River stretched out his hand to help her across the gangway. His empty hand.

  “Did you bring the forms?” she asked.

  “Shit, no. I left them lying on the table in the salon.”

  “Together with the rest of the needed documents, I assume?”

  River shrugged, pulling a guilty face.

  “I’ll grab them,” Pippa said and returned below deck to gather all the papers they would need into a manila folder, including the boat papers and both of their passports.

  “You really do know about organizing stuff,” River said with a low whistle when she handed him the folder.

  Again, heat rushed to her face and her heart skipped a beat when he smiled at her. It had been years since someone had actually valued her contributions. Together, they walked the five minutes to the customs office where a sturdy man in a white button-down shirt with brown epaulets and a necktie in the same color stood outside the building chatting with one of the marina guards.