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“Thanks.” Alissa’s nerves were so on edge that she hardly knew what to do or when she’d be able to fall asleep. But as long as Dane was by her side, it would be okay in the end.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Michael usually spent his Friday mornings at Tidal Wave Coffee or surfing, but today, he was down at the docks to work on Caitlin’s cruise ship. The work could have waited until Monday, but he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. He liked to dive into projects anyway and he really wanted this to work out for Caitlin.
He climbed onto the boat, his tool case bumping against his hip. And fine, he could admit that he just liked Caitlin, period, and wanted to do something for her. The moment they’d shared on the boat before, where she finally let some of her walls come down, had burrowed its way into his heart. He sensed that she didn’t have feelings for her ex-husband anymore, but she still had a lot of things to work through to move forward.
For a moment, he imagined what it would be like if she got past her heartbreak and wanted to spend time with him. They’d have fun. Maybe they could cook together or just go for a walk like they had at the lighthouse. It had been such a simple outing, but he came back feeling even more refreshed than he did when he went alone. The conversation had flowed so easily and he loved seeing inside of her head.
But he didn’t want to come on too strong by asking her out. The divorce was so fresh and she had Pearl to worry about too.
He knelt down next to one of the control panels on the main level of the ship, shaking his head. He’d never had thoughts like this about anyone, and the few times he had, they’d made him nervous. In the past, dating anyone seriously was just an interruption to his surfing and his business. And despite other people his age settling down or aiming to, he’d been comfortable with the idea of being single forever—just him, his surfboard, and his work.
But now Caitlin had started to change his mind in the short time she’d been there.
Speaking of Caitlin, he noticed her coming onto the boat out of the corner of his eye, her arms loaded down with cleaning supplies. He hopped up and helped her with everything.
“Good morning,” she said. “I was going to do some cleaning up in the dining room and other areas of the ship today. I hope I won’t interrupt whatever you’re doing.”
“No, you’re fine. I’ll be fiddling around with this control panel over here. I might get in your way since it controls the lights and the fans.” Michael put down the caddy filled with cleaning solutions.
“I’ll be fine. The dining room gets a lot of light.” She squinted against the morning sun.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, kneeling down at the base of the control panel again. “Since last time, I mean.”
“A bit, yeah,” she replied. “Thank you for being so kind about it. I like the reassurance but I’m not naturally inclined toward seeking it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He took out some needle-nosed pliers. “Especially since I don’t know a lot about marriage or anything like that. I was afraid I’d given you terrible advice.”
“No, not at all. You really understood what I was dealing with.” Her voice was soft in a way that made his heart flip in his chest.
“Good.” He busied himself with his tools. “I’ve always been focused on my career and projects like the ship, not relationships.”
“Surely some women have tried to snag you,” she said, her tone coy. “The whole surfer thing is appealing to a lot of women. The fact that you’re an entrepreneur too.”
His cheeks flushed—she was right. He never dated, but he always had women who were interested, especially customers at Tidal Wave. He shrugged instead of saying so.
“When that’s not where my heart is at, does it really matter?” he asked, looking up at her. “It has to be the right person and none of them have been. Past or present.”
They locked eyes for a few beats, just long enough for him to know that she got the true meaning under his words. His heart sped up. She already understood him enough to read through the lines.
“True,” Caitlin said. She started digging through her cleaning caddy. “I should get started.”
They went their separate ways, working on their respective tasks on the ship. Michael loved getting absorbed in technical tasks, and before he knew it, his stomach was growling. Caitlin had disappeared somewhere, but her cleaning supplies were still around. He followed the sounds of someone scrubbing something, down to the kitchen.
Half of it looked almost brand new, with scrubbed down tables and a lack of a greasy feel on some of the appliances. It smelled a lot better too.
“Hey,” Michael said, looking around. “Wow, you’ve already made a lot of progress in here.”
“Thanks.” Caitlin pushed some of the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail out of her face with the back of her arm. “I can’t stand a dirty kitchen, so I’ve been powering through it.”
“Do you want to get something to eat at The Crab? I was going to stop by and take a break,” Michael said.
“Sure, I’d like that.”
Caitlin put her supplies away and cleaned herself up before they walked back up to the deck together. But their exit was blocked by an old-fashioned picnic basket, a pitcher of cold brew and creamer, and a bouquet of flowers to finish it all off. Michael peeked inside the basket—it was filled with sandwiches from The Crab, wrapped in paper and labeled in Willis’s familiar scrawl. Homemade chips, fruit, and cookies were nestled alongside it.
“Wow. Where did this come from?” Michael asked.
