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“No idea. I came home yesterday and everything was moved around. You don’t want to stay for breakfast?” Caitlin scraped the perfectly browned potatoes into a serving bowl.
“It smells delicious, but I’ll have to pass. I was planning on taking Alissa to the diner,” he said. “Maybe some other time.”
“Definitely. Text me when you find her.”
Dane left and headed toward The Outlet since it was a better lead than The Crab. He pushed open the door to the office and found Alissa furiously cleaning the side windows. Then, the changes in the apartment clicked. She must have been cleaning and organizing to prepare for his mother’s visit.
“Alissa,” he said, coming up behind her.
Alissa turned, blinking at him through her glasses. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He gently took the rag and glass cleaner from her. “You don’t have to do this. Especially not on a Sunday.”
“Of course we do,” Alissa said, a frown dimming her expression. “I want everything to be nice for your mom’s visit. And it’s been a while since anyone’s cleaned the windows.”
She took the rag and spray from him and went back to cleaning.
“No, you don’t,” he said more firmly, taking the supplies from her again. She didn’t look at him. “Can you look at me?”
She finally turned, but kept her eyes cast down. He lifted her chin with his fingers and saw the stress in her brown eyes.
“You’re nervous about what my mom will think of you, aren’t you?” he asked.
Alissa’s eyes filled with tears and she pulled away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I don’t want to mess anything up for you.” She sniffed, dabbing at her eyes. “I know things haven’t been easy with your parents since you left the city, so I don’t want to make it worse.”
His heart broke for her. He’d never seen her so worked up or upset about something, especially what people thought of her. She’d always been very sure of herself and who she was. But everyone had their breaking point.
“You won’t make it worse. Just be yourself.” He squeezed her shoulders and stooped down a little to look into her eyes. “I love you. No amount of negativity from my mom will change my mind.”
Alissa sniffed again. “Okay.”
“Come here.” Dane pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug, savoring her warmth. She tucked her face into his chest and exhaled softly.
* * *
Caitlin had woken up with a new burst of inspiration and excitement over the cruise ship. Getting the kitchen cleaned up had made a huge difference. Now all she needed to figure out was what kitchen supplies she needed and how many people to hire… all of the details she loved putting together.
She’d spent most of the day with Pearl, but now she finally had free time now that Alissa was home.
She headed down to the docks and spotted Michael climbing onto the ship from a distance, his tool kit in his hand. As always, he looked so handsome and capable, even in profile. His wavy dark hair was tied back, revealing his strong jaw and regal nose. He always looked right at home working on the ship, or doing anything, really.
Caitlin flushed, trying to put that train of thought to rest. Doing so was easier said than done—she couldn’t deny that she was developing feelings for him. It had been so long since she’d felt anything like it that she had no idea what to do or how to feel. He filled up her thoughts more and more often, catching her off guard at random parts of the day. Instead of filling her with anxiety, the thoughts of him filled her with a brightness and bubbliness that she enjoyed.
But her divorce hadn’t been that long ago. It felt so soon.
She knew that the safe thing to do would be to keep to herself. Even though she was feeling better day by day, she didn’t want to rush into anything. And she got the sense that Michael didn’t want to make a move either since he understood she was in a time of transition. She appreciated how understanding he was, but at the same time, she didn’t want to be in a holding pattern.
“Great minds think alike,” Michael said as he saw Caitlin approaching the cruise ship.
“I suppose so.” Caitlin smiled. “What are you working on?”
“Some of the electrical components. I’ll have to shut it off in part of the ship,” he said.
“Sounds dangerous.”
“I’m familiar with the process, so it’s definitely not as bad as it sounds.” He smiled too, making Caitlin’s heart squeeze.
