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I leaned over so I could see more than the bottom half of his head.
“Liem gave me the ointment you made, and I tried it last night! Most comfortable night of sleep I’ve had in weeks.”
My spirits soared and I smiled so widely that I felt my eyes crinkle. “I’m so glad! Let me know when you’re getting low, and I’ll make you some more.”
He saluted me. “You got it. And I’ve also heard you were maybe looking for a new gig?”
Mrs. Lott scowled at him. “We had decided to wait and talk to her in person, Monny.”
“What the heck do you call this, woman? In spirit? Ain’t that somethin’.”
Liem snorted, and I looked over to see him and Vinh standing side by side, both looking amused by the exchange.
Liem stepped forward and pulled me into a hug before tapping the hood of the car. “Why don’t I catch a ride back with you guys?” Then he opened the door and slipped into the backseat without waiting for a response.
His voice sounded through the open window. “Have you guys realized it’s your last night before you’re officially empty nesters?”
“About time,” Monny grumbled jokingly.
Mrs. Lott ignored her husband and youngest son and leaned out the window to address Vinh, who crouched down to listen. “Your father has just informed me that he has an appointment to get fitted for his prosthetic on Thursday morning. He has requested that you take him. Could you do that? I need to be at the restaurant to receive a delivery, and they couldn’t give me more than a three-hour window for the time.”
Vinh met his dad’s eyes briefly before answering. “Sure thing.”
Mrs. Lott thanked him, and then we all said our goodbyes.
Vinh laced our fingers together again and pulled us in the opposite direction, navigating through a few pods of kids in costume. We were both lost in our thoughts as we made the walk back to his car. Then we’d drive back to the Coast for our last official night on the boat together.
It was nearly midnight when we made it back to the Coast.
The tension in the car was palpable, only growing thicker with each bump of the bridge and turn of the highway—with every shared, knowing look at red lights and stop signs. Vinh bunched up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing the hat-and-tree tattoo on his forearm, the flex of his muscles enticing me with each shift of the gear stick.
I pressed the back of my hand against my cheek as I attempted to cool my heated skin even as I squirmed in my seat, the energy in the air urging me to move—to act.
Vinh pulled into the small marina parking lot beside Cody’s truck and let out a long breath, his dark gaze raking over me as he shut off the engine. The loss of the background rumble was jarring enough to clear some of the fog in my head. I unbuckled my seatbelt, and he rounded the car to help me out, a habit I never thought I’d cherish so much.
I took his proffered elbow and we walked toward the dock, my heart warming with affection as I compared the man I walked with now to the one who helped me off the platform and out of the casino weeks before.
We reached the houseboat, and the words that I’d been working up the nerve to say flew out of my mouth. “I’m on birth control, and I’m allergic to latex.”
His gaze searched mine, his hand frozen on the doorknob for a moment before he wordlessly pushed open the door and ushered us inside.
The door shut, and then he spoke, sounding like thunder rippling across the Gulf.
“Bree.”
I gathered my bravery, my boldness. “I don’t want anything between us, and I’m clear. There’s been no one else. There is no one else, and….” I took a few more steps into the cabin, walking into the kitchen area where I started fiddling with the cabinet knobs, keeping my back to Vinh. “I thought it through on the way over and decided there was no sexy or un-awkward way to tell someone that, so, uh.” I twisted the knob around. “I do realize that this option is also not sexy, but yeah. There it is.”
Vinh approached, his usually calming presence having the exact opposite effect. “That explains the squirming on the ride over,” he murmured into the back of my neck as he ran his hands up my arms and all the way to my shoulders before helping me out of my light jacket.
I sighed and faced him. “Kinda rude to call me out like that.”
My gaze caught on the fingertips of his scarred arm as they began strumming patterns on the side of his legs, his fingers alternating in a rhythmic pattern. The movement suggested either agitation or intense thought, so I flicked my eyes up to his face, hoping to discern which it was.
He was focused on my jacket, or in its direction, his hand positioned like he’d meant to drop it on the table but had gotten sidetracked. His hand still rested on the material, his tattoo on full display where his own sleeves were still pushed up.
I took a step toward him. “Vinh?”
His fingers stilled and he dropped the jacket as his gaze snapped to mine.
