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She grabbed her schedule and checked the name of her next student in an attempt to distract herself. It was a new student, which meant more time at the dock going over instructions and less time on the water. But new students turned into repeat customers, so she would make sure he had a great experience.
She glanced down the docks, seeing a man approaching. As he drew closer, her nerves tightened both in warning and in anticipation. It was Drew dressed in faded jeans, a gray t-shirt and a black jacket. He had on aviator glasses and damn if he wasn't the sexiest man she'd ever seen—a real heart breaker.
He had the cocky, confident walk of a man who knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. Which was exactly what he'd said about her at their first meeting. He hadn't been wrong, but what she wanted to do with him and what she needed to do were two different things.
"You're early," she said, as he hopped aboard. "We're not meeting until five. I have a lesson now."
"I'm your next lesson."
"You're not Tim Roberts."
"I thought you might find a way to push me off on another teacher if you knew it was me, so I gave my friend's name."
She frowned. "What's this about, Drew? I said I would meet you at five."
"I wanted more time, so I bought an hour. I want to talk to you."
"I can't use this boat to talk. It belongs to the yacht club."
"Then I'll take a sailing lesson. It will probably come in handy anyway. My brothers and I are buying a sailboat, and it's been a long time since I sailed."
She frowned, considering her options. "Find another teacher."
"Why?" he challenged. "Aren't you good enough to teach me?"
"I'm a great teacher, but it will be awkward."
"You know what's awkward?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.
She had to fight the urge to back up. "What?"
"This conversation." He took off his sunglasses, and gave her a hard look. "Let's not pretend we're strangers, Ria."
"I agreed to meet you so you could give me my necklace. That's it."
"You get your necklace back after we talk. What's the big deal? You're here to give a lesson. I'm here to take one." He paused, cocking his head to the right as he gazed into her eyes. "Why are you afraid of me? We had a good time together. It was actually better than good; it was amazing."
"I'm not afraid of you. I've just moved on," she said, trying to force a casual note in her voice. She'd told herself she would play things differently today but cool and casual had gone out the window when Drew surprised her by showing up early. That was the problem with the man; he was always knocking her off balance.
"Okay, you've moved on," he said evenly. "Do we need to be enemies?"
"Do we need to be friends?" she countered. "We spent one night together. We barely know each other."
"I thought we got to know each other pretty well."
She swallowed hard as his gaze swept across her face and fell to her breasts. She couldn't help moving the clipboard in front of her chest. She needed some sort of barrier.
His eyes met hers. "Too late. I've seen every inch of your beautiful body."
Her cheeks warmed with remembered intimacy. "Don't make this so hard."
"You're the one who's doing that. So let's get this boat out on the water. I'm sure you don't want to tell your boss why you don't want to take me out."
She was cornered and they both knew it. "Fine. I'll give you the lesson, but for the next hour, I'm only answering questions about sailing. Take it or leave it."
"I'll take it."
* * *
Drew smiled with satisfaction as Ria gave in to his request. He'd just bought himself an hour of her time—literally, and he intended to make the most of every minute. Despite his agreement not to ask questions about the past, he wasn't leaving today without a better understanding of what had happened to her on the island, and why she'd needed to make a new start.
"So how much do you already know about sailing?" Ria asked.
"The basics. My grandfather used to take me out on his boat when I was a kid, the same boat my brothers and I are buying. He's decided his days on the bay are over."
