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“My life on Joie de Vivre.”
She laughed. “I’d say you’ve done pretty well alone so far.”
“I have.” His arms tightened around her. “But I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Her brain started a tornado of thoughts. Her heart was pounding. Be sensible, Addie. He’d met her three days ago. He was not about to do anything crazy, like sell his boat and move to New York.
Was he?
Of course not. She hated when her brain went sailing ahead into unlikely waters.
“I was talking to Joe.” His jaw moved against her hair when he spoke. His chest rumbled.
Addie turned her face closer to his, unable to resist the temptation. “About what?”
“I was yelling at him for not taking the risk of coming right out and telling Sarah how he felt about her, and what he wanted and needed from her.” He kissed her temple, bent his head to lay his cheek against hers. “And then I realized I was doing the same thing with you.”
Addie closed her eyes, struggling to stay calm. “Derek, he and Sarah have known each other for almost ten years.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s the same deal. If I don’t ask you this now then I lose you for sure.”
Her argument died. Her heart was hammering, blood hot in her cheeks. Was he going to change his life for her? For her? “Ask me what?”
“Addie.” He paused, long enough that she nearly started to panic. “I want you to spend the next year on Joie de Vivre. Working and living with me.”
13
“WHAT?” In Derek’s arms, Addie stiffened into an iron statue, exactly as he’d expected her to. “What?”
He smiled in the darkness. Anyone would react that way. And, strangely, instead of being in an agony of suspense waiting for her answer, he felt relaxed, freer and happier than he’d felt in a long time. Too long. He hadn’t hidden, hadn’t closed down and entered the hell of “what if?” He hadn’t held himself aloof, gone about his own business and let others do the same. Because he wanted Addie to be his business, and vice versa. What she decided was beyond his control, but he’d gone after what he’d wanted, the same way he’d gone after Joie de Vivre, even knowing it would be a long, tough fight.
Until he met Addie, he hadn’t recognized how far he’d stepped back from life after getting the boat. Addie had brought him screaming—and shouting and skipping and laughing—back into it. For that he’d always be grateful, even if she fried his heart by turning him down.
“I asked if you’d come live with me on my boat next year.”
“You... But I can’t just... I mean...” She struggled to sit up straighter, away from him. “We’ve known each other three days.”
“True.” He let the silence hang, listening to her sputter, practically able to hear the wheels turning in her head, knowing he probably came across like a crazy person. “Don’t answer now. Just think about it. This might be the change you’re looking for in your life, or it might be too much change. We might find we’re meant for each other, or we might want to hurl each other overboard after two weeks. I don’t know. I just know that I haven’t met anyone like you in a long time, maybe ever. I want to find out what’s here, and I think maybe you’d like that, too.”
“If course I would, but...” She slumped down then straightened again. “Derek. Look, this is really sweet of you, but I can’t—”
“Shhh.” He pulled her back against him, nuzzling her hair, leaning her to one side to gain access to her beautiful neck. “Don’t use reason. Not now.”
“Not now? Now is the perfect time. There probably won’t ever be a more perfect time than now.”
“Why?” He pressed his lips against the smooth skin under her ear.
“Because...something like this, something this big...We have to be sensible.”
“Why?” He slid his hands up her rib cage, stopping just under her breasts, then let his thumbs explore their rounded underside while his mouth explored her throat.
“Because this is a huge, vitally important decision that affects every aspect of our lives, and you can’t—” She gasped and arched against his hands, which had moved up to cover her gorgeous breasts. He shifted under her, getting hard. This woman drove him wild. “Um, you can’t just... I mean— Will you stop that?”
