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He knew that he was dealing with someone who wasn’t used to the world he traveled in. And he’d already decided that was part of the reason she was so appealing to him. But he didn’t want to have to remind her not to care about him.
He wanted her to care.
He wanted her to think about him all the time and when they were apart he wanted her to try to get back to him. And he knew that wasn’t fair.
“I’m not playing with you, Jen,” he said at last.
“I never thought you were. For me this was a crazy dare. Something that I probably wouldn’t have done at any other time, but for you, this is your life. A different woman every night and a lot of fun. I have to remember that we’re essentially two very different people,” she said, pushing her sunglasses up on her head.
He saw fear and caution in her gaze and he knew that she was being as honest with him as she could be. She wanted to be sure she didn’t get hurt, and he didn’t want her to be hurt.
“I would never do anything to hurt you,” he said.
“Not intentionally,” she said. She slid out of the padded bench until she stood on the deck. “Give me the tour of this floating luxury craft. I want to be able to tell my nephew all about it.”
He let her change the subject because there was nothing more he could say to change her mind. He knew he’d simply have to do whatever it took to make sure she knew how important she was to him. He wasn’t about to let her waltz out of his life easily.
“Does Riley like the water?”
“He loves it. He’s an avid deep-sea fisher…well, as avid as a seven-year-old can be. But he always talks about being out on the ocean. Marcia and I take him out on a fishing trip at least once a month,” she said.
“What has he caught?”
“He got an eighty-pound, yellow-fin tuna the last time we went out. It took both Riley and the captain to bring that thing in. Want to see a picture?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
She pulled out her cell phone and hit a few buttons. A minute later she turned the screen of the phone toward Nate and showed him a little boy standing next to a fish that was almost taller than him. The boy had thick dark hair and, he noticed, Jen’s eyes.
“He looks so proud,” Nate said.
“He was. Marcia had the fish preserved and mounted and it’s hanging over his bed now,” she said. “I don’t think I have a picture of that in here.”
Nate put his arm around her and took the phone from her. “How about a picture of you and me on the yacht so you can show him when you get home.”
“That would be nice,” she said.
Nate wrapped his arm around her waist, and Jen put her head on his shoulder as he extended his arm out far enough to get both of them in the picture.
“Smile now,” he said, taking the picture. He looked at the screen and saw that the photo had turned out very nice.
He glanced down at her to make sure she was still smiling and she was looking up at him. “Things like this make me wish you were a different man.”
He had no reply to that. He knew what she wanted to hear from him—words of commitment or at least a promise to move in that direction. But they were words he couldn’t say. He’d made a promise to himself a long time ago that he’d never marry. That he’d never settle down because his father had said that Stern men weren’t the kind that took too well to marriage.
And Nate had believed that after his broken engagement. So he’d steered clear of women like Jen. Women who could make him feel more than just fleeting pleasure and a sense of fun.
But somehow she’d snuck in, he thought. Last night she’d been a pretty girl that he wanted. Today she was starting to grow on him. Starting to make him want to make promises he knew he’d never be able to keep.
“Um…why don’t you take some photos of the living quarters for Riley. I’m going to check the radar and get us ready to head back to shore.”
She didn’t say anything but turned and walked away. And he knew that was for the best. That the only way they were going to both be okay was if both of them walked away from each other now. He knew that a part of him would regret it but better to end things now before they had really even started than later when they’d both be hurt worse.
Seven
Nate drove her back to the club to get her car but she was reluctant to let the day end. He stood there in his chinos, deck shoes and T-shirt wearing a pair of Armani sunglasses and looking like temptation itself. Was it any wonder she didn’t want him to leave?
“Want to have lunch with me? I don’t have your stunning view at my place, but we do have a nice Florida room and I make the best grilled-cheese sandwiches in the world,” she said. Standing next to her car with him made her feel more vulnerable than she would have guessed. But in the bright light of day, back in her real world, she knew how fleeting her time with Nate really was.
