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“You’re feeling guilty you didn’t take him with you, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I wanted to, but I’ve never had a pet, and I was afraid I would hurt it by mistake.”
Cole dropped his fork onto his plate. “You don’t really think that, do you?”
Embarrassed, she stared down at her plate. “My mother and father were allergic to animals, so they never let me have one. I wanted a puppy when I married Curt. He told me I could have a puppy when I showed him I could take care of our baby.”
“That moth—”
Megan raised her eyes, finding Cole’s jaw clenched, appearing as if he was biting back saying something.
“It’s okay, Cole. In one way, Curt was right. I didn’t know how to care for a baby. I had bought baby books and watched videos to prepare myself, but I had planned to ask for Mrs. James’ help. She’s the smartest woman I know.”
As she talked, she noticed Cole was staring away from her. She cocked her head, listening.
“Are you worried about the wind? If we need to head back in, we can. If you don’t think it’s safe—”
Cole turned his face forward to start eating. “It’s safe,” he said gruffly. “If the wind picks up any more, Ian will radio me. Try the salmon. Let me know if you like it.”
“I like it,” she told him after taking a bite.
For the rest of the meal, Cole talked about how he had learned to flyboard after he left Queens City. “When Casey heard I took the instructor course, she flew down here and let me have it. I’ve never seen her so angry.”
“What did you do?”
“I took her for a ride. She’s still not happy about it, but she cuts me some slack during the holidays.”
Megan licked her suddenly dry lips. “Is it dangerous?”
“I’m very careful.” His gentle eyes soothed her worries. “I’m also very good.”
She gave a relieved laugh. “I saw that.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“What do you think? It was amazing. You had quite a crowd watching, too. Do you usually give people rides?”
“All the time. Ian, my business partner, handles the sightseeing tours. I mainly do the flyboarding training and boat rentals.”
Megan pushed her plate away, unable to eat more. “Rentals? You have more than one boat?”
Cole slid the dessert plate forward. “Try the cheesecake strawberries. I had Ian get them for me. They’re my favorite.”
She picked one up and took an experimental nibble to see if her stomach could handle more. After tasting it, she decided she would make room.
Giving her an approving look, he reached for his own plate. “I have four boats and six Jet Skis. This is my boat. I have a party boat to rent out, which Ian and I are co-owners of. I own a charter boat, which I rent for fishing. Also one that Kaden and I co-own together.”
Megan shoved the last of the strawberries into her mouth to prevent herself from saying something stupid. What she knew about boats could be written on a Post-it note, and only then if she wrote in large print.
“Now you know why I wanted you to try the strawberries. They were good, weren’t they?”
“Delicious,” she mumbled, nearly choking getting the word out.
Carrying the plates to the sink, Cole glanced at the clock on the wall. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the sink. “It’s getting late.”
Megan felt her heart sink. Midnight was coming sooner than she had expected.
“We have two choices, and I’m going to let you choose which one you want to do.”
Megan took a sip of water. “Okay.”
“We can fly back to Treepoint tonight, or we can spend the night here and fly back in the morning.”
“Is it safe for you to sleep, or will you have to stay up?”
“I will be sleeping. That’s why there’s a captain on the top deck.”
“Oh … duh …” Megan slapped her forehead. “I should—”
“Cut it out. You asked because you didn’t want to have to stay awake all night instead of being able to sleep if we flew back. There was nothing stupid in your question.”
“I forgot there were other people on board.” Fiddling with her tiny earring, she tried to stem the rush of color she felt rushing to her cheeks.
“They’re paid to be unobtrusive.” His gentle smile eased the awkwardness she was feeling.
“Then I vote we stay the night here. I’ve never slept on a boat before.”
“Then I second your vote. I’ll make sure I have you back before the lunch rush.”
She wondered about Marty. She was worried about the big lug.
“If you’re worried about the money—”
Megan raised her hand, not wanting to hear whatever he was about to say. “I appreciate it, but I wasn’t thinking about money. I was thinking about Marty. Something is wrong with his legs, and he refuses to go to the doctor.”
