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In a bid to grab her father’s attention at an early age, she’d always been the first to volunteer and the first to line up for a competition, hoping a win would snag her dad’s notice. It hadn’t, of course. But she’d found a lot of other satisfaction in ambition. She’d discovered talents she never would have known about otherwise. Cooking for one. After volunteering to spearhead a tea for honor students’ parents as a sophomore, she’d belatedly recalled the only dish she made with success was Lucky Charms. Through study and determination, she’d turned out kick-butt scones and homemade preserves for one hundred with the help of a couple friends.
Unfortunately, her race to enter a fishing contest with Jack didn’t seem destined to end favorably. Especially not when he got a second bite on his line in as many minutes.
“What is that?” she yelped, jumping to her feet as Jack’s reel went spinning about a hundred miles an hour, his line yanked tight.
“Something big. Crap.” He scrambled to find leverage before the line ran out. “There’s no harness for stand-up fishing.”
“Put the rod in the holder!” she pointed to the gizmo he’d showed her that secured the rod to the boat when wrestling a big catch.
Before he could, the reel stopped spinning as the line ran out. His arms were yanked forward, pitching his whole body off balance. She screamed as he skidded toward the edge of the deck, still holding on to the fishing rod.
“It’s gotta be five hundred pounds.” His voice was hoarse with the strain of holding onto the catch, but he managed a laugh even as the veins popped on his forehead. “I bet it’s a bluefin.”
“Let it go!” she dropped her gear and ran to him, hooking a hand in the waist band of his cargo shorts.
As if she could hold back a two hundred pound guy and Shamu, too.
“Depends,” he edged out between gritted teeth, his body slipping closer to the brink of the deck as he risked a glance at her. “Do I win?”
If she hadn’t been scared to death for him, she might have let him go overboard with the damn fish. “Yes! For crying out loud, Jack--.”
He hit something on the reel and the line spun free of the rod. The tension disappeared so fast she stumbled backward with the jolt. The whole boat rocked as if freed of a giant anchor.
In the aftermath of the battle, the sea felt oddly calm and quiet. Gentle waves sloshed the hull as they each caught their breath.
Jack must have recovered his sooner because the next sound she heard was warm male laughter.
Blinking against the bright sun, she focused in on him where he still sprawled on the deck, the fishing rod by his side as he propped himself up on one elbow. Watching her.
“You nearly got yourself killed and scared me out of my mind,” she reminded him sternly. “What might I ask is so amusing?”
“You should have seen your expression when you conceded the fight.” His grin was so big now that the elusive second dimple- the one in his cheek – had made an appearance.
She frowned harder than he smiled.
“I’m sure anger and disbelief isn’t my most attractive look,” she conceded.
His smile faded.
“It just goes to show you what lengths a guy will go to in order to be with you.” Shoving aside the rod, he slid over to her on the deck until they sat beside each other, their backs resting against the built-in seats. “I was dying to win that bet.”
“Youcould havedied winning that damn bet,” she admonished, although she was feeling less mad now that he sat so close to her, his hand slipping on top of hers. “You must really want to ask me a question.”
“Yeah. But I have to confess I’m looking forward to the double or nothing aspect even more.”
The sexual favor.
Awareness flamed hot between them. Her breath hitched in her throat and her mouth felt dry.
“So what’s your question? You want to know more about my move to Bar Harbor?” She let her head tip onto his shoulder, just for a moment, she told herself. Her heart rate hadn’t quite recovered from seeing him wrestle the big fish.
If anything had happened to him…
Her heart lurched in her chest, revealing how much she still cared about him in spite of everything.
“No.” His cheek rested on the top of her head, the bristles at his jaw catching on her hair. “I want to ask something stupid and selfish. Something I have no right to ask at all.”
Surprised by the tension in his voice, she disentangled herself enough to look him in the eye.
