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“I certainly hope so.”
* * *
Seated on the forward deck the next morning, the fall sun warming her face as they sped through wide open blue sea, Alicia wondered if she would have made the same decision to sail with Jack in the clear light of day. With hours between her choice and waking up in bed with him.
She couldn’t pretend that hadn’t played into her agreeing to go with him to Bar Harbor. No matter how much she told herself she’d gotten over him, feeling her heart race at his presence, experiencing the sharp hunger for him that she’d never had for another man, all those emotions and sensations had urged her to find out what the heck had gone so wrong between them. It just seemed wrong that two people who were so physically attracted could end up so hurt and angry with each other. Why did the universe drop this irresistible man in her path – for the second time – when they were too stubborn to get along?
Maybe relationships were like swimming. Practice enough, and eventually you improved your times. Not that she planned to practice with Jack Murphy. He’d crushed her heart enough for one lifetime, thank you very much. But maybe she could pinpoint the real reason that had sent him running four years ago. Because all that b.s. about her being too young? Total smokescreen. She didn’t buy it then and she didn’t buy it now.
She peered at him over one shoulder where he manned the wheel, looking like a modern day pirate with a blue and white bandana tied around his head, a day’s growth of beard on his jaw that had moved from shadow to major stubble in just the last few hours. He wore khaki cargoes and a white linen shirt that he’d neglected to button much higher than his navel. The fabric flapped in the breeze as they cut through the waves.
He’d slept off and on after sunrise, giving the controls to her and showing her the basic navigation skills so he could catch up on some rest. After they’d made their pact the night before, she’d fallen into a hard sleep until dawn while Jack had taken the night shift at the helm. Now, well past noon, he was back in charge of the boat and she was faced with the consequences of her late night agreement with him.
Noticing her looking his way, he grinned.
“Regretting the no kissing rule already, aren’t you?” he called over the noise of the engine.
“Hardly.” She was actually patting herself on the back for that one. No sense giving him any advantages when the man had too much to work with already. “I was just wondering when I should let you in on my real reason for agreeing to this trip with you.”
She wouldn’t, of course. Jack was probably at the top of the list of men in his family who wouldn’t appreciate soul-searching in the name of self-improvement – or in the name of enlightening an old girlfriend. Although possibly he’d share that top slot with his brother Danny- the family rebel. At least Kyle and Keith had learned how to put a socially acceptable façade on the top of all the he-man aggressiveness that ran in the family.
“What do you mean?” Jack’s frown was so pronounced it would probably leave wrinkles.
Pushing to her feet, she scooted along the bow on the wooden walkway that circled it and stepped down into the saloon area behind the helm. There was a built in settee and table under a hard-top cover. It would provide protection from the sun on a warm weather junket or keep the captain out of the wind on a cooler voyage.
“I figured it would be a good idea to pick your brain about opening a bed and breakfast in a new town.” She’d been in the market to relocate ever since she’d heard Jack was getting out of the Navy. He didn’t come to Chatham often, where she was still based. But his family was a big-time presence in her town— not just on a personal and social level, but professionally, she would be competing with established Murphy family-owned resorts. “I would have quizzed Keith about it if he’d taken me on this trip, but since I’ve got you…”
“You can pick all you want, but I’m no expert anymore.” He took a seat in the captain’s chair sideways to talk to her, the boat easily handling the small swells of the warm September afternoon in the Atlantic. “I quit my responsibilities to Murphy Resorts when I went into the service.”
“But rumor has it you’ve started investing in bars all over the Cape. Sounds like you’ve still got a hand in the hospitality industry to me.”
“I figured I’d keep my money in the local economy while I chart my next move. It’s been an adjustment since coming out of the service.”
Surprised at the admission from a man who rarely admitted anything in life had ever been difficult for him, Alicia left the comment alone for now. Had he liked Navy life? Maybe he’d been drawn to it for more reasons than just an escape.
And damn, but didn’t that paint her as self-centered when she’d never really thought about that before? Curiosity niggled.
“Active in your dad’s business or not, you know a lot about the hospitality industry.” She tapped a fingernail on the plastic table top, inhaling the clean scent of the ocean. “What things would you look for in a bed and breakfast at a new location?”
She’d take advice wherever she could get it since she was determined to make a go of this business on her own, away from her father’s continued insistence that he knew what was best for her. Finally, she’d have something to call her own, something she’d earned with hard work.
“B&Bs are a whole different ballgame than the resorts my family has specialized in,” Jack cautioned, signaling to a sleek, superyacht that cruised past, dwarfing them.
“I’m very aware of that. Go out on a limb for me, okay?” As their boat bobbed in the wake of the bigger craft, she was vaguely surprised at his need to downplay his expertise, at odds with the arrogance she had come to associate with him. What other changes might she uncover during the course of their journey together?
“I’d make sure this market supported other bed and breakfast establishments and that they’re more than half full eight months out of the year. Then, I’d know what would make my inn stand out among the competing properties.” When he had their boat steadied again, he returned his full attention to her. “B&Bs aren’t cash cows. They’re labors of love for most people. Are you going to have the income to stay well ahead of the mortgage?”
“I’ve got a subsidiary income opportunity in mind.” She wasn’t ready to give up her water sports business completely. Besides, she needed something to make her property distinctive. She needed this project to succeed. “What else? Any time of year that’s better for openings? And, it’s an older place with some smaller rooms. Would you combine some of them to make more spacious quarters when finances allow, or pitch the place as ‘cozy’ and try to make it work with the smaller rooms?”
“Whoa.” He left the captain’s chair and slid into the seat across from her at the built in table. The steering controls were still within reach if he stretched. “You’re really serious about this? About opening a business on your own in Maine, of all places?”
“Of course I’m serious.” She tugged down the brim of a canvas camouflage fishing hat she’d worn to protect her from the sun. She didn’t think she had much space left for more freckles. “I’ve researched this property every way possible without actually seeing it. And what have you got against Maine?”
“It’s far away and I’ve never heard you say anything about wanting to live in Maine.”
And since when had they discussed her future? Even when they’d been dating, that had been a topic Jack avoided.
“Sometimes it’s good to put space between yourself and where you grew up, right?” She didn’t think he could argue that since he’d lit out of Chatham four years ago as fast as possible.
