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His eyebrows flexed as he studied her. “Why?”
She smiled, though she wasn’t exactly happy with all the unknowns ahead. A lot of things could go wrong on this short trip to Charleston. She hoped she could be the partner he needed if the thieves made the move he anticipated.
“Because this trip marks the end of the entire mess,” she explained. And ending this ordeal was a good outcome, even if doing so meant Travis would return to his regular life and his career protecting other people. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be on another yacht or jetting over to Europe and back again. She could see him riding shotgun in a burly SUV, dark sunglasses in place, while a high-profile celeb relaxed in confident security in the backseat.
She told herself it was easy to envision all of that only because she’d worked with him on one of those luxe yachts and had been the beneficiary of his protective nature.
It only made sense that he pick up his career where he left off, doing things in the real world. Out there where she wasn’t his girlfriend. Where they weren’t in a relationship. Soon, she’d have to figure out how to navigate her new role on the island without the kind and handsome man who was always willing to help her with anything from heavy lifting to deterring persistent thieves.
His fingertips coasted over her cheek, tucking a wayward curl behind her ear. “I’m sorry that my decisions on the yacht put you in danger.”
“That’s silly. You don’t need to apologize for doing your job. Without you, who knows what would have happened to me. I was about to check the serial number registrations. Can you imagine what they would’ve done?”
“Not anything good.” He pulled her close and she would’ve sworn he trembled. “I can’t think about that scenario,” heconfessed in a ragged whisper. “This group has proven to be much more resourceful and dangerous than I anticipated.”
It was her turn to tremble. He spoke like a man who was doing more than pretending to care about her wellbeing. Then again, she’d felt the sincerity in his words and touch whenever they were together. What had started as an act—and felt almost brittle that first time he’d introduced himself as her boyfriend—had turned into comforting affection and passion that filled her with remarkable confidence in herself as well as him. When Travis was around, she felt secure in more than her surroundings. She felt secure in who she was and what she wanted.
Back on the yacht, she’d known Brookwell was her place. Going home and running the bakery for Gram had been her sole focus. How was it that having Travis nearby added such a boost to her plans? With him beside her, her choices felt more real, more right. And the necessary decisions flowed easily whether she was debating which recipes to push to how to help her grandmother transition to retirement.
A happy retirement without risk of physical harm.
It didn’t make much sense, but then, why should it? This was a weird situation, had been from the start. His being with her was an anomaly, one that would resolve itself when this was done.
Tears threatened with a prickle in the back of her throat. She swallowed, blinking quickly. “You believe the threat against the bakery was real.”
“Shh.” He slipped an arm around her waist and guided her closer to the midline of the ferry. “Please don’t cry, Lila. We don’t need to dwell on it. Especially not now that we have a better plan. There’s no point in stressing out over what will never come to pass.”
She hoped he was right about that. Odds were good since he’d been right about everything else. What if taking the ferry onlygave the thieves more room to attack the bakery again? Anything like that would be a petty move at this point. The earlier search should’ve made it clear that the stolen items weren’t in the bakery.
But thinking about the possibility made it impossible to shake off. What if this time their violent tantrum spilled over onto other business owners? She didn’t want that on her conscience.
“I won’t cry,” she promised. She’d save that for later, when she grieved the loss of this closeness that had mysteriously blossomed between them. Was sticking to her goals worth it? Maybe she wasn’t ready to settle on the island, after all. Except there was no guarantee she could follow where Travis’s career led him. And if she tried, she’d be surrendering the bakery legacy she’d dreamed about for most of her life. “And I agree that dwelling on what-ifs gets us nowhere. I choose to take the threats as a sign of desperation you’ll use against the thieves.”
“Smart woman.” He rubbed a hand along her shoulders. “I did call Jess and have the agency put additional protection on the bakery tonight. No one will get close enough to do more damage.”
Her gaze snapped up to meet his. This was the best news. “Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. “That’s… That’s just so reassuring.” She would miss his thoroughness when he was gone. Along with everything else that made him so wonderful.
They stood in a pleasant silence for a few minutes. The breeze was cool but not enough to drive her inside quite yet. With Travis beside her she was always warm enough.
“Relax.” He bumped her hip gently, just enough to encourage her to loosen the death-grip she had on the bag.
“Isn’t being nervous more authentic to my situation?”
He chuckled. “I suppose you’re right about that. Are you okay if I take a look around?”
She had an abrupt vision of the thieves cutting the bag off her shoulder and tossing her overboard. Unlikely, but possible. Still, he did need to handle the reconnaissance or whatever. “Of course.” She flicked her fingers at him. “Run along.”
“You’re a lousy liar,” he said, brushing a kiss to her temple.
“Pretty much.” She tried to smile, to pretend they were talking about anything but facing off with a gang of high-end thieves. “I’ll be okay. Go do your thing.”
He leaned in close and his lips feathered over her ear. To an outsider it surely looked like a sweet affection between lovers. “I’m trying to give them room to do things here.”
“Oh.” Instruction disguised as affection. Giving the thieves room to close in on her wasn’t a happy thought. Stressed as she was over the situation and unknowns, her nerves wound tighter. How long until she snapped? She hoped no one on this ferry had to find out.
“I won’t be far,” he promised.
Of course he couldn’t go far. The ferry wasn’t a large vessel. She kissed his cheek and gave his hand a squeeze, doing her part to pretend everything was fine. “You’re the best,” she reminded him.
