AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Claire and Lance are already here. We’re just waiting for Mateo before we take off.”
“That should give me plenty of time to make sure my life jacket is properly buckled and snug,” she joked. She headed down the narrow side of the boat to the deck and into the salon, where she found Claire putting drinks in a bucket of ice.
“Hey! You made it.”
Molly set her bag on the banquette. “I did. How did your dress fitting go this morning?” The question was equal parts interest and trying to keep her mind off being nervous.
This morning’s early dress fitting was the first time Claire had seen her wedding gown since the day of the disastrous ordered-the-wrong-size incident. Which, Molly mused, happened to be the last time she’d been on this boat.
“The seamstress is incredible. Unless you hold it up to the original, you’d never notice the differences. And, more importantly, it fits perfectly.” She flopped down in one of the chairs, looking content. “Crisis averted.”
“What crisis?” Mateo asked from the doorway.
Molly turned to greet him. “We were talking about Claire’s wedding.”
“Ugh, more wedding talk.” He wrinkled his nose and grabbed a drink from the bucket of ice. “Just kidding, cuz. I can’t wait for the big day.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across Claire’s cheek.
“You thought you were invited?” Claire joked. “Well, this is going to be an awkward conversation.”
Mateo chuckled. “As if you could keep me away from my favorite cousin’s wedding.” He grinned at her before opening his coconut-flavored sparkling water and downing half of it.
“Who’s ready for a gorgeous day on the water?” Lance, who’d been helping Grant with the ropes, walked into the salon. Claire seemed to brighten at the sight of him, and he walked over and perched on the side of the chair she was sitting in, casually draping his arm around her. “Grant says to get comfy, because we’re about to take off.”
As if to prove his point, the faint sound of the engines turning on hummed in the background.
“Right. I guess we should head outside.” Claire snuggled into her fiancé. “Unless you’d prefer to hang out in here while we cruise.”
“Sit in here when there’s a perfectly good view out there? No way. I’m headed to the front. Who’s with me?” Mateo stepped out on the aft deck without waiting for anyone to answer.
“It is a gorgeous day. What do you say, love?” Lance leaned down and sweetly kissed her lips.
“The front sounds great.” She stood and took his hand, gazing up at him with a look of pure loving adoration. It was exactly the kind of expression Molly would’ve expected from a couple only weeks away from tying the knot. She found it endearing. Watching a couple on the verge of entering into forever reminded her that real love stories existed. There was something encouraging about knowing that happily-ever-afters weren’t only in fairy tales.
True, her own romance had ended in a flaming disaster, and she had no intention of getting anywhere near the L-word again, but that didn’t mean she didn’t cheer for love. In fact, it was the opposite. For some reason, her own disaster made her more desperate to see success stories. She needed to live in a world where love won.
Also, now that there was some distance between her and her failed attempt at forever, she was starting to wonder if she’d ever had that look. But today was much too pretty to focus on such a deep, soul-searching topic.
Claire turned to Molly. “You coming? It’s a great view from up there.”
Molly shook her head. “Y’all go ahead. I’m going to see if Grant needs company.” She followed the lovebirds walking hand-in-hand out of the salon, but when they turned right, she turned left. Gripping the railing tightly, she climbed the four steps to Grant.
“You forgot to tell me you were runningThe Love Boattoday,” she said as he came into view.
“It’s the only boat-related show you hadn’t mentioned yet, so I thought it was time to shake things up.” He glanced over at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
“How considerate of you.”
He chuckled. “You ready?”
Molly tightened her grip around the rail and widened her stance to maintain her balance. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Although, she had to admit that she was starting to feel more comfortable on a boat, and it did not escape her that a large part of that was due to the fact that Grant made her feel comfortable.
“Then let’s do it.” He focused his attention on the sea in front of them and they pulled away from the dock.
They puttered slowly at first, the wide, flat catamaran gently rocking over the waves. Then, as they got a little farther away from shore, he picked up the speed. The wind blew against her face and every once in a while, a mist from the boat’s spray would dust her skin. The sky in front of them was a deep shade of clear blue that begged people to come outside and enjoy it, and the sunlight danced on the water, making it sparkle.
Molly drank in the scene, letting its beauty fill her. “It’s the perfect day to be on the water.”
“I one hundred percent agree.” Grant stood next to her with his sunglasses on and his hair being ruffled by the breeze, looking like there was no place in the world he’d rather be. “Although, as far as I’m concerned, almost any day is the perfect day to be on the water.”
