The Millionaire's Intriguing Offer

Smooth Sailing

Bailey tried to be annoyed, but the truth was she was happy to be on Jack's boat again. She'd really missed sailing, and since Jack had tricked her into spending part of the evening on the kind of sailboat she would never be able to afford for herself, she might as well relax and enjoy it.

"You know I can't stay mad at you, Jack," she said, once they were underway and she had kicked off her shoes and stretched out on a chaise on the deck, feeling the warm brew and the mist of salt water on her bare feet.

Jack turned his head back toward her and grinned. "Why would you be mad at me?"

"Don't give me that innocent look. You got me out sailing again because you know it's my weakness."

His laugh, full of mischief and fun, rang out and she had a sudden image of him as a boy tempting her away from her chores to sneak out for an evening sail on the small boat that had seemed the height of luxury when she was just a kid.

"Why not? It's my weakness, too, and always has been." He turned back, adjusting the course slightly. "I'll have you agreeing to sail to Key West with me before long. Don't forget I still owe you a trip."

"In your dreams," Bailey said.

"We'll see."

It was probably a byproduct of growing up rich and always getting anything you wanted, Bailey mused. Jack just assumed that he was going to get his way.

But as far as Bailey was concerned, taking a trip with him to Key West would only twist the knife in the wound. She and Jack could never be together.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked.

"I'm actually starved." She'd spent the day traveling around Miami with Tito on back to back appointments, and the quick bagel she'd grabbed around 11:00 was a distant memory.

"Then let's head straight for No Name Harbor and we'll eat first. We can take a longer sale afterward."

"No Name?"

"That's what it's always been called - I guess the no name stuck."

When they arrived in the sheltered harbor, Bailey saw a variety of boats tied up to the bare seawall.

"How do they keep from getting damaged?"

Jonathon glanced over at the boats. "You have to provide your own bumpers."

"Are we doing that?" she asked skeptically, thinking of the sleek lines of his expensive sailboat.

"No. We're going to moor it here and take the dinghy."

"Smart move."

Once the boat was moored, Bailey helped Jack unfasten the diagonal straps and lower the rigid inflatable boat from the davits at the stern of the sailboat. In moments, they were planing over the water, the salty spray rifling through her hair. Than he cut the power on the small outboard motor as they approached the dock, and the front of the dinghy settled back down into the water.

"Show off," Bailey said, but she laughed.

Every so often she saw a glimpse of the boy she'd known, and it disarmed her. He's not the same cocky teenager with a soft heart that I spend those summers with, she reminded herself. She'd be foolish to let the memories from the past color her perception of reality now.

Jack gave her a hand up onto the dock and they climbed the steps to the crowded restaurant, electing to sit outside on the deck overlooking the water.

They passed several tables with buckets of ice with long neck beers protruding out of them. Bailey looked at Jack as they sat down and a server came over to take their drink order, commenting that it was still happy hour, so beers were two for one.