I sense that he’s expecting me to say something, but I remain silent for some time. The fact that he put so much effort into this reaches somewhere deep inside me.
“I had someone arrange this for us,” he says, pointing at the basket. “I debated renting one of the bigger yachts, but this is cozier.”
When I still don’t say anything, Eric gently squeezes my hand, and I squeeze it back.
Finally, I murmur, “You’ve still got game, Eric Callahan. You can be sure of that.”
Leaning in to me, he whispers, “I know.” Then he pulls back, tilting his head to the right as if debating something. “Though for a while there, I feared you were silently preparing your exit strategy and were brainstorming for an excuse.”
I laugh, elbowing him. “I wouldn’t do that with you. If I’d wanted to leave, I would be honest.”
“I appreciate that. I’m an upfront guy, and there aren’t many people who respond with the same kind of honesty.”
Within minutes, we’re speeding out into the open sea. The water is remarkably still, reflecting the sunlight almost as perfectly as a mirror would. I admire the water for a while and then resume my favorite activity, ogling Eric. I’ll never tire of doing this. He has a determined expression on his face, and it looks delicious on him.
It seems forever before the boat slows down, and I notice that we’re not that far out into the sea. In fact, we’re remarkably close to a deserted section of the coast.
As soon as Eric stops the boat, I rise from my seat, stretching. He produces an umbrella from under the bench at the back of the boat and opens it. Fantastic idea, because the sun is scorching hot.
“Let’s see what goodies you brought.” I point to the basket, rubbing my stomach.
Five minutes later, we’re sitting on the rear bench under the umbrella, the basket at our feet. I broke first date and nondate protocol when I started stuffing my face with a delicious donut, but in my defense, it’s filled with apricot jam.
“I love apricot jam,” I remark.
“Yeah, I know. I asked Alice.”
I sigh, my heart squeezing. “Stop being so nice to me.” I realize too late that I said this out loud.
Eric puts his thumb under my jaw, lifting up my chin.
“You deserve nothing less.” Shifting closer to me, he swallows, and I watch the dip of his Adam’s apple. “I don’t know where this will lead, but I can tell you I plan to treat you right every moment of it.”
“You’re a classy charmer, Mr. Callahan,” I reply with a smile.
“Not sure about that. If you keep licking your lip, I might lose the class.”
“That’s a sweet challenge.” I close my eyes, leaning my head back as I enjoy the jam’s texture in my mouth, along with the rich flavor. I only open them again after I finish this little piece of heaven, and discover why Eric’s been silent all this time. The bastard’s been too preoccupied staring at my chest.
“So, checking out my boobs is your way of showing me your non-classy side?”
“I’m doing an in-depth study,” he answers seriously. “Can you blame me? They’re exquisite.”
I scoff. “You haven’t even seen them without clothes.”
Finally looking up at me, he wiggles his eyebrows. “I plan to change that today.”
Slowly but surely, my cheeks catch fire. “Okay.”
“But later. No pressure.” He says this with such nonchalance, as if he’s talking about the weather, and I can’t help but laugh again.
“I want to know a secret of yours,” I inform him.
“Why?” He looks at me suspiciously.
“I’m the keeper of secrets in my family. I thrive on them.”
Eric leans back, glancing at me. “I’ll consider it. If you’re done with eating for now, let’s swim. I even brought goggles for snorkeling.” He dips one hand deep inside the picnic basket, retrieving two pairs of glasses and placing them on the edge of the boat. “The water is clear here. You can see the fish, and even some corals.”