Another tear, and Flynn watched in horror as one of the metal rings broke away from the frame of the sail and plunked into the ocean. Three more. There were still three more knots.
He looked out across the water. A half mile now. TheSanta Guadalupehad gotten underway again, but if theSea Monkeykept going, they had a comfortable lead.
He pressed against her more firmly, and she squeaked at the feel of him against her backside. “This isn’t the time to be priggish,” he growled. She didn’t answer but squeezed herself ever closer to the wheel, putting space between them again. He could see her knuckles under his, white and straining with the tension of keeping the wheel in place. But she didn’t let go. Instead, as another knot tore and the top of the sail began to flutter, she held on even more tightly.
Suddenly, she screamed as a buoy appeared out of nowhere in front of them, and she yanked the wheel to the right instinctually.
Flynn swore as everything on the ship lurched to the starboard side, including Rex, who wobbled and slid across the deck, struggling to keep his balance. Only Olivia and Flynn, clinging to the helm with all their strength, did not move.
He was about to scold her for her inability to control her shock when he looked up and watched as the port side of theSea Monkeybarely skirted the buoy that Olivia had spotted. She had saved them from almost certain shipwreck. If they’d held their course, they would’ve collided head-on with the buoy, and hedidn’t want to know what kind of damage that would’ve done to the hull.
He watched open-mouthed as the sail, seeming to understand its work was done, tore through its final two knots and fluttered down to the deck just as they crossed the finish line.
A small dinghy containing two men erupted into applause and cheers of “Congratulations.” Flynn realized they were the line judges, there in the event of a photo finish. But they weren’t necessary. TheSea Monkeyhad won handily, because of Olivia—her bravery and her quick thinking. He was stunned.
“Flynn, we won,” Olivia murmured, clearly not sure of herself.
“We won.” He said the words, scarcely believing them, letting the enormity of the moment sink in. Even with Dash onboard in a previous year, they had not managed to snag first place. But this woman—Olivia Blount, Liv De Lesseps, his phony girlfriend—had done it. Not only that, but she’d snatched victory from the jaws of potential disaster.
He erupted into loud cheers. “We! Won! We did it!” Flynn stood on an apple crate behind Olivia and whooped.
He smiled at her. “You won, Olivia! You saved us all!” Her pink lips, which had become thin white lines in the anxiety of the final minutes of the race, were glistening and plump once more as she broke into a broad grin and crowed with delight.
“I did, I really did it!” She lifted her arms. “Whoooo-hoooo!” She ran to him, and before he knew what was happening, she leapt into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. “We won!”
He fumbled to catch her, palming the curve of her ass and clinging to her to keep her from falling in excitement. He couldn’t help it; he broke out into peals of joyous laughter. He quite liked this, the feel of her wrapped around him, her dainty handsclutching at his bare back. He liked it perhaps a bit too much. He suspected that, in spite of her ribald sense of humor, she was something of an innocent—and imagining her hands clutching at his back in a more horizontal position was not the direction his mind should be going. He didn’t romance girls like Olivia Blount. For a host of reasons. But she felt so deliciously wonderful in his arms as he twirled her in a circle, both of them giggling with carefree abandon.
She kissed him on the cheek and then shrieked in exuberant surprise. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
“I can’t either,” he quipped, continuing to spin her, the loose curls of her raven hair streaming behind her.
He saw the spark of a flashbulb and noticed that there was a second dinghy, a larger one, that held the crop of reporters who had greeted them on the dock this morning. The press had sailed ahead, and now they were capturing his and Livvy’s victory. Briefly, he thought how this photo would please Harry. It would really sell the supposed budding romance between him and Livvy. But truthfully, Flynn didn’t much care. This wasn’t like the lunch date the other day with its staged, ridiculous setup. This moment of unfettered joy was utterly and entirely real.
And it surprised him that the notion made him absurdly happy. Because he realized that ever since he’d hopped into the back seat of Olivia Blount’s car, one thing was true—he was no longer bored.
Chapter 10
Livvy leaned against the shell of theSea Monkey’s cabin and watched the sun creep toward the horizon. Avalon was charming, a little town of bric-a-brac houses nestled into the side of the hill on Catalina Island. At the edge of the bay was a large, round structure with a terra-cotta roof and a line of colonnades that made the building resemble an oversized carousel. She recognized it from a postcard a friend had once sent her—the Catalina Casino. The sun bathed the casino in warm oranges and soft pinks, transforming the circular building into a colorful, massive scoop of ice cream floating on top of the water.
They’d left Rex at Two Harbors, where he’d gone ashore to find the parts necessary to repair the sail. TheSea Monkeyhad a backup engine in case of emergency; they just hadn’t been able to use it in the race without being disqualified. So while Rex scrounged for new parts, Flynn had motored him and Livvy over to Avalon and they’d anchored in the harbor. He was in the galley, scrounging up dinner, and Livvy almost jumped when he called out, “Food’s ready.”
“Oh, but you must come see the casino! It looks so lovely in the late evening sun.”
He chuckled and came to stand beside her. “One of my favorite parts of sailing is getting to see the sunset on the water.”
She could understand why. It was beautiful, peaceful. A lot calmer than running out of a nightclub with a scorned woman hot on your heels.
He bumped his shoulder against hers. “You ever been to the casino?” he asked, nodding in the direction of Avalon’s most notable landmark.
She shook her head. “No, this is only my second time in Los Angeles, and I haven’t been here very long.”
“You have to go! They get the best bands. I’ve seen the Dorsey Brothers there three times! And Benny Goodman and his band last Christmas.”
“It sounds wonderful,” she said dreamily. It would be a long while before she could afford the luxury of something like going to a dance at the Catalina Casino. Not until she knew that Judy was secure, that they both could settle into their new lives in Hollywood. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone dancing. Or done something purely for the fun of it.
“It is. I’ll have to take you some time.”
She turned to him and swallowed at the look in his eyes. She expected to see something hungry there, wolfish even. But instead, he was gazing at her with admiration and care. Her stomach somersaulted at the thought of going dancing with Flynn Banks, but she hated to admit it. The kiss she’d given him earlier twisted her in knots. She shouldn’t have done that. It was only a peck on the cheek, but it had probably given him the wrong idea. At least the moment had been photographed. Harry Evets couldn’t question that she was trying her hardest to follow marching orders, and if Flynn questioned her, she could claim it had only been for the cameras. “Oh no, I couldn’t—”
