“I’m fine, thank you,” she lied.
He looked at her, thoughts behind his eyes. “Don’t move,” he said with a grin and began walking away.
Where was he going? Faith sat down on a built-in bench at the end of the boat and tried to focus on the whitecaps at sea. The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue, with white, puffy clouds in the distance. About a mile out, a dolphin fin slipped above the surface of the water and then went back under. She took in a deep breath, the open air and quiet sound of the sail against the wind calming her upset stomach a little.
As Faith waited for Jake to return, she thought again how good he’d been with Isabella. Why hadn’t he married and had children? There were so many things about him that she wanted to know.
“Here you go. This should help,” he said, emerging from below deck with a can of ginger ale and a small plate of crackers. “The bubbles will help with the nausea, and the crackers will ease your stomach a little. Hopefully.” He smiled.
“I didn’t say I was feeling ill,” she said, not in an accusatory manner, but surprised that he’d figured it out.
“I could tell by your face.” He handed her the ginger ale and set the plate on the bench next to her.
“How so?” she pressed. She wanted to know how this stranger, who’d only known her for two days, could read her so easily.
He looked at her, his lips wanting to smile. It was right there waiting, and she wondered how a person could be that happy all the time. “You were blinking more than usual. I thought the sun was in your eyes, but you kept doing it even when the sun went behind a cloud. Your expression had turned serious, and you hadn’t been like that quite as much yesterday or today.”
“Quite as much?” she asked. She didn’t remember being serious. “When was I serious?” Was that her problem? Did she come across too serious?
“You were like that when I first saw you at the cottage and again at breakfast.”
“You sure are perceptive,” she said, trying not to sound too defensive. The truth was, both times she’d been deep in thought. She’d been contemplating things, and it surprised her that he’d noticed. She could feel the tiniest of emotions at the pit of her stomach—affection for him that she hadn’t expected. She could feel a connection with him, and she wondered if he felt it too. Or did he feel that way toward Casey? How odd that two days ago, she didn’t even know he existed and now, he was dominating her thoughts.
He smiled again, and her queasy stomach fizzled with excitement. “Are you having a good time?” he asked out of the blue.
“Yes. Thank you for inviting me.” She was still contemplating her fears about him and Casey. She knew that she shouldn’t be, but her old wounds were surfacing without warning.
“You’re welcome.” He chewed on a smile.
“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked.
“I can tell you’re thinking again.”
“This is going to get really difficult for you if you stick around because I think all the time,” she laughed. “Are you going to read my mind all day?”
“Maybe,” he winked at her, and she couldn’t help but think how she wanted nothing more than to have him stick around. “Come with me.” He took her ginger ale in one hand and held her hand with the other. The gesture was startling, but in that instant she didn’t want him to let her go. He led her to an area to the side of the cabin and took a step up, turning to guide her in the same direction. She followed, standing with him on the ceiling of the cabin.
“Can we be up here?”
He chuckled as if her question was silly, but his face was affectionate. “Yes. Just be careful.” He walked her to the bow of the boat and sat, motioning for her to sit with him. She stretched her legs out in front of her and crossed them at the ankle while leaning back on her hands. The only thing between her and the ocean was a thin, silver railing. He’d been right: It was like flying. The wind in her hair, the sound of the waves and the rushing air over her ears so loud that she couldn’t get a single thought to process. Her senses were so overwhelmed by what was in front of her. When she finally managed to pull her gaze away from the incredible view in front of her, she looked over at Jake to find he was looking back at her, that smile on his lips.
“Not feeling ill anymore?” he asked loudly over the noise.
She wasn’t. It really was like magic. Right there with him, she was fine. And he’d just known how to make her okay. Faith shook her head, that affection for him swelling in her chest. What was happening? She wasn’t supposed to feel this way about a person she’d only just met. But there was no denying it.
“I’m glad,” he said. “I love sailing. No matter what happens in a day’s work, it all fades away out here.” He looked out at the ocean.
“I always wanted to go sailing as a kid. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a sailboat.” She didn’t know where this confession had come from, but, once again, she just felt able to share everything with Jake.
“Really?” He looked over at her. “I can’t say I did a lot of sailing as a kid either, but I do now. I need it. It calms me. And it gives me time to hang out with great people like Rich,” he said as she noticed the crew begin to bring the boat to a stop.
Slowly, it glided along the water, cutting through the surface until it was but a bobbing vessel in the gentle swells of the ocean. They lowered the anchor.
“You have your swimsuit underneath your clothes, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Feel like swimming?”
