He kissed her palm and rested it on his thigh, his fingers running back and forth between her knuckles. “You still good, bunny?”
“Yeah,” she said, and then pulled her hair up into a messy bun. “Go ahead. Put the top down.”
“That’s my girl.”
Long-awaited, especially after the drudgery of a cold, harsh winter, Chicago summers are incredible. With her hand resting in his, she tipped her head back to let the late afternoon sun wash over her face as they traversed the city streets.
Matt turned a corner that jolted her eyes open. “I thought we were going to Navy Pier.”
“We are.”
“Then why are we on Cannon Drive?”
He answered with a chuckle, then pulled into Diversey Harbor and backed into a parking spot near the yacht club. “There’s more than one way to get there, you know.”
“We’re going on a boat?”
But the sixty-foot Sea Ray was far too grand to be called a boat. With two bedrooms, seating on the bow, below, and aft, its own galley, and a sky bridge, the luxury yacht could easily accommodate a dozen people.
“Chef has your appetizers ready, and the champagne is on ice, as you requested.” Clasping his shoulder, the captain shot Matt a wink. “Our crewman will see to anything else you might need. Enjoy the fireworks.”
He sat her on an aft sofa and, with glasses of champagne in hand, snuggled up beside her. She heard an engine then and watched the wake upon the water as they sailed out of the harbor.
“Are we the only passengers?”
“It’s just us, Gina. And the crew,” he added after a pause, holding her close to his side. “I didn’t want to have to share your company with anybody else.”
With only a nod and a smile, a uniformed man set a platter of nibbles on the table in front of them. Matt spooned cold shrimp in a creamy dill sauce on a buttery cracker and fed it to her.
“God, that’s good,” she said after she swallowed. “Are you trying to impress me?”
“Of course.”
“You don’t have to, you know.”
“But I want to.” He fed her another cracker and wiped the leftover sauce from her lip. “It’s in a man’s nature to make sure his woman knows she’s precious and cared for.”
Not all men. Based on her limited experience with them, anyway.
“Well, you’ve succeeded and then some.” Her tummy fluttering, Gina tilted her head to gaze into his chocolate eyes. “I don’t know what to say except thank you.”
His lips turned up in a boyish smile and, leaning closer, Matt took the tie out of her hair. “I’ve been looking forward to today.”
“I have, too.”Longest two weeks of my life. Gina glanced away to look out at the magnificent Chicago skyline. She’d never seen the city from this perspective before, except in photographs. “I didn’t want to like you.”
“But you do.” With a finger on her chin, Matt drew her back to him.
“Yeah, I do.”
Smiling, his lips brushed over hers. “Why didn’t you want to?”
“My own insecurities, I guess,” she admitted. It might be foolish of her to say, but that was the truth, wasn’t it? “C’mon, you’re famous. I’ve seen photos of you with lots of beautiful women… I mean, you could have anyone in the world you want, so why me?”
“Youare beautiful, and it’syouI want. Nobody else.” His fingers slid into her hair, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “Do you know why I’ve never gotten married or been in a relationship before?”
“No, why?”
“It’s only been the past few years since we rebuilt Park Place that we haven’t been touring non-stop. Life on the road? Couldn’t commit to anyone during all of that, not that there was someone I wanted to commit to.” He rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs while skating his lips along her jaw. “And yeah, I’ve had more than my share of meaningless flings and casual sex, but we learned real quick that girls only wanted to be with us for thestory—so they could say they fucked a rock star. I can’t say I felt anything for any of them, and I know none of them gave a shit about me.”
