“No.”He’d been too focused on her reaction.“You?”
“Yeah, I think I got some good ones.”She looked at her phone.“Ooh, yeah, I did.I’m sending it in to that happy whale thing.”She typed away on her phone for a few minutes, her excitement infectious.Then she tucked it away and huddled deeper into the waterproof flotation jacket Xanthe had given each of them before leaving the dock.“How is it so cold out here when it’s so hot on land?”
The wind was chilly.“You can take my jacket.”
“No, you’ll freeze.”
“I won’t freeze.”He unzipped it, started to shrug out of it, then the boat pitched up sharply on the crest of a wave.
Willow squeaked in alarm and threw out her arms as she stumbled backward.Tripp grabbed her, pulling her close to steady her.
“Thanks,” she said on a soft laugh, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug that lit up his entire body before she let go and straddled her seat in front of him again.
He draped his jacket over her shoulders and tucked it around her, earning a grateful smile.
The intense yearning wasn’t going away.It was only getting worse.Expert at repressing his emotions as he was, he didn’t know how much longer he could hold back everything he felt for her.She was soreal.So down to earth, and no one had ever understood him the way she had.
“All right, folks, the captain says the wind’s about to pick up,” Xanthe announced.“We’re going to leave our humpback friend to his herring supper and head for more sheltered waters in the channels between the islands.”
Everyone settled in as the captain turned their boat and headed east toward the other islands.Aside from witnessing Willow’s excitement, this was Tripp’s favorite part, when the captain opened up the throttle and they flew across the water.
The vessel skimmed across the water while music played from the speakers.Passengers enthusiastically threw up their hands when “Danger Zone” started.
Willow turned her head to shout at him over the combined music, engine noise, and wind, holding the brim of her ballcap in place with one hand.“Want your jacket back?”
“I’m good,” he called back.Being cold for a while was worth it to make sure she was warm and comfortable.
TWENTY-TWO
H
e didn’t stay cold for long.They spent another hour slowly cruising the calm channels between the smaller neighboring islands while the hot sun bathed them in warmth.Then it was back to Whalebone Cove where they docked and disembarked.
“Did you both have fun?”A knowing gleam twinkled in Xanthe’s eyes as she hopped onto the dock with them.
“We had a blast,” Willow said, handing over their flotation jackets.“Seeing the humpback was incredible, but you were the highlight of the tour.”
