He came in again, teasing, testing, making sure she’d accept his affections.
She would.Absolutely.
But suddenly, rather than bringing his lips back to hers, James pulled back instead. A cool breeze rushed into his place.
Camila opened her eyes to inspect him.
“Sorry,” he whispered with a grin. “I couldn’t stop myself.”
Stop himself?Camila gulped, nodded, and tucked a flyaway piece of hair behind her ear. “No problem,” she managed.No problem? Ugh.
Embarrassed heat filled her face as she tried to dissect the encounter. He’d barely even kissed her. And then he’d apologized for it? Talk about confusing.
As they finished their meal and moved on to the paddleboards, Camila mused on the encounter some more. Maybe he worried that he’d crossed the line or acted too soon. If that were the case, Camila would look for her chance to assure him that she’d wanted that kiss just as badly as he had.
Maybe they were moving too quickly. In the real world, Camila rarely kissed a guy before the second or third date. But this didn’t seem like the real world. This experience, whatever it was, would end in a set amount of days. And for a reason she couldn’t explain, she didn’t feel like wasting a whole lot of time.
I couldn’t stop myself,he’d said.
Camila lifted the paddle, thrust it back into the water, and grunted beneath a hefty stroke. Next time, she’d prefer he didn’t try stopping himself at all.
Chapter 12
Candlelight illuminated Camila’s gorgeous face as they waited for their fifth and final dinner course on the yacht’s deck. The dimple in her cheek had been a rare sighting at first. But over the last two days, it’d been a near-constant attraction.
Their second day on the yacht had been a success. In some ways, James had enjoyed it more than the first.
They’d spent more time exploring today—this time a costal kayaking trip to some nearby cliffs, where they hiked up the mountainside and jumped into the waves below. Talk about a rush.
But as action-packed as the last two days had been, nothing stood out to him more than the moments they’d shared during yesterday’s picnic. The temptation of her silky neck, the taste of her heavenly lips…His pulse raced just thinking about it.
In retrospect, he was torn over his decision to slow things down. Ninety percent of the time, James was glad he hadn’t tried to take things further, as tempting as it had been. It was probably best to establish more of a friendship first.
And then there was that small but loud part of him that wished he could go back in time and make that moment really count.
But there was no going back, and that was for the best. Now, after another perfect day together, James felt confident exploring their chemistry. He only hoped Camila did too.
“And now for your fifth and final course,” Jill said as she approached the table. “Dessert.”
Before heading out to the cliffs that morning, the two had given Jill their preference for dessert. The woman rested the one he ordered—a chocolate mousse—in front of James. Camila had opted for the berry tart.
“There you are,” the woman said, snatching the tray off the table’s edge. “Enjoy, you two.”
“Thank you,” he and Camila said in unison.
The evening was a perfect seventy-four degrees, according to the digital thermostats placed throughout the yacht. And here on the deck, with the distant sunset stretching its color onto the waves, there couldn’t be a better moment to share with the fascinating woman across from him.
Camila inspected her own dessert before looking across the table at his. “They both look delicious,” she said.
Her brown eyes soaked up the colors of the sunset, reflecting an array of rich, warm tones as she inspected the dishes.
“So when someone else does the cooking,” James said under his breath, “is there a part of you that’s scrutinizing their work? Like,I would have cooked the asparagus longer,ortaken the meat off the grill sooner?”
She tore her gaze from the tart. “Sometimes,” she admitted. “But that’s not what I’m doing now. I usually pay attention to the things I like, and the things I don’t like. I make note of what I could do to improve the overall experience, from the food to the setting. I’d say it’s less scrutinizing and more…studying. I like learning ways to improve. Offer a better experience.”
James nodded as he considered that. “I think we have a lot in common that way,” he said. “It’d be easy for me to decide I knowenough, right? I’ve done well with what I was given, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t have done better. I always watch the investments I make; business and stocks I put money into. But you know what else I follow?”
She shook her head. “What?”
