“Works for me.” Lauren pursed her lips thoughtfully and added, “What about the fuel?”
“The dock’s on the other side of the harbor—” Grey waved a hand in the general direction of the refueling station, “—so we’ll just hit it in the morning. We actually have more than enough gas to finish this cruise, I just always fill up whenever I can.”
Lauren nodded. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah.” Grey ran a hand through her hair and looked around the salon. Her eyes drifted to the spot in the galley where they had been standing the day before when she had almost kissed Lauren, and her pulse spiked at the memory of it. Somehow, in a span of only four days, she had gone from wanting to fire Lauren, to wanting to kiss her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as that truth began to truly sink in.
She was genuinely attracted to Lauren. For the first time in three years, she wanted another woman in a way that had nothing to do with forgetting her pain and everything to do with simple desire. She did not want to let go of the hurt and sorrow she had worn like armor these last few years. She did not want to forgetEmily. But she was finally ready to admit to herself that letting go of the hurt and pain she had worn like armor for so long did not mean that she was forgetting Emily. It simply meant that she was moving on.
Grey could not ignore the way her stomach fluttered when she turned to look at Lauren, and she sighed. She would never forget Emily, could never possibly forget her, but she wanted this. And, even though Lauren had been the one to pull away, Grey knew that she had not imagined the spark she felt between them. Two weeks was not enough time for anything serious to develop, but maybe, just maybe, it was enough time for her to learn to live again.
“I…” Grey cleared her throat softly and gave Lauren a small smile. She tried to ignore the way her heart was racing, but she could hear the way it made her voice tremble ever so slightly. “After the trash gets picked up, would you want to maybe go over to Pusser’s for some diner? Take advantage of your night off?
Grey’s smile was soft and hopeful, and Lauren found herself returning it as she nodded. “That sounds great.” She looked down at herself and sighed. Though they were clean, her shorts and shirt were not exactly appropriate for going out. “Would I have time to shower?”
“Of course.” Grey’s breath caught as Lauren’s eyes turned back to her, sweeping slowly up her body in a deliberate once-over. It was not the first time she had caught Lauren looking at her like that, but it was the first time she was willing to acknowledge what it did to her. She arched a brow when Lauren’s eyes landed on hers, looking darker than usual and somewhat embarrassed at having been caught, and added, “I’ll probably grab one too after I get the trash unloaded, so take as long as you want. The Muellers have a key, we’re not in a rush.”
Lauren nodded once. “All right.” She licked her lips as she held Grey’s gaze, and then smiled shyly as she finally looked away and disappeared down the stairs to her cabin.
Grey stared at the empty stairway for a moment, feeling the way her heart fluttered with anticipation in her chest, and shook her head as she pulled her phone from her pocket to call the harbormaster.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
GREY KEPT STEALING glances at Lauren as she led the way to the stairs that led to the second floor dining room above the bar at Pusser’s Landing. Lauren’s flowing ankle-length skirt sat low on her hips and swished seductively around her legs as she walked, and her teal tank hugged her lithe torso to perfection, but it was her hair that had Grey so captivated. From the moment Lauren had set foot aboard theVeritas, her hair had always been up, but tonight she had opted to leave it down. Her curls were soft around her face and tickled the backs of her shoulders, and Grey’s fingers itched to comb through the fiery tresses.
The curls seemed to take on a life of their own, bouncing lightly with every step, and Grey was so captivated by it that she flat-out missed the first stair and ended up lunging for the handrail to keep her feet. “Shit,” she hissed under her breath as she skipped quickly up a handful of steps before resuming a more relaxed pace.
Lauren chuckled at the way Grey tried to act like nothing had happened. “Looks like my clumsiness is rubbing off,” she teased, her eyes glued to Grey’s ass. Grey had changed into a pair of cream-colored linen slacks that hugged her backside to delicious perfection, and Lauren was completely hypnotized by the flex of taut muscles beneath the fabric.
Grey glanced over her shoulder at Lauren, and her pulse jumped at the hungry look darkening Lauren’s eyes. “No knives for either of us tonight, I guess.”
A light blush tinted Lauren’s cheeks when she realized that she had been caught staring, and she cleared her throat softly as she shook her head. “Kids menu for everyone, then.”
“Dear god, no,” Grey chuckled. She led Lauren over to the hostess’ station, and smiled as she held up two fingers. “Two, please.” She glanced back at Lauren as the hostess gathered their menus and added, “But, I mean, if you want fish sticks and stuff…”
“Yeah, no. I think I’ll risk the knives.” Lauren fell into step beside Grey as they followed the hostess to their table, her eyes sweeping over the half-empty dining room. They were led to a small table that was pushed up against the balcony railing, and she nodded appreciatively at the view of the marina below. “Wow.”
Grey smiled and gallantly pulled Lauren’s chair out for her. “Not a bad view, eh?”
“Not at…” Lauren’s voice trailed off as she looked over at Grey, who was bent slightly at the waist as she held onto the chair, making the open collar of her pale blue camp shirt flare, giving Lauren the barest peek of black lace against the supple swell of her breasts. She cleared her throat softly and smoothed her skirt over the backs of her legs as she hurried to sit. “Um, not a bad view at all,” she finished lamely, licking her lips nervously as she looked back out over the water and offered up a silent prayer that Grey had not noticed her staring. The knowing look Grey gave her as she sat down across the table told Lauren that she had not been so lucky, and she hid her face behind her menu the moment the hostess handed it to her.
“The specials tonight, which you’ll find in your menu, are the Caribbean lobster and the pineapple curry shrimp,” the hostessrecited in a bored tone as she handed a menu to Grey. “Your server, Jameson, will be with you shortly. Enjoy.”
“Thank you,” Grey murmured. Once the hostess left, she chuckled and opened her own menu, even though she already knew what she was going to order. She had not intended to give Lauren a little show when she pulled her chair out for her, but she was both amused and flattered by Lauren’s reaction. “See anything that looks good?”
Lauren let her menu fall and shrugged, refusing to rise to the playful twinkle in Grey’s eyes. “I don’t know. The lobster?”
“Not worth it.” Grey shook her head. “I mean, it may be because I grew up in New England and everything, but the lobster here in the islands just isn’t that great. Their shrimp curry is pretty good though.”
“What are you getting?” Lauren asked, her forehead furrowing thoughtfully as she looked back down at her menu.
“Conch fritters and the jerk chicken salad.”
Lauren chuckled at how quickly Grey responded, and looked up at her through her lashes. “I take it that’s what you order every time you come here?”
“Pretty much,” Grey admitted with a grin. “No matter what you order, though, you gotta have a Painkiller to drink.”
“I do, huh?” Lauren flipped to the front of her menu where the restaurant’s drinks were listed. The Painkiller was at the top of the mixed drinks menu, obviously the house special—a blend of dark rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice, orange juice, and nutmeg. Lauren nodded as she flipped back to the entrees. “Sounds good.”
