“I…” The genuine smile curling Lauren’s lips was enough to convince Grey that Lauren meant it, and she sighed, her entire body relaxing at the reprieve. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Lauren lifted her glass in a silent toast before she took a small sip and turned her attention toward the horizon. She kept her gaze trained on the line where the inky black sea and the deep indigo sky met, purposefully ignoring Grey’s eyes that she could feel on her. She could have filled the air with meaningless chatter, but she enjoyed the quiet, and she had a feeling that Grey might need it too.
Grey stared at Lauren, baffled by her forgiveness. She knew that she did not deserve such kindness, not after the way she had behaved from the moment they first met, but there was a serenity in Lauren’s expression that told her it was real.
The silence that stretched between them was gentle and easy, a far cry from the tenseness that had surrounded them the day before, and the longer it lasted, the more relaxed Grey became. She felt the weight on her shoulders begin to lift ever so slightly, and she found herself able to breathe more fully than she had in a long time. It was surreal, how much better she felt sitting in silence beside a woman she barely knew—a woman who reminded her too much of someone she would never forget. It was strange and scary and kind of amazing, but the shadow of loss that had been her constant companion these last few years became less overwhelming with every breath she took.
Time passed in a hazy blur, and Grey was surprised when she realized that the lights from the bedrooms that overlooked the bow had been turned off, leaving theVeritasilluminated by only the moon and the stars overhead. She could not remember the last time she had felt so at peace, and she selfishly wished that she had thought to bring the bottle of scotch out with her so that they would have an excuse to spend the rest of the night right where they were. It had been too long since she had felt this content, and her stomach dropped in disappointment when the sound of Lauren yawning quietly beside her signaled that it was all about to end.
Lauren smiled apologetically at Grey. “I should probably go to bed. I need to wake up early again tomorrow to get breakfast ready.”
“What are we having?” Grey asked, trying to extend the moment as long as possible, knowing the contentment she was feeling would disappear with Lauren.
“I haven’t really decided yet. Is there anything special that you would like?” Lauren asked.
“Waffles.”
Lauren smiled at Grey’s quick reply, and nodded as she pushed herself to her feet. “All right. I’ll make waffles.” She leaned down to give Grey’s shoulder a light squeeze, hoping the gentle touch would reassure Grey that things between them were still okay. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Grey sighed and relaxed into the touch, soaking up the warmth it provided. “See you in the morning.”
CHAPTER NINE
LAUREN WAS SITTING at the dining table nursing a cup of coffee and reading a book on her iPad when Grey wandered into the salon just after dawn the next morning. Hair still damp from her shower and wearing a pair of short white shorts and a faded red Lifeguard t-shirt, Grey looked relaxed and rested, and Lauren smiled when the brunette’s gaze traveled from the waffle machine on the counter in the galley to her. “Good morning,” she murmured, being careful to keep her voice down since everyone else was still sleeping.
“You’re really making waffles,” Grey said, her voice tinged with excitement as she made her way into the galley to make herself a cup of coffee.
“I told you I would. I’m going to fancy them up a bit and make cinnamon roll waffles, but if you’d prefer them plain, I can just not add the swirl and stuff to yours.”
Grey shook her head. “You don’t need to make anything special for me.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Lauren assured her. “It’s just the toppings that would be different.”
“Nah, what you’re planning on doing sounds great.” The coffee machine shut down with a hiss and a splutter, and Greysmiled shyly at Lauren as she picked up her mug. “I just really like waffles.”
Lauren chuckled and smiled as she leaned back in her seat. “Yeah, I got that.”
The playful twinkle in Lauren’s eyes made Grey’s stomach flutter, and she ran a hand through her hair as she looked at her. A good night’s sleep had done little to shed any light on why, exactly, she felt so at ease around Lauren, but she had decided while she was in the shower to just go with it. There was something about Lauren that drew her in, and the more she thought about Lauren, the harder it became to even think about avoiding her.
Grey cleared her throat softly and hitched a thumb toward the back deck. “Would you, maybe, want to come up to the bridge and watch the sunrise?”
Pleased that the détente they had reached the night before still seemed to be holding, Lauren nodded. “Sure. That sounds great.”
The early morning air was cool but not uncomfortably so, and Lauren could not help but smile as she sat down on the sunbathing mat that was laid out in front of the helm up on the bridge. The sky along the horizon was streaked with orange and gold, while the space above clung stubbornly to the darker shades of night in the face of the rising sun. The air stirred with the ever-present trade winds blowing out of the east, and gulls swooped majestically overhead, their excited cries ringing in the new day as they dove for their breakfast.
“Not bad, huh?” Grey asked as she sat down on the opposite end of the red mat from Lauren.
“Not at all.” Lauren nodded and sipped at her coffee. She looked out at the horizon and smiled. “I used to go out with my dad on our boat when I was a kid to watch the sunrise. The mornings were usually cooler than this, and a lake in Minnesotaobviously has nothing on the Caribbean, but I’ve always loved this time of day where everything is new and fresh and quiet.”
“You probably don’t get a lot of quiet in New York.”
“You can find it,” Lauren murmured, her eyes still trained on the horizon. “Not easily, of course, but if you go into the middle of Central Park early in the morning like this, you can almost forget that you’re on an island with over a million and a half other people.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t do living in a big city like that.” Grey shook her head. “I need space.”
Lauren tipped her head at their surroundings and hummed softly under her breath. “Well, you’ve got plenty of that here.”
Grey nodded and sipped at her coffee. “Yeah.”
