Luca had only agreed to leave them alone on the upper deck of the boat because there were cameras installed on the boat that showed a panorama of the surrounding area. He could monitor the cameras from the lower deck, so they could still have some privacy.
Once the kebabs were sizzling on the barbecue, Ben went back to the fridge and pulled out the remainder of the food. There was potato salad, fresh buns, a garden salad, and a cheese ball with crackers.
Amelia transferred everything to the table at the stern of the boat. She opened the crackers and used one to dip into the cheese ball, then handed it to Ben. Rather than take it from her, he reached for her wrist and ate it right from her fingers.
She gave a little huff of laughter, then turned to take a cracker for herself.
Once the kebabs were done, Ben set them on a platter. He called for Luca to come and get himself a plate.
There was a lot of food, so after Luca had filled his plate, there was still plenty left for the two of them.
“This is amazing,” Amelia said after Ben had said a prayer of thanks as they sat at the table on the padded bench seats.
“Connie is as good a cook as her mom,” Ben said. “Mom and Dad are fortunate to have her.”
Their conversation was intermittently interrupted by passing boats. It was busy on the lake, which wasn’t surprising given how beautiful the evening was.
Ben was thrilled with how well things were going, and how relaxed Amelia seemed to be. It was exactly how he’d hoped the evening would unfold.
As the sun sank low in the sky, they finished the main part of the meal and turned their attention to the cheesecake Connie had made for them.
“This is wonderful,” Amelia said with a smile. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Thank you for accepting,” Ben replied. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
“I almost didn’t.”
“What made you say yes to me?” he asked. “When you said no to that other guy?”
“James? He’s a bit of a flirt,” Amelia said. “I’m pretty sure I’m not the only woman he persists in trying to date.”
Once they’d finished eating, they transferred all the leftover food into the cooler and cleaned up the disposable dishes and dumped them into the trash.
Luca had come back up to the main deck, and they were once again moving slowly on the water.
“Want to go to the front again?” Ben asked.
Amelia nodded, and they made their way back to the seating area at the bow of the boat. There was a bit of a breeze, which had cooled the heat of the day.
As they stretched out on the seating area, Ben looked up at the sky. There was only a partial moon that night, so they could see stars scattered across the inky black expanse. If they could have turned the lights off on the boat, even more stars would have been visible.
“It’s been ages since I’ve seen the stars like this,” Amelia murmured. “It’s so beautiful. The songStarry, Starry Nightis playing in my brain.”
“And now it’s going to play in mine,” Ben said with a chuckle.
She reached over and rested her hand on his. “Sorry about that.”
When she didn’t immediately remove it, he turned his hand over and interlaced their fingers. Before he could say anything, a sudden burst of color filled the sky, followed by a muffled bang.
“Fireworks?” Amelia said, sitting forward a little. “Did you arrange for those?”
“You know, I did try, but I needed a special license and more time than I had for tonight,” he told her. “But apparently someone else got their ducks in a row, and we get to benefit from it.”
Luca must have realized they would want to see the fireworks because the angle of the boat shifted slightly, then he slowed it to a stop.
Ben glanced over at Amelia at the next burst, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of awe on her face, illuminated by the pink burst high in the sky above them.
For the next twenty minutes, they watched countless displays of color brightening the dark night. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
