“Sorry,” he said, giving her a half smile that suggested he wasn’t sorry at all. “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
“Wes,” she said, looking around. “Not here.” Then a moment later she said, “I’ve missed you too.”
When they crossed the bridge off the island and turned left, she wondered if he was taking her to the club, and for a brief second she envisioned him swimming at the pool, her sitting on the edge, letting her feet hang in the water as he swam up to her, his shoulders glistening from the sunlight.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“Almost there, I promise.”
They passed the club and kept going, then turned down a pathway through a gravel parking lot, toward a marina. She followed him along a wooden boardwalk, passing yachts of all sizes, until they reached a turquoise wooden boat about thirty feet long with a white cabin.
“We’re here,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on,” he said, climbing the ladder aboard and reaching back for her. “Take my hand.”
“Are we allowed to do this?” she asked, confused.
“Yes,” he said. “Trust me.”
Once on board she walked around the deck and ran her hand around the rail.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Yes, it’s beautiful,” she said, opening the door to the cabin and peeking down the stairs to the lower deck.
“Good. Because I just bought it,” he said. “I’m going to live on it while I do my residency.”
“Live on it?”
“Live on it,” he repeated.
“But your residency is in Los Angeles,” she said, bewildered.
“Actually, it’s here,” he said. “It’s at the new Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.”
None of it made any sense, and yet the idea of having him so close sent a thrill through her.
“But you’re at UCLA. I assumed your residency would be there too.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You kind of left in a rush, remember?” he said and smiled. It made her blush to think of their last moments together, putting her clothes back on, him still shirtless on the sofa, then standing to zip up the back of her dress, almost as sensual as his taking it off. “The residency at Hoag was another reason to spend the week down here with my brother. I had some appointments lined up to see boats.”
“Do you know anything about boats?” she asked, though she had a hundred other more important questions running through her head, along with a flood of emotions. She had really believed that she wouldn’t see him again. She’d thought about it a lot and was convinced that he’d come into her life to unlock some part of her, to show her what she was missing, what she needed, but that was all. It had been crushingly disappointing to think that their time together was so brief, but over the past few days she had been forcing herself to accept it. He was a young doctor-to-be, a heartthrob for any gal, and she hardly expected him to look her up again. She couldn’t understand what she could possibly have done for him. And jumbled up in her thoughts there was a rush of panic. He was here, he had come to her, and with him living here, so close to her, how would she ever have any restraint? If he found a new girlfriend and she had to ever see them together, it would be the end of her.
“I know a thing or two,” he said smiling. “This, where you’re standing, is the cockpit. It looks like it was set up to have a tiller here.” He pointed to a small handlelike contraption on the floor. “But it has a helm”—he grabbed the wheel—“which I prefer.” He took a few steps to the front of the boat and Milly followed. “This is my favorite spot.” He lay downand put his hand behind his head. “You can do a little bow riding here, feel the breeze, feel the waves. And then the salon is downstairs.”
He reached toward her, took her hands, and pulled her closer to him. “I can see the thoughts spinning through your beautiful mind,” he said. “We have a little time, right?”
She nodded.
“Talk to me.” Sitting on the bow, he leaned his back against the window, gesturing for her to sit beside him. The late-afternoon sun was a deep orange, reflecting off the still, glassy water and putting the most beautiful glow on his face. A seagull cawed in the sky above.
She sat down next to him but didn’t know where to start. “I am happy to see you, so happy. Relieved, actually.”
