She settled in next to him and groaned at her own feelings, realizing too late that she’d actually made the noise out loud.
Lucas leaned up on his elbows. “You okay? You’re not getting seasick, are you?”
“No. I don’t even know if I get seasick. I’m fine. I was just…” Mercy, this was uncomfortable, but ignoring it wasn’t going to make it go away. She sat up. “I don’t want you to think that I set this up.”
His brow furrowed. “Set what up?”
“This. Us being together up here. Laying down. Oh, Lord, this is not a conversation I should have started.” She glanced back at the dock. Was it too far to swim?
He laughed. “Frankie, I don’t know if I’m exactly following the conversation, but do you think that I think you’re the reason we’re hanging out here? Because if you are, I need to stop congratulating myself on getting you to myself.”
Her jaw unhinged ever so slightly. “Say what now?”
He shrugged. “I just thought this would be a chance for us to spend some time together and see how things go. I’ve been trying to go slow, but maybe I’ve been going too slow. After getting burned…”
She was an idiot. “You were going slow so we could get to know each other. So you wouldn’t…have your heart broken again?”
“Yeah. That.” He sighed, sat up, bent his knees, and hooked his arms around them. “I’m not good at this, am I. Obviously not, if you didn’t even realize what I was doing. Did I misread things? If so, just tell me. I do not want to ruin things between us. I would much rather be friends than not be anything.”
She swallowed and did her best to decode every word he’d spoken. “Just to be clear, are you saying you want to pursue a relationship with me?”
“Poorly, apparently, but yes, that’s what I’m saying. Is that all right with you? Or do you want me to back off?” They were only inches away from one another.
She shook her head. “No.”
“No, it’s not all right?”
“No, I don’t want you to back off. Look, I’m not good at this, either. Obviously. I need things in plain English.”
He grinned, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head to look directly at her. “Frankie, I like you a lot. I want to see more of you, and I want to find out what comes next. With us. How’s that?”
“That’s perfect.”
He leaned across the tiny gap that separated them and planted a kiss on her mouth. “So are you.”
I think you’re the perfect one, she wanted to say. But the fireworks going off inside of her made words impossible.
At least for the moment.
Chapter Fifteen
Mitch steered the boat out of the marina, keeping the speed low, not just because they were in a no-wake zone, but because he wanted his passengers to have an easy time of things. The dogs included. Getting knocked around on the boat wouldn’t be fun for anyone.
Harper came to stand by his side. He kept his eyes on the water, but he was fully aware that she had more skin on display than he’d previously seen. He didn’t mind. He was a man, after all. He’d be blind not to notice an attractive woman right next to him.
For another thing, between her and concentrating on the driving, he had plenty to keep him from dwelling on Jeanie and the past. Mostly. Jeanie was never that far from his thoughts. But right now, he had passengers to focus on. “What do you think so far?”
“The day is beautiful, the boat is beautiful, the company is outstanding.” Harper smiled at him. “What’s not to like?”
“You think your sister and Willa are having a good time?”
“Willa is practically floating, she’s so happy. And the only way Frankie could be having a better time would be if she and Lucas were alone.”
He laughed softly. “They do seem rather interested in each other.” He could only make out Lucas and Frankie’s legs from his vantage point. They were fairly close together. Good for them.
“I’m happy for her. She had a rough divorce. It’s about time she had some positive male attention.”
“Lucas seems like a decent guy. I like him.”
