She gripped his hand, ignoring the tiny jolts of excitement that danced across her palm when his skin touched hers. He gave a gentle tug. Bonnie shifted too quickly, tried to get her feet under her before she dropped from the shelf. “Careful!” His warning came too late. She felt her dress catch, heard a distinctive rip and before she knew it, she’d landed face-first on the floor of his boat. She raised her head and coughed. The worn carpet, which was the color of rusted metal, smelled like it had been laid at the turn of the century. Before she could even think of righting herself, he’d scooped both hands under her arms and hoisted her up. “Whew.” That almost sounded like a word. She stepped to one side and shoved down her skirt, only to have her ankle give way and send her toppling over. “Ooooow!” She tried to break her second fall in as many minutes, but missed the closet door handle by inches. He caught her again, this time locking his hands around her arms and pushing her

He glanced toward the closed door at the end of the passageway. Bonnie Rimmer definitely had a way about her. She hadn’t seemed fazed by the close quarters on the vessel as he had thought she would have been. Regardless, she was way out of his league. That necklace she wore around her neck, the fancy rings on her fingers…the pretty earrings. Obviously she lived in a world he couldn’t begin to fathom. He was perfectly content living his life. However, nothing about Bonnie Rimmer said “simple.” At least after they separated, he’d have an entertaining story to tell once he saw George again. He’d leave out how his heart beat double time when he’d touched her or how he’d inhaled the scent threading through her hair. Or how soft her skin had felt beneath his touch. He had to stop thinking so much about her. She wasn't and would never be his… eventually, she'd miss her old life and want to go back. The earlier he got her out of his mind, the better for him. When he finished tidying up, h

“I’m not naturally sneaky,” she said after making a show of climbing the short stair-case. He glanced over his shoulder as she joined him. “I’ll try not to scare you again.” “You can scare me all you want if you bring coffee.” He accepted the offered mug with a quick smile. “Thanks.” “Everything okay?” The view from the window was nothing more than a collection of boats and cruisers—a view she’d seen hundreds of times over the years. The view behind her—the view waiting for them—now that was another story. “Electricity seems to be working. I’m going to try not to push the engine too hard on our first trip out. The ride to Palm Bay should be a good test.” “Like I said, I’m just along for the ride.” said Bonnie. “You are the boss” “Oh, you’re more than that.” He took a long drink of coffee. “You’re crew now.” “In that case, Captain, your wish is my command. If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll let you know or figure it out myself.” “Fair enough. You know how to unmoor us?”

“I told you, I’m not expecting anything.” She backed away to let him out. “But whatever happens, you aren’t alone. I'm here”David had purposely kept close to land, so as not to be considered offshore; some risks, even alone, he wasn’t about to take. He did a quick evaluation of the intake valves, the bilge pump and, specifically, the head gaskets. If they blew one of those they’d be dead in the water.Despite the years Blue Blood had spent unoccupied and moored, she was in pretty good shape. Until he got her into dry dock and really dug into the engine, however, he couldn’t risk burning her out completely.“Well?” Bonnie asked when he slammed the engine hatch shut. “What’s the verdict?”“All the things I really worry about seem okay. Let’s start her back up.” He walked around Bonnie and climbed back into the pilot cabin.“We’ve only been out on the water a short time. How far have we gone?” She took a tentative seat on the bench beside him.“About thirty miles. Hopefully we’ll catch

She found herself speculating how Prince Marcus might have reacted had he gone through the same past couple of hours with her. Surely it would have been much different. It was more confirmation that she’d made the right choice by not marrying him. She went to her bank’s website and attempted to log into her account. Denied. She tried again, more carefully this time. Denied. “What the…?” She typed slowly, repeating the letters to herself as she… Denied. “What’s wrong?” David leaned over. “It’s not letting me in. And now I’ve tried too many times from an unrecognized computer.” She sagged back in her chair. “I’m locked out.” Which meant trying to get on from an app on David’s phone wasn’t going to work, either. “Okay. So you can finally stop worrying about this paying-me issue and we can move on? The only reason I wanted you to do this was because of the phone anyways.” “Back to square one.” Darn it! Roadblocks everywhere she turned. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until we get to