“Do you need any help?” he asked to change the subject.
“No, I’m almost done. Go ahead and sit down; I’ll make you a plate.” He did as she suggested and turned on the small television Bowie had installed in the corner and flipped through the few channels the satellite was able to pick up. He found a news program and left it on even though he wasn’t interested. The background noise should keep his mind from wandering to places it shouldn’t. He imagined Rennie cooking breakfast at his house, wearing nothing more than his T-shirt, and groaned. These thoughts needed to stay in his reserve bank and not at the forefront of his mind.
His thoughts had to change, because they were only going to get him into trouble. He reached for the folded paper and noticed the date was current. “Did you leave the boat this morning?” he asked without looking at her.
“I did. I went for a walk. This town is the cutest, Graham. I’m totally kicking my ass for not visiting earlier.” She came over and set a handful of pamphlets down on the table and returned to the stove. “Look at those. I thought maybe we could check out the town, visit the shops.”
“We can go to the lavender fields today if you want.”
“How?” She came to the table with his plate and a cup of coffee.
“Thank you, Ren,” he said as they made eye contact. For some reason, at that moment, the desire to pull her toward him, to feel her body pressed against his, overwhelmed him. He resigned his mentality to refer to her as a friend, nothing more, because that was all she could handle right now. She needed him as a friend. Graham shook his head slightly, needing to clear his dreams, but the action failed.
Rennie’s hips sauntered back and forth seductively as she approached the table. She sat next to him. Not across, but right next to him, with her knee touching his. The zing his body felt from having her so close was almost too much to bear, but he knew if he moved away, she would be hurt, and he couldn’t do that to her. He refused to hurt her.
“How will we see the fields?” she asked, reminding him of her earlier question.
“Well, I thought since we’re on a minivacation, we should rent a scooter and cruise around the island.”
“I love your enthusiasm and your attempt to make this a minivacation, but it’s way too cold to ride around on a scooter.”
“We can rent a car instead. I just thought . . .” What he thought was she’d snuggle into him, that she’d need him for warmth. “A car is probably better.”
“We’ll have to come back this summer and do the scooter thing. I think that would be fun.”
He nodded. “It’s really fun here in the summer. Maybe we can get the Bs to come over too.”
“I called Brooklyn this morning from the pay phone,” she said, much to his surprise. “I know she was worried. I would be too. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“Everyone understands, Ren. And if you need to use my phone, just ask. You can use it whenever you want.”
Rennie smiled. “Thank you. Now back to what we are going to do today. What do you think about checking out the shops? I saw a couple on my walk. They all look so cute and charming.”
“Eh, not really my thing. I think there’s a game on or something.” He flinched before she could even slap him. He started to laugh at the mean face she glared at him with. “Okay, fine. Shopping it is.” Graham picked up his fork and started to eat.
“And . . .” She paused, which was a clear indication she was up to no good. She grabbed ahold of Graham’s arm and tugged slightly. “When I was out earlier, I saw this bar. They’re having a New Year’s Eve party tonight. We should go.”
“Ren?” Her name came out of his mouth like a warning. He wanted to take her out. They had always had a good time when they were together, but a bar meant drinking, which meant their inhibitions would be lowered. Screw it. He wanted to take her out.
Rennie batted her eyelashes at Graham and jutted her lip out. He was a sucker for a cute-and-sexy pout. He relented quickly. “You’ll be the death of me, woman.”
“Ha,” she laughed. “If we were in Cape Harbor, you’d beg me to come down to the Whale Spout.”
Graham sighed. “You’re not wrong.”
They finished breakfast. He got up and started cleaning the galley. It was the least he could do, considering Rennie had made breakfast. He topped off her coffee and took the empty pot to the sink. Graham plugged the drain, added a couple drops of dish soap, and filled the sink about halfway. He didn’t want to run out of water for the showers, and he wasn’t sure exactly how Bowie had everything pumped. He washed quickly and set the dishes out to air-dry.
Graham expected Rennie to be downstairs getting dressed and ready for the day, but she was still at the table, watching him clean up. The way she was staring at him made him wonder if she had been looking at him the entire time he was in the galley.
TWENTY-THREE
Rennie had never really been a fan of white T-shirts—or anything white, for that matter. Anytime she wore the color, it always ended up with a stain, or after a couple of washings, the brightness dulled, and the item looked dingy. There was one time when living in California that Rennie bought a white duvet with a bright-blue flower on it. She loved it and had it one night before she passed out on it, leaving a makeup stain she couldn’t get out. The same for her white pantsuit and the turtleneck she bought for a Christmas party to go with a red suit coat. All ruined within minutes of wearing. She’d sworn off white . . . until now.
The galley on the boat was small, only really big enough for one person, and even then, there wasn’t a lot of room to move around. Bowie’s boat wasn’t one of those massive yachts people always dreamed of owning or spending time on when they would see it go by. It was perfect for his small family and a couple of guests, as long as you didn’t mind the close quarters. Of course, not many people traveled by boat during the colder months as Rennie and Graham had.
Graham stood at the sink, washing dishes. Rennie had seen Theo do this chore a few times but never had he made her stop and watch him. She never cared to, but there was something about Graham doing this menial chore that made her stop and pay attention. As Graham cleaned the pan used to cook their breakfast, the muscles in his arms flexed, and her mouth watered. Why? It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen Graham’s well-toned arms before. She had. She was very familiar with them. Maybe it was the white shirt that kept her attention. It wasn’t tight, but she could see the muscles in his back shifting each time he moved, and she could see the dark shadow of the tribal tattoo he had showing through the thin fabric. She suddenly found herself in the middle of a hot flash. It was too cold outside, so what was the explanation?
Graham.
As if on cue, he glanced over his shoulder and smirked. Her heart leaped, and she quickly looked away. He was her friend, her confidant. Sure, they had been together before, but that was always just a casual hookup. Yet she couldn’t resist turning her attention back toward him, expecting to find him focused on the task at hand. He wasn’t. He was watching her, studying her. Who did he see when he looked at her? The woman she used to be? The one where all he had to do was tilt his head to the side and smile, and she’d run to him. Back then, they had this undeniable connection. They were drawn to each other. Others saw it as well, and it made dating difficult for them. When Graham started dating Monica, he put some separation between him and Rennie. She hated him for it but forgave him because she understood why he had done it. Rennie should’ve done it when she returned to Cape Harbor for the first time in fifteen years—kept Graham at a distance—but she couldn’t. Or did he see the broken woman shattered by deceit? The one who realized after finding out her boyfriend was a lying, cheating piece of shit that she didn’t care. By all accounts, she should be in bed, exhausted from crying. But she wasn’t; she had no desire to see Theo or even hear from him ever again. More so, she felt complete and utter relief he was out of her life. While she thought she should have felt broken and distraught, she didn’t. Her heart wasn’t aching for him, and her body didn’t long to be with him. He put her in an unthinkable situation and expected her to be okay with it. She never would be. Rennie Wallace was not and would never be a home-wrecker.