“Can you point me in the right direction?” she asked him, looking around the boat. It was bigger than it looked from afar.
“Up the ladder on the starboard side,” he told her, pointing at a wooden ladder that ran up the side of the cabin. “Hey, Griff,” he called out. “There’s somebody here to see you.”
Griff climbed down the ladder and Autumn swallowed hard. There was something so easy about him. It was like watching an animal in its natural habitat. There was no guile or false machismo. But you only had to look at him to know who was in charge.
And yeah, that thought sent a shiver down her spine.
His long, thick legs were clad in denim, right to the ankles, unlike her own cut-offs. A black t-shirt stretched across his muscled torso, with Angel Sands Whale Watching printed on the back. And a pair of sunglasses were casually atop his head. But it was the way he was smiling at her that made Autumn’s breath catch.
It felt like she was staring straight into the sun.
“Hey. I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he called out, pulling his shades over his eyes.
She pushed down the stupid attraction that rose up every time she saw him. “I said I would. And look,” she said, lifting a foot, “flat shoes.”
“And very short shorts,” he pointed out with a grin.
“I figured it might get warm.” Was it wrong that she liked the way he was looking at her legs?
“Welcome onboard,” he said when he was only a few feet away from her. “I see you’ve met Brett. And that’s Ellie up there,” he said, pointing to the girl on the deck. “Mike’s my second in command, and should be here any minute. And along with you, that’s the crew.”
“Are they all full time?”
“Nope. Only me and Mike are permanent. The rest of the staff are seasonal. Students from the oceanography course at the local college. They’re full of enthusiasm and knowledge about the whales and dolphins.”
She suspected Griff knew more about the marine life than anybody in an academic course. “Do you take excursions out year round?” she asked him, after she’d shaken Brett and Ellie’s hands.
“You’re full of questions, aren’t you?” The warmth of his smile echoed in his voice.
“Sorry. I’ve never been on a boat like this before. It’s all new to me.”
“I’ve got a few more things to get ready before the passengers arrive. Let’s work and talk at the same time.” He inclined his head. “It’ll be crazy for an hour or so once we set off, and then things will calm down again. On the way back, Ellie or Brett will give a talk about the marine life we’ve spotted, and knowing them they’ll lecture the passengers about reducing plastic waste and environmental harm, too.”
By the time they were out in the open waters, Autumn felt like she was aching all over. Griff hadn’t gone easy on her, and she appreciated that. He’d made her feel part of the team, not somebody just along for the ride.
Twenty minutes into the cruise, someone shouted that they’d spotted a pod of short beaked dolphins. According to Ellie, they were common around the coast. Listening to her explaining the different types of dolphins to a group of passengers was fascinating. Autumn had no idea that at least five different types of them swam around these shores alone.
“Do you like working here?” she asked Ellie.
“I love it. No two days are the same.” Ellie grinned. “Most of my friends are working their way through college in shops or restaurants, but I get to see dolphins and whales and a hundred different types of birds.
“How long have you worked here?”
“This is my second year. I’ll be graduating in the fall, then onto study my masters in Baltimore. I’m going to miss this place.” She wrinkled her nose. “Some of the freshmen are already begging me to introduce them to Griff so they can take my spot.”
“Is he a good boss?” Autumn asked.
“He’s great,” Ellie said, smiling. “I mean, he’s a good guy and all, but what impresses me the most is how much he knows about the marine life out here. I swear he knows more about some of the whales than my professors. I guess he’s been studying some of them for years.”
“Like Ahab and Moby Dick?” Autumn asked.
Ellie burst out laughing. “Not quite. For a start, Griff isn’t a sociopath, and he never wants to harm any animals. In fact, I’d say some of the whales really love him. When they see the boat they’ll start performing like they know he’s watching. A bit like they’re flirting with him or something.”
“Is it wrong that I want to see that?” Autumn grinned.
“There’s nothing wrong with that at all.”
5
Griff was intensely aware of Autumn’s proximity as he restarted the engines and sailed further out into the ocean. After she’d spent some time with Brett and Ellie, and they’d spotted some razorbacks, he’d suggested she join him in the cramped wheelhouse, while they went searching for an elusive blue whale.
For the most part, she was silent, staring out of the windshield in front of them as he steered toward the place he’d last seen the baleen.
The wheelhouse was built for use, not comfort. He was used to sharing it with Mike, or being on his own. Having Autumn Paxton with her tiny cut off shorts and long, lean legs next to him felt different. As though the room had shrunk.
“It’s hot in here,” she said, pulling her cropped hoodie over her head. From the corner of his eye he could see her tank rise up, revealing her taut, pale abdomen.
Eyes straight ahead, skipper.
“This room’s a sun trap,” he told her. “It’s all the glass. It’s like a hothouse.”
“But you’re still wearing jeans.”
“I save shorts for warmer months. Otherwise I’ve got nowhere to go.”
She laughed. “The same way I won’t wear a coat in New York until the temperature dips below forty degrees.”
“Do you have family in New York?” he asked her, keeping his hands steady on the wheel.
“My dad lives there. And my sister has an apartment there, but she’s often traveling.”
“What does your dad do?”
“He’s a real estate lawyer. He works in Manhattan,” she told him.
“Sounds lucrative.” He raised an eyebrow.
“It is. He was disappointed I didn’t follow in his footsteps and study law.”
There was a wry smile on her face. Strange how different she looked today. At the pier meeting she was all business, with a designer suit and immaculate heels. But now she was wilder, her curvy body on display in those shorts and top, and he really liked what it did for her.
Yeah, well you can like all you want. Just don’t touch, my friend.
“You don’t seem to be doing too badly as a real estate investor.”
“I’ll let you know after a few months of owning this place.” She tied her hoodie around her waist and fixed the tendrils of hair that had fallen from her ponytail. Griff slowed the boat as they approached the spot he was looking for. From below he could hear Brett telling the passengers to look out for more whales – blue ones this time.