“I’m going out on his boat with him on Thursday,” I told her.
“Wow.”
“Is that a bad wow or a good wow?” I questioned. Her opinion mattered. I valued her advice and her experience. She was a little more world-wise than I was.
“I think you have to go with your gut,” she answered. “You like him. You were drawn to him. You have had one date with him and it went well. Go for it.”
I grinned. “Thank God. I was really hoping you would say that. I’m excited.”
“What kind of boat is this?”
“Not a yacht but not a little boat. I think he has money. I don’t know how much but he said he lived on the beach. We know how much those houses are.”
“This is what I need you to do,” she said, leaning on the bar like she had to give me the details of a top-secret mission.
“What?” I whispered.
“I need you to find out if he has a brother.”
I burst into laughter. “I will certainly ask.”
“I’m happy for you. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you crush on a guy.”
I shrugged. “It is slim pickings out there. A lot of the guys I meet are just so—I don’t know—irritating. They want sex and someone to take care of them. I like a man that can stand on his own two feet. I like sex, but I would like to think I am more valuable than a basic pin cushion.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “I hear ya girl. Boy, do I hear you. All the good ones are taken or gay.”
It was our usual complaint. “I’m not sure if this is a boyfriend thing, but I do want to find out. Like I said, he doesn’t exactly ooze information. He’s not even an onion that I need to peel back layers. He is more of a coconut. I need to hammer at that hard shell he has just to get to the part where I can see who he really is.”
“He’s your new project.”
I smiled. “Maybe.”
“You are a natural-born nurturer. You nurture your dad and now you are looking for a man to nurture. You are going to make a good mommy one day.”
I groaned. “Shh, you are going to remind my biological clock that time is ticking away.”
“You’ve got time. You better. We are the same age and I’m not about to leave this world without having a child.”
“I should probably go home and try to get some work done,” I said on a long sigh.
“You work too much.”
“I know. I do. But if I’m at home, I can work with a glass of wine in my hand. It doesn’t feel like work so much then.”
“Go home, relax a little, and daydream about your hot new man.”
“I don’t think I can call him mine—yet.”
“Not yet, but you can certainly dream about him. I just might.”
I frowned at her. “Hands off, woman. He is mine.”
She winked. “Thought so.”
I grabbed my laptop and headed out. I was in the mood for sweats, wine, and Netflix. And maybe a little daydreaming about Xander. It was hard to dream too much when I knew so little. I didn’t know what it was like to be touched by him. I knew he was a hard man in a very literal sense. My touch to his arm gave me a little clue about what he was hiding underneath the invisible armor he wore to keep people at arm’s length.
I was not the kind of person who really respected those rules. I could admit I tended to be more of an in your face person. I liked people. Most of the time. There were very few occasions when I truly disliked someone.
I was going to find out what made the man tick. And then maybe, just maybe, I would like what I found. If I was lucky, he would reciprocate the feeling.
“Or it could all be one giant waste of time,” I muttered to myself.
I drove home and parked in the designated spot in my apartment building before going up. I opened the door to my one-bedroom apartment just on the outskirts of the La Jolla neighborhood. I wanted to be close to my dad but couldn’t really afford the rent in his area. My apartment wasn’t luxurious, but it was in a newish complex and it worked perfectly for me. I loved the pool and the outdoor amenities which was why I chose the building over some of the cheaper ones.
I put down the laptop and went into my room to change before settling in for a dull but comfortable evening on the couch.
Chapter 11
Xander
I was on my back, messing with the wiring for the stereo on the boat when I heard footsteps. It was a busy marina. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard her voice.
“Knock, knock,” she called out.
I had to smile. I slid out from where I was mostly hidden from view. “I’m here,” I said, getting to my feet.
She looked at the screwdriver in my hand and then back at me. “Um, I think I might take a raincheck.”
“Why?”
“You are working on your boat. That isn’t a good sign, is it?”
I grinned, shaking the screwdriver. “I was fixing the stereo. The boat is fine. She isn’t going to sink.”
She looked skeptical. “I don’t know. I’m not a great swimmer.”
“It’s going to be fine. It isn’t going to sink.”
She gestured at the boat with one hand. “What about the engine? Is it sound?”
She was nervous. It was very different from the confident, bubbly woman I had met at the party. It was too good to pass up. “I have rations on the boat. They will last at least four days. We can live three weeks without food.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?” she gasped, looking absolutely horrified.
“I’m kidding,” I teased.
She studied me as if she was trying to decide whether I was truly joking. I put down the screwdriver and climbed off the boat. I grabbed her shoulders and bent my knees to look directly into her eyes. “It’s going to be okay. It’s a fairly new boat.”
“You were teasing?” she whispered.
I nodded. “I was.”
A slow smile spread across her face. “You’re an ass.”
I grinned and stood up to my full height. “I’ve been called that before. I’ll take it. Now, come on.”
I took her hand and helped her onto the boat. It gently rocked with our weight before quickly leveling out.
“I can’t believe you joked about something so serious.”
“It was a joke,” I said. “You look terrified.”
“So you kept going?” she asked, putting a hand on one hip.
I shrugged. “I’m sorry.”
She laughed. “No, you are not.”
I took a second to look her over. She was wearing a pretty blue tank that was tucked into the low-rise jean shorts. Again, the shorts were a little longer than the usual style. Her legs were tanned and shapely. The flat boat shoes she wore were appropriate for the occasion. Her hair was left loose, hanging over one exposed shoulder.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “I have a confession.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve never actually been out on the water. I’ve been on boats for parties and stuff, but I’ve never actually gone out to sea or anything.”