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“So, what brings you to Westport?” Bodhi asked me.

I stretched and folded my hands behind my head while I tried to decide how much to share with him. It didn’t help that Isla was at the end of the table, staring at me like I was dessert and she hadn’t eaten in days. I swear, the more aloof I acted, the more the ladies loved me. Finally, I mumbled, “I’ve been looking for someplace I felt at home ever since I left the Corps.” Then I sat and waited to see if they’d let that ride.

“Where are you from?” Max asked quietly. The guy had been practically glaring at me ever since he found me with his topless sister.

I cleared my throat. “I’ve been moving my whole life.” I leaned forward, balanced my elbows on my knees and rubbed my palms together. “I was born in Idaho. My parents split up and my mom moved me and my little sister to Arizona.” I glanced at Max. “I understand what it’s like to be a big brother, too, man.”

He nodded tersely, but said nothing.

“We stayed there all of two years before she moved us to Texas. That time, she stuck it out with a guy who worked on one of those oil rigs.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I spent a lot of time on the water, but I still chose the Marines over the Navy.” I chuckled, but stopped when I realized no one else was laughing. I shrugged. “The Corps had me all over, but after a few tours in Afghanistan, I decided I was done killing people.” From the corner of my eye, I saw Isla’s eyes widen. Good. Maybe now she’d stay away.

“Sounds intense, dude,” Bodhi commented. “You need another beer.”

He disappeared below deck to grab me another one from the galley, leaving me alone with Max and Isla. I watched Max carefully, trying to figure out how I could soothe his fears. Before I could come up with anything, A woman showed up with a kid in tow. Max nearly jumped to his feet in his eagerness to greet her. “Victoria,” he murmured as he kissed her on the cheek.

Bodhi returned and greeted her daughter first. “Tater tot! Come with me. We’ll go grab you a Kool-Aid pouch.” He passed me the beer and then disappeared with the little girl.

“Hey, can we go to your cabin and talk?” Victoria asked coyly, which had me thinking there would be very little actual talking taking place.

I had cracked my beer and taken several gulps. Max was hesitating and no doubt the reason was his reluctance to leave me alone with Isla. I decided to make it easy on him. “I’m gonna go. You have family stuff. You have my number if you need me.” I shrugged. “Or you could just shout over the side of the boat.” I jerked my head towards my slip. Then I set down my partial beer and wandered back to my boat without even glancing at Isla.

As soon as I boarded, I ripped off my shirt, pulled everything out of the pockets of my swim trunks, and dove off the back of the boat. No, this wasn’t the safest place to decide to swim, but I needed to cool down after sitting in the sun on the yacht. And as long as I stayed close to the back of the boats, I should be safe from boats entering the marina.

I’d swum a few laps back and forth from one end of our row of docks to day dock and back. Climbing onto the back of the boat, I realized I hadn’t exactly worked out all my tension. Time to pull out the big guns. Or in this case, time to sail. I checked the engine and added gasoline. Then I checked the weather. Finding it pretty perfect for an evening sail, I untied from the dock, wound up all the ropes, pulled in the bumpers, and began backing out of the slip, mindful of the current.

Soon, I was driving out of the marina and into the main channel where I could unfurl my main and my jib. I loved watching them fill with wind, loved the sound, the way it felt when I caught it and ran on wind power alone. This was my happy. This was relaxing. I could actually feel the tension melting away.

“Shit! We’re moving!”

I stiffened. It couldn’t be. I glanced down below. “Oh goody. A stowaway. You’re determined to get me fired, aren’t you?” I grumbled as she made her way up the ladder.

“Listen, I came aboard…”

“You’re supposed to ask permission.” I glared at her, which was a bit of challenge since she looked so damn cute.

“Oh, like you asked permission when you boarded the yacht?” she countered, her hands on her hips, until she started to fall backwards off the ladder and caught herself.

“I asked permission. You had on the earphones and didn’t hear me. Completely different.” I huffed. “Or I would’ve asked permission if you’d have responded when I called your name,” I muttered under my breath.

“Okay, so maybe I didn’t want to give you a chance to say no to me.” Isla pouted.

“Listen, little sister, I’ve done nothing but say no to you since we’ve known each other,” I reminded her.

Isla tilted her head. “You know what? You’re right.”

“Holy shit.” I grabbed at my chest.

“What?” Her eyes widened in alarm.

I smirked. “You admitted you were wrong.”

She shook her head, her lips twitching playfully. “I did no such thing.”

“You said I was right!” I reminded her.

“Yes, but does that necessarily make me wrong?” She stared at me innocently and I wanted to get lost in those eyes.

I shook my head, determined to focus. “Are you trying to fuck with my mind?” I cringed. I’d just sworn in front of a lady.

“Not at all, but if you wanted to fuck my body, I’m all in, sexy.” Isla batted her eyelashes at me.

With her acting like this, I had no idea whether or not to take her seriously, but for the first time in forever, I wanted a woman. And I hadn’t wanted anyone for longer than I could remember. I stared at her a moment, unsure of what to say next.

“Are you at least considering it?” she murmured shyly.

I sensed I might have actually wounded her ego. “I’m more than considering it,” I replied. “In fact, I’d actually take you up on it if I didn’t think Max would castrate me.”