LITMIR.BIZ

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from the dock.”

      It wasn’t a bad deal, Annie thought to herself. She was confident in her abilities as a sailor. And it would be nice to have some help in the shakedown phase, since there would probably be more than enough work for the two of them.

      “All right,” she said.

      “We’ve come to an agreement?”

      Annie nodded.

      Gabe grinned. “All right, then.” He glanced around the room. “Is there anything you need help with? I can give you a hand with the picnic. Or maybe put these boxes away.”

      “No, I’m fine.”

      Gabe reached out and took her hands in his, giving her fingers a squeeze. “There’s nothing wrong with asking for a little help now and then.” He slowly drew her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of her wrist.

      Annie held her breath as a rush of warmth snaked up her arm. His dark hair had fallen across his brow, and she reached out and brushed it from his eyes. She could feel her heart beating in her chest as they stared at each other for a long moment.

      “I should probably go take a look at that apartment,” he murmured.

      “Yes, you should,” she said, letting her fingers drift down his temple and cheek.

      Gabe turned into her touch and she froze, her fingers splayed on his jaw. Slowly, he bent forward and Annie knew that he wanted to kiss her. But after the last time, would he stop himself? Or would he give in to his impulse?

      In the end, Annie decided to take things into her own hands. Pushing up on her toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long, delicious kiss. It had been over a year since she’d kissed a man with any type of passion. Her first kiss with Gabe had been so sudden she hadn’t had a chance to figure out what it was all about.

      But this kiss was different. She’d show him exactly who was in charge here. She made all the decisions in her life, including when to kiss him. Annie hadn’t intended to let the kiss go on as long as it had, but now that they were well into it, she wasn’t sure how to bring it to a graceful end.

      Gabe’s hands drifted down from her waist to her hips, and he held her there as he pressed her back against the doorjamb. Her body had gone from pleasantly warm to alarmingly ablaze in just a few seconds. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and her knees felt like they were about to collapse beneath her.

      “I should probably go,” he whispered, his lips warm against her neck.

      “You should,” she said.

      He leaned into her, his hips meeting hers in a provocative dance. “I’m going to go.”

      “Yes,” Annie said. “Goodbye.”

      His tongue tangled with hers, leaving her lips damp with the taste of him. “Bye,” he said.

      Gabe lingered for a few minutes longer before he finally stepped away. His gaze searched her face, and Annie managed a coy smile. Though they’d both talked of friendship, it was becoming more than obvious that there was something more happening between them.

      She drew a deep breath and waited for the guilt to assail her. But the only feeling she could manage was breathless anticipation. She liked kissing him and guessed that he felt the same way. And she enjoyed running those moments over and over again in her head.

      In truth, she’d been spending far too much time thinking about Gabe and his handsome face and sexy mouth and killer body. There was definitely an attraction between them, Annie couldn’t deny that any longer. So what had changed? Where had the guilt gone? Was it being overwhelmed by the excitement of the moment? Would it suddenly reappear and make her feel even worse for the thoughts that ran through her head?

      Maybe if she spent a little more time kissing him, she’d be able to figure it all out.

      * * *

      GABE STOOD AT the end of the pier, staring out at the cluster of J-22s maneuvering around a buoy a half mile away. The wind was brisk but warm, and the bay had a scent that was so familiar to his senses that it brought memories swirling forth in his mind.

      As a kid, he’d worked his father’s lobster boat and was well-acquainted with waters off the coast of Maine. But the Chesapeake was different, a spot where freshwater and salt water met. The shoreline was gentle and rolling with thick forests, so different from the rocky coastline of Maine.

      A small motorboat ran alongside the sailboat race, and he could make out Annie behind the wheel. She was shouting instructions to the race participants as they tacked back and forth against the wind.

      The more he got to know her, the more he found to admire. Everything she did, she did at one hundred percent, throwing herself headfirst into life as if she’d learned to appreciate every day.

      It wasn’t surprising, considering the loss she’d experienced. She thought her life had been perfectly planned ahead of her. It was impossible to fathom a future without her husband, so she’d never even considered it a possibility.

      He’d only seen the marriage from one side, and he hadn’t always liked it. But now Gabe was beginning to understand the other side, the fierce loyalty that Annie had toward Erik, the unconditional love that made it impossible for her to accept his passing.

      It had been over a year since they’d shared that first kiss, and for the first time Gabe was hopeful that she was ready to move on with her life. Last weekend, she’d actually kissed him, and in the intervening days, Gabe had decided that her actions had been a definite sign. The attraction between them wasn’t just one-sided.

      In truth, he’d tried to keep things purely platonic, not willing to risk losing her over some silly torch he’d been carrying. But now things had shifted between them and he had cause to hope that there might be something more in their future. Sure, she’d been adamant about rejecting a man in the military. But could her views on that be softening?

      He watched as the small motorboat split away from the sailboats and headed toward the dock. As she approached, he kept his eyes fixed on her, watching as her pale hair whipped around her face in the breeze.

      She deftly pulled the vintage boat up to the dock and tossed him a line. “Get in. I’ll take you for a ride.”

      “Don’t you have to watch your students?”

      “There’s a counselor with each boat. They’ll bring them in after the race.”

      He jumped in beside her, the line in his hand. “This is a really nice boat. You don’t see too many of these anymore.”

      “My dad restored it. It’s great for waterskiing.” She pulled away from the dock and thrust the throttle forward. In a few seconds, they were skimming across the smooth surface of the bay, a soft spray coming up from the bow.

      He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face. Gabe felt the boat veer to the left, and he opened his eyes and saw them approaching a spot on the shore. “Where are we going?” he asked.

      “I wanted to show you something,” she said. “When I was a kid, we used to come out here and play. It was like our own fortress. Take the line and go up on the bow. I’ll pull it in close, and just hop out and tie us to a tree.”

      Gabe did as he was told. When the boat was secure, he held out his hand and helped Annie out. She started into the woods and he followed, wondering what she could possibly have to show him. Before long, they were hiking on a well-worn path, and up ahead he could see sunlight shining through the trees.

      Birds sang overhead and the sound of the breeze ruffling the trees provided a pleasant counterpoint. A few seconds later they stepped into a clearing. Shafts of sunlight illuminated an abandoned stone church, the roof long ago caved in and the windows gone.

      “Wow,” he said, stepping inside the front doorway. Wildflowers grew up from where the floor used to be, and a rabbit skittered through the lush greenery.

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