Chapter Sixteen

Lola

Having lunch with Perry may just be my new favorite thing. I smile to myself as we wash the dishes together; we've come a long way since the day we first met when he tried to ignore me at the diner. If things didn't still feel so tentative between us, I might bring it up. But I don't want to risk ruining our newfound camaraderie.

"I bet it feels good to have the day off and not have to cart around annoying archeologists all day," I tell him after handing him the last dish and shutting off the water.

He lifts one shoulder as he swipes the dry cloth over the dish's surface. "You guys aren't that bad."

I melt a little at the way his mouth twitches upward in the beginnings of a smile. I shouldn't cling to such a paltry, barely-there compliment, but I do anyway. Because this is Perry. Each and every word the man says holds meaning, whether he'd like you to believe it or not.

"So in Perry speak," I say, angling toward him with what I hope is a flirty smile, "that must mean that you like us."

He grunts a reply as he puts the dish in the cupboard. "You'd think that, wouldn't you?"

"Of course. Believe it or not, I'm learning how to read you, Mr. Ford."

His eyes narrow the slightest bit as he assesses me. The way his gaze flicks over my entire person has me squirming where I stand. "You sure about that?" It might be my imagination, but it almost feels like he sways toward me a bit. Leans in, even. "Maybe you're just seeing what you want to see."

For a brief moment, I second-guess myself. Have I read the situation wrong? Then his mouth does that twitchy thing again where his beard dips into one of his hidden dimples.

"Nope," I say with confidence. "You like us. In fact, I think you're going to miss us when we're gone." I'm totally joking about the missing us part, but with the way his body stiffens at the mention of it, I wonder if maybe deep down he will miss us after the investigation is over. I open my mouth to say as much when he pipes in.

"Did the soup make you feel better?"

Heat floods my cheeks, and I shift my weight to one foot. "Um, I wasn't actually sick." Peeking up at him from under my lashes, I add, "But the soup was still really good, and I'm very thankful you stayed for lunch. I think the conversation and company worked wonders."

His lips stretch into a closed-mouth grin that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners. "In that case, would you like to get out of here and have some fun today?"

I'm so stunned by his offer that my mouth pops open like I'm a fish.

"I just thought that since you rarely get a day off during the week, you'd like to visit some little-known places in Willow Cove. Places only the locals are aware of."

I bite my lip to restrain the elated smile that threatens to break free. "I would love that. If you're not too busy."

Again, he shrugs like it's no big deal. "Nah, not today. No annoying archeologists to cart around." At that, his grin widens, and so does mine.

"Perfect. Let's go."

When Perry suggested we trek to a small island off Willow Cove's shore, my heart nearly skipped away from me. Honestly, though, what has gotten into the man? He went from barely tolerating me to ferrying me around on his only day off.

A large, affection-starved part of me wants to read into his actions big time . But that won't get me anywhere. Haven't I already learned that lesson the hard way? I took to heart everything that Hal did for me, thinking that one day, we'd walk down the aisle together and say, "I do."

Yet I'd clearly read into it all.

Hal even told me as much during his hour-long monologue about how " We just want different things in life, and I can tell you're reading more into our connection than what's actually there."

I was humiliated, to say the least, but the people pleaser in me couldn't bring myself to get up and walk out on him. So there I sat, taking in everything he said to me. I nodded and smiled and pretended to understand why we were breaking up.

Looking back, I can see that he was right. We do want different things out of life. But the difference between him and me is that had I known the truth before then, like he obviously did, I never would've led him on. And that's what he did. Led me on and made me feel things just for sport. Maybe he didn't want to be alone or maybe he genuinely enjoyed my company…until he didn't.

Either way, I'll never know because I'll never ask. I moved on, and so did he.

But after that situation, Perry better believe I will not be reading into anything he does with me or for me. In fact, I'll downplay it.

Yep. That's right.

This is me downplaying that he offered to spend the day with me outside of work. I will not focus on how corded his forearms are as he unties the rope from his boat and tosses it onto the dock. I will not read into the fact that he twists toward me with a small smile, then motions me forward and asks me if I want to learn how to drive the boat.

"Wait, what?"

Perry points at the steering wheel. "I asked if you'd like to learn how to drive it. Unless you already know how? I guess someone who spends as much time as you do on boats may already know. I just thought you might like—"

"No! I don't, actually. I would really like you to teach me." Too eager? Probably. But sparkling starfish, Mr. Grumpy Pants just offered to teach me how to drive his boat. He's willingly putting his most prized possession into my less than capable hands.

"I mean," I start again, tamping down my obvious excitement. "I'd love to learn. If you're okay with me inevitably messing something up."

He waves me over with one hand. "You won't mess up. I'll make sure of it."

"Okayyy." I make a face to tease him, but he just shakes his head.

"First things first," he says as I sidle up next to him. "Hit this button to clear any fumes from the bilge." I nod and do as he says as a loud gurgle sounds from beneath us. "Now you have to turn it on."

"Sounds easy enough."

He taps the key sticking out of the ignition. "Just turn the key until the engine sputters."

I do as he instructs, and when the engine roars to life, I drop my hands.

"Good. Now, put one hand on the wheel, and put the other on the transmission lever to reverse it."

"Just like a car." I smile up at him, a little surprised when he chuckles good-naturedly.

"Exactly. We're going to back out, then head out of the channel."

I do as he instructs, and soon, we're moving backward. When I peek over my shoulder to make sure I'm not running over any other unsuspecting boats, he says, "Don't worry, I won't let you hit anything."

"That's a relief." I laugh and do my best to focus on getting this thing out into open water. "You'd like me even less if I did. Then all this progress we've made today would be for nothing."

As soon as the words are out of my mouth, heat rushes to my cheeks. When Perry remains silent for way too long, even after he moves my hand to the throttle and we sail forward, I wish I could take them back.

"I could never dislike you, Lola."

His soft-spoken statement, tinged with hints of obvious affection, surprises me enough that a new kind of heat licks up my neck. Duh, of course he likes me. He spent the afternoon with me. We ate an actual meal together. Then he invited me onto his boat.

Willingly.

"Not so far to the right." Perry's deep voice rumbles at my back as his hand covers mine over the steering wheel. His warm, calloused palm scrapes against my skin, and I can't tell if it's from his body heat or something more, but soothing warmth spreads from where he's touching me. Then his chest hits my back, and my eyes almost bug out of my head.

"Like this," he croons, nice and low as his other hand comes over my left one. All the oxygen leaves my lungs. Perry's never been this close to me before, aside from the whole bat incident. But right now, he's close enough for me to breathe in his salty masculine scent. It's a unique mixture that makes me think of teak and leather and hot summer nights spent on the beach.

"See those lights right here?" he asks, pointing to the two posts on either side of the channel. "At night these two posts light up, so anyone making their way back to the harbor can't miss ‘em."

I nod, doing my best to focus on his words when my entire body is lit up from within at his nearness. Before he moves away and this moment ends, I close my eyes and lean into him, just enough to feel all of him against all of me. His breath catches, then he drops his hands.

"You're doing great."

I silently curse my stupid self while I turn and give him a confident smile. "Thanks. Never driven a boat before, but I have driven a 2001 Cadillac Escalade, so…you know. Same thing."

Perry's responding laugh eases some of the tension from before, and he moves to my left so he can direct me where to go. We're out of the channel in no time.

"I'm so excited to see whatever it is you're about to show me on this island."

Perry's mouth hitches upward. "Yeah. Me too." I desperately want to beg him to tell me what we'll be doing, but I'll be sunburnt to bits before I ruin his excitement.

"Coop thinks he's the only one who knows about this place, but King told me about it a few years ago," Perry says as we trek through an overgrown pathway on Cocoa Island.

"Ooh, so it's a secret spot? Intriguing."

Perry's lips twitch as he leads me toward this secret spot . Soon, we're trudging through thicker brush. The humidity clings to my skin, sweat dripping into my eyes.

"Feels like it might rain soon," Perry says.

"I'd be glad for that." Bertie trots along beside us, panting like she'd ready for a rest herself.

"All right," he huffs after another few steps. "We're here." He pulls aside a few low-hanging tree branches to reveal glistening turquoise water that ripples in the slight breeze.

I stop and take it all in as soon as I reach his side. "This is…" Words truly fail me. He took me to a secluded lagoon. The perfect place for a romantic tryst. A fantastical part of my brain wants to cling to that fact. But we're not reading into things, remember?

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" A hint of cockiness bleeds into his voice as his gaze slides my way.

"Yes, actually. It's beautiful."

Perry heads for the water, and I follow, eager to dip my toes into the crystalline pool. "Please tell me you brought me here to go swimming," I say, already kicking off my shoes.

Perry's deep chuckle sends a zing of heat through me when he leans in my vicinity. "Of course. Why else?"

I could read into the flirty tone he's using but decide against it. Instead, I unhook my overalls and say. "Great, let's do this."

An hour later, we're soaked and laughing as we trek back toward his boat. "Ah, boy. I think I needed that."

Perry surprises me by saying, "Yeah. Me too."

Comfortable silence settles over us as we walk side by side with Bertie at our heels. "So." Perry bumps his elbow against mine. "What do you say? Was it worth the trip?"

I beam up at him, unable to hide even a speck of my delight. "So worth it. Thank you for this. It was…magical."

"You're welcome." We hold each other's gaze for what feels like minutes when Perry finally clears his throat. "Well, we'd better take off. Don't want to get you back too late."

I nod, already wishing our time together didn't have to end so soon.