Page 8 of Meet Me in Tahiti

She watched as he left, an odd sense of relief filling her that he was the man in charge. “Night, Captain. I mean—Russ.”

He turned back and grinned.

She stayed at the rail for at least another minute after he disappeared below deck. Staring up at the stars, still glittering brightly, she felt the boat rocking gently in the evening breeze. A yawn escaped her, and her eyes finally felt heavy. She turned and headed back downstairs.

Chapter

Three

Russell duckedbelow deck as the last of the guests retired to their cabins, the quiet hush of night settling over theLatitudelike a soft blanket. The anchor was secure, the sails were tucked in, and Jules and Malik had everything else buttoned up tight.

He padded into his small crew cabin and shut the door behind him. The room was simple: a narrow bed, a shelf lined with paperbacks and sailing charts, a worn backpack and a carry-on sized suitcase tucked into the corner. He tossed his polo into the hamper and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his phone for a long moment before unlocking it.

One bar of service flickered in and out, a reminder that they weren’t close enough to civilization to have service. No messages. No missed calls. Just a few downloaded emails, and the saved screenshot he’d opened more than once in the past week.

The job description.

He tapped it open and stared at the familiar words again.

Lead Captain—Gulf Wind Charters.

Location: Tampa, Florida.

It was a reputable company. Well-run. Year-round contracts. A handful of sleek, mid-sized catamarans catering to wealthy couples and small groups. Competitive pay. Solid benefits. And most importantly, the job was based not far from where he used to live.

Could he really go back?

He rubbed a hand over his neck, staring past the phone screen to the wall, but what he saw was five years ago: standing in their small apartment, while Mia cried on the sofa and confessed that the baby she carried wasn’t his. That she had fallen in love with someone else. That she was sorry, but not sorry enough to go ahead with the wedding they’d been planning.

She’d married the other guy, eventually. Which, looking back, was the right thing to do, of course. Why would he want to raise another man’s child with a woman who didn’t even love him?

But it had hit him like a freight train at the time. He’d left everything behind within three weeks. The apartment. The job. The boat he’d almost bought. And he’d landed here, in paradise, where no one asked questions, and the horizon stretched endlessly in every direction.

This job had saved him. One week had turned into another, then another, and another. And he’d finally felt the distance between them. The distance he’d needed to heal.

But lately, it didn’t feel like the life he’d set out to make.

It felt like hiding. Floating. Avoiding. And he missed feeling a connection with someone special. He missed the spark. The warmth a woman could provide. The warmthhewanted to feel for someone.

And then tonight, he’d found her on deck. Tessa Reed, lit up under the moonlight, her dark hair spilling down her back, arms folded against the breeze, pale green eyes wide with wonder. She’d looked like someone trying very hard to be okay.

He recognized the effort.

And somehow, she’d made the quiet feel less empty.

It was comforting. And warm.

He exhaled and looked at the screen again.

No offer yet.

Maybe he wouldn’t get one? Maybe they’d already filled the role, and he’d never know, or at least not until they reached a bigger port again and the signal was strong enough to deliver a rejection.

Or maybe... it would be time. To stop running. To start again.

He closed his eyes and let the phone slip from his hand as the boat gently rocked him to sleep.

Tessa floatedface down in the water the next day, kicking her fins in an awkward rhythm as she followed Jenna’s neon yellow snorkel a few feet ahead. Sunlight filtered through the turquoise water, dancingover the reef below like something out of a documentary. Bright flashes of blue and green darted between coral heads, and the ocean floor pulsed with life.

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