Page 53 of Sweet Love at Bayside
He touched his lips to hers again. “It’s okay.”
“But your father, and—”
“I know. I’m okay.” He told her about going on the boat with Drake when it was docked the other night, and how they’d talked about their father for two solid hours. They’d laughed and they’d cried, and by the time he’d gone to see Desiree that night, he’d known what he needed—and more importantly, what he wanted.
“I never had a reason to stop running and face what’s kept me from doing the one thing my father loved most. Until you.”
She opened her mouth, but as had happened so often with them, no words were necessary.
“Come on, baby.” He helped her onto the boat. “Let’s make your dream come true.”
Half an hour later they were moving swiftly through the water, the land fading into the distance. Rick waited for the awful feelings to drag him under, but all that came was the soothing sounds of the sea washing against the boat, the rustling, slow swish of the sails, and his father’s voice in the wind.
Hear that, Ricky? That’s pure bliss, right there.
The sun kissed the horizon, and dozens of shades of orange, yellow, and red bloomed over the dark water. Rick gathered Desiree close, filled with a sense of peace and belonging that had been missing in his life for a very long time. He gazed into her eyes. He couldn’t imagine going a day without her, much less a week at a time once they left the Cape.
“I know how hard it was for you to even talk about what happened to your father. I can’t believe you actually did this for me,” she said.
“Youdid this forme, babe. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. With you, on the water. All of this.”
A while later they anchored the boat and ate dinner by moonlight. Rick pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures. She was covering her face in the first one and beaming like a princess in the next. He took a selfie of the two of them, and then another, stealing a kiss as he took it. They laughed and kissed, and he told her some of the stories his father used to make up about being a deep-sea diver and discovering treasures in far-off lands. Stories that were so outlandish, even now, as he relayed them to her, they still made him shake his head.
“There were times he’d have us in stitches, and he’d laugh so hard he couldn’t finish his story.” His gaze swept over the sea, and he realized he was no longer waiting for the demons to rise and swallow him.
“Are you okay?” Desiree caressed his cheek, and he covered her hand with his, holding it there.
“More than okay. Thanks to you.”
“And Drake,” she reminded him. It was just like her to give credit to someone else.
“Drake, this summer.Oursummer.” He held her closer, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I miss him, Des. Out here, thinking about him? I thought I’d feel torn apart. I was so afraid of drowning in his memory that I couldn’t see past the pain. But being here with you has brought all the great things about him back to life. Thank you for that.”
“I think you’ll always miss him,” she said. “That’s what love is. You ache for the people you wish you had in your life, and you ache for the ones whoarein your life.” A soft laugh escaped her lips. “We’re an achy clan. But I think this is a good ache, right?”
He laughed and kissed her through their smiles. “A very good ache, babe. The best ache ever. I met this woman on the docks one night when I tried to get on the boat a few months ago. She told me that life takes us where we need to be when we need to be there, and I think she was right. Life brought us both here at the right time. I couldn’t have handled this months or years ago. But now, with you,foryou, I feel like I’m ready to move forward.”
“I want that for you. I think your father would be so happy to know you’ve spent all this time with your family again, and doing the thing he loved so much. Do you want to say something for him? Goodbye? Something to honor his memory?”
She was so sweet, always thinking about what he needed, taking over hours at the shop without complaint when Violet failed to show up, making the grounds of her grandparents’ property gorgeous, even though she knew her mother might let it all go in a few short weeks. How did he get so lucky to have connected with the one person who could make him see the beauty in life again and feel emotions he thought were lost forever?
“I’m sailing again, and I’m with the woman I’m falling head over heels for. The woman I know my father would adore.” He pulled her closer and kissed her tenderly. “We are honoring him.”
DESIREE KNEW NOTHING about boats, but it was clear that Rick knew everything there was to know, and watching him sail them out into the sea was like seeing poetry in motion. The wind whipped through his hair, and his eyes shone brighter than she’d ever seen. He was a happy guy, but seeing him on the water made it clear that there was even more positivity and happiness inside him waiting to come out. She hoped she would be there to catch every joyful moment of it.
Rick had lowered the table in the rear of the boat and covered it with enormous cushions that extended the bench seats into a big bed. He brought blankets and pillows up from the cabin. She had no idea how many hours had passed, and she didn’t care, as they lay kissing beneath the stars. Rick’s hands moved over her body like he owned it, and he did. All of her. This amazing, strong man had conquered his greatest fear forher. Her own mother couldn’t put her first, and Rick, after knowing her only a few short weeks, made her feel like she was hiseverything. She wanted him to know she felt the exact same way.
“I meant what I said,” he told her between heated kisses. “I’m falling hard for you, baby. This is nosummerromance.”
“I know. I’m falling, too.”
She tugged up on his shirt, wanting—needing—to feel his skin against hers. Gone was the timid girl who had blushed at the very thought of sexy lingerie and dirty words. Tonight she was his in every sense of the word. She was going to be his wildest fantasies come true, and she didn’t need a dare, or a reason beyond the way her heart had come to life, to give him all of herself.
He gazed deeply into her eyes, his emotions filling the air around them with a heartbeat all its own. “I’ve been waiting for you my whole life, sweetheart. I’m not just falling for you. I’m falling in love with you.”
Chapter Sixteen
“DO YOU THINK Des will still let us come over for breakfast after you go back to DC?” Drake asked as he and Rick carried plates of crepes and fruit out to the patio of Desiree and Violet’s house, where the others were waiting.
