Page 39 of The Unbound Bookshop
More than anything, he wanted to invite her into this part of his life. The part he’d had to process all on his own.
But how could he tell the woman he loved—the woman he longed to protect—that she’d played an unwitting role in his brother’s death?
Chapter 22
SAGE
Sage staredup at the obsidian sky framed by the butterfly hatch overhead. The ocean rumbled and roared, and the thick salt-slicked air hung around her like a damp curtain.Miralolled from side to side, but despite the soothing motion, she couldn’t sleep.
Her mind still reeled from her earlier conversation with Flynn. And the haunted glint in his eyes when he spoke about his brother’s bucket list.
He’d devoted ten years to completing all thirty of Kevin’s youthful ambitions. Is that why he’d left Blessings Bay? Why he’d lefther?
She’d wanted to ask him, but the words wouldn’t form past the lump of trepidation caught in her throat. What if she didn’t like his answer? What if his answer confirmed what she’d long suspected? That she simply hadn’t been enough for him. For all the years she’d craved closure, she wasn’t sure she could bear the truth.
The last item on the list flashed into her mind.Become vice president of Cahill Enterprises. Kevin had lived and breathed all things business. As kids, while she and Flynn built sandcastles for pirates and princesses, Kevin constructed Cahill Tower, a commercial skyscraper with an attached parking garage made of driftwood.
Kevin was born to be VP. But Flynn? If someone had asked her ten years ago if he’d take over the family business, she would’ve scoffed. The old Flynn Cahill wouldn’t last two seconds in a boardroom before he got bored, in the literal sense.
But now? She wasn’t so sure. For the last decade, he’d lived the life Kevin always wanted. He was wealthy, successful, and highly esteemed in the business world. But she couldn’t stifle the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with Flynn’s flawless facade. He wasn’t being true to the man God created him to be, and ten years ago, she would’ve told him exactly how she felt.
A rogue wave slapped against the hull, rockingMirato one side. Sage tumbled in the sheets, nearly toppling out of bed. She gripped the bed frame, clinging with all her might untilMirarighted herself.
Her heart racing, she maintained her tight grasp on the frame, waiting a beat for her pulse to return to its resting rate before letting go.
The wind howled, and every inch ofMiracreaked and groaned in response.
Were Flynn and Cap okay above deck?
Another wave assaultedMira’s starboard side, and Sage scrambled to secure a safe grip as the boat lilted. Did the bed have some sort of guardrail for this kind of situation?
At the thought, she wondered, once again, how Flynn and Cap were faring topside. Maybe she should invite them below deck until the waves calmed?
A vision of Flynn in his pajamas with sexy rumpled hair invaded her vivid imagination, sending her already racing pulse soaring.
Nope. Definitely a bad idea.
The howling wind settled to a low whistle, and the boat’s violent sway simmered to a slow bob.
Maybe the worst was over?
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…
Raindrops played a gentle percussion onMira’s wood siding.
Great. Just what she needed. She couldn’t leave them up there in the rain, could she?
Apprehension built in her chest. With each stumbling step she took toward the companionway, aided by the flashlight on her phone, her heart whispered a warning.
This will end in disaster.
The rain grew louder and more persistent, peltingMiraon all sides. The boys would be soaked by now.
A noise in the galley caught her attention, and she aimed the beam of light inside. A dripping-wet Flynn knelt by Cap’s side, drying him off with dish towels.
“Sorry.” Flynn winced in the harsh glare, and she tilted her phone away from his eyes. “I know we’re encroaching on enemy territory, but it’s dumping buckets up there.”
“I was just going topside to get you.” Her gaze fell to the white T-shirt plastered to his rock-solid chest. Even in the dim lighting, she could trace the outline of his contoured abs. Her cheeks heated, and she quickly averted her gaze. But not before her mouth went as dry as a sand dune.
