Page 181 of Better When Shared
Chapter 6
Imogen
I paused at the edge of the dock, my hand shielding my eyes from the morning glare as I spotted Hamish and Makai loading supplies onto a white and blue sailing yacht.
My husband’s movements were cautious but deliberate as always, but he looked different somehow. Lighter. The stiff, anxious man I’d married seemed to have shed a layer of himself here on this island.
Hamish passed a cooler to Makai, his face pinched with worry until the handsome guide said something that made him throw his head back and laugh. The sound carried across the water, rich and unguarded in a way I rarely heard back home. Hamish didn’t laugh like that, not ever. He chuckled politely at dinner parties and occasionally snorted at something in a book, but this was different.
This was joyful.
I shifted my weight, reluctant to announce my presence. There was something almost intimate about Hamish and Makai’s rapport that made me feel like an interloper.
“Hand me that water bottle, would you?” Makai’s voice drifted to where I stood. Hamish turned to reach for it, and that’s when I saw it—his gaze dropping to Makai’s backside as the instructor bent to secure something in the cockpit. It wasn’t just a casual glance. His eyes lingered, appreciative, before he quickly looked away, his cheeks flushing.
Was my husband checking out another man’s ass?
A brief fantasy of the two gorgeous men naked together, sent heat flooding through my body, pooling at my core.
But why would I want that? I didn’t even like Makai. Sure, he was hot, but there was no way I wanted to watch him kiss my husband. Not that my husband would ever even consider kissing another man. He was as repressed as a Buckingham Palace guard.
My bag felt heavy against my hip, the weight of the book I’d purchased from a small shop in Friday Harbor burning through the canvas. I’d bought it on impulse, drawn to its premise of a woman caught between two men. I’d told myself it was research, to better understand the dynamics of the triads whose weddings I was coordinating. That was a lie.
I wanted to know what it was like.
Makai looked up, his gaze finding mine across the dock. His face broke into that infuriating, gorgeous smile. The one that seemed designed to dismantle my dislike of him.
“Wedding Lady!” he called, waving enthusiastically, as if we weren’t enemies. “Right on time!”
He nudged Hamish, who turned so quickly he nearly lost his balance. And when my husband saw me, his entire face transformed—eyes brightening, mouth curving into a smile that made him look ten years younger.
“Imogen.” He said my name like a prayer.
I made my way down the dock, self-conscious in my shorts and light blouse, wondering if I should have chosen a different outfit.
Makai extended his hand as I approached the boat, his grip strong and sure as he helped me aboard. “Welcome to the Wanderlust. I’ll get these supplies stowed below and give you two a minute to reconnect.”
He disappeared down the companionway with the cooler, leaving Hamish and me facing each other in the cockpit. The boat rocked gently beneath our feet, a physical manifestation of the unsteadiness I felt.
“You came,” Hamish said, then winced at his own obvious statement. His hands fidgeted at his sides before diving into his pockets, a nervous habit he’d had since we were teenagers.
“Of course I came. I said I would.”
“Yes, but...” He glanced down at his feet, looking for all the world like the shy sixteen-year-old who’d asked me to the equestrian club dance. “You seemed upset yesterday. About me being here and not telling you.”
I sighed. “I wasn’t upset that you showed up on the island. I was confused about why you wouldn’t want to stay with me.” I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I’ve missed you at night, Hamish. The bed feels too big without you.”
His cheeks flamed crimson, the blush spreading down his neck and disappearing beneath the collar of his polo shirt. “I didn’t want to... I mean, I thought you’d be angry if I showed up out of nowhere and barged in on your fun.” He stared at his boat shoes. “You came here to find yourself, to have space. I didn’t want to ruin that by chasing after you.”
The hesitancy and genuine concern in his voice was so quintessentially Hamish that I felt my irritation melt away. For all his stiffness and anxiety, my husband had always put my needs before his own. Even when it hurt him to do so.
“You absolute idiot,” I said with a teasing smile. “You wouldn’t have been chasing me. You were invited to come, for fuck’s sake.”
He looked up, hope dawning in his eyes. “So you’re not angry?”
“I’m annoyed you’ve been here for days without telling me.” I stepped closer, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body. “But mostly I’m glad you’re here and that I get to spend time with you. I do love you, you know.”
I pressed myself against him, wrapping my arms around his waist. The familiar planes of his chest met mine, solid and reassuring as he’d always been. I moaned softly at the contact, surprised by the intensity of my response. Maybe spending a little time apart had done us good.
