Page 51 of Forbidden Kisses
Grace and Jack stood.
“Would this one win the tournament for us next weekend? If we caught it next Saturday?”
Noah looked at Jack, then the two men started to laugh.
“She really has no idea, does she?” Noah asked playfully, all for her benefit.
“Not a clue,” Jack confirmed. “This is a minnow compared to what we need to win next weekend,” Jack told her.
Grace looked at the fish that must’ve been at least four feet long and seventy-five pounds. It didn’t look anything like a minnow to her.
“Don’t worry, sis. By next weekend, you’ll be seasoned.”
After putting the fish on ice and setting the rig again for the next big fish, Grace walked to the back of the boat where Jack was standing alone, looking out at the water behind them.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He glanced over his shoulder.
“Can I join you?”
“Of course.” Jack gestured beside him.
“It’s nice.” Another cheap word. “I can see why you guys love it.”
“Yeah.” He wore mirrored sunglasses, hiding those micro movements around his eyes that usually told her so much.
“You sure you want to give this up?” she asked, knowing that she shouldn’t. She didn’t want to ruin the moment, but if she was right, he was already thinking what she was saying.
Jack sucked in a long breath, keeping his eyes forward. “Honestly, no. I thought I did, but experiencing that first catch with you brought back a lot of memories. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”
“I can’t even imagine. The fish must’ve been bigger than you were.”
“Sometimes.” A grin spread across his face. “And there was a time that I’d begged Dad to toss them back, insisting that they needed to return to their families.”
Grace laughed along with him. “Truthfully, I had to resist saying that when we brought that one aboard.”
Jack turned to her. “Good thing. Sam and Noah might’ve made you walk the plank for saying that.”
“There’s a plank?”
“Oh yeah. You didn’t know?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. Are you going to tell me you guys are all pirates, too?”
“Arghh.”
Grace leaned in to him. She didn’t have any wise counsel for him, but she wanted him to know she understood, as much as she could without having walked in his shoes.
“Maybe I don’t have to give up fishing. Maybe it just doesn’t have to be my entire life anymore. I’m excited about this new business. More excited about it than I’ve been about anything in a long time—until you, at least.”
“Me?”
Jack looked at her again. “I’m excited about you, too. That feeling when we dragged the fish on board doesn’t even compare to how I feel every time you walk into the room.”
Grace’s breath caught in her chest.Oh, God, she wanted to kiss him right now. Wanted it nearly as much as she wanted her next breath.
Leaning in, Jack read her mind and kissed her.
