Page 65 of Sweet Surrender
A thrill of nervous excitement coursed through me as the small boathit the waves, taking us away from the safety of the marina. Before I knew it, our small boat was slowing down as we approached a stunning yacht anchored away from any shoreline.
The yacht had a gangway lowered, and with Nash’s help, I steppedonto it, followed by Nash, who led me onto the deck of the yacht while the speedboat pulled away.
I looked around in awe. The sleek blue and white boat wasspectacular, and I was so engrossed in taking in every little feature that I almost failed to notice another man arrive.
He was smartly dressed in a black suit with a sharp white shirt, andafter exchanging pleasantries with Nash, he asked us to follow him.
I remained in a stupor as Nash took my hand, and we followed theman to the top deck where a candlelit table was waiting for us, surrounded by twinkling fairy lights, but the masterpiece was the woman playing soft piano music at the other end of the deck.
Nash pulled out a chair for me and indicated for me to sit down whenanother waiter appeared, pouring us each a glass of red wine, and announcing dinner would be served in a few minutes.
“What do you think of the yacht?” Nash asked, taking a sip of hiswine.
“It’s beautiful,” I replied, looking around and taking in the view.Evening had fallen, and in the glow of the moon, the mountains loomed ominously, but from the safety of the boat, the sight was breathtaking. “Is it yours?”
“Mine and Fox’s, we bought it together,” he replied, looking around asif he’d never seen the view before.
“Do you and Fox do everything together?” I smiled at him, admiringthe friendship he had with Fox. It seemed like they were inseparable.
Before Nash could answer, the waiter appeared, and placed platesdown in front of us both, announcing that the starter was seared scallops with lemon butter. My mouth watered from the delicious aroma filling the air.
The waiter left, and following Nash’s lead, I picked up my knife andfork before taking a bite of the scallops. They tasted as good as they smelled.
“Fox and I do a lot together,” Nash said after he’d eaten his firstscallop. “He’s like a brother to me, just not by blood.”
“Do you have any siblings?” I asked.
It occurred to me then that I didn’t know anything about Nash. I didn’tknow if he had any brothers or sisters, I didn’t know if his parents were still alive. Hell, I didn’t even know his favorite color, and the more I realized that I didn’t know the man sitting across the table from me, the more I wanted to learn about him.
But at my question, darkness flashed in Nash’s eyes, taking a fewseconds to disappear again. I supposed it could have been a trick of the light, but with the way his body tensed, I wondered if I’d asked the wrong question.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” I added,tearing my gaze away from him.
“I don’t want there to be any secrets between us, Savannah. But mypast isn’t one I like to talk about,” he replied, his tone serious.
“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say. I certainly wasn’t going to pushhim into talking about something he didn’t want to, especially if it was about his family. I found it almost impossible to talk about my mom without bursting into tears.
Nash cleared his throat, but as he started to speak, the waiterappeared again holding the wine bottle.
“Allow me to top your wine up,” he said, refilling our glasses eventhough they were still half filled.
“Leave the bottle and give us some privacy,” Nash ordered sternly.
The waiter swallowed at the animosity in Nash’s tone before puttingthe bottle down and scurrying away. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, he was only doing his job. Before I had the chance to tell Nash that there was no need to be an ass to the waiter, he cut me off.
“I had a brother,” he said, putting his knife and fork down, the scallopsmomentarily forgotten about.
“Had?” I replied, putting my own knife and fork down.
“Had. He died ten years ago.”
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, feeling a pang of sorrow for him.
“Don’t be sorry,” Nash replied, a hint of venom in his voice. “There’sno place on this earth for people like my brother.”
I gaped at him in shock. It was evident he didn’t hold an ounce of lovefor his deceased brother, and my curiosity spiked as to why he felt that way.
Nash took another sip of his wine, this time a longer one, almost as ifhe needed the alcohol to give him courage.
