she wanted. He enjoyed watching the little girl stand with the wind in her face, so filled with passion for life and that live-in-the-moment joy that only kids seemed to have.
Jane was watching, too, making sure Max had a firm grip on her little girl’s life jacket. But she didn’t seem worried. Kaylee knew her way around boats and wasn’t about to do anything risky.
“I’m glad you came,” he said to Jane. “I’d have missed you.”
Jane offered a small smile. “I confess, when I thought I was staying home tonight, I felt really left out.”
“Sorry about…” He tilted his head toward Kaylee. “I know this is exactly what you don’t want to happen.”
Jane sighed. “I can’t control how she feels about you.”
“Or how I feel about her, for that matter.” At her worried look he added, “It’ll be okay, Jane.”
She nodded without much enthusiasm. “I’m sure you’re right.”
“Can I see you later?”
She shook her head. “No babysitter, remember?” She laughed. “There’s a reason you don’t date single moms.”
“You know that’s not the reason. After Kaylee goes to bed. We could sit out on the deck and just talk.”
She looked surprised. “You’d be happy with that?”
“I like talking to you. I’d be happy.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Of course, the whole time I’d be thinking about making love to you. But sex is only a part of it. I’m not that shallow, despite appearances.”
Jane blushed to the roots of her hair. “I never thought you were shallow.”
Carol appeared with two pink, icy drinks. “Here you go, strawberry daiquiris. For the lovebirds,” she added in an exaggerated whisper. Then she giggled and disappeared again.
“Did you tell her?” Max asked. It wasn’t an accusation, but he’d known since yesterday that Carol somehow knew. “It’s okay if you did. I’d rather her know the situation than speculate.”
“She knew without me telling her anything. Apparently it shows on our faces.”
“Oh.” Max supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. He always felt a little out-of-control in Jane’s presence.
“We may not be able to keep it private, you know. Lots of people have office…secrets, but everybody knows. At least, that’s what Scott once told me.”
“I don’t care, Jane.” And he realized he didn’t. “If people want to criticize me for…well, you know, they can just go right ahead.”
“But what if it hurts your business?”
“How could it?”
“Mommy!” Kaylee broke in. “Look, dolphins!”
Sure enough, a pod of dolphins swam beside the boat so close he could almost reach out and touch them. They looked like they were playing tag, jumping in and out of the water, sometimes becoming completely airborne.
“Wow!” Max was almost as excited as Kaylee. He’d never seen them so close before. “I think they’re putting on a show for us, Kaylee.”
She nodded, her eyes bright, and Max felt a lump in his throat that was becoming familiar. How could Scott have just walked away from such an amazing little person? Even as he thought this, he knew it was too late to stop the bond forming between himself and Kaylee.
Not unless he kept away from Jane altogether, and how was he going to do that? He’d been with her one time, but now she felt as essential as life itself.
JANE WAS GLAD she’d come to the party. A spectacular sunset had led into a dark, moonless night, perfect for stargazing, and Kaylee’s delight at spotting Saturn’s rings as she looked through Cooper’s big telescope had been such a pleasure to watch.
Observing her little girl interact with Max had warmed Jane’s heart, too. Although she’d been abandoned by her real father, Kaylee seemed happier than she had in months, and Max was one of the reasons.
Was it fair to keep them apart? Or would she be punishing both of them because of some nebulous fear about what might happen in the future?
She took a sip of her bottled water and gazed up at the starry sky. It was a night for lovers.
“Kaylee’s gone to sleep,” Allie said, claiming a deck chair next to Jane. “I read her a story, but she conked out after only a couple of pages. I put her in the V-berth.”
“Thanks, Allie.”
“No charge. I never realized how much I like kids until I started babysitting for Kaylee. It’s good practice for the future, too.”
Jane’s jaw dropped. “Allie, you’re not expecting, too, are you?”
Allie grinned. “Not that I know of.” She dropped her voice. “But Cooper and I decided to try. I don’t know how it will work, with the charter business and all, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Jane grasped both of her friend’s hands. “Oh, Allie, I’m so excited for you. Work should never stand in the way of having a family, if that’s what you really want.”
“Hey, if we have a kid, at least you, me and Sara can trade off babysitting.”
“It’s a definite plus, having friends who are so generous as you and Sara have been.”
“So you want to leave Kaylee here for the night?”
The possibility had never occurred to Jane, and she must have looked confused, because Allie hastened to explain.
“Cooper and I decided since it’s a late night, we would sleep on the boat like we did in the old days. We could watch Kaylee for you, too-that way you won’t have to wake her up when we get back to port.”
Jane was undeniably tempted. Not that she ever begrudged spending time with Kaylee, but she also occasionally needed grown-up time.
But then a thought occurred to her. “Did Max put you up to this?”
“Max?” Allie looked puzzled. “Why would he…” Then she gasped. “You and Max?”
Oh, hell. She’d given it away, and so easily.
“Uh…well…”
“I
“That’s not…I mean, we haven’t-”
“Cooper is going to be so happy. Now that he and Reece have discovered the joys of matrimony, they both think Max-”
“Whoa, stop right there. Slow down, Allie. I’ll admit, Max and I have become more than friends. But you can’t tell anyone. It’s touchy-he’s my boss. And Kaylee-we don’t want Kaylee to know.”
Allie looked puzzled. “Why not? The two of them are priceless together.”
“That’s just it. If they get too close and it doesn’t work out-”
“Why wouldn’t it work out?”
Jane let out an exasperated breath. “So many reasons. Neither of us want Max to become a father figure to Kaylee because we don’t want her hurt. Please, Allie, trust me on this one.”
“Okay, sweetie.” Allie gave her a hug. “But leave Kaylee with us for the night. At least take a night off for yourself. You work so hard. Have you found a place to live yet?”
“Yes, but I can’t move in until October.”
“You can stay in our spare bedroom…for as long as you need.”
Jane was so lucky to have such good friends. Sara and Carol had both offered, too. “Thanks, Allie. All right, keep Kaylee for the night.”
Allie clapped her hands. “Yes, I get to keep Flipper!”
“Be sure and lock the hatch-and take the key. She’s very good with doors and latches.”
Allie held up her hand. “I will, promise. Now, go find your guy and invite him over. He’s yours for the night.”
They reached the harbor a few minutes later. Max was helping Sara pack up the leftovers; Carol was picking up a few remaining plastic cups and empty beer cans.
“Your party was an unqualified success,” Jane said to Carol, who beamed with pride.
“I told you it would work out. And I hardly went over budget at all.”
“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later,” Max said, but his voice held more teasing than warning. It was good to see
