"Are you okay?" Ethan inquired.
"Just the wind," she said as she wiped at her eyes.
She wasn't expecting it when his hand slid into hers. The tears burned their way up her throat, but she managed to keep these from spilling as she wrapped her hand around his large, strong one. He was so powerful and self-assured, she thought he could take on anything and anyone. He would protect her. She had no reason to believe such a thing, but she couldn't shake the certainty of it as she refocused her attention on the vast sea.
Ethan studied her profile as she focused on the water again. The flowing black cover-up she wore brought out the blonde in her hair and made her eyes appear even darker. He felt like she weaved a spell over him; she entranced him.
The boat decelerated as they approached a secluded cove. Emma took in the amazing lava rock formations around them as the boat came to a stop fifty feet from shore. "This seems like a good place!" Stefan announced. Emma rose to her feet as Stefan went down below and came back with four fishing poles and a tackle box. "We can fish from the front and swim off the back."
Mandy and Jill stood, pulled off their cover-ups, and dropped them onto their chairs. "Are you going to swim, Emma?" Mandy asked.
"I'd prefer to fish." There was something enticing about just sitting there and watching her pole while soaking in the sun. She'd made sure to douse herself in sunblock before leaving the house.
"I'll join you," Ethan said as he rose to his feet and pulled off his shirt.
Emma felt like a cartoon character with its eyes popping out as, once again, she was treated to the delightful image of his bare chest with its sprinkling of hair across the carved surface.
He held his hand out and helped her to her feet when she took it. Her heart pounded with excitement and apprehension as she realized the others were all going swimming. She loved the idea of getting a chance to spend some time alone with him, but she was a conversational idiot around him. Even still, she was practically bouncing on her feet as he grabbed two poles and the tackle box before helping her maneuver to the front of the boat.
He handed her a pole and set the tackle box down. Emma popped the locks on it and began to pick through it in search of a lure. Ethan quirked an eyebrow as he watched her expertly attach the lure to the line. "I take it you've done this before."
"Once or twice," she told him with a grin.
He laughed as he dug into the tackle box and pulled out another lure. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a fisherwoman."
"I'm a little difficult to peg," she teased.
Was she flirting with him? Maybe she was only a complete moron when other people were around them. It was a pleasant thought, and it helped to ease her anxiety.
Her whole body reacted when something hot and hungry flickered through his eyes. She sucked in a breath.
"Let's hope you're not impossible," he said.
Yep, she was simply going to melt into a pile of goo or jump him; she wasn't sure which one right now. She wished she’d chosen to plunge herself into the water instead, but the ocean wouldn't be enough to cool her right now. It took all she had to break eye contact with him and cast her line out. She settled onto the edge of the boat and let her legs dangle over the side.
"Where I'm from in New York, we either fish in the summer, ride our ATV's, or sit around a bonfire," she told him as he settled beside her.
She was acutely aware of the heat of his body as the hair on his arm tickled her skin. "My siblings and I spent our time tormenting and daring each other to do some pretty crazy things," he said.
"That sounds like a lot of fun."
"It was."
Her fishing pole made a clicking noise as she reeled her line back in. "If you don't mind me asking, what does Stefan do for a living?"
He leaned a little more against her side. "Not much." Emma frowned at him before glancing questioningly around the large boat. "Family money," he said.
"So, he's not in the mob then?"
He laughed as he shook back his raven colored hair. "No, he's not in the mob."
"Jill will be relieved to know that."
The sound of his rumbling laughter caused her to smile in return. Emma couldn't remember the last time she'd been this happy as they continued talking. He told her more about his massive family and his home in Oregon. She told him more about her mother, who was a nurse, and her father who was a reporter at the local news station.
They lived a simple life, in a small home. She was loved and had a lot of friends through high school. She saw most of them when she returned home for breaks, and they all shared stories. Most of them were returning to live there when they finished college.
"Is that what you plan to do, return home and stay?" he asked as he cast his line out again.
For some reason, the question made him tense. He didn't like to think of her returning home and being so far away from him. He didn't understand where the sudden feeling came from or why it lodged so firmly inside him. He enjoyed talking to her, and the feeling of peace she brought him, but he barely knew her, and he had no investment in her life.
"I'm not sure. I love it there, I love my parents, but I also really enjoyed being away from home. Mandy and Jill asked me to go to California. Jill is from San Francisco, and Mandy is going to Stanford in the fall. They're hoping to
