Her hands drifted over the stainless steel tanks before she checked a couple gauges, then moved on to test levers and run vents, all the things that went along with her job. “We’re just doing a practice run tomorrow to sort out any possible kinks?”
He’d wanted to just get out on open water, but they weren’t on a real schedule, so he could be flexible. Nodding, he asked, “So what do you think? Did I do okay?”
“You have a gorgeous vessel here, Oliver.” Molly grinned and he felt himself returning it.
“I knew you’d fall in love with my big vessel,” he teased.
Shaking her head, she warned, “I hope my sleeping quarters measure up or I’m going to demand repayment like the Hardwicks did before Captain Kilmartin kicked them off the boat.”
Oliver groaned, shutting the engine room door before following her back across the aft deck and to the guests’ quarters. “I’d blocked those people out, but what a nightmare. I’m so glad our chartering days are behind us.”
“Same,” Molly confirmed as they entered the main saloon again.
“It’s just you and me this time,” he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Molly rolled her eyes, but stopped short in the middle of the saloon, doing a three-sixty turn of the open space. “You just poured money into this thing, didn’t you?”
She ran her hands over the polished cherry bar and he bit the inside of his lip. That was a thing he hadn’t forgotten about Molly Madix, how tactile a person she was. She made a living working with her hands and loved touching things, feeling the way they moved, the way they worked. As a result he felt every brush of her fingers as she worked her way around the space from the leather couches that anchored each side of the room to the polished cherry bar stocked with all manner of bad liquid decisions.
“I poured a good amount,” he acknowledged. It wasn’t a dent in his net worth, but he’d wanted to make the boat special and he thought he’d done a good job of it. Over the two years he’d spent restoring it, he’d emailed Molly a handful of times about the engine, so when the time came for him to sail, he’d wanted her with him. And if that time happened to be on the heels of her ditching some ball-less fiancé, even better.
Finally, she grinned at him hugely, wide and open and Molly. “Definitely worth it.”
He grinned back, not able to help it. Everything just felt right around Molly. “You ready to see your room?”
“I don’t get my pick?” she asked, raising a playful eyebrow.
“Of course you can pick another one if you want an inferior room.” She shook her head at him before following him down the hallway to the first guest room. All the guest rooms were on the main floor, two on either side of the hallway with the master suite at the end. “You might also want to consider that they’re identical.”
Entering the first room, Molly sighed as she took in the pale blue duvet and dark cherry furnishings. He hadn’t been super involved in the guest room decor, leaving it mostly to a trained designer, but he’d approved the final product. The first two bedrooms in the hallway were identical and had two full-size beds on either wall, their own bathroom, and automatic toilets, faucets, and voice command blackout shades for when the nights in the Caribbean got a little out of hand. The rooms had everything a guest might need, but just in case they didn’t, the crew were there to provide any request imaginable.
When they got to the one he’d chosen for her, fresh hydrangeas and happy daisies (because he knew she liked them) sat in an etched crystal vase on the dresser while a basket of expensive lotions and soaps waited for her in a foil-wrapped gift box on the bathroom counter. A large television was mounted on the wall and a hidden mini fridge was set into a small writing desk stocked with the artisanal liquor from a small spirits company he’d recently invested in. He’d had it delivered to the boat yesterday before he’d arrived, along with the plush robe hanging in the closet that was embroidered with her initials in green.
Molly let the fridge door close and met his eyes. “You’re right, I’ll keep this one.”
He just shook his head. “The crew will unpack your stuff. Let’s go up to the sky deck and we can start on the provisioning.”
“Can I not see the master suite?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“My apologies, Ms. Madix,” he drawled, holding his hand out for her to precede him down the hallway. “For not giving you a full tour.”
“Forgiven, of course.” She smiled. “But it does make me think you’re hiding something in there. Did you bring a lady friend?”
Oliver raised a brow. “No.” Then he opened the door and Molly inhaled audibly.
“Whoa,” she breathed, her eyes darting around the room, taking in every inch of the space. The bed was raised up a step with an espresso leather headboard; pristine white carpet and mirrored ceilings enhanced the bright light shining in from the wall of windows that curved around the entire room. In a sitting area off to the side, a window seat was carved into the wall with fitted cushions for reading in front of a built-in bookshelf the same espresso color as his bed. The same pale blue duvet as the guest rooms was spread out over the king mattress, while the bathroom in all white marble felt modern and decadent.
She sat down on the window seat, her fingers running over the chocolate velvet cushion, and awareness prickled the base of his neck. Molly was beautiful and he wanted her, but it’d only been a month since her breakup; it would be a real douchebag move to go for it with her so soon, but it didn’t mean the thought hadn’t crossed
