When I’ve got everything put together, I tap out an order to Cherry Pie Pizza and finally make my way back to Captain Jack’s boat. If I do this right, I’ve got the perfect night planned for my Adalee and me.
Chapter 5
Adalee
I’m just waiting for Amethyst, my most reliable employee, to arrive to take over the late shift. On weekends, the Ferris wheel runs as long as the amusement park stays open, which is midnight. Amethyst’s main job is to take photographs of people riding the wheel. The Ferris wheel mainly runs itself, but I always need someone there to make sure everything is running smoothly and safely, and Amethyst has been a quick learner in that respect. At first, I worried about her manning the wheel on her own. She’s petite and very pretty, and lots of male tourists would linger and stare at her when I first took her on. Lately, though, her much-older boyfriend, a guy everyone calls “Big,” has been hanging around. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but as long as he keeps Amethyst safe while I’m not around, I’m good with that.
In the hour since Tony and Tiny left, I had a heart-to-heart with myself, with the help of some of my favorite love songs.
Tony is right. I have to tell Hudson how I feel.
The dream I had this morning was not a fluke.
When Hudson shows up to pick me up, he bowls me over with a great big bear hug that lifts my feet off the ground.
My heart doubles in size at the feeling of being wrapped up in him. I inhale the scent of his button-up shirt deeply.
“Wait a minute,” I say, laughing as I step back. I look up and down at the blue oxford shirt, chinos, boat shoes.
“Are you running for office? What is happening with this outfit?”
He laughs and runs a hand over his face, and that is when I notice even his hair is combed.
“I have a surprise for you. I grabbed an overnight bag for you. I hope you don’t mind.”
I’m blown away. He’s the only person I trust to pack an overnight bag for me, so I’m not even mad about it. Not only am I not annoyed, I’m shocked and thrilled. He’s taking me somewhere overnight! I can’t believe this. Is this actually happening? Are we going to have a talk? Is he going to initiate it? Does he feel the same way?
All the things I felt when he hugged me told me my feelings are reciprocated. He squeezed me longer than usual. The noise he expelled was a mixture of comfort and longing, like a groan mixed with a sigh. And the rigidness I’d felt digging into my hip when he picked me up could not be denied either.
Dumbly, I say, “Should I leave my car here and follow you, or?”
“Ride with me. I want to tell you the news on our way to the thing.”
“The thing?” I quirk an eyebrow skeptically.
“That’s all I’m going to say! Don’t make me spoil it!”
I tease him, “What has gotten into you?”
But I know the answer to that. What has gotten into Hudson is the same thing that has gotten into me. Extreme feelings that reach way beyond friendship.
I pile into Hudson’s woody station wagon, and we head to the marina.
“Aren’t you sick of this place? You’ve been at work all day,” I tease. “I know full well he lives here in his own boat, but with the way he’s dressed up, I’d assumed we’d be going somewhere other than his usual hideaway.
“I have news. I’ve been offered a job over the summer in the Keys, chartering a fishing boat.”
I’m both thrilled and over the moon for him. I reach over and squeeze his hand while he drives up the coastline.
But a part of me is selfishly sad.
“That is amazing, Hudson! I’m so proud of you!”
He laughs, “I did nothing to earn it. Captain Jack just picked me out and asked me. I think he just needs a warm body.”
I scoff, “Fiddlesticks!”
He laughs at my corny exclamations.
“No, really. You work hard, you treat your employees and clients well. I’m sure he noticed you because of that.”
Hudson smiles and grips the wheel, a mischievous smile and a twinkle in his eye.
“I’m so lucky to have someone like you who believes in me, Adalee.”
Hudson never calls me by my actual name. It’s always my last name, French. Or his nickname for me, Frenchie.
He says my name softly like a love song, and it’s music to my ears.
“Of course, I believe in you,” I say as he parks at the marina.
We exit the woody, and he carries my overnight bag for me with one hand and reaches out to hold my hand with his other hand.
My stomach does the second backflip of the day. On any other night, I know he’d be holding on to me to keep me steady on this sometimes-rickety dock, but this feels different. Everything feels different tonight.
As we approach Captain Jack’s boat, I see the moon above the water. In the distance, pleasure boats with their tiny red lights blinking are scattered across the horizon. It’s a peaceful night, and the waves lap gently against the dock and the line of sailboats.
“You know I get seasick. I hope you’re not planning on taking me on a cruise,” I say.
Hudson laughs and squeezes my hand. “You know I would never spring that on you.”
Appreciation floods me. He knows me so well and would never try to push me to get used to the water unless it was something I really wanted to do.
“I’m still not sure what we’re doing here,” I say.
When we reached the massive yacht at the end of the pier, he guides me across the gangway.
“What are we doing here? Are we allowed?”
Hudson explains that the captain gave him free access to the boat for tonight to see if he would like it.
“If I say yes, we leave in a week,
