She opened her mouth, then closed it again. He was right. She wanted to be with him, and she didn’t like the idea of running away. So their lives were very different, and she couldn’t live in his fishbowl world, but they could still catch up. Have this time together.
“Okay,” she said before she could change her mind.
Clear approval flashed in his eyes, and his smile broke down the last of her defenses. “Good. Then let’s go.”
They climbed into his car and drove to the marina, where a security guard in a guardhouse checked them in. Grey parked his car in a private lot. They climbed out, and he led her to the dock, where huge yachts bobbed in the water, gorgeous in look, intimidating in size. A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, a reminder that a storm was imminent. Or not. In Florida you could never be certain what the weather would be one minute to the next.
With his hand on the small of her back and tremors of awareness rippling through her body, they walked to the end of the dock.
He stopped in front of a white yacht with red trim, The Lola scripted along the side. “This is it.”
“Wow,” she said, taking in the gorgeous boat. Yacht. Whatever she called it, it was a beauty.
“Yeah. You’re going to love the inside of Lola and Rep’s baby. I’m not up on terminology, so I’ll just say welcome aboard,” Grey said as he pulled off his shoes.
She did the same, and soon she found herself on a deck with beautiful wood furniture, topped by cushions with a red-and-white-chevron pattern. Lola clearly loved red, she mused.
She glanced around, her gaze coming to rest on a bucket of champagne in ice waiting for them. “They set this up so quickly?”
“Told you. Full-service crew, who you’ll never see unless you want to.” Grey gestured to a love seat, where they could sit side by side.
She lowered herself into the soft cushion. He joined her, his hard thigh touching hers, and an electrical shock jolted her system. Her body flushed with heat, her nipples tightened, and she bit back a sigh of pleasure. Not quite fast enough, because his eyes darkened at the sound that escaped.
He tore his gaze away, and with expertise, he opened the champagne and poured them each a glass.
“Thanks.” She accepted hers, grateful for something to do with her hands.
“To new beginnings.” He touched his glass to hers.
“To old friends,” she said.
He narrowed his gaze, clearly aware of her attempt to put distance between them. Still watching her, he took a long sip.
She followed suit and moaned at the bubbly taste.
His gaze heated up at the sound, and she just knew a heated blush stained her cheeks. “I always was a sucker for champagne,” she murmured.
“I remember. You were a lightweight too.”
She shrugged. “I still am.” It didn’t take much alcohol to give her a buzz.
He placed his glass down on the table in front of them. She preferred to hold on to hers for security. Now that she was alone with him, butterflies had taken up residence in her stomach.
“I needed this. Needed to be alone with you.” He reached out and wrapped a section of her hair around his finger and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the strands.
She felt the caress between her thighs, arousal and need alive and well inside her, an ache only Grey seemed capable of creating. “I’m glad we’re here too.”
“Could have fooled me,” he said in a gruff voice. “You tried damned hard to get out of it.”
He looked and sounded like a hurt little boy, and she couldn’t have that. “My rational side reminds me of how different we are.” She met his gaze, needing him to understand. “But I do want this time with you now, to catch up and get to know each other again.” But that’s all she’d admit to wanting, Avery thought.
“Good, because I want the same thing.” He eased closer, his arm snaking around behind her, the closeness and warmth of his body arousing her in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Or maybe ever.
He took the glass out of her hands and placed it on the table. “I’ve moved here for good.”
His words took her off guard. “I thought for sure you’d end up back in L.A.”
He shook his head. “Not happening. I’m here to stay. And since I am, I think we should move on to other things,” he said, the sexual innuendo in his tone clear.