“Cousins? So you’re related?” Blair heard her friend utter the ridiculous question and glanced sideways to see Maggie’s please-help-me stare.
“Yep. That’s usually how it works.” Reid sipped from his beer.
Blair stifled a giggle. Her usually quick-witted friend was completely tongue-tied. The guys were taking them both by surprise.
“Is this your boat, Reid?” Blair asked.
“Nah, she’s Justyn’s. He built her himself,” Reid said as Justyn turned up the music.
“Really? You built this?” Maggie asked
Justyn leaned back in the captain’s chair, propping his feet next to the steering wheel. “Really.”
Maggie continued to study the vessel. “The craftsmanship is amazing. I’ve read all about Harkers Island boat builders. It’s passed down through the generations, right?”
“Sounds like someone’s done their homework.” Reid chuckled.
“Oh yes. I made sure to read up on the island history before we moved down here for the summer.” Maggie smiled.
“Yeah, Maggie’s practically a Harkers Island expert. You’ll have to excuse her enthusiasm,” Blair interjected.
“Is that so? Well, you’ve just met some real-life boat builders,” Reid teased.
“Are you serious?” Maggie looked astounded as she inspected the boat.
“My cousin and I started our own company a few months ago. We are now the proud owners of a luxury, custom boat business.” Reid sounded like he was giving a pitch to a roomful of investors.
“That’s incredible,” Maggie gushed.
“Try telling that to our dads,” Justyn contributed. “They weren’t too happy about us leaving the family business, but Reid lured me away with promises of millions.” He smiled as he sipped his beer.
Reid punched his cousin in the arm. “That’s all water under the bridge. Hey, I have an idea. Would y’all want to go for a cruise and see for yourselves? The books don’t really do it justice.”
Justyn retrieved his legs from their propped position. “Man, I didn’t know we were planning a cruise tonight. It’s going to be crowded out there with everyone trying to drop anchor to watch the fireworks.”
Reid shot a look over his shoulder to the Shirley Lane party, and Blair followed his gaze. Henry was parading around the corn hole players with Shirley perched atop his shoulders. She was screaming all the words to the pirate tune blaring across the beach. Things at Shirley Lane were getting rowdy.
“It’s either this or we cruise.” Reid shrugged his shoulders at his cousin. “It’s up to you—your boat.”
“All right. Let’s pull anchor. Come on.” Justyn made his way to the bow of the boat and started working the anchor free from the sand.
“Girls, go ahead and find a seat. I’m going to shove us off.
Blair turned and pulled Maggie closer to shore. “G, we don’t know these guys. Are you sure about this? Where are we going? How do we get home?”
“If you don’t want to ride, just stay here, darlin’,” Justyn called over the low rumble of the diesel engine.
Blair didn’t realize he could hear her private conversation with Maggie, and immediately blushed.
“Oh no, we’re coming with you.” Maggie grabbed Blair’s arm and pulled her onto the boat. Blair figured the jovial beer-can-tossing cousin was the reason Maggie didn’t give her another chance to back out of the invitation. “We’ve been dying to see the island from the water.”
As much as the adrenaline laced with the tiniest bit of doubt was running through Blair’s veins, there was something in the air, telling her she and Maggie were safe with these guys. Sure, they had only just met, but one look at Justyn’s eyes made her curious to know what color they actually were. S
he wouldn’t admit this out loud, but it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little more time with these hot islanders. Clearly, Shirley and JoBeth had deliberately placed them in each other’s paths tonight. She took in the determined set of Maggie’s jaw, and knew there was nothing she could do stop this cruise from happening.
Three
Blair