Summer Escape with the Tycoon

She nodded. “If it’s okay with Eric, I don’t mind.”

“Fine by me,” Eric said with an easy smile.

Shawn left them and Eric looked over at her as he was slipping on his life vest. “Do you want the front or back?”

Molly didn’t really know, so she shrugged. “How about we go one way up the sound and reverse it on the way back?”

“Works for me. I’ll go front first?”

“Sure.”

They got their kayak to the water’s edge, and Eric turned around. “I’m glad we’re together today.”

“Me too.”

“Molly?”

She stopped adjusting her PFD and looked up at him.

“Not just because of your nervousness, okay? I’m glad to be with you.”

It didn’t matter that last night had been as chaste as they came. Something had changed, and it took away the nerves of being on the water and replaced them with something deliciously anticipatory.

The morning passed without event; the weather was beautiful and the scenery as gorgeous as before, and they took a slightly different route along the sound. Still, other than a few seals and a ton of bald eagles, they reached the previous day’s stopping point without encountering any whales or dolphins. Paddling was more fun with two once Molly found her rhythm with Eric, and he often turned around to say something or would point toward a neat tree or a bird circling above. They carried on for nearly an hour before one of the guides indicated that something was nearby. Molly peered through her sunglasses to see, but there was nothing. As they drew closer to the group, she heard the word humpback and more excited chatter about bubbles.

“What’s going on?” she asked, knowing Eric would hear her.

“I think they’ve spotted some humpbacks,” he replied, excitement in his voice.

Molly tried to quell the nerves in her stomach. Humpbacks were way bigger than orcas, but yesterday had shown her that the biggest threat to her was her own panic. She kept her eyes trained on the place where people were pointing, glad she and Eric were in the kayak together.

One of the guides’ voices broke through. “If you look, you’ll see the bubbles on the surface, what looks a bit like a rolling boil, if you’re into cooking terms. The humpbacks use ‘bubble net’ feeding to corral the fish into one spot and then they can all feed. Hold on, because it’s going to get exciting.”

It felt as if the whole group was holding its breath, as anticipation was rife in the air. When the whales plunged to the surface, everyone jumped a little and exclaimed in excitement. Molly was no exception. It was incredible! She couldn’t tell how many whales there were, but the waves made by their forceful break of the surface were significant. Eric had his camera out and was snapping wildly. Molly simply took in the sight and tried to ignore the anxiety that still beckoned. She could do this. She was doing it!

They watched the feeding ritual for a good twenty minutes, before the humpbacks moved on with a signature wave of their flukes. Around two hundred meters away or so, one breached the surface and then crashed down again in a magnificent show of force and beauty. As their group continued on, the chatter increased significantly as everyone marveled at what they’d seen. They didn’t travel far before they encountered a group of sea lions, basking in the sun on the rocky shore. One or two bobbed around in the water, but the rest were soaking up the rays. As they paused to watch and the guides gave them the lowdown on the species, two of the sea lions started a conversation that had Molly laughing. The groans and growls sounded so grouchy that she couldn’t help but giggle, and before long she heard Eric’s low chuckle as well.

“Is that what your clients sound like?” he asked, still laughing.

“Not usually. Most of the time my clients don’t speak to each other,” she replied, then sighed. “How about you and your wife? Did your marriage go out with a whimper or a bang?”

His smile faded, and though she couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses, she imagined the light went out of them, too, and she felt sorry she’d asked the question so flippantly. “A whimper. I wasn’t angry. Not at the divorce, really. We weren’t happy. I was angry about that.”

“That you were unhappy?”

“Yeah. I worked pretty hard to set up the perfect life, so why wasn’t I happy?”

She let out a mirthless huff of air. “If you figure that one out, let me know. I’m the girl who has everything and is unhappy with it. I suppose that makes me ungrateful.”

“Not necessarily. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Maybe you should take your own advice.”

They began paddling again, moving past the sea lions and onward to the stopping point for lunch. After two days of paddling, Molly’s shoulders and back were aching and she was ready for a good stretch. Eric got out of the kayak first, and then held out his hand to help her out. She took it and felt the warmth of his hand through the fabric of her paddling gloves—he held her fingers a little longer than was necessary.

She could get used to him looking at her this way.

But she dropped her hand from his, and once they’d secured the kayak, they headed up the bank to the picnic area.