Barefoot Kisses (The Kisses 7)

Aiden revved the engine and the boat took off. I squealed in delight at the sudden speed as we zoomed across the water. The wind and spray of the ocean were exhilarating. I giggled as he zigged and zagged through the waves, turning tight circles and catching air off some of the waves. My hair streamed out behind me and my eyes watered from the speed, but I didn't want him to stop. I loved it.

All too soon he slowed the boat to the original slow putter before stopping it completely. I could just barely see the faint outline of the island on the horizon. Other than some birds and the fish, the two of us were completely alone in a world of blue sky and sapphire water. It was suddenly very quiet without the roar of the engine and the wind rushing past my ears.

“That was awesome,” I said breathlessly. My face hurt from smiling so wide. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“One of the guys I went to college with had a brother who was really into sailing. I spent a lot of time out on the water with him.”

“This isn't exactly a sailboat,” I said, looking at the very important lack of sail on our speedboat.

“I know,” Aiden replied with a grin. “His brother and I would specifically take out a speedboat just to piss him off.”

Aiden stood from the driver's seat and went to the back of the boat. I followed him with my eyes as he lifted one of the seat cushions in the back and pulled out a picnic basket. “You hungry?”

My stomach growled, answering for me. “I guess so,” I replied with a laugh.

I moved carefully to the back of the boat to sit on the bench next to Aiden. He placed the basket on the floor and began to pull out food. There were sandwiches, chips, several cans of soda, cookies, and a big bowl of fresh fruit.

“I didn't know what kind of sandwich you would want,” he told me as he pulled out more sandwiches than we could possibly eat. “So I got turkey, PB&J, and ham. Condiments are all on the side.”

“I'm a PB&J kind of girl, but turkey is a good second,” I said choosing one of the plastic wrapped sandwiches. “This looks wonderful. Thank you.”

“You are very welcome. I guess that means more ham and cheese sandwiches for me,” he replied with a grin. He picked a ham sandwich up and immediately squirted four packets of mustard onto the bread. I raised my eyebrows and gave the sandwich a sidewise look. It was a lot of mustard.

He shrugged. “What? I like mustard.”

I laughed, and I dug into my peanut butter and jelly with gusto.

“So, I told you about my brother and father,” Aiden said after a moment of quiet. “What about your family? You said you have a sister?”

I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and reached for the bag of chips. “My parents, Lou and Mina, were high-school sweethearts. My sister, Louisa, just started college. It's a three hour drive, so I haven't seen much of her since she left home.”

“Your parents are Lou and Mina,” he repeated, enunciating their names carefully. “And they have two daughters named Louisa and Lena?”

“Yup.” I nodded slowly. We had gotten plenty of grief through our lives on the similarity of all our names. “They wanted to name our dog Lucina, but Louisa and I decided to name her Casey.”

Aiden laughed, taking out another sandwich and again applying a ridiculous amount of mustard. “You close with your parents?”

I shrugged. “I guess. They live just outside Chicago, so I try and see them when I can. Work keeps me pretty busy, though.”

He nodded. His work must keep him busy as well. He pulled out another sandwich, drenching it with mustard before digging in.

“What about you? What does your dad think of you working for Travel, Inc.?” I asked, taking a handful of chips.

He chewed slowly before finally swallowing. “It's complicated.” His tone of voice told me that it wasn't really something he wanted to discuss.

“Oh.” I chewed on my lip for a moment, trying to think of something that he would want to talk about. His dad was definitely a sore subject with him. “What's your favorite place that you've gone to for work? Besides here, I mean.”

“This is definitely one of my favorite places,” Aiden replied, his shoulders relaxing and the easy smile coming back to the corners of his eyes.

“Las Vegas? Tokyo?” I watched as he shook his head. Where would a man as handsome and charming as Aiden want to go? “Ibiza?”

“Ibiza was amazing and a constant party,” Aiden said. He grinned. “But my favorite would have to be the Grand Canyon.”

“The Grand Canyon?” I was a little surprised. I had expected a something flashy and full of excitement, not a giant hole in the ground.

“I liked the way it made me feel,” he explained. His eyes went distant as he remembered. “All my problems were so small and inconsequential there. You can feel the eons there, and it just puts everything into perspective. Plus, the stars at night are absolutely breathtaking.”

“I've never been there,” I said with a shrug. “The pictures look amazing, though.”