CHAPTER54
LARISA
“Let me guess,” I said, my curiosity getting the better of me. “We’re going to see a show. Or a movie.”
“Nope.” When he glanced at me in the relative darkness of the back of the car, I couldn’t see the blue of his eyes but I could see them sparkling as he shook his head. “Want to guess again?”
“Sure. We’re going to…” I trailed off and shifted to look out the window, trying to figure it out by taking in our surroundings. As I realized where we were headed, I snapped my fingers. “I know. You’re going to murder me at the docks.”
“Nope, but you’re getting warmer.”
I spun back to face him. “Murder is me getting warmer?”
“Nope, not the murder part.” He laughed. “What happened to trusting me?”
“I do, but I can’t think of anything other than the docks that’s out in this direction. Some restaurants, sure, but we’ve already eaten. A few bars and clubs, but somehow, I don’t see that being the grand finale of the night.”
“Who said anything about this next stop being the grand finale?” he teased. “There might be another stop after this. You’ll have to wait to find out.”
“Last guess then,” I said. “We’re going to have dessert at one of the restaurants out here, and then you’re going to be disappointed because our next stop was going to be a club, but I really can’t stay up that late on a Sunday night, so I’m going to ask you to take me home instead.”
“Nope. Wrong again.” He was much too cheerful about it, but when I tried to venture another guess, he mimed zipping his lips. “You’re not getting another word out of me.”
“That’s odd because I could’ve sworn I just heard you saying another eight words.”
Laughing, he slid an arm around my shoulders and settled back in his seat. He turned to me and planted a soft, chaste kiss on my temple. “Let me correct myself then. You’re not getting another word out of me about where we’re going. We’re close now. You don’t have that long to wait.”
I cuddled into his side, but I was burning to know where he was taking me. When we pulled up to a marina and the town car stopped, I glanced up at him again. “Oh, so I was wrong about the location of the murder but not the murder itself. You’re going to kill me in a marina, not at the docks.”
A chuckle slipped out of him and he kissed me again. “There are plenty of docks in this marina. But I’m pretty sure there are cameras all over this place. The yachts docked here run into the higher end of the millions. If I was going to commit a crime, doing it here would just be sloppy.”
The driver opened his door, and Tanner stepped out before reaching back in and taking my hand to help me out as well. Once my feet were on solid ground again, I looked around. He wasn’t wrong. Some of these yachts were monsters. No doubt they would be well guarded.
Ambient light from the city reflected on the surface of the water, making it look glittery and beautiful. It was quiet out, except for the faint sound of music coming from elsewhere in the marina.
Someone seemed to be having a party, but I doubted that was where we were headed. Even so, we could hear the floating, almost magical sound of music in the distance. Apart from that, there was only the sound of the water lapping against the docks and the creaking of the ropes tying the yachts to their positions.
“Come on, Nancy Drew. We’re almost there,” he said, leading me along the docks to a small private yacht. “This is it. What do you think?”
I narrowed my eyes at the fancy white boat, taking in the sleek lines and seeing a few lights on inside. “We’re going on that?”
“We’re going on that,” he confirmed and released my hand to jump up. He reached back to me. “Come on. The crew is waiting on us.”
“Is this yours?” I asked as I placed my hand in his. I eyed the boat again as I tried to figure out how the hell to climb onto the thing.
Tanner laughed, shaking his head. Taking a firm grip on my hand, he pulled me up to him. “It’s not mine, no. I’m borrowing it from a friend of Jeremiah’s. If you like it, I might think about buying my own, though.”
I got flustered at that, not sure if he was joking or serious. “You’d buy one just because I like it? Why?”
“You know how I feel about boats,” he replied, shrugging as he led me farther onto the deck. I didn’t see another soul onboard, but I knew they had to be around here somewhere. “I mean, sure, my history involves fishing boats more than it does yachts, but I still love being out on the water. If you like it as much as you did when we were at the lake house, then I might consider buying us one of these babies and we can come out whenever we want.”
My brain seized up when he said it because it sure didn’t sound like a joke anymore. I kept walking with him as we made our way to what appeared to be the top deck, although it didn’t quite feel like I was walking. I felt like I was floating—almost just like the music I could still hear.
This really was magical. I didn’t know how else to describe it. The boat was gorgeous, and the top deck was set up with comfortable outdoor seating, along with some champagne, a charcuterie board, and chocolate mousse for dessert. We were high enough up that we could look across the marina. The lights of the city were on one side and the darkness of the bay was on the other.
It was absolutely incredible, and yet the boat wasn’t the most magical part of it all. What made it so magical was the fact that I was here with Tanner and that he’d set all this up for me. For us. A little over twenty-four hours ago, I’d thought I needed to forget about him and that we would never be together, but now?
So far, this had been the most perfect night I’d ever had. Having sex with him had been one thing, but this? This felt like a real relationship. It was what I’d been wanting to feel from him—with him. I just didn’t think I ever would.