Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
He pulled up to the dock, tied off, grabbed the roses, and headed toward her back door only to find her sitting in the chaise on the back patio.
“Hi.”
caroline
Caroline stood at the dock, transfixed. The water beneath her feet sparkled like a thousand tiny diamonds in the light of the setting sun. Boats drifted by, their motors winding rhythmically with the waves. Not far from where she stood, fisherman sat in their boats, casting nets and lines into the water for their daily catch. Since coming to Seaport, she’d learned that some people fished for fun, while others did it for a job.
As Caroline watched, the sky blushed from a pastel blue to a deep pink and then washed into a vibrant red. The clouds on the horizon glowed in shades of purple and orange, creating an unforgettable display of colors. One of her most memorable parts of Seaport would always be the sunrises and sunsets. She had never seen something so breathtakingly beautiful. She felt her heart swell with a combination of awe and joy, and all her troubles drifted away. Caroline controlled her destiny. Her life. She was the only one who could make decisions for her.
A sense of peace and contentment settled over her as she breathed in the fragrant air laced with salt and sea. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and the call of the seagulls echoed in the air. Suddenly, Caroline was struck with a sense of clarity, and she knew exactly what she needed to do.
Smiling, she turned away from the dock and started walking back toward the cottage, feeling a newfound strength and courage within her heart. She wouldn’t let someone ruin her vacation. She had planned for this trip for over six months and was going to enjoy every bit of it.
The chaise, with its thick padding, beckoned her. Caroline sat down and relaxed. Over the past month, the sound of boats slapping against the water had become a soothing sound for her, as had the waves crashing against the shore. She’d miss Seaport when the summer was over and hoped to come back next year or maybe the year after . . . after she had gotten over Dune.
Speaking of . . . she sensed his arrival before he came around the bend and pulled up to her dock. The boat he brought differed from the normal one. This one had twinkling lights and music coming from it.
Caroline watched as he approached her, his hair a wild mane of untamed curls. Some standing on end. He held a bouquet of roses and came toward her with trepidation. She had to give him credit; he didn’t give up on her easily.
“Hi.” Dune’s voice caught, and he frowned. He looked sad, lost. Not the Captain Blue Balls she had met her second day in town. Gone was his radiant smile, and his larger-than-life personality. Had she done this to him?
Caroline sat up and then glanced at her clothes. She was in her Saturday, study all day sweats with an oversized sweatshirt. He had never seen her like this, and if her mother saw her, she’d scold her for not looking put together.
Dune held the roses out for her. “These are for you.” Caroline reached for them, and then brought them to her nose, inhaling their sweet-smelling scent. She loved roses, peonies, any flower really. They always brightened her day, her mood.
“And that—” Dune pointed to the party barge. “Is for you. Us.” He kneeled in front of her and took her free hand in his. “Come with me, even for a little bit.”
“Dune.”
“Just come see what I did.”
Dune held Caroline’s hand and helped her stand. She should’ve pulled away, fearing she might lead him on, but loved the way his hand engulfed hers. Dune stayed one step in front of Caroline as he led her down the path back to the dock.
With his hand on the small of her back, he guided her onto the boat.
“What’s all this?”
“A night out. Just us. This is what I should’ve done the first time, when I wanted to take you dancing. I thought maybe you wanted the nightclub feel, but thinking back to that night, I think you wanted us to be alone.”
“I did,” she said. “But I had a good time that night.” It was one of the best nights of her life, and a reason she struggled with her decision to end things with Dune. He had gone above and beyond what any man had done for her. Strike that. He was the first man she had dated. The rest were boys pretending to be men, using their daddy’s credit cards to wine and dine her, in hopes her father would give them a job.
“That night was the best night of my life.” Dune’s tone caught her off guard. The husky vibrato laced with innuendos caused her to shiver.