Quarterback Draw

The sea was like turquoise glass, the waves calm as they turned and began to make a slow, leisurely trek parallel to the shore.

When Jay brought champagne, Grant picked two glasses and handed one to her. Katrina looked around.

“Where are the other people?”

“Just us.”

She blinked. “You rented the entire boat?”

“They offered private sunset cruises. I thought that sounded fun. Maybe a little romantic.”

She shook her head. “Seems a waste of money. You could fit a lot of people on this thing. And don’t go looking for romance with me, Grant, because it isn’t going to happen.”

“You’re welcome, Katrina. I thought it sounded nice, too.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Fine. Thank you. But I’m still not interested—”

He held up his hand. “How about you stop worrying about all the things that aren’t going to happen, and just enjoy the view—and the champagne?”

She still couldn’t believe they were alone on the huge catamaran. What was he thinking? Even worse, what was the boat owner thinking? She mentally counted the number of people that could fit on there, and how much money he could have made fitting all those people on here.

Then again, maybe he’d charged Grant the same amount.

Whatever. Not her problem, since she wasn’t paying. She sipped her champagne and decided that was Grant’s problem, not hers. If he wanted to waste his money taking a private cruise, he could. She wouldn’t have done it, but since he had, she walked along the side of the catamaran, taking in every view since they had the run of the boat. Grant followed behind, commenting about things he saw on the land like fishing boats or shopping areas or hotels and places where people lived.

“Must be nice to wake up to a view like this every morning,” he said, noting some of the beachfront property.

“It would be, wouldn’t it?”

“I sometimes think about retiring to a place like this someday,” he said, his gaze searching out over the shore. “But then I figure after a month or so, I’d be bored as hell and I’d miss civilization.”

“I don’t know. I could get used to the island life. It’s pretty decadent. You wake up in the morning and throw on your swimsuit. If you have to run an errand, you put on a sundress and your flip-flops and head into town or wherever the nearest market is. You get to know all the locals, so you feel safe and protected, and everyone takes care of everyone else. Since I live in such a big city, that idea sounds idyllic to me.”

He nodded. “I can see your point. Still, I’d miss going to football games. I’d miss my family.”

She looked at him. “They have airplanes for that. You could visit.”

“True. But then there are the kids. Wouldn’t they be missing out on city life?”

She shrugged. “Who’d miss city life when they could grow up with something like this?”

“You raise valid points, Katrina.”

“Or, wait until your kids are grown, then retire to your island paradise.”

“Then I’d miss my grandkids, and someone’s got to teach them about football.”

She laughed. He was a pretty good companion, but she wasn’t going to say that because she didn’t want him to think she was interested in him. She was just along for the ride because he’d more or less bullied her into coming with him. And okay, the champagne was pretty good.

The boat had slowed. The sun had started to set, a beautiful orange glow sifting through the clouds and melting into the water. The glow sizzled as it sank lower by the second.

With no buildings or trees to obstruct her view, she had to admit this was a stunning way to see the sun set.

Grant held out his hand for her. “Come on, let’s move to the front and watch.”

She slid her hand in his, mainly because the boat was rocky and she didn’t want to fall overboard. They headed to the front of the catamaran, where nothing stood between them and the sunset but the water.

It was a little cooler here, and she shivered.

“Cold?” he asked.

“A little.”

He wrapped his arm around her and tugged her against him.

“Kind of makes you feel like you’re hovering at the edge of the world, doesn’t it?”

She watched the sun dip into the water, imagining she could hear it sizzle. “When I was little, I was always an early riser and I’d dash up to our building’s roof whenever I could and watch the sun come up. My mom hated for me to be up there all alone. She was always afraid a strong gust of wind would blow me off the roof. But I loved it there. I felt so free. It was just me up there, all alone, waiting for the sun to greet me.”