Making a Splash Page 8

  His eyes cleared, narrowing on her. “How did you know?”

  She shrugged, unable to remember the exact conversations they’d had that made all this make sense for her. But somehow she’d always known that Jack had never felt comfortable with a life of wealth and privilege.

  “Any other guy your age would have been over the moon to make all those trips to Europe on a company credit card, but you’d call me at midnight from a glitzy hotel, jet-lagged and cranky.” Her heart ached a little at the memory of hour-long conversations. Phone sex that left them both breathless and hungry to be together for real. “It doesn’t surprise me that you would appreciate the sense of purpose the military could give you. I just wish you had let me share that side of it, instead of making me think you’d ditched me because I was too young and superficial for you to share something so monumental in your life.”

  She was exaggerating the case, since he’d never come out and expressed it that way. But when he didn’t contradict her long-imagined explanation for his disappearance from her life, queasiness churned in her belly. Rising, she left the forward deck to join him at the helm, her eyes never leaving his face.

  “You truly did think I was too young and superficial.”

  “Not superficial.” He tugged the wheel to the right to avoid another boat’s wake. “But you can’t deny we were at different points in our lives. You didn’t need to shoulder all my worries with the family when you were dealing with your father. Remember? The hostage situation took place when he was trying to get you to transfer to Harvard—”

  “I remember. The master manipulator knew what was best for me, even though I was having the best season of my career. Of course, swimming never meant anything to him.” She shook her head, her heart full of so much regret and sadness that she didn’t know where to put it all. “And while my father decided what was best for me academically, you decided what was best for our relationship, without consulting me. You never considered letting me in, to share the things what were closest to your heart.”

  “I did consider it.” He didn’t elaborate, however.

  Perhaps because they both knew he’d considered it only until he nixed the idea.

  “But ultimately, you decided to let me worry about Harvard and my future in swimming while you shouldered the bigger concerns on your own.” Frustration simmered and she wasn’t sure how to keep a lid on it. Heat built behind her eyes in direct proportion to the hurt and resentment. “Did it ever occur to you that I shared what was going on between my dad and me because I cared about a future with you? I cared about your opinion. You, on the other hand, didn’t care about mine.”

  She couldn’t tell if she felt better or worse after their heart-to-heart. While it helped to understand more of what Jack had been going through four years ago, it stung to realize how completely he’d shut her out back then. She’d loved him and he’d…enjoyed the escapism their relationship offered.

  The heat of frustration steamed over her skin until her neck itched, and her cheeks flushed with mortification as she realized she’d never really known this man at all.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Of course, he didn’t clarify anything, either. She couldn’t bear one more minute of Jack Murphy’s brand of the cold shoulder. Why had she thought the night before meant anything to him? But that was her fault. She should have asked these questions before last night’s brilliant plan for seduction.

  “Would you mind killing the engine?” She headed for the swim platform at the back of the boat.

  “What are you doing?” He rose to follow her, but she could hear he’d hit the off switch first.

  The engine stopped and she watched the wake behind the boat to be sure the propeller went still.

  “I’m going swimming,” she announced, pulling off her shirt and stepping out of her shorts to reveal another tankini top and matching swim-shorts set. This one was turquoise with sleek, no-nonsense straps.

  “You can’t swim here.” He peered around, clearly trying to find some evidence to back up his statement.

  But since there were no other boats, no skiers and no Jaws-style fins sticking out of the water, he was plain out of luck.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m hot and mad. I’m also young and impetuous, part of the reason you ditched me four years ago, remember?” She pointed to the water. “The propeller is still. The engine is off. There are no swirls to suggest a strong current. So with any luck, I’ll reach the shore before dark.”

  She wasn’t serious. She just needed to cool off, needed a moment to herself. To indulge in something that never failed to bring her peace.

  But that didn’t stop her from enjoying the priceless expression on his face just before she stepped off the platform and into the Atlantic.

  6

  CHASE AFTER ALICIA? Or ensure his brother’s splashy yacht didn’t float out to sea without them?

  With a curse, Jack moved back to the helm to hit the switch for dropping the anchor, after he was certain Alicia was nowhere near the line. She bobbed and floated a few yards off the port side, looking more like a dolphin at play than a woman hell-bent on getting to shore. Getting away from him.

  She couldn’t have been serious about swimming to the coast. She knew better than to try something so dangerous with boat traffic and unfamiliar water all around her. Still, she’d given him a hell of a scare.

  “I don’t see why you’re mad at me,” he called down to her as he tossed a life ring tied to a long line into the water for safety’s sake.

  “That’s because you don’t understand me even one little bit,” she retorted, her golden hair sopping and dark where it was plastered to her head. Her freckles stood out on her skin, which looked paler than usual.

  No doubt she was cold. The Atlantic in the Northeast never turned all that warm in summer. And the water was deep here. Still, she kicked into a back float as if she had all the time in the world to taunt him from the sea’s rippling surface.

  He tried to remember how much her antics irritated him, instead of noticing her killer legs. Her fearless willingness to back up the smack she talked. Hell, she could be sixty years old and she’d still be young at heart. That was just the kind of personality she had.

  “If I take the boat a little farther out to sea and make better time tonight, will you come back aboard and explain it to me so I do understand?”

  She bit her lip, thinking about it, apparently. In the meantime, he heard the signal that meant the anchor had hit bottom. If he wanted it to set properly, he’d have to start the engine and pull forward against the line—something he wouldn’t do with Alicia in the water.

  “You can be difficult to talk to,” she protested. “You’re very stubborn.”

  “Says the woman who jumped overboard because she was miffed.”

  Peering over her shoulder, she lifted a dripping hand out of the water to shield her eyes as she gazed at the shore.

  “It really isn’t that far…?.”

  Temper and impatience threatened to get the best of him. “If I have to come in there to retrieve you—”

  “I’d give you a run for your money and you know it.” She smiled beatifically. “But I’ll spare you the trouble, since you’ve promised to pick up the pace on the journey.”

  She swam toward the boat, her lean, toned limbs propelling her quickly now that she’d made up her mind. Just seeing her handle herself in the water—from her swim form to the way she hoisted herself onto the platform with ease—made him realize he didn’t need to worry about taking her farther from the coast. She’d grown up on the water, same as him. She was a strong swimmer. And she was smart about boats.

  How many other ways had he underestimated her over the years?

  The thought faded from his mind as she stood at the rear of the craft, her striped swimsuit suspending all his cognitive activity. The skimpy fabric molded to perfect curves as if it enjoyed the feel of her and couldn’t get enough. Just like him.

  Ho
ly. Hell.

  He’d just slept with her the night before, but it felt like light years since he’d touched her.

  “Umm…towel?” She glanced around the boat while seawater sluiced down her body to pool at her feet.

  With an effort, he forced himself to move, to head down the stairs to the cabin below, where he retrieved a roll of blue terry cloth from his brother’s well-stocked cabinet. Shaking it out, he jogged back up the steps and wrapped it around Alicia’s shoulders.

  “You ought to do something about that temper,” he scolded gruffly, in an effort not to leer.

  “I did,” she reminded him, unrepentant, as she bent to dry off long, slender legs. Her hair dripped on the deck beside her arched foot. “The swim cooled things off in a hurry.”

  “Is that what you’re going to do when your guests at the bed-and-breakfast start getting on your nerves? There’s not always a boat to jump off, you know.” His eyes lingered on the swell of her breasts, the damp fabric of her swimsuit looking as if it wasn’t up to the task of restraining her.

  “Funny, no one’s ever ticked me off enough to make me want to dive into the Atlantic before. I think my guests will be safe enough.”

  Unlike her breasts, which were about to come under siege by his fingers if he didn’t find something else to do besides stare in hunger.

  With an effort, he turned on his heel to take his seat at the helm and pull in the anchor. He wished there was a way to pull in his libido as quickly.

  “You mean to tell me, of the people who get under your skin, I’m in a class by myself?” He hit the necessary buttons to retract the anchor line, and checked his gauges. “We’ve butted heads enough times that I always pictured you as having a temper.”

  From his peripheral vision, he could see her wrap up in the towel again.

  “Only where you’re concerned.” She padded along the deck, her bare feet silent on the hardwood. “No one else has ever walked away from me without a backward glance. I’m sure that makes me a little more sensitive around you than I am with most people.”

  Bending, she peered over his shoulder to study the fish finder, a sonar readout of shapes beneath the surface that helped locate different kinds of sea life.

  “You’re never going to forgive me for that, are you?” Maybe he hadn’t fully appreciated how much his defection had hurt her.

  He’d always pictured her moving on soon after, dating other guys and immersing herself in swim competitions.

  “I will forgive you. But I have to confess it will be hard to forget about it.” Gently, she swatted his arm with the damp end of the towel as she stood beside him. “You went on to pursue your life and I chose my own path. That’s fine. But it’s strange to be here with you now after going for so long without a word. And it’s really, really strange to think how fast I could fall back into bed with you when I…probably shouldn’t.”

  He had to bite his tongue to keep from telling her there was no going back now. And to keep from kissing her senseless to reinforce the message. Because that would be a caveman thing to do.

  Still, when he turned to look at her—really look at her, not just her smoking hot body and her competitive, take-on-the-world demeanor—his throat closed up so tight he couldn’t speak if he tried. She was being honest and forthright with him, while he…didn’t have a damn clue what he expected from this completely unanticipated window of time with her. All he knew was that he wanted another chance to explore the attraction.

  Dark eyes swept over him, warm and probing, searching for answers he didn’t have. He might have acted on the tension between them and kissed her except that an annoying ringing noise sounded a few inches away. Again. And again.

  “Um…” Alicia reached around him, her touch breaking through his thoughts more than the electronic chirping. “It sounds like your cell phone.”

  She came up with the device a moment later, just in time for him to accept the incoming call.

  “Hello?” He hadn’t even checked the caller ID, since he’d been lost in thought about Alicia.

  His gaze followed her as she turned to give him privacy. Dragging the towel along with her, she stepped up to the foredeck near the hot tub and tipped her face to the sun.

  “Jack!” his father barked into the phone. “Is that you?”

  “Hi, Dad.” He wished now that he’d screened the call, since he had no intention of sitting still for one of the old man’s lectures when he didn’t want to waste a second of his time with Alicia. To hear his father talk, Robert Murphy had all the answers and could straighten out any of his kids’ lives if given half a chance. His latest brainstorm involved getting Jack back on the family payroll. “Look, I’m about to lose cell service out on the boat—”

  “Jack, I’d really like you to stop by the office when you get back. You’ve been home for four weeks and we really need—”

  “I’m going to stop you right there.” He had no desire to hear a lecture about his need to commit to Murphy Resorts. “I appreciate the opportunities you’ve given me, Dad. But I’ve got a different future in mind.”

  Nearby, Alicia busied herself with her notes on the bed-and-breakfast to give him some space.

  “And I’m interested to hear about that future. Why don’t you come in on Friday and we’ll talk about it?” his father pressed.

  Jack loved his family. Really, he did. But the Murphy clan was too close sometimes, with everyone offering an opinion on what you should do, shouldn’t do, and why they knew better than you. He had an MBA and a successful navy career under his belt. Didn’t that give anyone some reassurance that he’d be able to figure out where to go next without screwing up his life?

  “We’ll talk soon, Dad,” he agreed for expediency’s sake. “Tell Mom she did a great job with the party.” Winding up their conversation with another promise to be in touch, he disconnected the call.

  His eyes moved back to Alicia, busily trying to stay out of his way as she flipped through her papers. He didn’t mean to exclude her anymore, not after how upset she’d been at being shut out of his family’s scare with Christina. He’d been so focused on not upsetting her back then—not foisting off his problems—that he’d walled her out of the drama completely. And maybe she would have been a comfort to his parents as much as to him.

  Jack would make her forget about the long-ago mistakes he’d made while they were dating, and start thinking about him as a prospect for her future.

  But first he needed to make sure she stayed in Chatham, close enough for him to resurrect the toe-curling chemistry that sizzled every time they touched.

  “IS EVERYTHING OKAY back home?” Alicia couldn’t help but ask after she’d noticed Jack had finished his call.

  She’d always liked the Murphy clan. The family might feel crowded by the big personality of their brash business-mogul father. But Alicia appreciated the way he kept an eye on everyone, occasionally pulling in outsiders and making them feel like family, too. Jack’s parents had both traveled to one of her swim meets when neither her father nor brother had bothered to attend a single competition.

  If things had been different between her and Jack, Alicia would have gotten more than a sexy, warm-hearted guy in the bargain. She would have inherited a great family, too.

  “Things are fine. My father has been hounding me to return to Murphy Resorts, but working in the family fold just isn’t for me.” Jack started the engine again and flipped a few buttons to bring the craft to life.

  “No?” She knew he hadn’t loved all the travel involved in his work managing the global properties division, but he’d been very good at his job.

  “It’s not a career I would have chosen for myself, and there are plenty of other people to fill my shoes.” The vessel crept forward while he plotted a new course. Once they were under way again—headed deeper out to sea—Jack came up to the deck where she sat.

  “I don’t think you’re easily replaced,” she argued, knowing how hard Jack worked.

  “A
ctually, you’d be great at my old job,” he continued, green eyes lighting with the fire of a new idea. “I don’t know why you didn’t apply for a position with the company after your internship. The freelance work you did with the golf tournament was first rate.”

  She shook her head, wondering if he had any idea how much he took after his father.

  “First of all, I really think things are going to come together for me in Bar Harbor. But even if they don’t, working for your family might create a sticky situation for us down the road.” She tucked her notebook under her thigh to keep her papers from blowing away as the boat picked up speed. Her movement caused her shoulder to brush against his, sending an electric pulse all the way down her arm. “While last night was fun, I didn’t get the impression it was headed anywhere serious.”

  His diplomatic silence of one long minute seemed to confirm as much.

  Reminding her why she would have to view this time on the boat as a fun diversion only.

  “It wouldn’t be awkward for us, because I’m not ever going back to work for my father,” he said finally, tackling a completely different part of her concern.

  The lean muscle of his upper arm grazed hers, sparking memories of all that warm strength wrapped around her body the night before. How could a man and woman fit together so perfectly when it came to the physical part of a relationship, yet fail each other so badly on a deeper level? And yes, she’d decided she must have fallen short in their past relationship if he’d kept her in the dark about his cousin. Maybe she’d been too wrapped up in her independence, her own family and pursuing her swimming ambitions to see what was really going on with Jack.

  She regretted not being there for him when he needed her.

  “So why aren’t you returning to the family business?”

  “I like having a sense of purpose in my professional life that stretches beyond raking in the big bucks.”

  “Your dad is hardly some greedy corporate shark.”

  “But he’s definitely profit driven.” Peering around the horizon for traffic on the water, Jack got to his feet. “The big house on the Cape and the jet-setting across Europe was never my style.”