In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: Chapter 13

“THIS WAY, FOLKS,” the crew member called as people shuffled onto the boat.

The sea sparkled in the Queen’s Cove marina, the September sun warmed my face, and a light breeze lifted my hair. I took a deep breath of fresh air and let it out before smiling at Holden.

“September on the west coast is so nice.”

He made a noise of acknowledgement and I admired him in his pale blue Oxford shirt, sleeves rolled up to mid-forearm. His skin was tanned from the summer and dark hair dusted his arms.

Those forearms. Yowza. I wasn’t a religious woman but I’d happily pray to the patron saint of forearms for everything she had done for our world. Holden could probably find a wife today based on his forearms alone.

His hand came to my lower back and my stomach dipped at the contact.

“Sadie,” he murmured.

“Yes?”

God, he had nice eyes. And he was so tall. I liked that I had to tilt my neck up at him. He smelled nice, too. Warm, spicy, and comforting.

He gently nudged me forward. Oh. The line in front of me had filed onto the boat while I was ogling him.

He held a hand out to help me onto the boat and cleared his throat, giving me the side eye. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I chirped, brushing my hands down my tomato-red pleated maxi dress. The day was warm enough for the thin straps. “This is my lucky dress.” I nudged him with my elbow. “Figured it would help you.”

His gaze moved over me again before he inhaled and straightened up. “What’s the plan for today?”

The deckhand prepared for the boat to leave the harbor as the last guests climbed aboard.

I glanced around, surveying the group of people. Lots of pretty people here today, I noticed. “The plan is to have fun, Holden.”

He stared down at me.

I blinked back up at him. “Ah! I see.” I clapped my hands together. “Fun is when you smile and chat and feel happy right here.” I reached out and patted his chest.

His chest was firm and warm, and I ignored that.

His gaze dropped to my hand before I pulled it away.

“Being on a boat with fifty people is not my idea of fun.”

I grinned at him. “That doesn’t surprise me, but we need to expand your repertoire. That’s how you meet people, Holden. You go to new places and smile and act like you’re a nice person.”

“Holden.” A tall, tanned man with dark blond hair and a very white smile clapped him on the shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

Holden nodded hello. “Hey. I’m, um.” He blinked.

Right. We were keeping this a secret.

“Hi,” I said, smiling bright at the human Ken doll. The guy was gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Holden, but still good looking. Over his shoulder, I could see women sneaking peeks at him and Holden. “I’m Sadie. I just moved here and made Holden take me.”

“Aiden.” He grinned down at me, radiating charm. If Willa were here, she’d be death-gripping my arm and shooting me the he’s hot eyes. “Hi, Sadie.”

“Hi.” I smiled back at him.

“Aiden’s a construction manager for Rhodes Construction.” Holden’s voice had a weird edge. When I glanced up at him, he was giving me the anger eyes. I raised my eyebrows at him.

At the front of the boat, a woman in a captain’s uniform and pirate hat grabbed a microphone “Alright, singles, are you ready to mingle?”

A chorus of wooooo’s rose around us.

“Jesus Christ,” Holden muttered.

I grinned at him and nudged him with my elbow. “Get ready,” I whispered.

He rolled his eyes at me.

“I’m Captain Rina and I’ll be cruising us around the coast on this beautiful Saturday afternoon.” Captain Rina walked us through the safety procedures, where to find the life jackets, and what to do if someone falls overboard.

I gestured for Holden to bend down so I could whisper in his ear. “If Blow-Up Belinda fell overboard, she’d float.”

The side of his mouth kicked up.

I shrugged. “Just saying. Everybody has different skills. Consider it.”

Fifteen minutes later, we had drinks in our hands and the boat disembarked from the marina. I inhaled again as the breeze blew past us.

Holden gave me a strange look. “You act like you’ve never been on a boat before.”

I tilted my head, thinking. “I haven’t been on a boat in years.” While sipping my drink, my gaze roamed the other guests, searching for women who were eyeing him up. “The woman in the green top, the woman in the jumpsuit, and the woman in yellow. Pick one and go talk to them.”

His forehead wrinkled and he did that chest-puffing-out-thing that men do when they’re insecure. He shoved a hand back through his hair. “And say what?”

“Holden, I promise if you go up to anyone on this boat, look into their eyes with those gorgeous lashes of yours, and say hey,” I said the word in a low voice like his. “They’ll hand you their underwear.”

The side of his mouth twitched and I could tell my pep talk had done the trick.

He glanced at the woman in yellow shorts. The color was incredible against the deep tone of her skin. “That’s Liya,” he said. “She works with Hannah.”

“Great. You already know her. That’ll make things easier.”

The boat picked up speed and my stomach did a weird, uncomfortable roll. I gripped the railing.

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” My hand came to my stomach and I took a deep breath. “Stop stalling. Ask her about books. Compliment her shorts. When in doubt, ask what she’s watching on TV or if she’s had any weird dreams lately. People love to talk about their dreams, even though it’s so boring.” I pushed his back. “Go.”

Holden took a deep breath before heading off to talk to Liya, and I turned to watch the marina as it grew further away. The boat hit a wave and I instinctively grabbed my stomach again as the boat bounced.

“Hey, Sadie from out of town,” Aiden said at my side.

“Hi, Aiden with the reality TV smile.”

He laughed. “What?”

“You have one of the most perfect smiles I’ve ever seen,” I told him. “Do you get everything for free?”

He laughed again, chest shaking. “No. I pay for everything except cheese, which I steal.”

A laugh bubbled out of me. “The prices are crazy. I don’t blame you.”

He leaned on the railing, his eyes on my face the entire time. “Where did you move from?”

Aiden and I talked about Toronto for a bit. His sister lived close to Willa.

The boat hit another wave and my gut lurched. “Ugh.”

“You okay?” Aiden’s hand was on my arm.

I nodded, sucking a breath into my lungs. “So good.” I nodded, staring at the water, but my attention was on my gurgling stomach. Oof.

“So, are you and Holden…” He let the half-sentence linger in the air while he raised his eyebrows.

I stared at him with a blank expression. “Are we what?” It clicked. “Oh.” I laughed. “No, it’s not like that. I’m just here for moral support.”

Aiden smiled. “Good.”

The boat jumped with another wave and my lunch thrashed. My eyes drifted closed as I dragged in another breath.

“You know, since you’re new to town,” Aiden was saying. “I could help show you around.”

We hit a wavy patch and the boat rocked. The club sandwich I ate earlier clawed up my throat.

Oh god. Now I remembered why I hadn’t been on a boat in years.

“Sadie?”

My head snapped toward him. “Mmm?” I kept my mouth clamped closed.

His sweet, interested gaze roamed my face and he laughed. “How you doing there, champ?”

I nodded, gripping the railing hard. “I’m okay.”

“What do you say?”

“To what?” My stomach twisted and lurched.

“Do you want to get some dinner sometime? I can show you some of the local beaches around here.” He shot me a lopsided grin.

“Oh.” My stomach lurched again but this time, it wasn’t my half-digested sandwich, it was revulsion. Dating. Meeting people. Falling for people.

That wasn’t my thing anymore. At least until I figured out what my issue was.

A weird, tight laugh slipped out of my throat. “Aiden, you are a total babe, but I’m not dating right now.”

His mouth pulled into a boyish grin. “You’re on a singles cruise.”

I let out a light laugh. “Right. Yeah. I meant more, mentally.”

He arched an eyebrow, still grinning. At least he didn’t take it badly. “I feel like there’s a story there.”

“Folks, this is your captain speaking,” Captain Rina said over the mic. “Hold on to the nearest hottie because we’re about to hit a ROUGH PAAAATCH!” The music blared and the boat hit wave after wave.

Yeah, I was definitely going to be sick.

My fingers curled around the steel railing as my stomach pitched and dipped with the boat. People whooped and laughed but I kept my gaze on the coast. I had heard once that if you stare at something not moving, it helped with carsickness.

Oh god. My stomach dipped again and the sandwich threatened to claw up my throat. I pressed my lips into a tight line and took long, shaky breaths. I really, really didn’t want to be the barfing girl.

“Are you okay?” Aiden’s hand was around my shoulder.

“I got this,” Holden said at my side in a sharp tone. His hand came to my waist and he pulled me away from Aiden.