Something had changed in their relationship. It went a little deeper that night, as they took some well-deserved downtime from all their work today, almost a belated date night but they never mentioned it. They sat on the deck of the yacht, while she served an incredibly lovely meal of fresh fish wrapped in some large native leaf, served with a lemon sauce. He was a hell of a cook himself, but she took his skills and completely turned them up a notch or ten.
“I may never cook again,” he muttered, as he stared at the wonderful flambéed concoction in front of him.
She laughed. “I’m trying to impress you.”
“Consider me impressed.” He beamed at her. “But listen. You don’t have to impress me. I’ve known you for years.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked. “It’s almost like there’s no excitement in a relationship if you’ve known somebody for years.”
“But that’s the basis for a more exciting relationship, as two people get closer. To start out with a sense of family, a sense of knowing already, is huge. It’s the basics. It’s the sharing of values before too many volatile emotions can lead us astray, without that good foundation. I’m not sure that having something that’s calm and peaceful from the beginning isn’t a nice thing in its own right, whether it leads to something greater or not.”
“Sounds boring.”
“Does it?” He looked at her in surprise, then frowned and thought about it. “I was thinking of it as more like a warm hug, something you could count on, somebody who you knew would be there in the tough times, not just the easy times.”
She stared at him in surprise. “Oh, I like that. We’ve seen a lot, haven’t we?”
“We have indeed, and tomorrow will bring a lot more people into our sphere, and that will change things again.”
She leaned across and laced her fingers with his. “I’ve been enjoying our time together.”
“It’s almost sad to see it end, isn’t it?” he murmured.
“It is. Maybe we should try to book some time at the island ourselves.”
“I’m all for that,” Dave said, with a laugh. “We’ll have to fight everybody else to get here though.”
She smiled. “Maybe. I guess it depends on what space there will be, as far as living quarters.”
“I think it’s likely to be pretty subdued with construction for a while. Bullard doesn’t want to shock the environment or the nearby locals by moving in and taking over. Plus the whole point of a retreat is to give each of us some space, some solitude, some uninterrupted solace,” he stated. “So whether there are ten huts here or fifteen, Bullard wants each one to be its own little hideaway. Then, if the team wants, they can come together for a group meal or a hike or a fishing trip or whatever. Everybody needs to heal. An awful lot of lingering trauma from all the different events that have gone on since that plane fell out of the sky.”
“But it’s over now, right?”
“Well, it is,” he said, then hesitated. “I just don’t know what’s going on here.”
“At least whoever it is hasn’t tried anything new.”
“No, and that’s a good thing. I still suspect it’s somebody from the mainland, and they’re now afraid of getting caught.”
“So, what was that? A really close warning shot?” she asked drily. “Because, honestly, it didn’t feel like it.”
“And that’s a concern, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is.” She put on some gentle music, and they sat here on the deck of the yacht, enjoying their wine and the twinkle of the lights under the stars.
It really would all change tomorrow. Right now, it was just the three of them, but the captain was almost always off in his own quarters, where he visited over the satellite phone with his family, most evenings. He had two young children, and, while he didn’t really like being away from them, this was the way he made a living.
“You want to dance?” Katie asked.
Dave looked at her in surprise. “Not sure I can.” He motioned at his prosthetic.
She nodded. “Won’t know until you try.”
Awkwardly he got up and opened his arms. She stepped into them, and he wasn’t sure that it was as much of a dance as it was a slow swaying to the music in the moonlight.
“Now this,” she declared, “is romantic.” He chuckled, the sound warm and gentle against her ear.
“That it is.” He paused. “And tomorrow everything will change again.”
“It doesn’t have to,” she said. “We’ve come together and made great progress between us. We don’t have to slide backward.”
“Everybody will be surprised if we act like we’re a twosome,” he noted.
“Does that matter?”
He thought about it, staring off into space, then shook his head. “No. It’s probably better if everybody does know.”
She leaned up and kissed him gently. “I’m all for that.”
“You don’t want to keep it quiet?”
“No, I really don’t. I feel like we’ve wasted enough time.”
“And here I was trying to be circumspect over you and your ex-husband.”
“No need.” Katie shook her head. “I dealt with that quite a while ago. He was a bully but only because he was so insecure inside. Those were his issues, and I’ve worked hard to recognize that and to leave it with him.”
“Are you sure?”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Have you ever known me not to be sure about something?”
He grinned. “Okay. I was trying to be respectful.”
“And I appreciate that, but I feel the need to share with you, as a woman, that you trying to be respectful is coming across as being really dense and slow.” She smiled, waiting for his reaction.
He burst out laughing. “Well, I don’t want you to think badly of me,” he replied in a dry tone.
“Good.” She looped her arms around his neck. “In that case, I suggest going one step further.” And she reached up and kissed him gently on the chin.
Without hesitation, he lowered his head and kissed her softly on the lips.
She couldn’t believe the tenderness, as if she were something breakable, something fragile. When he finally lifted his head, she murmured gently, “That was nice, but you know I’m not breakable, right?”
“No, but the moment is,” he whispered. “Seems like a very long time since I held something so precious in my arms, and I don’t want to ruin it.” He kissed her gently, his hands stroking up and down her back.
Then she cuddled in closely, and they continued to move to the music.
He sighed. “I was thinking of this back at the compound, wondering if you’d be interested in going away for a holiday.”
“And instead here we are in the beautiful South Pacific, enjoying a work trip.” She raised her head to look up at him. “What could be better?”
“I hear you,” he murmured, kissing her gently again.
Just then they heard footsteps, and the captain appeared. They broke apart. He took one look, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “Well, I can see that love abounds, even out here. I approve heartily.”