“I was irritated and wanted to piss you off.Did it work?” she asked hopefully, hip cocked out to the sidetauntingly.
He shook his head, grin still in place as hefeigned dismay, “Yes, yes it did.”
“Sorry about that. Are we even now?” She’dbeen so angry at his rejection last night that she’d succumbed tothe temptation to piss him off this morning. After all theirfights, she had become adept at pushing his buttons.
“For now,” he teased. He extended his hand inpeace. She reached out to shake on it, but her hand trembled.Looking her up and down, he saw the panic setting back in, and hisexpression turned soft, sympathetic. “Give you a hand?” heoffered.
With ease, he hooked his foot over the cleaton the boat and pulled the boat in closer to the dock. “I’m goingto hop in the boat; you watch so you know how it’s done. I’ll beright here to catch you. I won’t let you fall in.”
With every fiber of her being, she believedin him; trusted him not to let her plummet to an icy death.Maintaining an iron grip on his hand, she stepped one foot onto theside of the boat, slowly lifted her dock foot up and swung it overthe chasm, and somehow managed to drop into the boat.
Her landing was a bit wobbly, but aspromised, Ronan was there to catch her. Hands pressed against hischest and gripping his new t-shirt, her breathing rapid, her heartfinally started to slow as Ronan held her close and whisperedsoothing reassurances in her ear.
“Aren’t you freezing?” she managed to ask,becoming increasingly overwhelmed by his new… well, his newconfidence more than anything. He was ridiculously sexy. Shewouldn’t be so foolish as to say she wasn’t outrageously turned onjust looking at the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on,but there was something else that she’d seen bubbling just underthe surface before.
She couldn’t help but wonder what had spurredthe change. Hoping that maybe he had figured out who he was, whathe wanted. With all that he’d been through, of course he hadn’tbeen sure what he wanted.
She certainly hadn’t been silent about hernot-so-simple goal of findingthe one, nor had she given himmuch time to think about it, about them. Awfully pressuring for aguy that wasn’t sure what he wanted for lunch, let alone the restof his life.
Last night, precedence had died a tragicdeath. She wasn’t the woman she had been a few weeks ago, lookingshallowly for Mr. Perfect like Jen had insisted. Nor was he thebroken man that had come home riddled with uncertainty andanger.
14
Ronan held her tightly against him, knowing she’dfeel more secure in the safety of his arms. Not that he had achoice; she still had an iron grip on his new shirt. “Yeah, I’mfreezing, but I was hoping to get in the heated cabin quickly.”
Blushing, she unclenched her frozen hands andreleased his shirt. “Sorry.”
Laughing at her, he reassured her, “It’s ok.I’m guessing it’s your first time out on a boat?”
Payson nodded an affirmative, hands stillclenched tight, but at least no longer stretching out his newshirt. He tried to ignore his family, as they were struggling tolook like they weren’t spying from the other side of the door.“Come on, I’ll give you a tour.” He unlocked her rigid fists andtook her cold hand in his.
“The boat’s made for year-round use, nicesolid top to protect against the elements, but the thick canvasfurther blocks out the weather for rainy or winter ventures so wecan go out year-round. Not much of a fishing vessel; Mom prefers aleisure boat. There are plenty of seats so we can all visit whileprotected from the weather, but the cabin is nice and cozy if youget overwhelmed. This is a lot like the one we grew up with butupgraded.”
Still holding his hand, she followed him in,checking out the cozy seating area outside, then down into thecabin. Frank hopped back out of the boat as Aiden and Lauraapproached with a few grocery bags in addition to their ownovernight bags.
“Wow, it’s really nice in here. I wasexpecting a bit more primitive of a living area.” Payson’s gazepassed over the kitchenette, corner bathroom, dining area withfacing couch, and queen-sized bed at the front with all of theirbags stowed on the floor around it. “I can’t believe there’s even atv in here. The fabric and cabinetry are really tasteful. No wonderyour parents would rather stay here than pay for a hotel.” Paysonstill gripped his hand, unwilling to let go, but she explored abit, feeling the textures around her as she took in hersurroundings.
A sudden deep rumbling startled her. Ronanquickly reassured her, “It’s ok, it’s just the enginestarting.”
Defensively, she responded quietly, “Yeah, Ifigured that out. Just took me by surprise, that’s all.”
Ronan took her coat and added it to the stackof winter apparel already forming a mountain on the bed. The cabindoor opened, and Laura headed down the small stairs, carrying oneof the grocery bags. Dashing toward her, Ronan grabbed the bag fromher and another from Aiden leaning over the threshold.
Aiden popped his head in, “Hey Pace, youseasick yet?”
Raising one eyebrow, she fired back, “Ha, ha.I’ve acclimated quite nicely to boater’s life. I’m going to take aprivate moment in the head, then I’ll move aft to join you all ondeck. Save me a good seat, please.” And with that, she squeezedpast Ronan and closed herself in the bathroom.
Laura whispered quietly to Ronan so Paysonwouldn’t hear, “She doing ok? I know she’s terrified of boats. Isuspect the only reason she finally agreed to come with us isbecause you’re here.”
Ronan scrunched his brow and gave his motherayou’re crazylook. She chuckled at her son, patting hissmooth cheek, “Don’t give me that, I’ve seen the way you two lookat each other. CIA operatives aren’t the only ones who can readpeople.”
“Mom, you’re a hopeless romantic.” He kissedher on the cheek.
She patted him on his nicely shaved cheek.“Welcome back.”
A grimace of pain passed over his facebriefly, but he quickly recovered. It felt good to be back,metaphorically speaking this time. All it had taken was a good kickin the ass from reality. Life was here to stay, and he may as welljoin in.
Reassuring his mom with a heartfelt smile, heheaded up the steps. Chase had already nabbed the driver’s seatwith Maddy snuggled against his side. Frank sat across the aislewith a spot set aside for Laura. That left the couches that facedthe aisle behind the front seats. Aiden was already crashed out onthe driver’s side couch, eyes closed. Ronan sat opposite. Hisbrother had always had the ability to fall asleep, wherever he was.Not fair.
