Off Limits Marine

Gabe’s hands drifted down from her waist to her hips, and he held her there as he pressed her back against the doorjamb. Her body had gone from pleasantly warm to alarmingly ablaze in just a few seconds. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and her knees felt like they were about to collapse beneath her.

“I should probably go,” he whispered, his lips warm against her neck.

“You should,” she said.

He leaned into her, his hips meeting hers in a provocative dance. “I’m going to go.”

“Yes,” Annie said. “Goodbye.”

His tongue tangled with hers, leaving her lips damp with the taste of him. “Bye,” he said.

Gabe lingered for a few minutes longer before he finally stepped away. His gaze searched her face, and Annie managed a coy smile. Though they’d both talked of friendship, it was becoming more than obvious that there was something more happening between them.

She drew a deep breath and waited for the guilt to assail her. But the only feeling she could manage was breathless anticipation. She liked kissing him and guessed that he felt the same way. And she enjoyed running those moments over and over again in her head.

In truth, she’d been spending far too much time thinking about Gabe and his handsome face and sexy mouth and killer body. There was definitely an attraction between them, Annie couldn’t deny that any longer. So what had changed? Where had the guilt gone? Was it being overwhelmed by the excitement of the moment? Would it suddenly reappear and make her feel even worse for the thoughts that ran through her head?

Maybe if she spent a little more time kissing him, she’d be able to figure it all out.

* * *

GABE STOOD AT the end of the pier, staring out at the cluster of J-22s maneuvering around a buoy a half mile away. The wind was brisk but warm, and the bay had a scent that was so familiar to his senses that it brought memories swirling forth in his mind.

As a kid, he’d worked his father’s lobster boat and was well-acquainted with waters off the coast of Maine. But the Chesapeake was different, a spot where freshwater and salt water met. The shoreline was gentle and rolling with thick forests, so different from the rocky coastline of Maine.

A small motorboat ran alongside the sailboat race, and he could make out Annie behind the wheel. She was shouting instructions to the race participants as they tacked back and forth against the wind.

The more he got to know her, the more he found to admire. Everything she did, she did at one hundred percent, throwing herself headfirst into life as if she’d learned to appreciate every day.

It wasn’t surprising, considering the loss she’d experienced. She thought her life had been perfectly planned ahead of her. It was impossible to fathom a future without her husband, so she’d never even considered it a possibility.

He’d only seen the marriage from one side, and he hadn’t always liked it. But now Gabe was beginning to understand the other side, the fierce loyalty that Annie had toward Erik, the unconditional love that made it impossible for her to accept his passing.

It had been over a year since they’d shared that first kiss, and for the first time Gabe was hopeful that she was ready to move on with her life. Last weekend, she’d actually kissed him, and in the intervening days, Gabe had decided that her actions had been a definite sign. The attraction between them wasn’t just one-sided.

In truth, he’d tried to keep things purely platonic, not willing to risk losing her over some silly torch he’d been carrying. But now things had shifted between them and he had cause to hope that there might be something more in their future. Sure, she’d been adamant about rejecting a man in the military. But could her views on that be softening?

He watched as the small motorboat split away from the sailboats and headed toward the dock. As she approached, he kept his eyes fixed on her, watching as her pale hair whipped around her face in the breeze.

She deftly pulled the vintage boat up to the dock and tossed him a line. “Get in. I’ll take you for a ride.”

“Don’t you have to watch your students?”

“There’s a counselor with each boat. They’ll bring them in after the race.”

He jumped in beside her, the line in his hand. “This is a really nice boat. You don’t see too many of these anymore.”

“My dad restored it. It’s great for waterskiing.” She pulled away from the dock and thrust the throttle forward. In a few seconds, they were skimming across the smooth surface of the bay, a soft spray coming up from the bow.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face. Gabe felt the boat veer to the left, and he opened his eyes and saw them approaching a spot on the shore. “Where are we going?” he asked.

“I wanted to show you something,” she said. “When I was a kid, we used to come out here and play. It was like our own fortress. Take the line and go up on the bow. I’ll pull it in close, and just hop out and tie us to a tree.”

Gabe did as he was told. When the boat was secure, he held out his hand and helped Annie out. She started into the woods and he followed, wondering what she could possibly have to show him. Before long, they were hiking on a well-worn path, and up ahead he could see sunlight shining through the trees.

Birds sang overhead and the sound of the breeze ruffling the trees provided a pleasant counterpoint. A few seconds later they stepped into a clearing. Shafts of sunlight illuminated an abandoned stone church, the roof long ago caved in and the windows gone.

“Wow,” he said, stepping inside the front doorway. Wildflowers grew up from where the floor used to be, and a rabbit skittered through the lush greenery. Vines hung from the walls, nearly obscuring the old windows. “What is this?”

“There was a settlement here, back in the 1700s,” Annie said. “The whole village was burned to the ground when the church was struck by lightning. The people were too superstitious to rebuild, so they just scattered to other towns along the western shore.” She walked along the wall and then found a spot. “Here it is.”

Gabe stepped to her side and squatted to see some letters carved into one of the stones. “A.F. plus E.J. Annie Foster and Erik Jennings.” Gabe smiled. “He told me about this. This is where he proposed to you.”

Annie smiled and nodded. “It was really wonderful, but it didn’t go perfectly. He set up a little dinner with champagne and candlelight. And then he came back to the house to get me. But by the time we got back, then sun was going down and the mosquitoes were vicious. And when we got here, a raccoon was sitting in the middle of the table, enjoying our dinner. All we had left was the champagne. So he got down on one knee and asked me. And that was that. We carved our initials in the stone and ran back to the boat, the mosquitoes chasing us the whole way.”

“It’s a good story,” Gabe said.

“It is,” she said with a wistful smile. “I always thought I’d tell it to our children and grandchildren someday.” She walked over to one of the windows and stood in a shaft of light. “When I first got home, I used to come out here and talk to him. All the memories were so fresh and vivid and...perfect. I could still hear his voice.” She sighed softly. “Now the memories are vivid, but they’re also real. It’s not just a romantic proposal anymore. Now the mosquitos and the raccoon are part of it.”

“Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to happen?” he asked. “It helps you cope with your loss. Let’s you move on.”

“It’s happening so fast,” Annie said. Her voice grew soft and hesitant. “There are times when I can’t remember him at all.”

Gabe took a step toward her and reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll never forget him entirely.”

“But he’ll be replaced. Like he is now.”

Gabe frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Her body trembled slightly, and she shook her head. “All I can think about is your hand on my shoulder. How good it feels to be touched again. How every time you touch me, even in the most innocent way, I seem to get all warm and breathless. My heart starts pounding, and the only person I can think about is you.”

The confession seemed to take everything out of her, and for a moment he thought she was about to cry. Gabe drew her back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “What do you want me to do?”

Annie pulled out of his embrace, turning on him and holding her hands out in defense. “I don’t know. I don’t want to forget him. But the more time I spend with you, the harder it is.” She forced a smile. “We should go. It’s getting late.”

“No, we should talk about this,” Gabe insisted. “If this is going to be a problem, we can’t just ignore it.”

“Sure we can,” Annie said with a laugh. She turned and scampered out of the old church.

Gabe followed her, stumbling through the thick brush. He finally caught her at the water’s edge and grabbed her waist, pulling her back into his arms.

She stared up at him, breathless, the color high in her cheeks. He couldn’t remember a time when she looked more beautiful, or more tempting. “Don’t do it,” she warned, her chest rising and falling.

He’d let it go for now, satisfied with the progress he had made. Gabe wasn’t willing to risk her affection for a quick grope in the woods. He had a second chance; it would be foolish to waste it.

Gabe grinned, then took her hand and helped her back onto the boat. “This is going to be an interesting summer,” he murmured.

* * *