Going Overboard (13 page)

“Nicole Lombard Jefferson! I wondered if you’d planned this.”

“Not the part where I gave birth on a houseboat. But Bowie and I did think that maybe, if you and Chance got to know each other…”

“Forget it, Nic. Bad plan.”

“But you’re going to finish out the week with him. That must mean that things are progressing.”

“Only to a point. I’m not stupid.”

“Well, if that idiot doesn’t beg you to marry him, he is extremely stupid. Whoops, they’re ready to bring Chandi in for another feeding, so I’d better go. Can you call back tonight? I should know by then when we’re leaving.”

“Sure, we’ll do that.”

“Take care of yourself, Andi.”

“I will. Bye.” She clicked off the phone and handed it to Chance, who was watching her intently. “You said something about checking in at the office, I think.”

He set the phone on his chair and came over to rest both hands on her shoulders as he gazed into her eyes. “Is staying with me for the next three days going to be a problem for you?”

She took a deep breath “No. I want to.”

“Nicole wanted to make sure I wouldn’t hurt you by leading you on with no intention of—”

“That’s ridiculous.” Andi lifted her chin. “Sometimes Nicole makes the mistake of thinking everyone wants what she wants.”

“You mean, a husband and a baby.”

“Yeah.”

His gaze searched hers. “But you don’t want those things?”

The truth hit her like a blow. She wanted a husband and baby more than anything in the world, and in the past few hours she’d even settled on an unlikely candidate to provide both. But she. certainly couldn’t tell him that. “Maybe someday, but not now, when there’s so much fun and adventure to be enjoyed.” The lie made her heart ache, but telling it was the only way to keep her pride intact at the end of the week.

“I guess it would take somebody quite unusual to make you give up the freedom you love so much.”

“Yes, I guess it would.”
And here you are.

He looked deep into her eyes, and for a moment it seemed as if he might say something more. Instead, he released her and stepped back. “I need to call the office. They’re going to wonder what happened to me.”

“Tell them you were kidnapped by gypsies,” Andi said, and started over toward the boat. “I’m going to make coffee and rustle us up something to eat.”

T
HE GYPSY EXPLANATION
wouldn’t be far wrong, Chance thought as Andi walked over to the boat and hoisted herself back up on deck. Andi was definitely a free spirit with no desire to be tied down. That was perfect, because she’d never fit into his life anyway. At least, that’s what he was busy telling himself as he stared at the cell phone without dialing.

No, it wasn’t perfect at all. He sighed and leaned back in the deck chair, closing his eyes so he could think. What he wanted, if he were brutally honest with himself, was to have Andi come to live in Chicago, whether she’d distract him from his work or not. He had a feeling his obsession with her was going to distract him even if he
didn’t have her physically there. So what was he thinking? Marriage? Ha. She’d just announced that she wasn’t interested.

Maybe, if he continued to satisfy her sexually, she’d consider becoming his mistress. That would be better than nothing, but he had a growing conviction it wouldn’t be nearly enough. And it wouldn’t sit well with Bowie and Nicole, either. No doubt about it, they’d push for a wedding ceremony. The idea intrigued him more than a little. Too bad it intrigued her not at all.

He could smell coffee brewing, and he opened his eyes and sat up straight. He wasn’t getting anywhere running around this mental squirrel cage, anyhow, so he might as well make that call to the office. With a sigh he punched in the number and put the phone to his ear. The office phone had just started to ring when Andi reappeared on deck with a broom, and dressed in the red suit she’d worn the first day. She swept the deck vigorously.

“Chance Jefferson’s office. Can you hold, please?” Annalise said on the other end.

“Sure.” As he listened to canned music, he continued to watch Andi, and damned if she didn’t lie down on the deck and start doing her yoga exercises. Through the open railing gate he could see the whole performance as she twisted and turned that luscious body. Oh, God. He disconnected the phone.

A
NDI HAD HOPED
her ploy of yoga exercises on the deck would shorten Chance’s business call. She hadn’t meant to prevent him from calling altogether. She didn’t discover what had happened until after they’d made love on Chance’s bed and polished off a breakfast of scrambled eggs, coffee and toast.

“How are they surviving at the office without you?” she asked as they cleared away the dishes.

“I don’t know.” Chance set the dishes on the counter and got out the dish soap. “I hung up before I talked to anybody.”

She almost dropped the carafe of coffee. “You hung up? Why?”

He set the bottle of soap on the counter and turned to her, his glance roving from her head to her toes. His eyes glinted with appreciation. “I think it was the inverted-vee position that did it.”

“You didn’t even talk to your secretary?”

“Nope.” He turned back to the sink and started filling it with warm water and soapsuds.

“Well, now I feel guilty.”

He chuckled. “I wondered if you were deliberately trying to sabotage me.”

Whoops. “Uh, not exactly. I mean, I do like to start the day with yoga exercises, and the deck has the most space.”

“It’s okay, Andi.” He dumped the breakfast dishes in the soapy water and looked over at her. “Do your damnedest. If I don’t have the willpower to ignore you, that’s my problem. I have a couple of projects to finish on the laptop before I go back to Chicago, and I plan to spend some time on them today. Trust me, when I’m really concentrating, you could dance naked in front of me and I wouldn’t notice.”

“I see.” Her eyes narrowed. This ol’ boy didn’t know her all that well, she thought. If he did, he wouldn’t have thrown down such a rhinestone-studded gauntlet Dance naked to get his attention? Hell’s bells, she was a damn sight more creative than that.

T
HREE HOURS LATER
, Chance sat on the rear deck. The platform covering the boat’s generator served as a desk for his computer, and he had his phone to his ear. He’d been working ever since they’d finished the dishes. Andi had figured she’d be reasonable and give him some time. After all, he did have a trunkload of awesome obligations. But considering the magnificent surroundings and the delicious isolation, three hours glued to a laptop and cell phone was bordering on excessive.

Time for diversionary action—for his own good, of course.

“Think I’ll go for a swim,” she said, walking past him.

“Mmm. Have fun.” He didn’t even look up.

She could have dived right off the side and splashed him, but that was too juvenile. She used the ladder to climb down into the water. She even swam for a little while, to lull him into complacency.

Chance continued to type away on his laptop, the phone clamped between his shoulder and his ear. He could get a permanent neck condition from doing that, she thought.
He needed her to save him from those kinds of compulsive work habits, at least for the next three days. Treading water, she worked her way out of the red suit.

Her aim needed to be perfect for the next part. Too close and she’d soak him, which wasn’t her goal. Too far away and it wouldn’t have the same effect. She tossed the suit and it landed with a soft plop on the railing about two feet from where he sat.

He glanced up quickly, obviously startled. Then he looked at the suit hanging there, a brilliant statement on the dark blue railing. As she watched him, Andi thought of a bull staring at the matador’s red cape. She was hoping for a similar effect.

When he turned his head toward the water, she dived under the surface. When she came up for air, she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. He was still working on the laptop, but he’d repositioned his chair so he was closer to the railing and had a better view of the water.

A lesser woman might have faked a leg cramp, Andi thought, but she wanted Chance in the water out of desire, not responsibility. He had enough responsibility in his life, as it was.

Thanking her lucky stars that she’d chosen water ballet for her physical-education requirement in college, Andi changed her swimming style from the standard strokes to the more graceful movements she’d learned in the class. Floating on her back and sculling with her hands, she lifted one leg, toes pointed, and slowly allowed herself to sink until at last her toes disappeared under the water.

Breaking the surface, she caught a quick glimpse of Chance before making a dolphin-like forward dive that hid her smile and displayed her bare bottom. He was no longer typing and he’d put down the phone. When she
came up again, he was already starting to unfasten his shorts. He was halfway out of them as she began her next move. Arching her back, she propelled herself into a slow backward dive that lifted her breasts above the water, then her hips.

The movement finished with her toes pointing at the sky, her leg muscles firm and…cramping! She gasped and swallowed a mouthful of lake. Oh, God, major cramp. She flailed to the surface, her calf muscle screaming. Her cry for help came out a gurgle. Still thrashing, she looked through a glaze of pain toward the houseboat.

“I’m coming!” Chance shouted, stumbling half-in, half-out of his shorts.

[n his panic, his hand shot out toward the generator cover to steady himself and his fist bounced against the laptop, a lightweight piece of technology that skimmed across the fiberglass surface like a hockey puck and flipped over the railing.

Chance made no effort to save it. As the computer landed with a splash and sank beneath the waves, he dived into the lake and started toward her, his powerful stroke cleaving the water with grim purpose.

C
HANCE HAD ALWAYS
prided himself on his ability to stay calm in a crisis. But when Andi screamed for help, panic grabbed him and shook him until his teeth rattled. Putting the shorts on again would take too long. Desperate to rid himself of them, he became clumsy. Vaguely, he realized he’d knocked the laptop into the water, but he spared it no thought as he tore the seams of his shorts in his frustration, threw them aside and vaulted the railing. Double-checking Andi’s position, he dived into the lake and swam harder than he had in his entire life.

He reached her quickly, hooked his arm around her and towed her back to the boat.

“Your laptop,” she gasped as they reached the boat and she clung to the ladder.

“I don’t give a damn about the laptop.” He held on to her as he grasped the other side of the ladder. “What happened?”

“Leg cramp.”

“Which one?”

“Left calf.”

He managed to hoist her on his knee and reach down with his free hand to massage her leg.

“Chance, never mind me. Get your computer.”

“To hell with the computer. You could have drowned out there.” His heart beat wildly. He’d never been so scared. Never.

“Because of my own stupidity. That’s better, Chance. Go get that laptop, please.” She eased her leg out of his grasp.

“You should probably get back in the boat. I’ll—”

“No, I think the water’s better for it. Will you get that darned thing?”

“Okay. Just stay right here.”

“I will. I promise.”

Giving her one last glance, he swam to the spot where the laptop had disappeared and dived down. Scooping it off the bottom, he sculled his way to the surface and over to Andi. Using the ladder for support, he lifted the computer, water streaming from every crack, to the deck.

“Oh, Chance!” Andi stared at it, her eyes huge. “Is there any hope?”

“Who cares?”

“I’ll…I’ll pay to replace it,” she said, looking miserable. “But I know that’s not the point. You’ve lost all the
stuff you had on there.” She sniffed. “I should never have tried to distract you.”

He realized with a shock that not all the moisture on her face was lake water. She was crying. Crying because of what he’d lost. Crying because of a dumb piece of office equipment.

Reaching across the ladder, he closed his hand around her arm. “Hey,” he murmured. “Come here.”

She allowed him to draw her close, but she averted her face. “I think I’m so smart, so clever.
I’ll get him away from that laptop,
I said. Well, I sure managed that, didn’t I? What a gal.”

He caught her face and turned it toward him. “Don’t ever apologize for being yourself. I told, you to do your damnedest It was a dare, and I can imagine how you react to dares. And I knocked the stupid thing into the lake, not you.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears that spilled over her wet lashes. “Because I was teasing you, trying to get you to lose your cool! And then I got a cramp, because I’m not used to pointing my toes like that.”

He smiled tenderly at her. “It was a good show while it lasted.”

“I was dumb to try it. Now everything’s ruined—your spreadsheets, your reports, your list of pros and cons. All gone.”

He was becoming increasingly aware of her naked body cuddled next to him in the water. “You know what? I don’t really give a—” He paused as he registered what she’d just said. He tilted her face up so he was looking directly into her regret-filled eyes. “And what list of pros and cons would that be?”

Her eyes widened just like those of a little kid caught climbing on the counter in search of the cookie jar. “Oh,
um, well, I just threw that in. Fve heard busy executives often keep—”

“Bull, Andi.” He grinned at her. “You were in my files.”

“I just wanted to make sure the laptop was working after it fell on the floor.”

“You could have determined that without snooping.”

She went on the offensive. “And it’s a good thing I did! You had that list in a mess.”

“I did?”

“A complete mess! What do you mean by referring to my
wacky
view of life?”

Watching emotions blaze in her eyes was an incredibly exhilarating experience. Feeling her slipping and sliding against him in the gentle current was even more exhilarating. “I can’t imagine what I was thinking.”

“Damn straight. That’s why I changed it around.”

“You
what?
”

“I rearranged a few things so it’s more accurate.”

He was nuts about this woman. “You edited my list?”

“It needed some work. Now it looks better.” She looked pleased with herself, but then her mouth drooped again. “Or it did. Now it sleeps with the fishes.”

He started to laugh. He should have been outraged that she’d messed around with his computer, and furious with himself for dumping it overboard. But the strangest thing had happened. Once he’d accepted that the laptop was unusable, a huge weight had lifted, one he hadn’t even known he was carrying. He couldn’t work. He physically couldn’t work. My God, but he felt liberated.

“Chance,” she said, “maybe we should try to dry it out again, like we did after you poured coffee into it. You never know. Miracles do happen.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Miracles happen all the time. Hang on to the ladder for a minute. I’ll get it.”

She followed his instructions, moving away from his supporting arm.

When his hand was free, he reached up and took the computer off the deck. Then he held it out over the water… and let go.

Andi shrieked and started after it, but he grabbed her before she could dive under the water.

“What are you doing?” she cried. “There’s no way it’ll work now!”

“That’s right.” He pulled her close. “When we’re ready to leave, I’ll go get it. In the meantime, pucker up those lips and kiss me. We have three hours to make up for.”

A
NDI COULDN’T BELIEVE
the transformation in Chance with the laptop six feet under the surface of the lake. Apparently it had been the anchor weighing him down, reminding him of his obligations. Without it, he seemed reborn. He stripped off his bathing suit and they cavorted in the water like children, chasing and splashing around the cove until they were panting from the exertion.

But beneath the playfulness ran the sensuality that held them both in its passionate grip, and eventually Chance led her back to the boat and made love to her until the sun dipped below the horizon. They called Nicole and found out that she, Bowie and Chandi were flying back to Chicago the next day, which left Andi and Chance free to finish their vacation as they pleased. In celebration, they cooked dinner on the beach, spread out beach towels and made love again.

And it was love they were making. Andi couldn’t kid herself that physical pleasure was all she felt when he
touched her, when he moved within her. She’d promised Nicole she wouldn’t let down her guard, wouldn’t let herself get hurt. Maybe if he hadn’t knocked his laptop into the lake, she would have managed not to fall so completely in love with him, but this unhampered Chance was impossible to resist.

As they retreated to the boat for the night and Andi snuggled into his arms, she tried not to think of how little time they had left.

H
E WOKE HER
at dawn with little nibbling kisses. The aroma of coffee drifted from the kitchen, and she turned toward him, thinking she knew what he wanted before his morning coffee.

“Time to get up,” he whispered. “Time to fish.”

“Fish?”

“It’s the very best time. Come on. The coffee’s almost done. I have the poles ready.”

She reached for him. “I had a very different pole in mind.”

He backed away and grinned at her. “Thanks for the compliment. Hey, don’t close your eyes again.” He leaned down and pried her lids open. “Come out to the rear deck. I set up two chairs. It’s more fun with two.”

“So’s my idea.”

“We’ll do that later. Now it’s time to catch some fish. Fish for breakfast. Yum.”

“Doughnuts for breakfast. Yum squared.” She swung her legs to the floor. “I remember Bowie saying you loved to fish, but I thought you must have outgrown it.”

“Luckily I didn’t.”

“Luckily.” She peered at him. He really did look all excited, as if getting up before the sun was the greatest
idea in the world. “Chance, it’s barely light out there. Fish don’t have alarm clocks. They won’t be up yet.”

“Fish get up
very
early.”

She loved most of the changes in him since he’d dumped the laptop overboard, but she wasn’t sure this fishing thing qualified as a positive sign.