by Rebecca York
She arched a brow as he intertwined his fingers between hers. “I’m almost afraid to ask.” She should yank her hand away and tell him she had to go home. She’d taken advantage of his kindness too much already, although that wasn’t what she wanted to run from.
He made her want to curl up in his arms on the bow of his boat and stare at the stars after a night of lovemaking. When she was with him, she forgot all about how bad things had been with Gino.
At first, Gino had treated her like a princess, lavishing her in gifts. He would constantly tell her how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to have her as his wife. She thought everything he did came from love, but his idea of caring for her was to control her every move right down to when she went to the grocery store. She couldn’t go out with her friends without his permission, and if she dared to defy him, he would do insane things like cancel her credit card so when she tried to pay her dinner bill, it was rejected.
Living with Gino had been hell, pure and simple, and Eliana never wanted to give up control to another man again.
No matter how handsome or kind.
“Let’s go for a boat ride.” He guided her toward the far docks and his fishing charter, Morning Wood.
“I’ll go with you on one condition,” she said.
“And what’s that?”
“You tell me why the hell you named your boat that? Much less have it tattooed on your body. It really is a turnoff.”
“You mean the name isn’t turning you on?” He gave her a slight hip check.
“Seriously?”
“Sorry. I have a weird sense of humor.”
“Ya think?” She made herself comfortable in the seat next to the captain’s chair. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a boat out on the water. Might have been when she’d been in high school and she’d gone away with a bunch of girlfriends to Lake George. She enjoyed the motion and the breeze in her hair. The salty smell of the ocean tickled her nose. She never wanted to leave this little piece of heaven.
Levi turned the keys, and the engines roared to live. He maneuvered the vessel like a true master into the waterways. Two boats filled with people idled past. All the passengers waved and called out Levi’s name. He waved, tipping his baseball cap. “Do you really want to know why I named my boat Morning Wood?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know.” The more time she spent with Levi, the more she liked him, which scared her. She never wanted to rely on a man again. Everyone told her that being in a relationship didn’t mean you were dependent; only she knew for damn sure she’d been utterly and completely dependent on Gino.
Of course, according to her therapist, she’d also been gaslighted by Gino and he’d been manipulating her for years. He’d taken her at her most vulnerable point in life, right when her father had taken ill, and used that to gain her trust.
From there, he continued to make her feel less than a person, forcing her to rely on him for everything.
His bottomless bank account helped with her endless bills with college and her father’s medical bills, which Gino gladly paid.
Only he tossed that in her face every chance he got, holding it over her head, using it to keep her submissive.
“After the explosion, the doctors kept me in a medically induced coma for weeks. I had no idea what happened, much less what day it was when I woke up. I was basically paralyzed from above the waist down. I had no use of my legs, or even my hips. I couldn’t tell when I had to go to the bathroom, and let’s just say what makes me a man wasn’t functioning.” He paused, letting out a short breath.
She adjusted her sunglasses, fighting the tears stinging her eyes. Sure, what she’d gone through had been rough, but it was nothing like what Levi had experienced. Resting her hand on his back, she ran her fingers across his strong shoulders, feeling the thick scars. She said nothing, waiting for him to finish the story.
“It was weird, because I had pain, and a lot of it, but it wasn’t in my legs, and my mind told me it was, so I constantly tried to move them, but nothing would happen. The doctors started talking to me about how I could still have a quality life in a wheelchair, and all I could think about was I’d never be a Navy SEAL again. They would tell me about special cars that I’d be able to drive and how if I kept my upper body strong, I’d be able to manage most things by myself, but that I’d never be able to stand on my own two feet and pee like a man, and that’s when it hit me that I’d never have sex with my wife again.” Levi rested his hand on her thigh and squeezed as they went under the bridge toward the sandbar where a good twenty boats or more were beached. “My ex-wife didn’t take too kindly to that information either.”
“That isn’t why you’re divorced, is it?” Eliana covered her mouth with both hands. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Levi laughed.
“I’m sorry, that was a bitchy thing to ask.”
“You know, everyone thinks it, but no one ever has the balls to ask it, and I’m so glad you did. Maria, my ex-wife, struggled with me being in the military to begin with. It was a constant bone of contention with us. I had made it very clear I was not going to give up my career in the Navy; however, I did say that when the time came that we wanted to have kids, I would take a permanent shore duty position, or even go into the reserves. I was willing to make compromises for our family.”
“She was okay with that?”
He nodded as he turned the steering wheel and drove the boat up on the sandbar. He pushed a button, lifting the engines, and turned the keys. “At least she said she was, but we argued on when we wanted to start a family. She wanted to much sooner than I, but again, I was willing to compromise because I really did want to have kids, and I put in a request to a special team located in Cape Canaveral, which would have started after my last op.”
“Shit. That timing sucked.”
“You’re not kidding.” He reached into the cooler and tossed her a beer. “After the accident, it took two months before I was transferred to a hospital in the states. My wife had come for a week to Germany and left because she couldn’t stand to see me like a helpless child.”
“She didn’t actually say that to you, did she?”
“Not in so many words and I honestly didn’t make it easy on her. When I came home, I saw a specialist who believed with a radical surgery, I would walk again, but the catch was, the procedure could kill me.”
“Well, that’s true with any surgery, right?”
Levi tossed his head back and let out a full belly laugh. “God, that’s refreshing.”
“Why?” She rolled the top of her shirt up, exposing her midriff to the warm evening sun. She leaned back in the chair, resting her elbows on the console. White puffy clouds floated across the sky like angels dancing. It reminded her of when she was a small child and she’d play in the sandbox, pretending to be at the beach.
“A lot of people told me not to go into the surgery lightly, but Maria and I both agreed; what did I have to lose? I didn’t want to live in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. and we both wanted children, so I went for it.”
“But she’s not here, and you’re standing on your own two feet. Mind if I ask what happened?”
“You like to go for the jugular. I like that.” He raised his beer to his lips and took a long, hard swallow. “But let’s start with the name of the boat.”
“Yes. Please do.” The ease at which the conversation flowed with Levi both scared and invigorated Eliana. He had a laid-back attitude with a rough-around-the-edges humor. But there was a raw energy that lingered just below his skin. A sense of doom hung over him like a dark cloud, and she wondered what demons lurked behind his carefree demeanor.
“The surgery appeared to be a success, but only time with physical therapy would tell what kind of results I would have. The doctor joked with me that if I woke up with a morning woody, then it would be a shoo-in that I would walk again. Two days later, sure enough, the little general stood at attenti
on. So, when I bought this bad boy, why would I name it anything else. Besides, the term is also a bit of a fishing reference, so it’s not as sexual as you think. More like a play on words.”
“Where I stand, it makes you sound like a teenage boy.”
“Trust me. I felt like a teenage boy. But it truly was the beginning of my recovery. It took months of grueling physical therapy, but less than a year later, I walked out of that hospital on my own two feet.”
She shifted in her seat so she could see his face better. “That’s a major accomplishment.”
He nodded. “Only it wasn’t good enough. Shortly after I started walking in PT, even though it was with help, we found out I couldn’t father children. My wife handled that by sleeping with our neighbor.”
“Didn’t she know that you can create a family by other means? I mean, I was adopted, but I never felt like I needed to make that statement. It actually felt weird just now to tell you that.”
“Thank you for sharing, and even though at this point in my life I know I’m not having kids in any type of a capacity, I appreciate your words.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I tried to tell Maria all that, but she’d checked out of our marriage before I had my accident. In the long run, our divorce was the best for both of us.” His palm cupped her thigh just above her knee. “Your turn to tell me about the breakup of your marriage.”
She took three large gulps of beer. It burned as it smacked the bottom of her gut. “You said you had a potential solution that might solve all my problems.”
“I do, but first, I want to know what happened.” He clinked his metal can against hers. “Us divorcees have to stick together.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s pretty simple. I was young and stupid.”
“I can’t see you ever being stupid. Naive maybe, but dumb, never.”
She waggled her finger in his face. “That’s how it started with Gino. He’d give me a compliment. He’d make me feel good about myself, but then somewhere along the line, a year or two into our marriage, I couldn’t do anything right. My cooking wasn’t good enough. The house was never clean enough. He never let me go out with my friends or see my family unless he could control the situation. After my father died, I tried leaving, but that didn’t go over too well, so when my mother got sick, I had had it, only my mother died before my divorce became final.”
Levi’s lips drew into a tight line, and he smashed his empty beer can. “Your ex-husband didn’t hurt you physically, did he?”
“He hit me a couple of times, but he didn’t beat me.”
“Please don’t qualify hitting as not beating. It’s the same thing, and no one deserves that, and I’m damn fucking glad he’s out of your life.”
“So am I.”
“It also makes a ton of sense why you got so mad at me when I took it upon myself to start doing your landscaping. I’m sorry about that.” He pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head before reaching out and doing the same with hers. “I’ve known plenty of men like your ex-husband, and I’ve seen the kind of destruction they’ve left behind. You’re a strong woman, and I see the fire in your eyes.” He gently tapped his index finger against her temple. “Don’t let the self-doubt that asshole created seep into what you’re doing now. No matter the setback, you got this.”
Her chest tightened. She struggled to breath. Most people told her she was crazy, or that she was making a huge mistake, worse than marrying Gino, by packing up and taking off for parts unknown. No one but her mother had believed in her, and now this stranger stared into her eyes with an intense gaze, encouraging her to chase her dream.
He brushed his thumb across the top of her cheek. “Right now, I want to kiss you, but I think I better tell you my business proposition first.” He dropped his hand to his lap and tipped his glasses back down to his nose.
She adjusted hers and changed her focus to the kids playing frisbee on the sandbar. If he had leaned in, she would have wrapped her arms and legs around his body and sucked his tongue deep into her mouth, getting lost in his raw sexuality. It occurred to her that it had been at least a year since she’d had sex, and until this very moment, she hadn’t missed it.
Now, sitting next Levi, all her erogenous zones ignited, and there was only one thing that would put out those flames, only she couldn’t allow herself to go there. Not now. She couldn’t afford a single distraction. Maybe in a year or so, when her life wasn’t such a mess, but until then, the only thing she could afford to focus on was her business and getting it off the ground.
“Lay it on me,” she said.
“I want to invest in your business.”
“What do you mean exactly?” The last thing she needed was to be indebted to anyone, especially a man. But what would be worse would be to have to answer to one. That said, she would hear what he had to say out of respect. Considering everything he’d done for her, she owed him that.
“My life is on my boat. I love running charters, and I would never give it up. But I have some money saved that I have been looking to invest. I’m not talking about a loan. I want to be a silent partner of sorts. You make money. I make money. But I know jack shit about running a restaurant and bar, and frankly, I’m not sure I want to. However, I wouldn’t mind earning a little return on my investment. I’d want to make it all legal with a contract and everything. I’m not looking for an equal partnership because this place is yours. Based on what you told me you have in the place and what I can invest, which is about seventy-five thousand, I was thinking a twenty percent equity partnership, and I’m happy to be a bouncer as needed. What do you think?”
Her immediate reaction was to say no, but she bit her tongue. He deserved her full consideration “What kind of control and decision-making power are you asking for with this investment?”
He shrugged. “I only ask to be informed of major decisions and purchases, but mostly, I want free boat dock storage and have your kitchen staff grill up the fish my clients catch. I’ll pay the bar bill for my customers.”
Dropping her head back, she did the math in her head. That number, combined with the rest of her loan, should be enough to get everything she needed for the grand opening. The hard part would be paying her personal bills, but as long as she could turn a small profit, she should be okay.
“Most businesses don’t turn a profit the first few years,” she said softly. “You could end up losing your shirt.”
“Or I could end up making my investment back and then some, along with increasing my charter business as well as Castaways.” He stretched out his legs and crossed his ankles.
A jet ski sped past, spitting out water from the aft. The young girl on the back giggled and screamed as the teenage boy swerved left and right. To be young and carefree again. Only, she wished she’d allowed herself to stay that way longer. Why had she wanted to grow up so fast? She’d gone from being a kid in college to a wife running major charity events.
“Have you always been a half-full-glass kind of guy?”
He laughed. “Never. I’m still not. But since I’ve almost died more than once, and I can’t take the money with me, I might as well do something with it, and honestly, this benefits both of us.”
“So, you’re not doing this out of the goodness of your heart? You have a hidden agenda.”
“I’m not keeping anything from you. I’ve put on the table what I want, and those terms are not negotiable.”
“I need to think about it,” she said.
“You’ve got twenty-four hours.”
Chapter Six
Eliana loaded her shopping cart with screws and other supplies that were on the list that Levi had given her when he’d left on his charter earlier this morning. Of course, he’d asked her more than once about his proposal, and she’d put him off. She’d tossed and turned all night. Every time she thought she’d come to a decision, she changed her mind.
If she let him in as a partner, she gave up some control. Not to mention going into business with som
eone you’d just met might not be the smartest decision.
But doing nothing meant she’d probably be bankrupt by the end of January.
She made her way toward the checkout counter of the local hardware store where Levi said if she told them the supplies were for him, she’d get a ten percent discount.
Any pennies she could save could be the difference between eating ramen noodles or upgrading to mac and cheese.
“Looks like you have a big project going,” the older woman at the checkout counter said.
“Not just me. I was told to ask for Levi Greyson’s discount.”
“Oh yes. You must be Eliana. He told me you might be coming. I’m Helen. I live down the road from Levi. He’s such a nice young man. Are you single? Because you know, he’s single, and I know he’s not dating anyone right now. You should ask him out for a drink,” the woman said as she scanned the items and placed them into a bag. Her bright-blue eyes grew wide with excitement. “I’m having a little Christmas cookie exchange. You should come. I know Levi will be there. He can’t pass up a plate of cookies.”
“Thank you for the invite. I’m really busy right now getting Castaways ready for the grand opening. Maybe next year.”
“Do you really think you’ll be able to pull it off? Stephanie thinks you’re going to sell to her client. She’s telling everyone about her client’s grand plan for the waterfront and that she all but has the sale of Castaways in the bag.”
“Well, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I have no intention of selling.”
“Stephanie said,” the woman leaned over the counter and glanced both ways, “that the town of Jupiter has all sorts of problems with the property and that you’re not going to have a choice.”
“Stephanie doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and you can tell her I said that.” Eliana hated gossips. Back in Vermont, everyone in town loved to spread rumors about the state of her marriage, even when she’d thought she was happy. At first, she ignored them, but as time went on, that proved impossible.