“Yes,” Hannah said quietly. “I’ve thought about it. And I have a tough decision to make.”
“Have you considered what you might do if you if you come back here?” He watched her for a reaction. If she had to go through the challenge of a job hunt, life with him might win out, too.
Swallowing, Hannah took a breath. “I have a job offer.” He sat back in the seat. He couldn’t hide his feelings, not from her. And she recognized his distress. She knew that in his mind the choice was between living with him on a boat in the Caribbean or living in the lake condo. Now he knew he was competing with a career option, too. “The foundation, the one that was created because of me, they offered me a job…running it.”
Her eyes sparkled. Gavin saw that. And suddenly his heart felt heavy. “Oh, I see.” She was considering it. She was excited at the prospect of a job with more challenges, a job that would ensure her independence.
The rest of the drive was quiet. Hannah knew it would be. The girls were so happy, so excited. And that was what kept the adults from delving any deeper into that discussion. Hannah watched Gavin. She could almost feel his pain. She could almost feel his fear. And she realized what part of the problem was.
Life with Gavin was easy. Some would argue otherwise, but really, they meshed well. He listened to her. He was different with her. And somehow, as nice as it was, it was scary. Being alone, raising the girls by herself was safer. That was a bigger threat to life with Gavin than the career was. The career was just a means to an end, a way to never have to trust, to never have to depend on anyone. Suddenly, that made her sad. Maybe she wasn’t as tough and strong as she imagined herself to be. Maybe she was taking the easy way out instead of taking the risk with the bigger reward.
After what seemed like forever, they pulled into the Cooper River Marina. They already had loaded the boat with all the supplies. The plan was to board her and head out with the next high tide. While the comings and goings of a power boat were unaffected by the tides, the same could not be said of sailboats. The girls were excited. And Gavin was quiet and efficient. He was deep in thinking mode. He could sail with both eyes closed, but he had been distracted by Hannah’s news.
“What can I do?” She asked. “The girls are playing in the air conditioned cabin, thanks to shore power. Do we need to charge the batteries? Should I get more ice for the cooler? I know that we’ve already battened everything down.”
“Yeah, more ice,” Gavin said distractedly. He was making sure they had all the spare supplies…extra motor oil, replacement bulbs for the lights, spare fuses, plenty of rope, that kind of thing. He had a checklist. It was long. And time…was suddenly feeling shorter and shorter.
They left when they planned after working together like an experienced team. It was nice. It was just what Hannah liked, something that had always been missing from her marriage. They relaxed under the shade of their new bimini and headed out of the marina.
For dinner, there were finger foods, the girls’ favorites. And that night, there was a stop in a marina in Georgia to recharge while they slept and restock in the morning. After plugging into shore power on day dock, the girls went to sleep for the night.
“Mommy, I think I like Georgia,” Zoe said.
“How can you tell? We’ve only been at the marina,” Rory said with an air of annoyance.
“I’m glad you are happy, little ones. Sleep well.” She kissed each girl and tucked them into the v-berth before heading topside.
Gavin had a new bottle of wine. He was just uncorking it as she slid onto the bench beside him. “Wine?” He asked, trying to be as pleasant as possible.
In the dark she had to ask, “Is it red or white?”
“White,” Gavin answered. “You know…because it goes best with fish.” He waited for a reaction.
Hannah chuckled and lightened the mood instantly. She reached for the glass he poured for her. “What shall we toast to?”
He thought for a moment. “How about two amazing weeks?”
“No,” she shook her head. His eyebrows rose. “Let’s toast to a wonderful new adventure.”
“Okay.” Their glasses clinked and soon Hannah had her head on his shoulder.
They had their heads leaned back enjoying the night sky. They had been quiet for some time. And while it was a comfortable silence, Hannah decided it was time to break it. “Listen, I’ve been thinking.” She felt Gavin stiffen. “And I think I’ve been thinking too much. I need to feel more and think less. I need to just be and do and enjoy. Can we try that? Can we try just letting life have a chance?” She looped her arm through his and ran her hand down until she found his. She grabbed it and squeezed.
While he couldn’t attest to what she really meant by any of it, all Gavin heard was that he had a chance. They had a chance. He squeezed her hand back. “I’d like that.”
When they went to bed for the night, they were more relaxed than the previous night. Still, Gavin was wary of rejection and kept allowing her make the first move, to determine the course of events. His heart was still hanging precariously in the balance. When it seemed like Hannah was going to stay on her back, Gavin rolled onto his side and faced away from her. Minutes later, he felt her shift, close the distance, and meld her tiny frame to his much larger one. She wrapped her arm around him and laid a hand on his chest.
“Haven’t you ever just wanted to be close to someone, Gavin?” She asked quietly. “Haven’t you ever just wanted to snuggle and have no strings, no expectations?”
He smiled as he remembered that first night. “In the past, yes, but now…I want strings. Lots and lots of strings.” He felt Hannah draw even closer, and smile against his back. He held her hand in his and soon they fell asleep.
When he woke, Gavin was relaxed and happy and…alone. Hannah and the girls were nowhere to be found. And as he replayed the previous night in his head, he decided not to worry. It was when he decided to check on Bitty at the office that he discovered where they had gone.
In a warm text message, Hannah announced that they had gone to check the tide charts and take showers up at the marina. They would be back to eat breakfast together. Before he could even ponder how long until their return, he heard them. The girls were carrying their bags; wet hair slicked back, just like their mother…only Hannah was also carrying a bag and a box from Dunkin Donuts.
“Gavin,” the girls squealed in delight and ran to the boat. “Look! Breakfast!”
“And we rode in a golf cart!” Zoe added.
“And Mommy said no Munchkins!” Rory complained.
“Well, I’m sure she had good reason,” Gavin said with a smile. He took the food from Hannah so she could help the girls and climb aboard.
“Of course,” Hannah said smoothly. “All I could see in my mind were Munchkins rolling all over the boat.” She gave the girls an eyebrow. “And we should leave in an hour,” she warned.
They were off, making incredible time. And as much as Gavin enjoyed the sailing, he soon realized that he wanted the days to fly and the nights to linger. He wanted more than anything that alone time with Hannah, that time when she stopped being a mommy and could focus on being a friend and…a lover. Not soon enough, he had his wish. They stopped for the night in Key Largo. And once tied off and spring lined and plugged in to shore power, they explored the marina.
“I love The Keys,” Hannah said happily. “Forget about the Caribbean, I could be happy here.” She sighed and dug her feet into the sand. The girls were walking around, hunting for shells.
“We can stay here for as long as you want,” Gavin said. “I’ll be happy anywhere you want to be.”
Studying his face, she could see that he meant it. At the same time, she knew that The Keys were not his dream. “Let’s just stay one extra day. Then I’ll have had my fill and we can move on. Fair enough?”
Part of him wondered if she had made a decision or if she was leaning toward going back and that was why she didn’t want to go so far so fast. The other pa
rt of him reminded him that he simply needed to enjoy every possible moment. And with that, he reached for her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze, and then he avoided eye contact and traced her hand on his.
The next few days were spent sailing The Keys. There were so many of them that they could have done that for the entire two weeks, but instead, they just focused on the main ones. By the time they made it to Key West, Hannah was a whole new person. The water, sand and sunshine were healing her soul. And the time with Gavin was healing her heart.
He could feel the change in her. Every day…he felt something was different. He just couldn’t name it. They were back to spooning at night. They were back to snuggling during the day. They were joking and playing. Gavin had never been happier. And then a thought occurred to him as they were walking on this beautiful deserted beach on Islamorada.
“You’ve made a decision, haven’t you?” He spoke quietly and hoped the sunglasses and hat were cloaking enough of his face to hide the fear.
“Yes. I have,” Hannah was equally quiet. She looked down at the sand. Ever since she had decided to just feel, to just let it be and see what happened, she was happier. She followed her heart. She stopped planning and lived in the moment. And those moments were beautiful…just beautiful. It wasn’t just the weather, which was ideal…all that sunshine that she simply thrived on. It wasn’t that Gavin was more relaxed, that the girls had never been so happy and carefree. It was that her heart was where it wanted to be. And for her, that was scary.
She had called Rick one afternoon when they were out and about. Gavin had gone into a gift shop to look at t-shirts and she stayed with the girls in the playground across the way. The conversation with Rick had been so…hard. On the one hand, she felt a sense of responsibility for making the foundation a success. She loved the idea of helping others so much. She loved that she would be able to put her marketing degree to good use. What would she do if she stayed with Gavin? She couldn’t teach sailing. She would possibly have to home school the kids. Or was it home boat? And her only outlet was her jewelry making using whatever the beach supplied. Would that be enough?
She had spent some time imagining her life. Hannah was all about family. And in so many ways, she couldn’t imagine what she would have to give up to be a single mother running a foundation. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to drop everything to be with the girls if she took the foundation position. She knew there would be fundraisers. She knew that she would be gone many nights and evenings. She knew that wasn’t what she wanted. This time with the girls was far too precious.
And as she talked to Rick, the decision seemed easier and easier to make. It made more sense. It didn’t hurt her heart to turn him down at all. That she did so without an ounce of regret had really told her everything she needed to know.
The problem now? What if Gavin wasn’t willing to alter his dream to include her and the girls? Sailing around was a great life for a single guy, but a family with school age kids would need a few more roots than that lifestyle provided.
“So, what did you decide?” Gavin asked. He looked down the beach at Rory and Zoe. “Or is this a discussion that we need to have tonight?”
Hannah smiled weakly at him. “Tonight would be better.”
The hours passed excruciatingly slowly. Gavin spent most of that time torturing himself. Hannah spent most of that time trying to soothe him. And for the first time ever, they were both a little tense at the end of the night and when Zoe asked about another glass of water, Hannah snapped, and Gavin ordered her back to bed. They looked at each other and sighed.
“Come here,” he said, opening his arms to her. “I’m sorry. Can we just get the talk over with?”
“Yeah. We probably should.”
Gavin brought her down to their berth. “Let me fix those shoulders.” He sat her in front of him on the bed. She had a sarong tied around her chest over the bikini she had been wearing all day. Reaching around, he untied it and let it fall. He took a look at her. She had a beautiful back. There was something so attractive about the way her hips flared out, the way her waist sloped inward, and her heart shaped ass always made him hard. He sighed as he worked the tension out of her shoulders.
Hannah suddenly turned to face him and he wasn’t sure where to put his hands. Without hesitation, she grabbed them and put them on her hips. Then she pushed him back onto the pillows.
“Hannah,” he started to question.
She silenced him with a kiss. Soon, she was straddling him. Those shorts were doing nothing to hide his excitement. Smiling, she pressed her hips forward until they touched his. She rubbed up and down the length of him.
Gavin had to remember to breathe. He had never wanted anyone so badly in his life. He wrapped her hair around his hand and pulled until her neck was exposed. Burying his face there, he inhaled the scent of her before kissing and licking his way to her ear lobe. He nipped and nibbled, slowly making his way to her lips. He paused for a moment, cupping her face; her eyes were half closed, full of desire. And he didn’t disappoint.
Kissing her lips hungrily, her mouth opened for his greedy tongue. It was incredible, the way her body was responding to his. It was so natural and so right. Before she knew it, she had lost her bikini top and he had found her breasts. One hand cupped each mound and his head would expertly turn toward one nipple at a time, biting and sucking, while the other nipple was manipulated by his thumb. Time sailing had made it slightly rougher, a little callused, and that only added to her excitement.
Gavin kissed his way down her body and expertly slid her bikini bottoms off. His head was buried between her thighs, her back arched in surprise and pleasure. Suddenly, it was too much. Hannah was in agony.
“In me, Gavin,” she pleaded. “I need you in me right now.”
And before he could respond, she had moved, yanked down his swim shorts, and grabbed his hard, throbbing cock with both hands. She licked him up and down to lubricate, then took him into her mouth, while continuing to run her hands up and down the length of him. She stopped long enough to look him in the eyes. “Lay back,” she commanded. He hesitated and she merely climbed onto his lap and pushed him back into the pillows once more.
As if they had done this a million times, Hannah straddled him and slid him into her…all of her. She grabbed his hands and placed them on her boobs. “Yes,” she whispered.
They moved together, crashing into each other like stormy waves hitting the shore. Gavin finally opened his eyes. He was smiling. He hoped that she felt this, felt it like he did. He wanted her to feel that this was right and perfect between them. Only when he looked at her face, she looked like she was about to cry.
“Oh, Hannah!” He murmured, ready to pull out, ready to stop.
“No, this is just so…intense.” It was. It was more than she had ever expected. She never knew that it could be like this. How could she ever think she could give that up? Finally she smiled. She couldn’t. She never would. And somehow, she and Gavin would have to work through all of this.
When they finished moments later, they laid on their sides facing each other and kissing. “What was that?” Gavin asked against her lips. He was almost afraid to stop touching her, as if the very next minute she could disappear.
“Oh, that was me telling you I’m staying,” Hannah replied without breaking contact.
“What?” Gavin was shocked and amazed. He rolled her onto her back and separated her legs, and he was poised at her slick entrance. “I love the way we communicate.” And without another word, he slid back into her welcome folds.
Hannah smiled. “And what is this?” She asked, barely able to speak. All she could do was murmur his name over and over again, accompanied by the word ‘yes.’
“But, baby,” he laughed. “I haven’t even asked you yet.”
“Asked me what?” Hannah questioned, barely able to think.
They crossed the finish line much faster the second time. And when they had Gavin held Hannah in his
arms. “So did you turn down the job?” He asked as he stroked her arm.
“Yes, but he said he’d give me a few more days, since I didn’t give him the answer he wanted.” She couldn’t remember the last time she was more relaxed.
“I know how much you want to be independent. I know how much it means that you are able to take care of your kids. The foundation would give you that opportunity.” He was quiet.
“Yes, but while I might earn enough money, I wouldn’t have enough time for the girls. You know how it is.” Hannah had thought this through.
“That kind of power, that lifestyle can be hard to give up…”
“You did,” Hannah said. “You ran the family business and just walked away.”
Second Chances Page 27