drink.’
‘What?’ Shock seeped right through to her bones. Based on the last five minutes they’d spent together, the last thing they should be doing was spending time alone with each other.
‘I think we should grab a drink to celebrate.’
He took her hand and led her through the throngs of people who were out and about, despite it being a weekday evening.
‘And you can actually eat something instead of answering questions while we’re at it.’
Before Callie could fully process what was happening they were walking towards the dock. She frowned, knowing that there were very few bars or restaurants on this side of the waterfront. And then she stopped dead when he led her to a boat with two men standing on either side of the steps that led to its entrance.
‘What is happening, Blake?’
‘We’ve having drinks. Come on.’
He walked towards the steps, but she didn’t budge.
‘Callie?’
‘I don’t think you understand.’ Now she did take a step forward. ‘This is a boat. They don’t just serve drinks on private boats for people who decide that they should celebrate.’
‘No, they don’t,’ he agreed. ‘But they do serve drinks on boats for people who own them and decide to celebrate.’
She stared at him. ‘You own this boat?’
‘As of two weeks ago—yes. Now, will you come with me?’
Callie followed him purely on instinct. Her mind was too busy thinking about the fact that she was having drinks on a boat with her boss. And that the boat belonged to him. Two weeks ago? That had been after they’d spent the day together...
She still hadn’t come to terms with it all when he pulled a seat out for her at a table in the centre of the deck. The edges of the boat were lined with tiny lanterns, which lit the boat with a softer light than the full moon offered from the sky. Champagne chilled in a bucket next to the table, and one of the men who had waited for them to get on the boat now filled their glasses with it. The other still waited at the entrance to the boat, she saw, though he didn’t make any move to cast off.
‘How did you do this?’ She finally looked at Blake, who was wearing a very self-assured grin.
‘I called a few people.’
‘But when?’ she whispered, afraid she would embarrass him. ‘We’ve barely had fifteen minutes since Marco and Mr Jung left.’
‘Oh, that.’ He was still smiling as if he had just pulled off the world’s biggest heist. ‘During dinner. I knew today had been successful, and I wanted to do something on a par with what we pulled off. So I made a few calls and here we are.’
‘Firstly, I’m pretty sure this surpasses what we pulled off. And, secondly, dinner was only about an hour ago.’
‘Are you complaining?’
‘No, but I feel sorry for these men. How often do they have to do this?’
‘I’m not sure about their previous employers, but since they’ve only worked for me for two weeks this is the first time I’ve asked them anything. Don’t worry—I’ve made it worth their while. Besides, this is minimal effort since we aren’t going anywhere. Now...’ he lifted his champagne glass ‘...shall we toast to what we did today?’
Callie lifted her glass and toasted, but she still couldn’t believe she was on a boat. Okay, they weren’t sailing anywhere, but privacy after the day they’d had was exactly what she needed. Although she wasn’t sure if privacy with Blake was the smartest kind.
‘Did you buy this boat after our tour together?’
‘I did.’
He didn’t offer anything else, and Callie thought perhaps she should be more specific.
‘Did you buy this boat because of our tour together?’
‘Not really—although our time on the boat did give me some fond memories.’ He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re thinking too much about this, Callie. I wanted a boat so that I can have some peace when I need it. That’s what you told me, right? To do things that make me happy.’ He shrugged when she frowned at him. ‘Let’s just focus on tonight, okay? I wanted to do something nice for you to say thank you. And well done.’
‘Well, you didn’t have to. Especially not this.’ She gestured around her, though she could see that maybe he was trying to reassure himself more than he was her. Especially after telling her that he’d bought the boat to make himself happy. ‘I was just doing my job. And I wouldn’t have been able to, I don’t think, if it wasn’t for you.’
‘If you’re talking about the fact that these proposals might help to save your job, and all those at the hotel—’
‘Actually, no. I’m talking about what you said to me before we left this morning.’
He frowned. ‘That you could do it?’
‘Yeah.’ She laughed a little, feeling silly for telling him this. ‘It made me feel like I really could do it. And...you know...gave me a boost of confidence.’
He didn’t say anything, and she had a sudden burst of doubt. ‘I’m sorry, I know that sounds corny—’
‘No, it doesn’t.’
She felt herself flush when he smiled at her. There was something different about this smile, she thought. It wasn’t the cordial you-smiled-at-me-and-I’m-returning-the-gesture type she usually got from him. No, it was a genuine smile that made her remember the completely different Blake she’d first met in the elevator.
The memory awakened other things inside her. Like how much she enjoyed looking at him. The planes of his face, the way his hair fell across his forehead, made butterflies stumble through her stomach.
It’s just the atmosphere. Which woman wouldn’t have butterflies if a man took her on a boat in the moonlight?
Yeah, she thought, keep telling yourself that.
But before she could ponder it further the man who had poured their drinks—she realised now he might very well be a waiter—placed two platters on the table. One held a variety of cheeses and the other a variety of breads and crackers. And, she thought to herself as the waiter described them, she hadn’t heard of most of them.
‘So you arranged this at dinner? While we were eating?’
He grinned. ‘Yes, because even from the starters I could see that you weren’t eating very much.’
‘Very perceptive,’ she said as she spread Camembert on one of the crackers. ‘Marco was incredibly interested in some of the sites we took him to. So whenever you were discussing something with Mr Jung he would lean over and ask me about them.’ She chewed slowly, contemplating what he had asked her. ‘I’m actually not sure if he was asking out of interest or if he was testing me.’
