Page 80 of Surprised By Her

She led me back inside the covered part of the boat, which had lots of seating and was protected from both the sun and the water. I was a little lightheaded and realized I really was starving. I’d been too distracted by the whales to notice.

Ryan sat down at a table and one of the polo-shirted employees came right over and handed us menus.

“Can I get you started with some drinks?” he said, and I wondered how young he was. He didn’t look over sixteen and was obviously eager to do a good job. Cute.

“We brought our own champagne, it should be on the boat,” Ryan said.

“You think of everything,” I said.

“I do my best,” she said.

“Can I also get a water too?” I asked the server, and he gave me an enthusiastic nod before rushing off to find the champagne.

“Wow, they have a lot of options for a boat,” I said.

“The food is probably just heated up below and not cooked fresh, but it’s better than chips and granola bars,” Ryan said.

The server came back with the iced champagne bottle and gave it to us, along with two cups.

“We can’t use glass, you know,” he said as if in apology.

“Of course,” Ryan said, taking the bottle from him. “I’ve got this.”

He seemed grateful as she expertly popped the top and poured some in each cup for us.

We ordered and the server dashed off again.

“You’d better tip him really well,” I said.

“I will, don’t worry,” she said.

“To whales,” I said, raising my cup.

“To whales, and to private whale watches,” Ryan said.

“I think I like them better than helicopters,” I said after taking a sip of the bubbling champagne. I wasn’t going to ask how much it cost, but I recognized the name on the bottle as one that wealthy people drank.

Every now and then I would forget that Ryan was wealthy and then moments like this would remind me.

“I’ll just have to take you on more helicopter rides so you can compare with a larger sample,” she said.

“I’m up for that,” I said. “I am so up for that.”

The food was hot and surprisingly good and tasted amazing after being out on the ocean.

“It feels appropriate to be eating seafood while we’re at sea,” I said, finishing my shrimp scampi.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Ryan said. “I know all our other dates have been surprises, but if there was something you wanted to do, I’m probably up for it.”

I set my fork down and leaned back in my seat. “This is a date?”

Ryan nodded. “Yes, Everly, this is a date. What else would it be?”

I threw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know! We’ve never talked about it. I didn’t want to mess anything up by saying something.”

Ryan looked at me as if I’d sprouted flippers myself.

“Everly,” she said, putting her fork down and reaching for my hand. “We’re dating. I know we haven’t talked about it in those terms, but I’m not scared.”