Page 11 of Sweet Adventure

His eyebrows shot up. “You gave me a list last night when we dropped you off. Don’t you remember?”

“Not really.” She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering what else she’d forgotten. Hopefully nothing too embarrassing. “The whole trip here is kind of a blur.”

“As long as you remember your promise, that’s all that matters.” He grabbed a chair, spun it around and straddled it backwards.

“What promise?” She fanned her face, which suddenly felt hotter than a summer sidewalk.

“That you’d let me take you sailing.”

“Sailing!” Her stomach knotted. “I’m sorry. But if I said that, I must’ve been out of my mind. You see, I don’t swim with sharks.”

“Please…” His face drooped like a sad puppy. “We’re going sailing, not swimming.”

“If the boat flips over, we’d be swimming.”

“Ah, but I won’t flip the boat over. It’s a catamaran, so it has a wide base. It’s much harder to flip than a conventional sailboat.”

“Are you saying it’s impossible to flip over on a catamaran?”

“No, but—”

“You admit it could flip over.”

“But you’ll have on a lifejacket.”

; “So I can float out in the ocean and get bit by a shark? I don’t think so.” The knot in her stomach tightened.

He threw his head back and laughed, and she was tempted to dump the rest of her water in his face.

“Okay, I won’t argue with you about sharks, even though that’s not going to happen.” He winked, as if the subject was a joke. Katie didn’t think having body parts eaten was amusing in the least. “I won’t make you go sailing if you’re that set against it. But there’s no reason you can’t go kayaking on the river with us tomorrow.”

“Kayaking?” Her gut tightened even more. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“It’s easy to learn, no sharks on the river, and the water’s not deep.” He ticked off his points on his fingers.

“I don’t think so…”

“It’s safe. It’s fun. The river is beautiful. I think you’ll like it.”

His earnest eyes coaxed her lips into a grin. She felt tingly all over, even without his touch. At that moment she decided she’d like anything she did with Gary Lassiter, even if she died doing it.

Then she heard her father’s voice in her mind. Don’t ever take a foolish risk for a moment of pleasure.

Nicole’s voice competed with his. Promise you won’t say no to everything, like you usually do.

Katie pressed her palms to the sides of her head. Be quiet.

Gary’s voice edged its way into her over-stressed brain. “Do you have a headache? Can I get you anything?”

She snapped her head toward him, prepared to turn him down, outright. She would never step foot in a kayak, no matter how tempting his offer. But the tender concern on his face was like a caress to her raw soul. She couldn’t bring herself to disappoint him.

“I’ll go.” She said the words aloud, before she could change her mind. “I’ll go kayaking with you, tomorrow.”

His smile was all the reward she needed. Now, if she could only keep her nerve.

Having met many a client for training sessions early in the day, Gary knew most people didn’t look their best the moment they rolled out of bed. Katie, however, looked delightful, with her slightly mussed hair in soft waves around naturally rosy cheeks. Her hazel eyes sparkled in the morning light, open and revealing, as if she hadn’t had time to put on her usual defenses.