Quarterback Draw
Page 7

“Katrina. You took on a lot of responsibility at such a young age. You’re entitled to go out and have some fun, ya know.”
“I have plenty of fun when I travel.”
He cocked a brow. “Do you? Are you having fun now?”
She gave him a half smile. “Loads.”
“I’ll bet.” He stood, brushing the sand off his butt and legs. He held his hand out for her, then tugged her up. “Come on.”
“Wait,” she said as he held tight to her hand and pulled her back toward the hotel. “Where are we going?”
He shot her a grin. “To have some fun.”
THREE
KATRINA FELT LIKE SHE WAS ON SOME ROLLER coaster, being dragged to the top, only to plunge down the abyss at around a hundred miles an hour.
In the dark.
While blindfolded.
In the short span of an hour, she’d been sent to her room to change. Grant had told her “comfortable,” and since she had no idea what he had in mind, she changed into a sundress, plus sandals. She’d thought about objecting. Hadn’t he been listening when she’d told him she didn’t date?
Why did she even agree to this? She could have told him to kiss her ass, which was her typical response to pushy, aggressive men, especially the ones who asked her out. Though he hadn’t asked her out, had he? He hadn’t even given her time to ask what the hell was going on. He’d told her to change, that it was high time she have some fun.
Whatever. Fine. She’d have “fun,” because it was obvious he wasn’t going to go away until she did. Then she was going to bed, because they were shooting again in the morning.
When she’d come out of her bungalow, Grant had been waiting for her. He’d changed, too, into cargo shorts plus a short-sleeved shirt. She had to admit, he was some rather nice eye candy, and not in the typical pretty-boy-model way, either. He was real. Rugged, tall and lean and good to look at.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He held out his arm, which she took, letting him lead her to the front of the hotel, where there was a private car waiting for them.
“Seriously,” she asked. “Where are we going?”
“You said you don’t get out much. So we’re going out.”
“I already had dinner.”
He held the car door for her. “Never said we were gonna eat.”
She knew she should have hidden out in her room tonight. This was ridiculous. Still, it might not hurt to get out a little, and she was curious now.
She slid into the seat and he climbed in after her. The car took them for a ride around the island, to the bay, where they got out at the docks.
“You’re not going to throw me in the water, are you?”
He laughed, then took her hand as they walked down the dock. “No.”
At the end of the dock was a catamaran.
“I thought we’d take a cruise tonight—see the sunset.”
Normally she worked, then she went to her room to read, or hung out near the water. She very rarely went in it—or on it. She loved the water, and getting out on it wasn’t the worst idea ever. “Sounds okay.”
He held her hand as she climbed aboard, then kept hold of it, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Don’t get too enthused.”
“I’ll try my best.”
They were met by the captain and two crew members, one named Jay, who told them all about the catamaran and the cruise, including where they’d be sailing.
“We’ll take a tour around the coast of the island, and make sure you’re able to catch an awesome view of the sunset tonight. If you’ll come forward, we have some champagne.”
Grant looked over at her. “I suppose you don’t object to champagne.”
“I do not.”
He held her hand as they moved toward the front of the catamaran when they took off. She took in the sensation of the breeze blowing through her hair. They leaned against the front of the catamaran, and Katrina watched the view of the shore as they pulled out farther into the water.
The sea was like turquoise glass, the waves calm as they turned and began to make a slow, leisurely trek parallel to the shore.
When Jay brought champagne, Grant picked two glasses and handed one to her. Katrina looked around.
“Where are the other people?”
“Just us.”
She blinked. “You rented the entire boat?”
“They offered private sunset cruises. I thought that sounded fun. Maybe a little romantic.”
She shook her head. “Seems a waste of money. You could fit a lot of people on this thing. And don’t go looking for romance with me, Grant, because it isn’t going to happen.”
“You’re welcome, Katrina. I thought it sounded nice, too.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Fine. Thank you. But I’m still not interested—”
He held up his hand. “How about you stop worrying about all the things that aren’t going to happen, and just enjoy the view—and the champagne?”
She still couldn’t believe they were alone on the huge catamaran. What was he thinking? Even worse, what was the boat owner thinking? She mentally counted the number of people that could fit on there, and how much money he could have made fitting all those people on here.
Then again, maybe he’d charged Grant the same amount.
Whatever. Not her problem, since she wasn’t paying. She sipped her champagne and decided that was Grant’s problem, not hers. If he wanted to waste his money taking a private cruise, he could. She wouldn’t have done it, but since he had, she walked along the side of the catamaran, taking in every view since they had the run of the boat. Grant followed behind, commenting about things he saw on the land like fishing boats or shopping areas or hotels and places where people lived.