“No, Uncle Vaughn, it’s fine. Besides, I’m pretty sure Uncle Gray put the fear of God in him the other day.”
“Good man,” Vaughn said, holding out a fist for Grayson. The brothers bumped knuckles and nodded at each other solemnly.
Her uncles stayed a few more minutes, chatting with Kyle about some logistical things concerning the boat and upcoming schedules. She loved watching him in his element, taking control and ownership of the vessel even though most of those concerns should fall to Grayson. He knew his stuff when it came to the boats and sailing, but it was the business side of things that always managed to surprise her. It shouldn’t—he’d been a business major in college and had always talked about one day being his own boss—but seeing that side come through still made her feel all warm and fuzzy.
When her uncles finally made their exit, Drea was more than relieved to see them go. It wouldn’t be long before everyone arrived for them to set sail and she wanted some time alone with Kyle.
“Hey,” he said, coming up and leaning against the bar next to her. She grabbed the rag that was sitting near the sink and started to wipe down the counters, trying to keep her hands busy.
“Hey back.”
“This family dinner invite, you think it’s really because he’s making roast beef?”
“Yes,” she answered, confused.
“Well, he brought it up after the whole ‘you’re going away together?’ thing and after yesterday morning, I just wanted to make sure.”
“What does yesterday morning have to do with anything?”
“Well, after my little…”
“Tantrum?”
“I was going to say freak-out, but okay, after my little tantrum, I ended up in the kitchen. And he was there and kinda went all Yoda on me asking if it was about a girl. And I didn’t get into specifics, but I told him yes, and so now I wonder if he’s on to us.”
“Would it be so bad if he was? I mean, I’m not trying to put the cart and horse in the wrong order here or anything and presume…” she started to ramble.
“Presume? I think we’re past presuming, sweetness,” he said, turning so his right hip rested against the bar, reach
ing out and pulling her close. He kissed her temple. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. If you want to label that, great, if not, that’s fine too. But after last night, we are most certainly a thing.”
She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling herself relax, not realizing she had tensed up so much. Hearing him say the words made her want to jump up and down then kiss him until neither one could breathe.
“Okay, then, since we’re ‘a thing’ as you put it, would it be so bad if Uncle Miller knew?”
“Yes!” he said emphatically, pulling away from her. “I enjoy being employed, Drea. And I need this job.”
“You’re not going to get fired over being in a relationship with me,” she countered.
“Wanna bet? Your uncles would not handle that well. You know how overprotective they are.”
Drea grumbled. He had a point. Her uncles hadn’t quite come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She loved them more than anything, and loved that they had changed their entire lives after the accident that took the lives of her parents and aunt, but she sometimes wished they would back off now that she was older.
“I just think that Uncle Miller would be a safe choice, that’s all.”
“Maybe, but for now, will it be a deal breaker to just be our little secret?”
“Um, well, I might have already told Leona,” she said, nervously biting her bottom lip.
“I gathered by the look she gave me this morning,” he laughed. “I amend my statement to include the best friends then.”
“Perfect,” she said, grinning brightly at him.
“Yes, you are.”
The group tour started out a little rocky, but seemed to have calmed down. According to Brig, all eight of them had met for breakfast and started pre-gaming with mimosas and then moved to tequila sunrises shortly after. Each and every one of them was wasted by the time they got on the boat, and Kyle was sure he and Drea would be power washing puke off the deck later this evening. Thankfully, hitting a couple of large swells just outside the no wake zone scared a couple of them, and their stomachs, into slowing down their intake.
Despite their poor choice in morning activities, they had been a fairly low-key group. They had all taken up residence in the front of the boat, either on the trampolines or the front hulls, and were laughing away, soaking up the tropical sun. Each one of the girls wore an itty-bitty bikini, held together with just a series of strings, while each one of the guys was in short, tight swim trunks that rivaled Speedos with how much they showed off.
