Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“Nothing,” he muttered to himself.
Dune navigated to Carter’s Diner and when it was within sight, he slowed his boat down and prepared to pull up to the slip. One of his young cousins stood near the edge, with a bag in his hands.
“Perfect timing, Dune,” Tatum called, as he held out the bag for Dune to grab.
“Thanks, man. See ya later.” Dune hit the throttle—well as much as he could without breaking the wake—and slowly made his way to Caroline’s. Once he picked her up, they’d be able to go a steady speed for a bit.
After twenty minutes on the water, ten longer than he initially planned, the metal dock outside Caroline’s cottage came into view. It wasn’t meant for anything more than a kayak or rowboat. Dune dropped his speed to a slow crawl, steered his boat to the dock, and then cut the throttle when he was able to jump onto the deck. He pulled his line and knotted it into the dock cleat. One rogue wave and his boat and this dock would be gone, so he had to hurry.
Dune sped-walked the longer-than-normal dock until he reached land and then jogged toward the cottage, coming up short when he saw Caroline standing on the back patio. “Hey, good morning,” he said when he was within ear shot. “Did you get my note?”
“I did. What’s going on?”
He turned and looked at his boat, and then back at her. “I have to run some errands this morning and figured . . .” He paused and shook his head. Caroline was different from the others. Where they would bend at his will, something told him the woman standing in front of him, dressed in shorts and her Blue Lobster Adventures T-shirt, with her hair in a braid, would not be so amenable to his Captain Blue Balls charm.
Dune cleared his throat. “I mean, would you like to run some errands with me this morning? My dad needs a few parts, and I thought it would be nice to take the boat over. It’s a beautiful morning, and I brought breakfast.”
“What about work?”
“I’m the boss,” he told her. “I go in when I want to go in. Speed and Wilson will handle everything if I’m not there.”
“Is what I’m wearing okay?” she asked as she looked down at her clothes.
“Yeah, after we’re done, we’ll go to work.”
“Okay, let me lock up.”
Dune rocked back and forth on his heels while he waited for Caroline to reemerge from the cottage. When she came out, she had a tote bag slung over her shoulder and she wore the ball cap he gave her yesterday. He tried not to smile, but he couldn’t help himself. She was fucking adorable. But part of him missed the stylish Caroline. The one that didn’t give a shit about what people thought. He would have to find a happy medium to make sure she still shined in her own way.
Dinner cruise, he thought. He’d find some job on the boat that allowed her to be her.
“Ready,” she said as she walked toward him. He kept his hands in his pockets and motioned for her to walk toward the water.
“The dock is a bit rickety.”
“Shouldn’t it be rock solid?”
“I think the owners put it in for the guests who rent the cottage and main house,” he told her. “Had the tide been out, I wouldn’t have been able to pull up.”
Dune held Caroline’s hand as she boarded his boat. “Is this where you live?” she asked as he pulled the lines from the dock and jumped on board.
“Not really. It has a bathroom but no bedroom,” he said. “During the summer, I’ll mostly crash on my parent’s yacht, as long as they’re in town. I have a house on their land for now, until I decide what I want to do.”
Dune went to the helm and showed Caroline the bag of food. “I ordered us breakfast. I didn’t know what you’d like so I ordered a variety.”
“Who’s open this early?” she asked as she went through the bag. She settled on a blueberry muffin.
“Carter’s Diner.” Dune took one of the breakfast wraps out of the bag and peeled back the wrapper.
“Carter? Wait, that’s your last name.”
Dune nodded and took a bite. “We own it.”
“Geez. Is there anything your family doesn’t own?”
He pretended to think for a moment and then laughed. “Yes, there is. We don’t own Diego’s, your favorite hangout, the Sea Shanty, or any of the gas stations. The list goes on and on. We’ve had the diner since before I was born. The tours started when I was about fifteen.”
“This muffin is good.” She closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction. Caroline licked her lips. Dune couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, no matter how hard he tried. With her eyes still closed, he adjusted himself and tried to think of anything other than Caroline. Nothing worked. All he saw, in his mind, was her. He wanted her, but suspected she would keep herself off limits.