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If I didn't think she was really scared of this boat, I'd laugh at her. But honestly, I feel really protective of Pearl and concerned for her right now. I am starting to be able to read her mood; that quick scan tells me that a joke is not what is needed right now.
I caress her thigh and give her an encouraging smile. I need to play this one differently.
"I'll cast off. Be right back." I duck out of the cabin, untie the boat from its moorings, and do a quick check that everything is in order. Then I head back to my seat and start the motor.
Pearl doesn't flinch, but I can tell that she struggles to keep her face blank and expressionless. I back out of the dock and turn us toward the open sea.
Pearl seems to relax more as we pick up speed. At this velocity, there is less rolling of the waves under the boat, and more of the constant whirr of the engine against the water underneath. When we make it past the marina and I ease the throttle up to full speed, I glance over at Pearl.
Her eyes are glued on the sea ahead of us. But she has loosened her death grip on her seat. The color is incrementally returning to her face.
"Are you doing okay?" I ask. I brush a strand of her hair back behind her ear.
I feel a little useless in the face of her seasickness. I want her to be comfortable, yet just being on this boat makes her ill.
"Yep." She flashes me a quick smile. "I think I just needed to adjust."
"Fair enough. We're not going far. My plan was to go up to Wolf's Head Island. There are a few deep pockets near there where I always have a lot of luck fishing."
She frowns and glances behind us. "This is probably a stupid question. But... you have fishing rods, right?"
"Yup. I keep my rods in a storage case just downstairs. Don't worry about that part. I'll bait your rod. You just have to hold it."
She cranes her neck toward the rear deck. "I'm guessing that we'll sit back there in those two chairs?"
You got it." I grin at her. "It's just about a ten-minute ride up the coast."
Pearl pushes out a long breath. "Okay. I'll be fine."
I don't know if she's trying to reassure herself or me, but I can't help the little grin that blooms on my face. "I believe you, darlin’."
As I drive the boat, I keep looking over at her to make sure she's okay. Her posture seems less rigid than it was before, but her eyes are still cemented on the sea. I guess I'll take what I can get.
I get a text and I pull my phone from my pocket. It's my mom.
Be a dear and pick a date for your official engagement party. Also if you could find out what Pearl's dietary restrictions are, that would be amazing. Oh, and ask her for a date that works for her family, too!
"Yes!" I cheer. I put my phone away and look at Pearl. "My mom just texted, asking to throw us an engagement party. This is a really good sign. If my mom gets behind us, Sam's not far behind."
Pearl frowns. "And you need Sam's approval, right?"
"Less his approval and more my trust fund. I'm not supposed to get it until I'm forty. But I want access to it now."
"Right. To invest in some real estate venture, I think you said. It’s got to be hard to lie to your mom, though…"
My eyebrows fly up. “I’m not lying to her.”
There is a moment of silence. “Do we have a fundamental misunderstanding of what you have told your family?” Pearl bites out. “Because I was under the impression that you were telling them that I was your fiancée.”
“Well, I am.” My face grows hot. “I don’t see it as lying to my mom. When I get the project funded and finished, then I can turn my focus to dating and procreation. So I see it more as delaying the truth by a few years. I might say that it’s embroidering the authenticity of my life.”
“Hah!” She laughs, but there is no humor in her tone. “That is straight up crazy. You know that, right?”
I direct my glare straight ahead. “It’s my life.”
Pearl’s tone softens. “You’re right. It is. I just don’t want you to ever ‘embroider the authenticity’ of the facts you tell me. With me, I want you to shoot straight.”
“Of course.” I feel tongue-tied, as if she actually caught me in a lie. “I am only misleading my parents because they have this old-fashioned mindset. They think that being married equates to being settled down in life. If they hadn’t tied my trust to a sham institution, none of this would be happening.”
