The following morning, Carter bit back a groan the moment Eliza emerged from the sleeping quarters of the boat and he spotted her in the cute little sundress. The dress was probably Marsali's, borrowed like the bathing suit last night, but it fit like a glove and he appreciated that fact.
He'd probably come across as sexist if he voiced his thoughts aloud, but he loved it when women wore dresses. Especially when the dress bared Eliza's shoulders and ended above her knees and made her look all kinds of beautiful. "You look great."
"Thank you. I didn't know when you wanted to leave so… Marsali let me borrow this."
"It's perfect." She was perfect. "Before we leave, do we need to swing by your place and get the designs you wanted me to look at?"
The reminder that this was a business meeting was more for himself than anything. After giving in to the temptation to kiss her last night, the plan was to rein himself in and play it cool. Well, as cool as he possibly could looking at her in that dress—and Marsali's bikini last night. The image of Eliza in that two-piece would be seared in his brain for all eternity.
"No, I've been compiling them in a binder. It was in my car. I got it this morning," she said, a lift of her hand indicating the black zippered notebook nearby.
He smiled at her readiness, wishing some of it would rub off when it came to being a single dad of a precocious mermaid.
"Marsali will be up and off in a minute. She's looking for an earring. I told her she could come with us," Eliza said, not quite meeting his gaze. "She's got a good eye for this type of thing and some great ideas."
"But I can't," Marsali said, moving up the steps from below. "I have meetings today myself. Two new clients," she said with a wide smile. "With luck, I'll be able to send them your way for the wedding planning. Carter, thanks for letting me stay. It was fun. I love sleeping on a boat. Just rocks you right to sleep. Well, after all the girl talk."
Eliza smiled and he watched as the two women hugged before Marsali moved toward the dock.
He stretched out a hand to steady her as she disembarked and then got to work, planning on taking things nice and slow up the Intercoastal to give himself plenty of time with Eliza since their busy schedules might prohibit it from happening again any time soon.
Eliza helped him with the ropes before settling herself into the seat beside him as he put the boat into reverse. "You've done that before," he said.
"My dad and uncles all have boats."
"Yeah? What are they like, your family?"
She lifted a delicate hand and tucked a loose tendril behind her ear.
"Oh, they're family." She shrugged. "They're kind of a rowdy bunch."
As far as a description went, that wasn't much to go on. "Your mom and dad… are they together?"
"No. Not since I was a kid. Look," she said, pointing to a long line of pelicans flying in formation barely an inch over the water off to the right.
He got them moving in the right direction and tried to keep the conversation going. "Any siblings?"
"Halfs."
Yeah, a touchy subject apparently. "Where are they? In town? Close by?"
She turned her sunglass-covered face toward his, and Carter faltered. "Gotta talk about something, don't we?" he asked with a smile.
He felt her studying him, even though he couldn't see her beautiful green eyes.
"Four half sibs, two by each parent. Two brothers in Raleigh, one in Jacksonville, and a sister in Shreveport. I stayed with my mom after my parents divorced because my dad cheated and was more interested in his new bride than his kid. Mom eventually remarried, had kids, and then divorced again when I was in high school. I went to stay with my dad during the summer for a bit while the dust settled, but it turned out he was getting a divorce from his third wife, so I came back to Wilmington and spent the rest of the summer and my senior year with Marsali and her parents."
"That sounds… rough. I'm sorry, Eliza."
"It is what it is. Sometimes I'm blown away by the fact I plan weddings given all the divorces and breakups in my life—my other relatives aren't any better in that regard—but then I see the irony of attending all of the weddings over the years."
The words settled home with the weight of an anchor, and he wondered what she'd think of his two failed attempts. He opened his mouth to blurt it out and get it out in the open when Eliza grabbed hold of his arm. He followed her pointing finger and saw dolphins surfacing.
She smiled so big he couldn't bring himself to sour the mood with more talk about divorces. He'd tell her later. If it needed to be told.
The next hour was spent cruising down the waterway toward Wrightsville Beach. He slowed as they approached the restaurant, and once again Eliza moved to help with the ropes.
A guy spotted her and quickly came to pitch in, and Carter couldn't help but think it was to get a closer look at Eliza.
Boat secured, Carter thanked the man and placed a possessive arm around Eliza's shoulders, and sure enough, the guy took a last look and backed off.
Carter glanced down to find Eliza staring up at him, but given her sunglasses, he wasn't able to read her expression. "Hey, you hungry?"