Luke stepped into the hotel lobby at eleven on Wednesday morning. He made his way through the throng of guests waiting for an early check-in and across the oak floors to the elevators. He punched the Up button to go to Claire’s suite. She was waiting for him, though she’d told him she only had half an hour before she needed to leave for a business lunch. He stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor. The thick carpet muffled his steps, but she still opened the door when he approached.
She drew him inside quickly and shut the door. He sent a grin her way. “Afraid your parents will see a strange man entering your room?”
Her laugh held a touch of unease. “It’s truer than you know. Dad already thinks you’re interested in me for my money.”
He laughed. “Any man who thinks about money when he’s with you is an idiot. And we Maine guys take pride in getting what we want the hard way—by working for it.” Especially today, with her bronzed arms bare in that killer sundress that hugged every curve. The bright-blue color played up her eyes, and she’d curled a strand or two of hair out of her updo. Those curls just begged to be touched.
Pink tinged her cheeks, and her gaze lingered on his face. “You always know how to say the right thing. I think you’re a ladies’ man, Luke Rocco.”
He’d be her man any day. The realization caught him off guard, and he bit back the words he wanted to say. “My sister would laugh you right out of the room. I get tongue-tied around beautiful women.”
This time her laugh was genuine, and she took his arm. “Let’s sit on the balcony. I need strength for the day.” She led him out into the crisp air. She sank onto the lounger on the big balcony with her cell phone in her lap. “What’d you find out yesterday?”
Perching on the edge of the deck chair, he told her about running into Isabelle. “Someone has to have seen them together. Someone in the county knows who this guy is. We just have to show that picture to enough people and we’ll have him.”
“I hope so. I want this over.”
He decided not to tell her about his slashed tires. It might not have been anything but coincidence.
She flipped on her phone. “I need to go. I want to wrap up the merger this afternoon. Wish me luck. I didn’t get very far yesterday. Ric’s father kept throwing up objections. I’ll have Ric and Francisca to myself today, and maybe I can land this merger. Then I can concentrate on our investigation.”
He took her hand and laced his fingers with hers. “Why don’t you blow off this lunch and come with me instead? We’ll go down to the wharf and eat lobster with so much butter it’ll smear on our faces. We’ll have sea salt taffy and fudge until we get a sugar high, then we can go out on the boat and watch the moon come up.”
She squeezed his hand. “You make it really hard on a girl to resist. All my favorite things.”
“How about we do it tonight, then, when you’ve got the merger in the bag?”
“I’d like that, Luke. I’ll order dinner, and we’ll have it on your boat.”
His pulse blipped at her warm expression, and he put the brakes on his thoughts. She wouldn’t stay in this place, and he would have to take charge of the cranberry farm.
Gulls swooped and squawked over Claire’s head as she reached the bottom of the pink-granite steps that led from the hotel grounds to the slabs of rocks lining the water. Steam rose from the heaps of kelp drying in the sun, and she breathed in the smell of the sea. Several boats, their white hulls gleaming in the sun, bobbed just offshore at their moorings. One of them was Ric’s, probably the large sailboat with a mast that seemed to stretch to the fluffy clouds overhead.
Francisca had gotten to the bottom first, and she turned to smile at Claire. “You doing okay?” She wore khaki slacks and a red top that showed off her figure and her tan. A matching khaki jacket was slung around her shoulders.
“Much better. I think I might actually live.” Claire pointed at the big sailboat. “Is that Ric’s pride and joy?”
Francisca turned to look and nodded. “Looks like he’s already there.” She waved, and the figure on the deck waved back. “Yes, that’s him.”
Claire watched him lower an inflatable rowboat over the side. “Guess we’d better get out on the dock. He’s coming for us.”
She tipped up her chin and pressed her lips together. Her father was counting on her to seal this merger today. The large plane contract would be hard to fulfill without the power of Ric’s company. She followed Francisca down the weathered boards to the end of the dock as the skiff reached them.
Ric looked every inch the preppy seaman in his white shorts and navy shirt. The white cap on his head contrasted with his dark hair in a way she was sure he’d carefully planned right down to his bare feet. Everything neat and perfectly ordered.
His smile broadened when he held out his hand to help her aboard. “Ahoy, señorita!”
She tucked her satchel under one arm, then grabbed his hand and stepped down into the boat. The thought of spending the day on the water enticed her. Talking business and enjoying the sea and sun made for a promising combination.
Francisca’s text message alert went off, and she stopped to check it. “Uh-oh, I will not be able to go with you guys. Bridget is sick, and Papa wants me to come.”
Ric frowned. “I got a text from him too, but I thought it was his way of trying to derail our merger talk. You think I should go too? Maybe it is not a ploy.”
Francisca shook her head. “You know how dramatic she gets. She has probably convinced him she is dying. You two go hammer out the merger, and I shall sign it as well. Papa will come around.”
Claire wanted to do a fist pump at Francisca’s stamp of approval, but she sedately took a seat in the bow. “Call if you need us.”
“I will. See you at dinner. And be careful where you stop to eat. I heard some staff talking, and there can be huge tidal differences. Not as much here as up in the Bay of Fundy, but still quite significant.” Francisca set off down the dock.
“We are not going clear to the Bay of Fundy.” Ric settled on the seat and picked up the oars. They cut through the blue water and propelled the boat to the steel ladder on the big sailboat. He attached the dingy, then held out his hand for Claire. “You first.”
He held her hand and stood too close for her comfort. She gave him a quick smile and pulled her hand out of his grasp, then scaled the ladder. Standing on the deck, she looked around. His boat was gorgeous. She guessed it had at least two cabins below deck, and every surface gleamed. The canvas sails flapped a bit as they waited to be hoisted, something she was eager to do. Constant work had kept her out of a sailboat for several years. The rocking of the boat under her bare feet lifted her spirits. Maybe she should get her own boat. She could well afford it.
They spent the next few minutes working in tandem to prepare to set sail. Looking into the blue sky as the white sails unfurled above her gave her such peace. She’d never been able to figure out why the sea spoke to her so. She was never happier than when she was near the water. Could she have lived on the water in the missing year?
Fifteen minutes later the boat sailed past the little orca’s enclosure. She cupped her eyes and made out a splash as the little guy flipped his fluke. He swam as close as his pen allowed. Did he recognize her?
Ric squinted toward the pen. “What is that?”
“It’s a small orca. A friend found him near death and is rehabilitating him. The little guy is doing well. I think he’ll be able to go home in another week.”
“Home? You know where he lives?”
She shook her head. “We have to try to find his matriline and take him to it.” She saw the confusion on his face. “His matriline is his immediate family, mother, father, siblings. There will be a bigger group, a pod, that he’s part of. Orcas stay in their family unit all their lives. It’s pretty amazing, really.” She warmed to the subject. “And if they lose a family member, they mourn for years just like humans. They will also welcome in solo members of another pod.”
Ric smiled. “You could lecture at a university on orcas.” He turned his attention back to the wheel and guided the boat into deeper water away from the island. “I thought we would set sail up the northeast coast toward Jasper Beach. Then we will stop for lunch on the way back.”
“I can’t wait.” Claire watched the jutting coastline slide by. She tried to bring up the merger several times, but Ric always stopped her and said it could wait until after lunch. It was a perfect day for a sail. The sails filled with wind and glided over the calm sea. They passed Great Wass Island, and she dug out some binoculars. “I see puffins!” She’d been dying to see some of the colorful birds that had been brought back from the edge of extinction.
She handed the binoculars to Ric and let him see the birds too. He was in a grand mood as well, which gave her hope that they’d finish the merger today.
He pointed out a stretch of beach on another island. “Let’s eat there.”
The cove he pointed out ended in a crescent of sand that gave way to thick trees. She didn’t like how deserted it appeared. “It doesn’t look like you can even get to that beach except by boat.”
“You can’t. My map calls it Dead Man’s Cove. A little gruesome, but the concierge told me it was a pretty spot that would be perfect for a picnic.”
As the beach grew nearer, Claire went over what she intended to say. She had to get his signature on the dotted line.