The House on the Shore (27 page)

Luke started.
He rubbed his cheek.
“I’ll bear that in mind.”

A short time later, having made her apologies to the hotel staff, Anna waited outside
the
shop while Luke made his purchases.
She knew from experience the village store stocked little in the way of luxuries, so there would be no pâté or champagne
.
J
ust sliced ham, cheese, pickles
,
fresh rolls, and, if they were lucky, a bottle of wi
ne.

Luke had been right.
Despite his reassuring presence in the spare bedroom, she’d slept badly.
Every time she started to drift off her body jerked awake at some imaginary noise.
As a consequence, she felt tired and lethargic.
A weekend of making beds, dusting and polishing,
and
Morag’s endless
questions were
more than she wanted to face.
Besides, what woman could resist a day in the sun, sailing on a beautiful yach
t
in the company of
a good-looking man?

Across the road the shop bell tinkled
.
A
nna watched in admiration as Luke emerged carrying two bags.
With a quick look left and right, he crossed the narrow street, his
movements’
swift,
and
full of grace and virility.
His broad shoulders
filled every inch of the denim shirt he wore, and his long legs, ensconced in faded j
eans, looked firm and muscular.

Anna let out a sigh, and wondered why
he
had chosen to remain single after his fiancée’s death.
From what she’d read, every American woman dreamed of meeting a rich, successful, attractive man, and Luke was the very embodiment of one.
Everything about him screamed ‘marriage material
.’
Y
et he remained unattached.

Before she could think of a
reason why
, the object of her thoughts opened the tailgate.
She turned around
,
and studied
hi
s face
as he deposited the carrier bags in the cargo space.
There was an inherent strength that said
,
‘trust me, I won’t let you down.’

“What?
Have I got egg on my shirt from breakfast?”
He examined the blue denim.
When Anna didn’t reply, he closed the tailgate, walked round to the driver’s side, and slipped behind the wheel.

He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Hellooooo.
You hiding in there someplace?”

“Sorry, I was miles away,” she replied, swivelling in her seat to face him.

“Is my driving so bad that you have to put yourself into a Zen-like state?”

“What?
No, it’s quite good, considering you probably own an automatic, and aren’
t used to driving on the left.”

“I go off-road a lot when I’m looking for new landscapes to paint, so I have an SUV.
Granted, these roads are much narrower than those back home, but just give me another day or so, and I’ll get accustomed to them, and to driving on the wrong side.
In fact, you’ll start thinking I’m one of the locals.”

“God forbid.
There are a number of ‘locals’ who shouldn’t be in charge of a pram, let alone a car.”

“Does that include you?”

“Why you
—
?”
Anna replied, hitting him playfully on the shoulder.
“I’ll have you know I passed my driving test first time round.”

“Let me guess.
You drove away so fast the examiner didn’t get a chance to jump into the car.
You passed by default.”
He caught her hand be
fore it could strike him again.

Anna leaned back against the
worn leather seat and laughed.

“Do you
always have a ready comeback?”

“Hey, I’m an American.
It’s my job.”
He
said, driving
off.
“I learned
to stand up for myself early on—
Jack’s doing.
Do you want to take the dogs with us?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll leave them
at home
.
I’ve taken them on a boat before, but it was a large inter-island ferry where there was room
for
them
to walk
.
I’m not sure how they woul
d react on such a small vessel.”

Luke brought the Land Rover to a halt outside the croft.
He opened the passenger door, helped her out and led her toward the small dinghy.
He pushed off, slipped the oars into the rowlocks, and rowed steadily across the loch to his yacht.

Close up
,
it was stunning.
Fully sixty feet in length and painted white, with two blue lines just above the waterline, it stood tall and prou
d against the rugged mountains.

Luke extended his hand to her.
“Watch your step.
The rungs of the ladder can be slippery.”
He showed her to one of the padded leather seats behind the helm.
“I’ll just stow our lunch in the galley
,
and then I’ll give you the guided tour.”

Anna leaned back and examined her surroundings while Luke busied himself below.
She was amazed by what she saw.
Morag’s comment about the yacht being a ‘wee boat’ was so far wide of the mark that she laughed out loud
.
It was the height of luxury.

The deck was teak, and the fitting
s
stainless steel.
If she craned her neck she could just make out the top of the mast fully eighty feet above her.
In front of that stood the rigging for the spinnakers, and furled up against the boom was the mainsail.
One thing was certain—Sandpiper was no poor man’s toy.

Moments later Luke reappeared.
He’d swapped his shirt and jeans for a T-shirt
and
a pair of
cut-off blue denim shorts.

“Watch your head as you come down the companion way.
The steps are quite steep.”

Anna stepped
inside
and lost the ability to speak.
The galley
,
and saloon beyond, were both sumptuously fitted out in teak and cream leather.
There were two tables, a wine rack and cupboards for storage.
Even a VCR, DVD and a TV.

“I was lucky.
Sandpiper was a custom build.
Her p
revious owner, a Greek business
man, went bankrupt.
She’d been laid up for six months when I found her in a boatyard in Turkey.
She was designed for world cruising, although not for single-handed sailing.
I had the boatyard install the latest navigational aids and electric winches, before a friend and I sailed her back home.”

“A female friend?”

“No, a big, burly Canadian fisherman named Ike.
He’d have looked damned ugly in a dress.
And you sure are nosy about the women in my life.”

Anna turned away.
“
I’m sorry I asked.
It was a stupid question.
I always imagined the accommodation on yachts would be a bit Spartan.
I had
no idea it could be like this.”

“Come and have a look at the master suite.
Sandpiper sleeps six comfortably in three double staterooms.
There’s
also
room for a crew.”

Luke led her aft.
The master suite, fitted in teak like the rest of the yacht,
contained
a double bed,
a
small bathroom with shower stall, and cabinets for storage.
The bed was covered in a rich, red and green Thai silk throw.

A small oil painting hung over the head of the bed.
Anna leaned closer to examine it.
The
brushwork
was exceptionally fine.
The painting depicted a Highland loch, with the figure of a woman carrying a basket walking towards a croft on the shore.
Smoke curled from the chimney into the surrounding trees.
Painted in shades of greens and browns, it looked very similar to the ones Anna had seen in Edinburgh.

“Is this the painting you found in Bar Harbor?”

“Yep.
Do you like it?”

“It’s stunning.
The frame looks original, too.
I think it could be a Breanski or a Jamieson.
Jamieson was famous for painting Highland scenes.
You might want to check that out when you get home.”

“Thanks for the tip.
I’ll be sure to do that.”
Luke closed the door of his cabin
,
and they
climbed back on deck.
“W
hat do you think of
the yacht
?
Isn’t she something?”

“If she were mine, I would travel the world.
I don’t think I’d ever want to set foot on dry land.”

“Yeah, well, you might feel different after a few weeks at sea.”
He took his place at the wheel.
“Once I’ve turned her around, I’ll set the sails.
There should be enough wind
.
I
f not, we can use the engine.”

Acutely conscious of Luke’s athletic physique as he crossed the short distance to the helm, Anna felt a ripple of excitement deep in the pit of her stomach.
Had her feelings for him had gone beyond simple attraction?
Too busy fighting
emotions and
the desire to feel his arms around her
,
she
paid scant
attention to the conversation.

“Right.
Whatever.
I’m sure you k
now the best way to do things.”

He glanced over his shoulder.
“Are you
okay
?
I know you’ve been through a lot of late.
You seem distracted.
Can I help?”

“I’m fine.
Just fine.”
T
he look he gave her was so electrifying
it took all her strength
to stop her fingers from reaching out and touching him.
She closed her eyes and turned her face to the sun.
The gentle motion of the boat drew her thoughts away.
She’d never experienced anything like it before—perfect
harmony between man, boat, wind
and water.
Seconds later her
daydream
was broken by the clank of the anchor chain as the electric windlass dragg
ed it up into the chain locker.

Luke turned his attention back to the helm.
He manoeuvred the yacht until it faced seaward, killed the engine, and then hoisted the jib.
The wind immediately caught the sail and soon the yacht was gliding across the water
towards the mouth of the loch.

Behind his dark glasses, his eyes were sharp and assessing.
The short-sleeved green shirt
Anna
wore matched the colour of her eyes.
The top three buttons were undone, exposing a creamy expanse of neck.
The cropped trousers showed off her slim
calves and
ankles to perfection.
Unlike other women of his acquaintance, Anna didn’t flaunt her attributes and was completely oblivious to her own beauty, which was why he found her so attractive.

She was no longer pale and gaunt, he noted.
He saw both delicacy and strength—a strength that did not lessen her femininity.
Her long lashes rested on high
,
freckled-covered cheekbones
.
When his eyes lingered on her full lips, his body stirred as he remembered the kiss they’d shared
.

The breeze gent
ly fluffed Anna’s red-gold hair
and blew
tendrils into her face.
H
e
tucked them behind her ear, just as he’d done when they were out for their walk.

“What...?”
Anna gasped, as Luke’s fingers brushed her cheek, disturbing her serenity.

He took off his glasses.
“Sorry.
I should have known better than to touch you, but your hair…”

“For a moment…I thought…I’m sorry, I overreacted,” Anna replied, breathing deeply trying to relax
, b
ut it wasn’t easy, especially with Luke holding her gaze.