Wandering Heart (9781101561362) (20 page)

“I don’t have a girlfriend or anything close to it,” he assured her, but his voice sounded troubled.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He was silent a moment then said, “It’s not that I think you’re lying to me. I just don’t get it. How could a gorgeous woman like you be roaming around unattached? Are all the men in Hollywood blind?”

“Not blind, just quite enamored of their own reflections,” she explained.

“Maybe I should search the question on the Internet.” His tone was teasing again.

“What? You mean you don’t read the supermarket tabloids? If you did, you’d know I’m going out with every guy in L.A., including Elvis.”

“And you’re not?” he asked, a soft laugh behind the question.

“Not even close,” she said. “I barely have time to talk to my own
assistant.” Not that Meredith was high on her list of people she wanted to converse with. Charlotte sighed. “That’s just the problem. I don’t have a normal life, and I don’t want to make your life miserable, too.”

“Hey, it’s my life. Don’t I have some say? If I’m willing to be miserable, I think you should let me. Misery loves company, right?” He was half joking, trying to make her laugh again and almost succeeding.

She didn’t answer. She was trying to do the right thing. She didn’t want to drag this perfectly wonderful, totally normal guy into her celebrity fishbowl. He had no idea what a nightmare it could be. “I think you might be getting in for more than you bargained for,” she warned.

“Undoubtedly,” he said, his tone easy. “But it doesn’t scare me.”

“It scares me,” she said quietly. Actually letting Colin into her life seemed the surest way to lose him.

“Okay,” he said after a moment’s pause. “I take your point. And I’ll think about it. I also think, since I saved your life, you can do me one little favor, Ms. Miller.”

“And what might that be?” Charlotte asked, though she already had a good idea.

“See me one more time before you go. Then I’ll leave you alone forever.”

You don’t need to go that far,
Charlotte nearly cut in. Of course she didn’t want him to leave her alone forever. Her feelings were just the opposite.

“If you can’t meet me tonight, how about tomorrow?” he asked. “Or tomorrow night? Any time that would work out with your schedule, you tell me.”

When he put it that way, it was hard to refuse him. The truth of
the matter was, she did want to see him. One more time wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

“We’re going to shoot very early tomorrow. Brad wants to catch the first light on the dunes down by the cliffs. But I should have time off again in the afternoon,” she said finally.
Meredith will be hanging around, but I’ll get rid of her somehow,
Charlotte told herself.

“Great.” Colin sounded happy. “If you can borrow the bike, ride down to the dock where I dropped you off last Sunday. Think you can find it?”

“I remember.” How could she ever forget?

“I’ll bring my boat around and wait for you. It will be good weather. We can go out on the water for a while. We’ll have plenty of privacy in the middle of the ocean, don’t you think? I don’t know that much about photography, but a telephoto lens can only see so far.”

Charlotte had to smile. Finally a man who understood what she really needed. “I think the middle of the ocean should definitely be private enough. You may have actually figured out a way to stump the paparazzi.”

And once again amazed me.

They agreed on a time to meet, and Charlotte promised to text him when she left the inn. When she finally put the phone aside, she had a moment of doubt. Was she doing the right thing?

Charlotte pushed the question out of her mind. She didn’t care if it was wrong or right. She just needed to see him.

T
HE
morning scenes went quickly. For once, Brad had no suggestions to make about her performance. Charlotte wondered if she was actually starting to understand what he wanted—or if he was just getting tired of correcting her.

There were more scenes on the schedule, to be shot in the afternoon, but Charlotte was not in any of them. Just as she had hoped, she was back at the inn by noon. She wanted to run straight up to her room and get ready to see Colin, but she forced herself to slow down and avoid drawing attention to herself. She had lunch with the cast members and crew who were hanging around the inn for the day, their schedules as free as hers. Of course, this included Meredith, who sat next to her at the table, her laptop at the ready.

Just as Charlotte was wondering how she could keep her assistant off her trail for the day, Sally Ann, who worked in wardrobe spoke up. “Judy loaned me her car for the day. I was thinking of driving up to Newburyport and looking around. I hear there are some
really cute shops and antique stores up there. Want to come, Meredith?”

Meredith looked interested but glanced at Charlotte.

“Oh, I don’t know. Don’t you need to run through your lines for tomorrow, Charlotte? Brad made some changes to the scene.”

“Don’t be silly. You deserve a few hours off. You go along,” Charlotte encouraged her. When Meredith still didn’t look convinced, Charlotte added, “Maybe while you’re out you can pick up a few things for me. I think there’s a shop up there that sells the French moisturizer I like. And I’m running out of that Moroccan Argan oil. I’d love it if you could find me another bottle or two.”

Meredith looked pleased to be assigned a real errand, which kept the trip from being purely for fun. “I’ll take care of that for you, no problem.”

Charlotte nearly sighed with relief. How easy was that? She went up to her room and got ready to meet Colin, dressing in shorts and a tank top for the bike ride and packing her bathing suit, towel, and a long-sleeved top. She already knew how cool it could be out on the water, even on a hot, sunny day.

From her bedroom window she saw Meredith leave the inn with Sally Ann and another crew member. A few minutes later, Charlotte came downstairs with her pack. Liza was clearing up the dining room and glanced in her direction. “Heading out?”

Charlotte nodded. “It’s such a beautiful day. I thought I’d take a bike ride and maybe stop someplace to sit on the beach. If I can borrow a bike again,” she added politely.

“Of course, help yourself. You have your cell phone, right? I don’t mean to sound like a mother hen, but just in case you have trouble with the bike,” Liza added. “You might not be as lucky as the last time.”

Charlotte was puzzled a moment then remembered her fib about the elderly couple who had helped her on the road. Oh, dear, she hated to lie—especially to someone as nice as Liza. That was the downside of having a secret relationship.

Not secret, Charlotte; private. You have a right to some privacy in your life. Even if the rest of the world doesn’t think so.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay.” She smiled briefly at Liza and headed to get the bicycle from the shed behind the inn.

A few minutes later she was out on the road, with the sea breeze in her hair and the brilliant sun warming her skin.

She paused on the road, to check if she was being watched or followed. She didn’t see a soul in sight, no cars or other boats in view. She even scanned the tall marsh grass that grew along the side of the road. She saw a few chirping birds, hopping from stalk to stalk but no reporters crouching in the grasses. Not today, at least.

She steered the bike the rest of the way to the dock, then chained it to a wooden bench. Colin’s boat looked empty and she felt a moment of dismay. Then he suddenly appeared from below deck and smiled at her, a smile that seemed familiar by now and never failed to move something deep inside her.

She grabbed her pack and ran to the boat, feeling as if she wanted to jump right into his arms.

He stepped up to the dock and met her. “I was worried for a minute that you weren’t coming. You said you’d send a text when you left the inn.”

“You’re right. I totally forgot. I was so focused on getting rid of Meredith and sneaking out.” Charlotte felt bad for giving him even a moment of doubt. She could tell from his expression he had been worried that she was going to stand him up. “I’m sorry,” she added.

“That’s all right. You’re here now.”

“Yes, I am.” Impulsively, she put her arms around him and hugged him. He hugged her back, pressing his face in the crook of her neck for a moment before pulling back.

“Come on. We’d better get going.”

He jumped onto the boat and helped her down. Then he untied the lines from the dock and pushed off with a long wooden pole.

“Is there anything I can do to help you get going?”

Colin grinned. “You can be my deckhand. Roll up these lines nice and neat, like those on the other side, so nobody trips over them.” He pointed to bunches of rope that were secured in neat figure eights and fastened to the side of the boat on brass hooks. “Then you can take out the bench cushions from the seats and tie them on. Like this …” He showed her where the cushions were stored, under the flap lids of the bench seats along the bow. “I’ll be up in the cockpit. Come up when you’re done.”

Charlotte had only been trying to be polite. She hadn’t expected to actually work. “Aye-aye, sir.” She saluted, her tone teasing.

“No need to be so formal, swabbie. As long as you follow orders.”

Charlotte had to laugh at the last remark and the nickname. She happily set about rolling up the rope and pulling out the cushions.

A few minutes later she joined Colin, standing beside him in the small sheltered space as he stood at the controls. The boat was moving quickly now; it bounced a bit as it hit the waves. Sea spray blew up and lifted her hair.

Colin smiled at her and brushed a strand of her hair from her cheek. “Are you all right? The bumps aren’t bothering you?” he shouted over the engine.

“I’m fine.” She turned and looked back. The coastline had already receded into the distance. She could hardly see the dock.

“We’re almost there,” he said a few minutes later.

“Where is … there?” she asked curiously.

“You’ll see. I think you’ll like it,” he added, smiling at her mysteriously.

Charlotte’s curiosity was piqued. She had thought they were just going out on the water, not heading for a destination. It didn’t matter, she decided. She was happy just being with him.

“What are all those screens and dials for?” Charlotte asked, pointing to the boat’s dashboard. “It looks like a spaceship.”

“That’s my high-tech fish-finder equipment. The poor fish don’t have a chance.” He pointed to one of the screens. “The sonar sends a sound wave through the water, so I can see where the schools are feeding or find my lobster traps. Sometimes I drop them without a marker. Like that one.” He pointed out at the water, and Charlotte saw a flag marker bobbing in the water.

“There are a whole string of traps tied to that marker, on a long line. Every lobsterman has his own special pattern on the flag, so we can tell them apart. The boat swings by and yanks them up with a pulley. I only have a few pots. I put them out for special occasions.”

He turned to her and grinned. “Or if I want to give someone who likes lobster a surprise.”

Charlotte gave him a look. He was all but admitting he had left the lobsters at the inn last week. “An anonymous surprise?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “That’s the best kind. Don’t you think?”

“It can be,” she agreed. “But then the person who gets the surprise can’t thank you.”

“They usually figure out some way to thank me.” He gave her a sly smile, and Charlotte didn’t know what to say.

Colin slowed the engine and glanced at her. “Want to drive the boat?”

“Can I?” Charlotte thought it looked like fun. “I don’t need a special license or anything?”

Colin shook his head. “For better or worse, you don’t. Anybody can get behind the wheel of a boat. You drive a car, right?” Charlotte quickly nodded. She didn’t drive herself around very often, but she did have a license. “It’s not much different. Come here, I’ll show you what to do.”

Colin stepped away, and Charlotte stood at the helm and put both her hands on the steering wheel. Colin stepped back and stood behind her. He was very close, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“That’s the compass. Just keep the needle hovering around the W. We want to travel due west.”

Charlotte nodded, but felt totally distracted by his nearness. “Whoops … I lost it …” The compass needle drifted to the E for east, and Charlotte made a quick, sharp correction with the wheel.

Much too quick and sharp.

The boat swung to one side and the deck shifted underfoot. Colin quickly wrapped one arm around her waist to keep them from falling, and with the other, held the steering wheel and righted the boat.

“Oh … I’m so sorry. That was dumb,” Charlotte said, trying to regain her balance.

Then she felt Colin hugging her close for a moment. He dipped his head and kissed her cheek. “That’s okay. Everybody does that when they first try it. Slow, small corrections, that’s all it takes.”

Charlotte was tempted to turn in his arms and kiss him for real but didn’t dare. No telling what would happen then.

She nodded, staring straight at the horizon again. Suddenly, a small landmass came into view. It was a tiny island, complete with a sugary white shoreline and small trees that filled the center. Charlotte
didn’t see any structures, not even a shack. Though there wasn’t room for much. The entire island would probably just fill a football field.

Colin reached around her and cut the power even more, so that the boat was just chugging along. “Here we are. It’s not the exact middle of the ocean, but it will have to do, considering I can only take you out for a few hours. I will guarantee that it’s totally private.”

Charlotte smiled at him. “It looks like paradise … a postage-stamp-size one,” she added.

He laughed at her description. “Let’s just swing around and make sure no one else is tied up out here today. I tried to reserve it, but no one answered the phone.”

She glanced at him then realized he was joking. Of course, there was no one to call out here—no phones, no people. Nothing but the deep blue water and brilliant blue sky.