“The pleasure is all mine, Sierra,” Pat said with a wink.
Sierra turned and looked at me with a questioning look. “Your father’s girl?”
Grinning, I nodded and then pointed to the ninety-foot schooner docked at the very end on the right. “My father’s girl.”
Sierra turned and looked at the sailboat. “Mother of God. That is huge.”
Pulling her to me, I whispered into her ear, “What every man wants to hear, baby.”
Sierra giggled as she slapped my chest.
“Everything ready to go, Pat?” I asked as we began walking to the boat.
“Just as you asked. The seas are amazingly calm, but you know the drill.”
Nodding, I shook Pat’s hand once more. “Thanks, man. I’ll see you when we get back.”
Sierra stopped and spun around. “Wait. You’re not going with us?”
Pat gave Sierra an amused smile and shook his head. “No ma’am.”
Sierra looked between Pat and me as she asked, “Who’s gonna sail the boat?”
Placing my hands over my heart, I shook my head. “I’m gutted you have zero confidence in me, Ms. Jackson. It’s you, me and That’s My Girl.” My father had the name of the boat changed in honor of my mother.
Sierra’s eyes widened. “You can do this by yourself?”
Pat let out a roar of laughter. “Damn. She doesn’t know about your sailing days I take it.”
Shaking my head, I let out a chuckle. “No, she doesn’t. The boat has autopilot so it sails straight while I raise or lower the sails.”
“Have fun, kids!” Pat called out as he began walking back down the dock.
I started getting things ready to start sailing when Sierra grabbed my arms. “Aaron, I’m deathly afraid of the ocean. I mean, I’m not that great of a swimmer. Oh sure, I took lessons and all, but when it came right down to it, I had a massive crush on the teenage boy who was teaching us. I spent more times sitting on the side of the pool watching him and his abs more than I did anything else. I . . . I can’t swim that great.”
Dropping her mouth open, Sierra shook her head. “What if you need my help? Like to dive into the water and do something?”
Sierra’s voice was laced with fear. Pulling my head back, I asked, “Why would I need you to dive into the water?”
Shaking her head, she bit down on her lower lip. “Dunno. What if you do? Then what? We’ll be stuck! Stuck in the middle of the ocean and I’m pretty sure there is like no cell phone coverage out there.”
Laughing, I pulled Sierra into my arms. “Sierra, I promise you I won’t make you dive into the water. We won’t go out far and I swear I won’t make you swim.”
Chewing on her lower lip, Sierra nodded her head. “Okay.” Helping Sierra onto the deck, I smiled when she let out a gasp. The table on deck was covered in food. Chocolate covered strawberries, fruit, cheese and every kind of bread you could think of. A bottle of wine was in an ice bucket chilling.
“Oh my . . . so . . . beautiful.”
Walking up to her, I wrapped my arms around her. “Yes you are, baby.”
Turning in my arms, Sierra’s eyes grew glassy. “I’ve never had anyone do anything like this before. You . . . you are to good to be true, Aaron.”
Shaking my head, I leaned over and gently kissed Sierra’s lips. “I’ve waited so long for you, Sierra. You have no idea how long I waited.”
A single tear rolled down Sierra’s face as I kissed it away. “Let me show you down below.”
“Oh I’ve seen it and I’m very impressed, Mr. Walker. But if you want to whip it out, I’m totally down for that.”
Laughing, I grabbed her hand and led her to the stairs. Walking down into the cabin, Sierra let out a gasp.
Wood covered everything from floor to ceiling. The half-moon shaped bench was to our left. There was a dining table with three chairs on the other side of the bench. To our right was a white sofa. Just beyond that was the kitchen area.
Sierra walked further in and ran her hand along the white sofa to our right. Spinning around, she said, “Holy shit. It’s huge down here!”
Letting out a chuckle, I nodded my head. “Yeah, it is. My father had the whole thing remodeled right after he bought her.”
Sierra looked all around as she whispered, “It’s beautiful.”
Whispering against her neck, I said, “I’ll show you my room in a little bit.”
“Your room? How many rooms are down here?” Sierra asked with wide eyes.