Freshwater Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (15 page)

I glanced over at Robbie and he smiled. I still couldn't believe this was real. This was my dream race, the race that could make my career, and if I did well, get me more sponsors than I would know what to do with. If I did well at this race, then it wouldn't matter that I had missed a season. I would be set to race next summer, and the Olympic trials would be mine for the taking. Robbie was the best thing that could have happened to me. Not only had he gotten my beautiful boat to the lake; he was sailing with me.

I sipped gingerly at my hot coffee, relishing the flavor in my mouth. One of the perks to dating a billionaire was that not only did we fly in on a private jet the night before, we also stayed in the penthouse suite at one of the fanciest hotels in Chicago. I had never slept on a bed that nice, and the coffee in the morning tasted as if it had been picked in Columbia just hours before. Granted, I hadn't slept much, but that was more because I was too excited than because of the quality of the bed. Now that we were up and moving, I was glad for the coffee. I wasn't usually into the finer things in life, but good coffee was something I could definitely get used to.

The nanny just made breakfast. Real breakfast. I want to keep her forever.
My phone chirped as the message from Grace came in. I stifled a giggle and showed the message to Robbie.

"I told you she was good," he said, a smug grin illuminating his face. I wanted to kiss him. He had hired a professional nanny to come and help Grace out while I was away. I had met the woman just before Robbie and I got on the plane, and she was the closest thing to a real-life Mary Poppins I had ever met, down to the British accent. Avery was absolutely in love with her from the moment they had met, and insisted on learning how to speak "princess" from her. I was almost sad that I wasn't there to witness it.

"If I could have everyone's attention," a deep voice said from a podium on the edge of the room. It looked as though a wedding had been held in the building the night before, and we were using the tables and chairs. Given how beautiful the building and the view were, it seemed a perfect place for a wedding. I shook my head, clearing out thoughts of weddings. I needed to pay attention.

"Excellent. First off, I'm so glad you are all here. As you know, this is the last race of the season and pits the best sailors of the summer against one another. Congratulations on making it to the elite competition." The man paused and glanced around the room. He was a large man with a wide barrel chest and a thick, black beard.

"First, the details of the race. You will all start here in Chicago and sail to Mackinac Island. The race course is approximately 333 miles and typically takes forty to sixty hours to complete. The record time is less than twenty-four hours." He continued on about how it was a double-handed mixed gender race, but I was more interested in the weather report.

"Now, some of you have already spoken to me this morning, but weather reports call for deteriorating conditions. High winds and an early winter storm are predicted to hit the lake sometime this afternoon. Despite this, it's tradition to race on this weekend, and we're not changing that." The black-bearded man looked around the room.

A sailing team from another table stood and left the room. They were obviously quitting the race due to the mention of weather. The speaker watched them go. "Weather conditions will be difficult for this race, but the committee has deemed it safe enough to race."

I looked over at Robbie, but he sat confidently in his chair, arms crossed as he took in the information. I didn't like storms. As a sailor, I had learned to deal with them, but that didn't mean that I enjoyed them. The most frightening storm I had ever been in was the one I had sailed single-handed into and gotten caught. It was the storm that killed my parents. There had been storms after that, but never one that frightened me as much.

The speaker continued at that point, going over the race course and the rules. These were all things that Robbie and I had gone over before and were, for the most part, fairly standard. I had followed this race every year, and because of that, I knew the course like the back of my hand. I felt like I could sail the entire thing blindfolded.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Thomas Grant and his sailing partner laughing at another table. Grant turned, making sure he had my attention, and winked. I felt a blush sear across my cheeks. I hated that man. When the speaker finished, two males sitting at the table next to us stood and greeted Robbie.

"Hello, Robbie," one of the men said. He was thin and lanky while his partner was short and stout.

"Hi, Jackson," Robbie greeted the tall man warmly, shaking his hand. "You going to be our competition?"

"Hell no! I saw that weather report. They're playing it down, but it looks like a real doozy of a storm. It's too late in the season to be taking risks like this." Jackson shook his head, and the stouter man frowned.

"You two are quitting already?" Robbie asked. "I guess Sam and I here will have the race in the bag. You were our only real competition."

The stouter man laughed. "You seriously crazy enough to try and race this storm, Robbie?"

"We aren't going to race this storm, Burt. We are going to beat it," Robbie replied confidently.

The tall man gave me an appreciative look. "Lady, you got yourself a crazy skipper. He's good as gold, but I think there might be a few screws loose if you know what I'm saying."

I laughed. "I think you're just scared of us. That storm's got nothing on us!"

Jackson grinned. "Robbie, I think you finally found a girl as crazy as you are." Everyone laughed.

"Good luck, you two. We've got to go move the boat from the starting area. We'll be cheering for you," Burt said, and the two men smiled politely and left as Robbie settled back into his chair.

A little apprehension started to worm its way into my head, so I made eye contact with Robbie. "You sure we're going to be all right with the storm?"

Robbie reached across the table and took my hand in his.

"Sam, we are going to knock the socks off this competition. You and me? We're a team. This storm isn't going to be as bad as they seem to think it is. We have this." His green eyes sparkled with certainty and I couldn't help but feel a little better. I knew Robbie liked to push boundaries, but if he thought we could sail through the storm, I believed him. We were a team and I knew we could do anything together.

T
he water was dark blue-green, with white dots of cresting waves scattered across the horizon. The lake stretched out before us, endless like an ocean yet contained. The main sail caught the stiff breeze, pushing us out into the race course at a strong speed. White sails filled the air, crackling and humming as the boat surged against the waves.

Little triangles of boats fanned out across the lake, each boat confident and racing to win. The water undulated beneath us, the wind catching in the sails with a gentle whisper. The sun glinted on the water, reflecting into the sky like a giant sapphire. Despite the warnings for the weather, it was a beautiful, sunny day.

Robbie grinned at me, standing at the wheel, the proud skipper of
Avery's Hope
. His muscles flexed gently under his thin shirt as he turned the wheel slightly, coaxing the
Hope
for more speed. I grinned back, the wind twisting my ponytail. I wore my lucky racing ball-cap, and my favorite sailing leggings and rash-guard t-shirt. The wind was cold but not unpleasant, and the sunshine was warm upon the deck. The day was off to a wonderful start.

The wind was with us, but it was also with Grant’s boat. His gun metal gray sails seemed to be always just in front of us. His taunting laughter danced across the water as he pulled further ahead. Anger boiled in my stomach, and I kept the sails sheeted in tight; even though it was still early in the race and things could easily change, the fact that he was in front of us annoyed me. The dark looks Robbie cast in Grant's direction told me he felt the same.

Clouds began to pepper the sky, slowly growing bigger and darker the farther we sped along the lake. We had sailed all day, the time flying past without incident. The sun gave one last glimmer of red before disappearing below the horizon and from sight. The clouds quickly filled the space where the warm light had once been, and the deck grew cold and gray. I went down into the galley and brought a late dinner back up to Robbie. It was just a simple breakfast-style burrito we had pre-made for the journey: scrambled eggs, spinach, black beans, and cheese all rolled neatly into a whole wheat tortilla. It was tasty and easy to eat, and we munched happily as the dark of evening surrounded us.

Night settled in like a heavy blanket. The water swished gently at the hull, occasionally sending spray into the air. The waves had a bit of strength to them, but the bouncing of the boat came in a gentle rhythm that was almost soothing. It seemed like the weather prediction was going to be wrong.

We sailed silently into the night, the white sails of our competitors like ghosts in the darkness. I could hear their hulls slapping the waves and occasional soft voices calling out speeds or directions. Grant's boat skipped in front of us, dancing just out of our reach. The entire night had a peaceful, dreamlike quality to it. It wasn't long before I checked the time, my watch glowing a florescent blue: 3:27 AM. With Robbie confident at the wheel, I hopped below deck to check our navigation and speed. We were right on course and making decent time.

"Looking good, Skipper," I told Robbie as I came back on deck. I did my best to stifle a yawn, but he smiled gently when he saw it. "We're making good time."

"Good. I can still see a couple of sails ahead of us, but we still have some time yet. Grant's only a little ahead. It's calm up here, and I know you didn't sleep well last night. Go rest your eyes for an hour or two. I'll shout if I need you, but right now, I'm fine." Robbie grinned as I yawned again.

"All right. I'll be back in an hour to give you a break. When we get to the hotel, though, we're sleeping for a week," I said, covering my mouth as a yawn broke into the tail end of my words.

"Among other things," Robbie said, a naughty grin crossing his face. His smile sent shivers of anticipation down my spine and it was hard not to want to have him right there. But we were racing, and I was exhausted. Robbie was right when he said I hadn't slept well the night before. I never did before a race, but the sheer momentousness of this one had pressed down on me. A quick catnap would do me a world of wonders.

I kissed him, relaying my thanks for the nap. His lips pressed to mine and I could feel him smile.

"Go rest," he said softly, and I headed to the hold opening. I glanced back up onto the deck before I went inside, seeing Robbie's strong silhouette calmly guiding us toward victory. I smiled, set an alarm, and curled up on a bunk for a quick nap.

I
was awakened before my alarm by being thrown out of the bunk and onto the floor. The boat was sloshing from side to side, and I felt like we were suddenly out in the open ocean instead of an inland lake. The radio hissed a Coast Guard warning.

"...expected 70 mile per hour winds, tornado warnings... high wind advisories in effect..." the pre-recorded voice droned as interference crackled through the speakers. This was not a good time to be out on the water.

I picked up the radio, ready to call in our position, but we were too far out. The lake surrounded us like an ocean, and with the storm, we couldn't call out. We were on our own.

I stumbled to my feet, feeling the boat roll beneath me as I worked my way up the hatch and out onto the deck. Robbie stood tall at the helm, the wind whipping his hair as he kept our course straight. He smiled as he saw me. The sky was dark, but lightning was beginning to flash along the horizon, silhouetting him against the black sky.

Where the sailing had been smooth with only a little bit of chop, the lake became alive, releasing angry monsters shaped like waves. Lightning flashed in the sky, the clouds finally overtaking us and the waves no longer played gently with our boat. The water was black, tipped with harsh white. Spray crashed over the bow, sending cold droplets scattering across the deck. The sails hummed with tension.

"Robbie! We need to head to shore!" I shouted. "The Coast Guard is putting out weather advisories!"

Lightning flashed in the oncoming clouds, the horizon growing hazy with rain. The last thing I wanted was to be out in a storm. As a sailor, I had come to terms with sailing in hard weather, but that didn't mean I enjoyed it. With the dire warnings of the pre-race meeting, I wasn't looking forward to braving the storm. Bad things happened in storms. Lightning could strike the mast, sails could rip, the boat could capsize, and a sailor could fall overboard into the murky waters. This storm could easily kill us. With the angry skies surrounding our little boat, I thought heading to port was the safest choice.

"No, Sam, we can stay out," Robbie replied calmly. He glanced around at the oncoming storm, confidence filling his face. "We're winning."

I looked out across the water to see at least two boats turning toward shore. Grant was one of them. We were flying past him. I could see the look of dismay on his face as we flew past. We had the wind and were making excellent time. The others were falling back. I bit my lip, worry curling up in the pit of my stomach like a snake. The rumble of thunder echoed off the water.

"Sam, it's just a gale. Think of all the possibilities for your career if we win this?" Robbie adjusted the helm slightly. His brow darkened and he looked dead at me. "I want to win this, Sam. We didn't win last time, but we are going to blow this one out of the water. We are going to humiliate Grant. I can feel it in my bones that this is our race. We just have to take it."

I thought about it for a moment. The stronger winds from the storm could give us the edge, the speed, to leave everyone in our wake. Winning the Invitational would put my sailing career back on the map. I would get sponsors and quit that horrible waitressing job forever. With this race on my resume, I would be able to have my pick of partners and boats. I could make sailing my job, and Avery would have my income and Grace's. I needed this win.