Going Overboard Read Online Free PDF Page B

Peu.”
    “Oh, do go on,” Nicole said, laughing.
    “That’s all the French I know. No, wait. Food. French food.” Between giggles, she leaned forward again. “Filet mignon, ” she crooned. “ Pâté de foie gras. Croissants. Come on, Nic. You cook more than I do. Help me communicate with this kid.”
    Nicole laughed harder. “Coq au vin.”
    “Coq au vin,” Andi repeated. She pushed her lips out in a Gallic pout. “ Ch#226;teau…briand. Vichyssoise. Oui, oui, oui, all zee way home, my little radish.”
    Nicole laughed until tears ran down her face.
    “Will you look at that, Chance?” Bowie said, coming through the hallway. “We leave them for five minutes and all hell breaks loose. What’s up, Nic?”
    Nicole just shook her head, helpless with laughter.
    “It’s a surprise,” Andi said, getting to her feet. “But I’ll give you a hint. Start practicing ‘Frère Jacques’ in the shower.”
    Bowie stared at her before turning toward Chance. “You make any sense of this?”
    Chance stood gazing at Andi with a bemused expression on his face. He seemed totally absorbed by the playful scene he and Bowie had interrupted, absorbed by Andi, for that matter. Andi looked into his eyes and saw an emotion she hadn’t associated with him before— delight. She was encouraged.
    “Chance?” Bowie prompted.
    Chance snapped out of his reverie and broke eye contact with Andi. “Uh, sorry. What was that?”
    “Never mind. You ready to start the motors?” Bowie asked, exchanging a glance with Nicole.
    “Yeah, the motors.” He walked quickly to the captain’s chair and sat down. Then he consulted the control panel a few seconds more before he started flickingswitches. Soon the boat hummed and throbbed as the twin engines chugged to life.
    Andi watched the mantle of responsibility settle on his shoulders again. Tension tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes. The boy inside him had been banished, at least for the time being. Andi wondered if she’d be able to coax that boy out again during this trip…and if she dared get close enough to try.
    H EAVEN HELP HIM , Chance thought, if he allowed Andi to become a distraction. As he listened for an irregularity in the chug of the engines, he thought about the ease with which Andi clowned around with Nicole. Her sheer freedom of spirit mesmerized him. For that brief moment he’d forgotten everything but Andi, and it had been exhilarating. It had also been embarrassing to have Bowie catch him at it, yet again.
    If Andi could capture his attention so completely when she wasn’t even focusing on him, what would happen to his concentration if she turned that happy-go-lucky charm on him full force? He’d have to be damn careful this week.
    Chance turned to Bowie. “You’d better go aft and tell me how I’m doing. When you give me the signal, I’ll start backing.”
    Bowie paused. “Uh, Chance?”
    “What?” Chance looked up impatiently.
    “We’re still tied to the dock.”
    Chance grimaced.
    “I’ll take care of it,” Bowie said, heading toward the front deck.
    Another lesson, Chance thought. He’d been so engrossed in thoughts of Andi he’d almost pulled half of theEcho Bay dock out into the lake. God knows, the boat was big enough to do it.
    “I think I’ll go help him untie us,” Andi said, following Bowie out onto the deck.
    Chance watched her sashay through the door. The light played with her golden hair as she crouched to help Bowie with the thick ropes securing them to the dock. Just looking at her lifted his heart. And addled his brain.
    “She’s amazing,” Nicole said, almost as if she could read the direction of his thoughts. “It’s impossible to be depressed around her. She always searches out the fun side of life.”
    Chance looked over at Nicole. “I thought it was the younger one who was supposed to be wild and crazy.”
    Nicole laughed and waved a hand toward the front deck. “Tell that to her.”
    Chance looked outside again. Andi