Sparks Fly Read Online Free PDF Page B

mounted the steps back onto the open deck.
    “Keep an eye on the harbor traffic while I maneuver out, would you?”
    “Aye aye, captain,” she said as she saluted him.
    They made their way out of the Marina with no problems and then Will cranked up the speed, jetting them under the Bay Bridge and out toward Angel Island. The water worked its magic, the delicious sensation of wind whipping past, the sun warming her skin.
    Will, who was steering from the fly-bridge up top, called down for her to join him. She carefully walked up the short metal ladder and came to stand beside him at the control panel.
    Keeping a watchful eye on the boat traffic surrounding them, he asked, “Are you having a good time?”
    “Oh yes. This is so much fun.”
    Nonetheless, she knew she should keep her manner as professional as possible. “When we drop anchor, why don’t we do some Feng Shui?”
    Will shook his head. “No way. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s have a little fun first.”
    What the heck. A little fun wouldn’t kill her. Grinning impishly at Will, she said, “All right, you win.” Pulling her hair out of the French braid, she let it blow in the breeze. She was intent on letting herself go with the flow for once.
    “Sailing past Fisherman’s Wharf, under the Bay Bridge, looking out towards the Golden Gate.
    It’s amazing. Have you always loved being out on the water?”
    Slipping on his sunglasses to fight the glare from the water, he replied, “I guess so. I grew up spending every summer in the Adirondack Mountains of New York with my grandparents. There weren’t many fancy things in that small cottage, but we had sail boats.”
    “Did your parents come out to the lake too?”
    “My mom did, when she could.” He paused. “My dad skipped out on us when I was five. I haven’t seen him since.”

    * * *
    .
    Will knew he'd already said too much. But he felt so comfortable talking with Angelina that the words kept coming. “The thing is, it wasn’t so bad that he left me. But my mom was on her way to becoming a truly amazing painter. After he left she had to work two jobs to keep us flush and by the time she got home she was usually too tired to paint. I used to set out her easels for her, hoping she would paint for even a few minutes, but she never did. By the time I was about to graduate from college, and I saw just how tired she had become from all her years of hard work, I vowed that one day I would make so much money she could paint all day, every day. I wanted to give her everything.”
    “I’ll bet you did just that, didn’t you?”
    “I wanted to build her a mansion and fill it with clothes and jewelry, but the only thing she wanted was the summer house my grandparents rented all those years. I’ll never be able to make up for what she had to sacrifice for me.”
    “It sounds to me like she has everything she needs. It sounds like she’s happy.”
    Maybe. But he would never be able to do enough to make up for the way his dead-beat dad had treated her.
    Everyone clambered up on the fly-bridge to join them and Will hoped she would forget his foolish babbling. Rounding the corner into a calm bay off of Angel Island, he announced, “Let’s drop anchor and head ashore.”
    A cheer went up from the crowd on the fly-bridge. Turning off the engine, Will grabbed the two other men on board to help him lift and dump the huge anchor off of the bow, leaving Angelina and Krista alone up top.
    Krista wasted no time. “Can you believe this yacht?” Without waiting for an answer she said,
    “And his gorgeous friend James? Oh my god, I could lounge around on this boat forever! Your boyfriend is the most delicious, wealthy catch in the entire world. In fact, he’s on this month’s-”
    Angelina glared at her friend. “Shh!”
    “What? It’s not like his big bucks are a huge secret or anything.”
    Angelina rolled her eyes and thought, not for the first time, how amazing it was that her best friend could be so