They both stepped out of the car and headed toward the entrance of the bar. Even in her heeled slippers, her head barely reached his collarbone, which made her shorter than the women he usually dated. At six foot four, and with a muscular physique, he generally preferred women who didn’t make him feel like a giant. But while the size disparity had concerned him before, now he found it a turn-on too. —------------------------ …’It’s not a date…It’s not a date…You are not on a date’ Maybe if she kept repeating it, she might remember it….Bonnie kept telling herself that. Because David’s jerk credentials had become harder and harder to remember through supper, every time he smiled at her with desire darkening his gaze; every time he offered her a taste from his plate like the Pied Piper of seduction; every time he murmured some wry observation and made her laugh; every time he made her heart thunder, or her pulse race or the hot sweet spot between her thighs throb. David might be a j
Bonnie nodded and he took her hand leading her outside and toward his car. The music dimmed as they approached the vehicle and when they got to it, David made no move to unlock it. Bonnie turned, her back pressed against the door of the car as she looked up at him. He towered above her, and Bonnie wondered if he was going to kiss her. She knew that if he tried to, she wouldn't stop him because she wanted him to. Her tummy did that strange little dance and her breath caught as the heat of him warmed her. "What is going on?" she asked, and she hated the tremble in her voice because she was sure that he heard it too. David smiled as he looked into her beautiful eyes. "I wanted to tell you… that I have an idea. And now I know that it is different from the plans you had, and it's okay if you say no. But I just thought you'd like it" Bonnie said nothing. She just stared at him and waited for him to speak while wondering what he had in mind. Since she met him, she had never seen him h
She gripped his hand, ignoring the tiny jolts of excitement that danced across her palm when his skin touched hers. He gave a gentle tug. Bonnie shifted too quickly, tried to get her feet under her before she dropped from the shelf. “Careful!” His warning came too late. She felt her dress catch, heard a distinctive rip and before she knew it, she’d landed face-first on the floor of his boat. She raised her head and coughed. The worn carpet, which was the color of rusted metal, smelled like it had been laid at the turn of the century. Before she could even think of righting herself, he’d scooped both hands under her arms and hoisted her up. “Whew.” That almost sounded like a word. She stepped to one side and shoved down her skirt, only to have her ankle give way and send her toppling over. “Ooooow!” She tried to break her second fall in as many minutes, but missed the closet door handle by inches. He caught her again, this time locking his hands around her arms and pushing her
Bonnie smiled at him and pulled her sandwich closer, looked down at the top of her gown and sighed. So much of her life had been put on hold….Even more during her grandmother’s illness, including her friendships. She wanted to explore that life now, figure out exactly what she could do. What her life could be. Despite the chaos she’d caused when she left home and her wedding, for the first time, she truly felt free. No guilt, she ordered herself whenever she thought of her parents. She rejected even the notion of it. She had done nothing wrong as far as she was concerned… If she didn't want that 'princess' life, there was nothing wrong with that. “Shoot.” David snapped his fingers and brought Bonnie out of her reverie. “I need to make a phone call. Be right back.” He left and Bonnie continued with her meal. In between bites of her sandwich, she removed bobby pins from her hair. With each one she set on the table, she felt remarkably lighter as her hair fell in waves around her sh
He glanced toward the closed door at the end of the passageway. Bonnie Rimmer definitely had a way about her. She hadn’t seemed fazed by the close quarters on the vessel as he had thought she would have been. Regardless, she was way out of his league. That necklace she wore around her neck, the fancy rings on her fingers…the pretty earrings. Obviously she lived in a world he couldn’t begin to fathom. He was perfectly content living his life. However, nothing about Bonnie Rimmer said “simple.” At least after they separated, he’d have an entertaining story to tell once he saw George again. He’d leave out how his heart beat double time when he’d touched her or how he’d inhaled the scent threading through her hair. Or how soft her skin had felt beneath his touch. He had to stop thinking so much about her. She wasn't and would never be his… eventually, she'd miss her old life and want to go back. The earlier he got her out of his mind, the better for him. When he finished tidying up, h
“Yes,” David said with a twinkle in his eye. “Yes, you are. It’s no big deal. I told him where we are…So don’t worry.” He held up a hand. “He just wants to know that you are safe. You should get a phone… so you can… call him sometime." “I feel like a teenager who’s run away from home,” she grumbled. Not that she ever had. By the time she was old enough to think about it, she knew very well her father cared too much and would come after her. Which was why this situation was so perplexing. Why couldn't he just let her be? “Yeah, well, since it seems like he is not going to let it go anytime soon,” David said as he got up to pull the burgers off the heat, “maybe you should go ahead and speak to him…regularly, i guess. So he will worry less” “I suppose that’s one option.” She swallowed, gathering her courage. “Or there’s another one.” “What’s that?” He opened a bag of chips, popped one in his mouth and sat down. She waited until his mouth was full before she answered. “We could not
“I’m not naturally sneaky,” she said after making a show of climbing the short stair-case. He glanced over his shoulder as she joined him. “I’ll try not to scare you again.” “You can scare me all you want if you bring coffee.” He accepted the offered mug with a quick smile. “Thanks.” “Everything okay?” The view from the window was nothing more than a collection of boats and cruisers—a view she’d seen hundreds of times over the years. The view behind her—the view waiting for them—now that was another story. “Electricity seems to be working. I’m going to try not to push the engine too hard on our first trip out. The ride to Palm Bay should be a good test.” “Like I said, I’m just along for the ride.” said Bonnie. “You are the boss” “Oh, you’re more than that.” He took a long drink of coffee. “You’re crew now.” “In that case, Captain, your wish is my command. If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll let you know or figure it out myself.” “Fair enough. You know how to unmoor us?”
“So, Palm Bay, here we come—” She told him. “Yeah. You'll like it. You know, they also have a pretty good farmer’s market on the weekends.” “How often have you been there?” “Too often to count.” “Where does your High Tide Harbor fall in? Seems to me it’s a tourist spot, isn’t it?” “Touché,” he said. “High Tide Harbor’s special. It nearly went under a few years ago. Tons of foreclosures due to financial malfeasance on the part of the main bank in town. Took a lot of people coming together and fighting to save it.” “Sounds like an interesting place.” Not that much different than most cities and towns she supposed. “It looked lovely when I saw it on a TV special. The one they aired about a celebrity chef and his wedding.” She could remember the images clearly; the coastal town with expansive beaches, high cliff sides and cypress trees outlining the rocky shores. There was a historic inn painted a bright summer yellow with white shutters and trim, perched at the highest point overl
"You're awfully quiet" David said to Bonnie when they got into the taxi that was supposed to take them to High Tide Harbour. She had been that way during the flight and David was starting to get worried. "I'm not" Bonnie protested, but even she knew that she didn't sound convincing enough. "Yes you are. You barely spoke to me on the flight except for when I asked you a question. And you slept during most of it. Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong? You can tell me and I'll make it right." Bonnie gave him a small smile. She felt guilty for making him think that he'd hurt her. He'd been perfect the entire time even after they said goodbye to her parents. The truth was that she had a lot on her mind. Her fears had been confirmed. She was pregnant! The weird thing was that she was thrilled about it. She was happy in fact. She was having a child… David's child was growing inside of her and she knew she'd love the baby with all her heart, but she was worried too. Having a baby ch
"You shouldn't be the one to apologize." Robert replied, as he touched her chin gently so she would look at him. "I was selfish, and I guess I was a bit too focused on what I'd benefit from your marriage to Marcus. I'll admit that I was really angry at first when you left, but after a while I thought about it, especially after David Stewart confirmed that you were alright, then I realized that I pushed you away. For that I'm sorry… ""Oh, dad""I see how… different you are now" Robert continued. "You look more confident in yourself and you're so happy… am I wrong?" Bonnie blushed as she shook her head. Was it really that obvious? But he was right. She was happier than she'd ever been in a long time. "No you're not" she replied finally. There was a pause, before Robert added. "And am I wrong to assume that David Stewart has something to do with that happiness?" Bonnie averted her eyes. She knew the topic of David would come up sometime. His presence alone was going to bring it up an
"Do we really need to do this?" Bonnie asked David as they got into the car. Finally, she was going to visit her parents for the first time since she ran out on her wedding, and no matter how much she tried to stay positive about it, there was this nagging pit in her stomach. She also had this horrible headache that just wouldn't go away. David sent her a heart warming look. "Yes, we do," he replied, then he tried to make her feel better by saying, "I'm sure they would love to see you. When your father hired me to find you, all I could see was a man who was really worried about his daughter and her safety. Whatever you might be thinking, nothing is going to go wrong. You called and told them that you were coming, right?"Bonnie sighed." Yes, I did." "And what did they say?""They said they'd be thrilled to see me" David raised an eyebrow. "So what's the problem? I'm sorry, but I fail to see it." Bonnie shook her head at him. "You seem to have forgotten, but I ran out on my weddi
Her pulse quickened even more and her lips parted as she struggled to breathe. She wanted that now—to be in bed with him. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.“What? It’s not your fault,” he said. “It's not your fault that I couldn't stay focused on my job. Honestly, I’m glad I didn’t and I don't regret any moment I spent with you. It was all worth it.”Bonnie smiled, then for some reason probably just to tease him, she used her hands on his knees to lever herself to her feet. Then she turned to walk away from him, but he stood and reached out. Catching her wrist, he whirled her around to face him. “Oh, hell,” he muttered before he lowered his mouth to hers.David kissed her hungrily—like he had earlier. His lips nipped and nibbled at hers, tugging until she parted them. Then he slid his tongue inside where it tangled with hers. She gasped and panted for breath as passion overwhelmed her."Were you really going to walk away from me?" he asked as he withdrew, breathing deeply. "Nah, I just wa
Bonnie unlocked her house and stepped in, carrying a big bag of groceries. Before she could finish locking the door behind her, David appeared beside her. He flashed her a smile that was difficult not to return. “Everything okay?” she asked him.He didn’t stop smiling. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”“Well, you were almost at the door waiting for me”“That’s because I missed you,” David replied.Bonnie simply blushed and looked away from him."Let me help you with that" he said, but Bonnie moved out of his reach and headed for the kitchen. He followed her. “You don’t have to. Besides, your shoulder hasn’t healed fully”"You know I'm not helpless, right?" he said behind her. "I'm just injured, and I have seen worse injuries." Bonnie dropped the bag and glared at him, "I’m sure you have. But like I said, your shoulder isn't completely healed yet," she said. "Don't put so much stress on it for now. I can handle the bag, and while you are here, you will do exactly what I say." "Yes, ma'am" Dav
George nodded his head. "Yeah, I already told the cops everything. They'll handle him." "Good" "He's alive too." "He is?" Both David and Bonnie stared in surprise. "Yeah. Apparently he's a tough old bastard, but he's going to spend a lot of time cooling off in prison." "I guess so" came David's reply. "I also checked on Michael," George added. "And?" "And he will be alright. The doctors say it might take a while, but the surgery was successful. If everything continues to go as planned, he will be alright" Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief at this information. Everything would be alright. Everyone was going to be okay. She watched as George tapped David on his leg and realized that they weren't just partners. They seemed very close and genuinely cared about one another. After he said goodbye to David, he turned to her. "It was really nice to meet you, Bonnie" George said, "although the circumstances and situation in which we met were… really wild, but I'm glad I met you. You h
Bonnie screamed as the shots went off, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw David and Jonathan crash to the floor. She thought he was dead. But he’d been fine. Not totally fine. Fortunately for him, Jonathan had missed hitting anything fatal, but David's shoulder had been hit. Jonathan, on the other hand, lay dead on the ground. She flinched as she remembered the image of Michael lying helpless on the floor, unable to do anything for him, then she snapped out of the shock and ran towards David. She shook him and watched as he slowly opened his eyes "Oh God, David," she cried. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Are you going to be okay? Can you hear me?…I'm so sorry, David" “It’s just a scratch,” David said to her and gave her a small smile to assure her and make her calm down. "Stop worrying. I'm fine… and so are you" "Thanks to you." said Bonnie, unable to stop the tears from falling. You saved my life. If you hadn’t come in when you had…” She shuddered as she realized that could
While the other two men stayed outside and watched the building, David and George went into the house. It was empty. That was something David already knew, but he signed George to look around the other rooms while he went straight to the room he suspected Bonnie would be in. He got to the room but it was locked from inside. But he was now one hundred percent sure that Bonnie was in there because as soon as he tried the door, he heard her muffled voice. She clearly wasn't alone because someone made her stop. David's chest ached from the pain that had struck his heart when he’d heard Bonnie cry out from within the apartment. He had to get inside—without that man hurting Bonnie any more. He hammered at the door again. “C’mon, I'm here. lemme in.”“No—” Bonnie began but then cried out again.He stepped back, so he had room to kick in the door. When he tried once and the door didn't budge, he put his gun in the waistband of his jeans and moved backwards to try again. But before he could
Bonnie sat quietly in the room where she was kept. Her face felt hot and she knew she had a cut on her lower lip from where she had been hit when she was grabbed. She had cried her eyes out until she didn't have the energy to cry anymore, so she just sat on the floor with her knees raised up to her chest and tried to think. Her life had changed so much since she ran out on her wedding…. It hadn't even been up to four months but so much had happened that it felt like years had passed. Her thoughts drifted to David. She was in this situation right now because she had gotten involved with him, but funny enough she still didn't regret it and didn't regret running out on her wedding. How stupid was she? She couldn't help but wonder because only a crazy person would think the way she was thinking right now. She sighed…. A person crazy in love. She winced when she thought about Michael. How was he? Was he dead? Did someone find him? The question bothered her and the assumption that he ha