Merry with a Captain (Love Beach, Holiday Collection)

Chapter 13

13

T he week passed in a whirlwind, and Robyn was thankful it was finally Friday. She’d been juggling the clinic manager position, as well as training two new physiotherapists and picking up the load of those clients left without one. She missed Fletch, and by the time she finished at the end of the day, it was way too late, she was far too exhausted, and all she wanted to do was crawl back to her hotel room, shower, and fall into bed.

But, each night when she'd arrived at her room, there was a gift for her. Fletch had arranged the deliveries to be waiting at the end of her day. His thoughtfulness moved her, nearly bringing tears to her eyes. The first night, it was flowers and chocolates, the second, delicious smelling bath bombs with a bottle of wine, and finally, a box of the British pastries that had been ruined the night they reconnected at the Christmas Market. Not only were gifts waiting for her, but he’d also ordered room service so she had dinner delivered shortly after getting to her room.

They talked while she ate, and they had really opened up, sharing their past which was the stepping stones to their building a relationship. She told him he was spoiling her rotten…but that she loved it and was very grateful. They texted at other times through the day. She eagerly anticipated his messages and knew she was falling for him … hard. Even though they were very new as a couple, it seemed as if they had been together forever, and it was difficult to recall her life before him. She thought of them as a couple, and she could see a future with him. He hadn’t said as much to her, but his actions spoke volumes. He was kind, attentive, playful, and even if he was still a bit guarded, Robyn hoped it would pass with time.

Discovering he was a captain of a boat in the marina had come as a huge surprise, but it did help her understand him better. She recalled that night while watching the sunset on the pier how he’d said there was to be a weather change simply by reading the sky, and sure enough the next day was miserable and rainy.

She sighed and lifted her mug. He was a sailor, ruled by the wind and sea, and wherever it may take him. Something she couldn’t fathom. She was governed by rules, schedules, bills and did her best to blend fun and adventure into her days. Meaning, they were polar opposites, and it gave her a twinge of concern. Could two people so different in their outward lives ever find common ground to build a sustainable and long lasting relationship?

She wasn’t getting any younger and definitely felt her time clock ticking. He was thirty eight and she almost thirty one. Would he ever want kids? It was one topic they hadn’t touched on. It was far too soon to even contemplate it, right? Or was it something they should get out of the way right off the bat?

Robyn looked at her watch, her next and last patient would be arriving shortly.

Anyway, now she understood his need for getting his leg back up to snuff and that little jaunt down the dock the other day had not been kind to him.

She turned her thoughts away from her building concern and remembered the fun they had when together. And the sex, oh my god, the sex. She closed her eyes and welcomed the rush of heat at the memory.

They even did a little sexting which was exciting and laughed about it holding them over until Friday. Which had finally arrived!

Her belly did a little flip flop. In just a couple of hours, he’d pick her up and they’d be together again. It seemed like an eternity since they’d last seen each other at his physio appointment earlier in the week, and it had been agonizing.

Fletch was early. He didn't want Robyn to have to wait for him. He'd rather wait for her. The past week without seeing her had been difficult. But, he could tell how tired she was when they spoke on the phone at night.

He wanted to make her days easier when she got back to the hotel. It was why he had dinner arranged each day. He hoped the gifts also helped her to relax. It was his way of trying to take care of her from afar.

He was looking forward to this weekend. Christmas was next week and even though he hadn't said anything to her about whether he would go to Vermont or not, he thought about it a lot. His hesitancy was mainly based on not wanting to be an unwelcome visitor during a family holiday. Perhaps he was even just a little bit nervous about it. By the sounds of things, she had a very close relationship with her sister and brothers. So if he went, he’d have to be prepared to be judged and interrogated.

He smiled. He was cool with it, because if he had a sister, he knew he’d be exactly the same. Thinking about not having a sister or brother was another stab at his early and formative years. If it hadn't been for Beck, then he would've had a very lonely and even more miserable childhood.

Beck was his brother, maybe not by blood, but still a brother. He missed him and was eager for him to return in the New Year. Fletch had a feeling there would be an announcement forthcoming, and he was thrilled for him and Mick. That excitement swung his thoughts back to Robyn.

He was falling for her, there was no doubt about that. This past week, being unable to spend time together had proven how true the typical absence makes the heart grow fonder adage really was. It all seemed a blur since they bumped into each other at the Christmas Market. The initial awkwardness that first night vanished quickly. She was so easy to be around, and his normally carefree ways resurfaced. They laughed, played, loved, and he was totally into every moment.

Right then, he decided if she asked him about Vermont again, he'd say yes.

Later at the tree lighting event, Robyn leaned over to Fetch and whispered, “This is a really good crowd. I wonder why it’s the official lighting of the tree, when the lights have been on for a week now.”

He shrugged. "Who knows, maybe it all has to do with dignitaries and getting all the people together."

A countdown began, she and Fletch joined in, and when the tree lights turned on, it exploded into myriad of colors and sparkles, enough to almost hurt the eyes. Everyone gasped.

"Oh my, it’s beautiful and so much prettier. They must've had lights hidden in the branches. It’s spectacular."

"There's your answer?" Fletch said. “I bet you can see the tree for miles. It's actually a good idea to put it there so anyone living aboard their boats could see it too."

"Can you see your boat from here?" Robyn asked

“No, unfortunately. But we might be able to see her from your hotel room."

“How about we check when we go back,” she suggested.

"We should, maybe she'll have her lights on to make it easier to see her in the dark.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, listening to the speeches on stage from the mayor, the Christmas Market manager, and a few other people. Soon the crowd began to dissipate.

“Do you feel like walking around the market again?" Fletch asked her.

“Yes, I'd like to see if there's anything I can pick up for my family.” She decided she was going to ask him to come with her to Vermont. Hopefully he'd say yes.

The crowd was thick, and they wandered between all the people, stopping at most of the booths. By the time they finished, they had an armload of gifts and wrapping paper and headed back to her room.

"Now to wrap everything up, with Christmas music and eggnog." Robyn was beginning to feel very Christmassy, and spending the time with Fletch made it even more perfect.

"That's not something I've ever done," he told her.

"Oh Fletch, that is so sad! Well, you know what, we’ll create a new tradition tonight for you. I've always loved wrapping and making the presents pretty. Usually I try and have a theme each year.”

"A theme for wrapping the presents?" He stood aside while the concierge opened the door to the hotel for them and followed her through. "Thank you,” he said.

"Merry Christmas, sir.”

“Merry Christmas.”

The lobby was busy as they walked to the elevator.

“Yes, I choose colors, and images, like whether it's going to be poinsettias, snow, rustic, etc. Then I make sure I wrap everything up around that theme. But today, I suppose the theme will be crafty since most of the items we got are crafts, and even handmade wrapping paper, with twine. I even got some brown paper to wrap some things into. I’ve always wanted to do that. So I guess rustically crafty is my theme this year." She laughed and liked that Fletch chuckled along with her. Robyn sighed, feeling wonderful about everything.

"I'm looking forward to this new adventure with you,” he told her.

“Me too.”

He pushed the elevator button with his elbow, and a few moments later, they were in her room, putting all of the packages on the bed.

"Okay, so now I'm gonna call for some room service so that we can get our Christmas goodies, and let's find some Christmas music. You can do that, okay?” Robyn handed him the remote and then called down to order.

Soon Christmas music filled the hotel room, and room service had brought up a nicely decorated rolling table full of Christmas treats and eggnog. Robyn had re-organized the desk, which thankfully was bigger than usual, so they could use it as a wrapping table.

"Not bad,” she said with her hands on her hips. "Not as much room as the old trestle table in my parents’ house, but this will do. Oh! Let's see if we can see your boat out there before we settle into wrapping.”

“All right, let's see. I think we'll have to turn the lights off in the room for better visibility." He did and led her to the window. “Ah, just as I thought. She is lit up for Christmas."

"Where?" Robyn searched the docks but wasn’t sure what to look for.

"Right there." He pointed and she followed the direction of his finger to a large white ship, well past the docks and out on its own in the bay. It was lit up with Christmas lights as well as just above the waterline, illuminating the water around the boat.

"Holy shit, that is huge." She looked at him, surprised and saw the pride on his face when he glanced at her. “You captain that massive vessel? It's not at all what I expected."

"What did you expect?" he asked, humor in his voice.

"I'm not sure, a boat, like the other ones at the docks. Definitely not that, wow." She was silent processing this new discovery “Why didn't you say that was so big? It's what they call mega yacht." She shook her head confused and felt like he been keeping secrets from her.

"I don't know, it just didn't seem all that important. Why has this upset you?” he asked.

She looked up at him and saw concern on his face. His eyebrows pulled together.

Robyn thought for a few seconds. Why was she upset? “It's difficult to explain. Almost like you were holding something back about yourself. Like it was a secret, and I don't know why you would.”

She was worried now.

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, gazing into her eyes. "Does it make me a different man? I’m still the same guy. You knew I was a captain, I guess I assumed you would have an idea it would be something like Intrepid. Either way, though, I'm still me. It doesn’t change me.”

Robyn looked up at him, considering what he just said. “No, it doesn't change who you are, that's for sure. But it does change something, and I can't quite figure out what it is."

"If you can't figure out what it is, then how important is it? Like I said, I'm still me. And I always will be me. We both had lives before meeting each other, and mine was aboard Intrepid and being part of the business."

Robyn nodded. “I guess so. What business? It never really occurred to me what you did for a living. Isn't that weird?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think it's weird. It never came up. We’ve shared a lot about ourselves with each other and maybe not everything. But it certainly wasn’t intentional. Plus, it's no different than me being surprised that you were my physiotherapist. Right?” His voice was gentle.

"This just shows how much we really don't know about each other. Are we moving too fast?” Saying those words aloud almost wrecked her. What if he thought it was too fast, and wanted to slow things down?

It would be best to know this now and not later down the road after she gave her heart to him. She sighed. It was too late. He already held her heart in his hands.