Love a Sailor Read Online Free Page A

actually accepted a
dinner invitation … and from a man. The captain is a man, I suppose?”
    “Very much so, possibly too much of a man
for me. I haven’t quite decided whether to go or not. I should really ask Clara
for permission, but she’s too ill.”
    Kate rolls her eyes in exasperation.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re eighteen years old for heaven’s sake. I don’t know
what the rules are in the States, but in the UK you can vote at eighteen and
get married without parental consent, let alone accept a dinner invitation in a
public dining room. I know your Aunt Clara means well, but she’s far too
protective of you. Of course, you should go — that’s if you want to. I’ll be
happy to keep an eye on Sukey for you. She can sleep in your bed here with me
and you can spend the night in her bed, next door with Clara.”
    I sit down on the end of Kate’s bed and
toy with her coverlet, twisting it round my fingers while I try to sort out my
feelings about the promised evening.
    “Well?” prompts Kate, kicking me with her
foot. “Wake up and tell me what he’s like, this captain. And why are you having
second thoughts? Is he gruff and old with a long bushy beard and a peg-leg?”
    “Of course not. Quite the opposite. He’s
only thirty, but thirty is still way too old for me. Clara wouldn’t like it, I
know. She does have her reasons for being protective.”
    “I suppose she feels she needs to take
extra care of you because you are her niece and her ward. But why do you feel
you need protection from the captain? I take it this isn’t just a kindly older
man thinking you need some companionship because your family is laid low.”
    “No, I didn’t get that feeling at all. He
wasn’t fatherly or brotherly. Quite the opposite. There was an instant
connection between us. A current of intimacy that was almost sexual. It made me
tingle in a way I’ve never felt before and I could see that it had taken him by
surprise, too. He exudes power, and I don’t just mean because he’s the captain
of the ship. He overawed me and held me in his thrall. You know it’s not like
me to accept an invitation from a strange man. Just think of all the blind
dates you’ve arranged for me only to have me not turn up.”
    Kate laughs. “Don’t remind me! But are
you saying he frightened you?”
    “No, it wasn’t that I was frightened of
him, more that I’m frightened of where this could lead. That’s why I’m not sure
whether I should go tonight or not. I was sort of hoping Clara would make the
decision for me.”
    “Meredith Roxley! You have to join the
human race at some point in your life. You’re in danger of leaving it till it’s
too late, and dying safe and untouched, but unfulfilled. Take a risk. It’s only
a little one. You might enjoy the evening without anything terrible happening
to you. Anyway, apart from this mesmerizing effect he has on you, what is he
like? You say he’s sexy. Is he good looking?”
    “He’s the whole lot: tall, dark and
handsome, what you would call ‘hot’. Plus he’s suave, sophisticated,
articulate, well-mannered—”
    “Only you could even consider turning all
that down. You will go, won’t you?”
    I smile at the earnest look on Kate’s
face. “That’s the plan. Now what should I wear?”
    We settle on an emerald green dress with
a plunging back, not too short, a couple of inches above the knee, and my
killer black stilettos.
    By a quarter to nine I’m ready. Gone is
the teenager in jeans and sneakers. In her place stands an elegant young lady —
me! Kate has suggested I wear my hair up. It does make me look more
sophisticated. I think I’ll do, but I’m a little pale. An extra touch of
blusher. Better. Now I have the armor in place all I need to do is quell the
butterflies dive bombing in my stomach, and leave the cabin before I have
second thoughts.
    I close the cabin door, square my shoulders,
take a few deep breaths and tell myself I can do it. The stilettos