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That might be years down the line, but she admired Bob’s patience and his understanding of his situation. Everyone had something that defined them and maybe even checked their actions for a little while. The time for breaking out would come. She liked to think that time for her would come too. Just maybe it wasn’t too far down the line.
    Della left the office at the end of the day and stepped out onto the street. She stopped cold at seeing Santi leaning against his rental. Her heart skipped a few beats as she approached him. “What are you doing out here?”
    “A little birdie told me you were free soon.”
    She luxuriated in his accent for a minute and then enjoyed his hard body. Surrendering her lips, she let him kiss her dizzy. “Are you keeping tabs on me, Mr. Varela?”
    “Always, cariño. My eyes are never far from you.”
    “Hm, I like that.”
    He tucked her into his car and hurried around to the other side. When he slid behind the wheel, he started the engine and then reached for her hand. Santi focused on the road, but he kept glancing at her.
    “What?”
    He kissed her hand. “You have some time off?”
    “You were listening to me the other day. Yes, I have four days off, then it’s back to the grind.” She groaned and tried not to think about work or school.
    “I want to take you somewhere.”
    She looked him in curiousity. “Where?”
    “On my boat.”
    “Um, I don’t do motorboats, Santi. We can do anything else, but those things so close to the water scare me and—”
    “ El Ángel Azul is not a motorboat. Well, she does have an engine.”
    She gaped. “El angel…”
    “The Blue Angel. She is a yacht.” A look of pride transformed his handsome face in the dim lighting of the car. “She is a masterfully crafted Spanish vessel, and I admit it was vane of me to have my captain bring her rather than to charter a boat here, but I wanted you to see her.”
    A sense of wonder came over Della. “Your captain? Wow, I don’t even know what to say.”
    “Say you will come for a short trip with me.” He stroked a thumb over her hand where he held it.
    “What if it gets chilly at night or storms?” She knew she made excuses because she was used to struggling, and she’d never had a real vacation anywhere.
    “I will keep you warm. El Ángel has enclosed cabins and bedrooms, and a dining room where we can eat and view the water in comfort. If that is not enough, cariño, I will make it my duty to wrap you in my arms so you will not get cold.”
    The stats of his yacht jumbled in her mind, and she found herself giving in to his offer. “I would love that, but are you sure it won’t interfere with the work you came here to do?”
    He pulled to a stop at a light and leaned across the seats to cup her face and kiss her lips. “I have made room for you.”
    Her heart threatened to stop. “Room?”
    “ Si, we will enjoy four days just you and me, no work, no one else. Will that please you?”
    “Yes, it would.” She pressed a hand to her chest, breathed in deep, and blew it out. “I’d love to. Thanks for doing this, Santi.”
    “No thanks needed. You please me by joining me with so little notice. I know you don’t like my timing. I wanted to get better.”
    She laughed. “Don’t even worry about it. This is very good. You did good, Santi.”
    Della let him whisk her home to pack a bag, and they were off to the marina where he’d had his captain park the yacht. She couldn’t get over the fact that he’d said he had a small crew, including a chef, who would cook for them the entire four days. The man was just too damn rich, bringing his yacht all the way to America just to impress her. One could only imagine the issues with customs and visas he’d had to work out and such. She had no idea of the details. How could she be mad at his short timing? She hadn’t missed the important information that he had cleared his schedule. That was one of the things she’d worried about, Santi not