“Don’t worry,” Jett told Vince with steel in her voice. “I’ll have a towel ready and waiting, and if anybody peeks, they’ll have to deal with me.”
That was enough assurance for Vince.
He made the universal sign for hoist-away, which was an arm straight in the air with a closed fist, and the winch began to do its work.
He felt almost lighter than air as they were hauled skyward.
“Have I told you today that I love you?” he asked as they dangled six feet above the water.
Lace had yet to say the words back to him. But he was ever hopeful.
“You might have mumbled it to me this morning when I got up,” Lace hummed. “But I don’t mind hearing it again.”
Vince held her tightly. “I love you, Lace.” His voice turned to a growl. “And I never want you out on theWater Wrestleragain.”
“Don’t worry, Vince. I…” She blinked tear-filled eyes up at him. “I love you, too.”
He hugged her tighter.
“Thank you for that,” Vince choked out. “I needed to hear it.”
“That’s good, because you might just be hearing it from me for the rest of your life,” she said damply into the many layers that covered his chest. “I know I should have said it sooner,” she whined, “but I was afraid. I didn’t want to tie you to me, in case things went…wrong with my recovery. But this, today, showed me that nothing is certain in life, so I found some courage.”
“Thank god.” He pulled back and kissed her as they neared the helo.
She came up for a breath with a stunning smile. “I’ve also been rethinking my job. I might be sailing a desk after this. For you, and for Inez. I’m over being this far out to sea. Although the turtles are something I’m glad I got to witness,” she shared.
“Yeah. Weirdest thing, ever,” Vince puzzled. He’d certainly be doing some research on that phenomenon, later.
He and Lace simply held each other as they were dragged aboard, and once Lace was wrapped securely in a towel, Vince was finally encouraged to let her go as Jett checked her out for any injuries.
Luckily, a little dehydration and some mild hypothermia were all Lace had suffered.
They’d gotten so lucky.
Obi-Wan flew them a little farther south, where they eventually hovered over the captain.
Trask was the one ready to jump in, a disgusted look on his face.
“Damn. I hate losing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Lace snuggled up as close to Vince as possible, nearly naked under her warming blankets and especially happy forhisbody heat.
She was distracted, however, listening to him speak; no longer even concentrating on any of what she considered her “minor health issues”, as she marveled at Vince’s command.
He was barking orders, and everyone was obeying them. Which blew her mind.
The Vince she’d gotten to know up to this point, was certainly no slouch, but he normally stepped back from assuming control of anything, happy to let others call the shots.
Not today.
Today, he was clearly the one in charge of this mission, which was apparent in the way everyone deferred to him.
Her attention switched to the still open doorway, where Trask was currently being hoisted aboard with the captain in tow. And what do you know. Captain Asshat seemed to be in some kind of…discomfort?
Lace suppressed a giggle. Chances are that those buckles Jett had whispered to her about were coming into play.