“Any more concerns I can help you with?” he asked. “Or can we . . . ?” He gestured to the boat.

“What if you have to make a sharp turn and I fall out? I wasn’t kidding. I’m not a good swimmer.”

To his credit, he didn’t even smile. He just held eye contact and very seriously said, “Luckily for you, I am. I’m good enough for the both of us.”

Right. Okay, then. With no other reason to stall, she tightened her grip on his hand and jumped onboard, gasping as the boat rocked beneath her feet. Cam immediately wrapped her up in a flotation vest and bent his head to give the buckles his full attention.

“In case I’m somehow incapacitated,” he said with a smile.

“Are you laughing at me?”

“I’m taking care of you.”

Something else no one had ever said to her.

Then he pulled her up against him and kissed her. He kissed her until she didn’t remember she was terrified, or that her siblings were driving her crazy. Hell, she didn’t remember her own name and she didn’t care.

He pulled back. “You okay?”

Huh. She actually was. “I think so.”

“You look surprised.”

“It was the kiss. Too bad you can’t bottle them up.”

He laughed and turned to the controls. She stood at his side, and when he hit the throttle, she gasped and clutched at what she had to assume was an Oh, Shit bar.

“Aren’t we going over the speed limit?” she called out. “Maybe you should slow down.”

“We’re going five miles per hour.”

“Oh.” She didn’t realize she was gripping the bar so tightly that her knuckles were white until he reached out and covered her hand with his.

“Loosen up, Piper, or you’ll have sore muscles from clenching so tight.”

He hadn’t meant it as a command, she knew this, but it still made her laugh. “Aye, aye, Captain, my Captain. Whatever you say.”

His gaze swiveled briefly to hers. “Feel free to repeat that for the rest of the day.”

She couldn’t help herself—she laughed. How could a man be so kind and gentle, and yet utterly commanding and impossibly confident at the same time? “Sure,” she said. “But then tomorrow’s my turn.”

Never one to back down from a challenge, he flashed her a sexy grin. “You’re on.”

Oh, boy . . .

They had the lake to themselves. Water sprayed up and hit the windshield in front of them. The wind went over the windshield and brushed her face, blew back her hair, and she braced to hate it, but . . . hold up. She didn’t hate it. In fact, it was kind of a thrill. So much so that she found herself grinning from ear to ear.