She wanted to eat there in the enclosed cabin where she could almost pretend she was on dry land. But Lucas was already on deck. The last thing she needed was to give him one more reason to tease her. She stood and followed. The next time he suggested sailing, the answer would be a flat no.

Outside the sun was too bright. Kate pulled down her sunglasses and followed Lucas to the bench she’d vacated earlier. The wind drove the boat, and it rocked gently in the waves.

Lucas handed her a plate. “Beautiful day,” he said around a bite of sandwich.

The heat of the sun made her skin prickle, and its glare on the water hurt her eyes. “That it is.”

She started on the turkey and bacon sandwich. Would they head back after they ate? She could only hope. She scanned the horizon. Land was nowhere to be seen. With that knowledge, a sudden dizziness overtook her, and she focused on her plate. Did Lucas know where they were, how to get back?

“Love the sounds out here, don’t you?”

The water splashed against the boat’s side, and the wind billowed the sails. A seagull, on its way somewhere, called out. Maybe she was just a city girl, but she liked the sound of people, vehicles splashing through puddles, and the scrape of sandals on the sidewalk.

Ugh. Her stomach stirred uncomfortably. Maybe she shouldn’t eat. The boat dipped. Be still! she thought, as if she could stop it. She set her sandwich on her plate and sipped her Sprite.

“You okay?” Lucas cocked his head, but she couldn’t see his eyes past the sunglasses.

“Fine.” She smiled to prove it and bit into a salty chip.

When the wind gusted and the boat dipped again, she steadied herself with the first thing she could reach: Lucas’s leg. “Sorry.” She removed her hand as quickly as she’d placed it.

The second chip went down. On the third, she stopped. There was no getting around it: her stomach was definitely threatening to expel her lunch. Kate couldn’t take another bite. Her head spun, exacerbated by the boat’s movement, and she grasped her plate with both hands.

“Kate.” Lucas took her plate, tugging it from her tightened grasp. He set it on his other side. “What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes, but that made her head and stomach feel worse. “I’m not—feeling so well.” She swallowed, reminding her stomach that things were supposed to go down, not up.

“Oh, honey, why didn’t you say something?” He helped her up. “Come over here.”

She pulled toward the cabin. “I just want to lie down. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” If I don’t die first. She hadn’t felt this bad since she had the stomach flu in the seventh grade and vomited all over Miss Heinschneider’s white leather Reeboks in gym.