He was baffled by the fact she’d refused to even entertain a settlement. She was going to lose everything.

He climbed up to the bridge. A set of well-worn keys dangled from the ignition. He turned the key, and both engines sputtered to life. He whispered a prayer of thanks that he didn’t have to disappoint loyal customers.

As he took the ship’s wheel in his hands, a wave of nostalgia washed over Cooper. One of the proudest moments in his youth had come when Uncle Johnny let him drive this boat for the first time. He’d secretly pretended to be a pirate, scanning the murky waters for telltale turbulence that meant an obstacle below the surface-then scanning the horizon for merchant ships to plunder.

He heard a noise behind him and turned. Allie had joined him at the bridge, a pleased smile on her face. It was the first time he’d seen her smile, and even his jaded, suspicious heart wasn’t immune to the effects.

Oh, she was a heartbreaker, all right. Uncle Johnny, an aging, alcoholic widower, must have been putty in her hands.

“Do you know how to cast off?” she asked.

“You can do that,” he said smoothly, gripping the wheel more tightly. “My place is here.”

“Like hell. Get off my bridge.”

“Our bridge. We’re partners, remember?”

“Have you ever piloted a boat in your life?”

“Yes. Uncle Johnny taught me.”

“How long ago?”

All right, so it had been more than twenty years ago. “It’s like riding a bicycle.”

“Have you even looked at a nautical chart in the last ten years? Sandbars have moved. Reefs have changed. So if you even remember where all the hazards were umpteen years ago, they’re different now. We have a new sonar system since you were here. Do you know how to use it?”

She gave him a derisive up-and-down visual exam, taking in his choice of sailing clothes, no doubt. Khaki shorts, a golf shirt and Top Sider moccasins with white soles-perfectly sensible, weekend-casual clothing-in fact, very similar to what the passengers wore. But he felt almost too formal. She wore only those faded cutoffs and a white tank shirt with an embroidered Remington Charters logo over her left breast. And a nice breast it was.