My Lucky Groom

handsome, haunted by shadows and the moonlight as faraway streetlamps cast a tender glow.
    He turned toward her and stepped closer. “It might make me sound like a jerk, but I’m awfully glad you stopped seeing Charles.”
    Ventura’s pulse whipped into overdrive while her cheeks burned. “I couldn’t keep seeing him,” she breathed. “Not when I’d developed feelings for someone else.”
    He smiled softly, cupping her face in his hands. “Someone?”
    Ventura fell into his eyes, dark canyons that spoke of heat and fire. She nodded, and he stroked her cheek. “That’s pretty amazing. I developed feelings for someone too.” He pulled her closer then, taking her in his arms.
    Ventura tilted up her chin as his mouth moved in. She’d wished for this moment for weeks now, but somehow had never thought it would come.
    “Would you mind if I kissed you?” he asked, his voice husky.
    She brushed her lips to his in acquiescence and he pulled her close, holding her firmly up against him as he devoured her mouth with his. Ventura felt lost in his kiss as her heart pounded faster. He was so warm and tender, yet passionate at once. And his passion was headily intoxicating. So intoxicating she only felt herself wanting more.
    “Ventura,” he said between kisses. “Come away with me.”
    She pushed back to gaze in his eyes. “Where?”
    “I’d like you to meet Gloria.”
    “Your boat?” she asked with a delighted laugh.
    He shot her a hopeful look. “Next Saturday? I can pick you up at four. We’ll spend the whole evening on the water.”
    Ventura couldn’t imagine anything more romantic. “Sounds perfect.”

    The next week, Mary and Jason scuttled down into the hold of Richard’s boat. Jason passed Mary a warm bag of Chinese food as she smiled at the children. They were all wearing life vests. “Now remember,” she told Ricky and Elisa. “As quiet as church mice. Not a word.”
    Elisa made a zipper motion across her lips, and Ricky followed.
    “Good,” Mary said, sending Jason a smile. “Now all we do is wait.”

    As they approached the slip, Ventura saw the word Gloria painted on the gorgeous twenty-eight-foot boat. “She’s a beauty.”
    “She’d become a little worn from neglect,” Richard confessed. “But I’ve spent a good deal of time here lately fixing her up.”
    “You were too busy to sail for a while?”
    “I was too down to sail for a while,” he told her honestly. “Let’s say Vicky leaving kicked the wind of me.” He held out his hand to help her aboard. “But it’s okay. I’ve come back full steam now.”
    Ventura stepped unsteadily aboard and the boat rocked. “I don’t know a thing about sailing.”
    “That’s all right. Just follow my lead.”
    “Will I have to call you captain?” she teased with a grin.
    “Only if you want to.”
    Her hair was long and loose, curly just the way he liked it. Richard had taken nearly a month planning this out, and after their date the previous weekend, he was certain he was doing the right thing. There was no one he wanted in his life more than Ventura. She was right for him. In a very special way, she was right for all of them. And not just as the nanny. The moment she’d left their house to take that job at the paper, he’d realized that.
    He opened a bench seat and pulled out two life jackets. “Safety first,” he said, sliding one over her head.
    “Aye, aye, Captain,” she said, her dark eyes sparkling.
    “I like the sound of that,” he said with a wink.
    Ventura looked around as he readied the riggings. “Huh, that’s weird.”
    “What?”
    “For the life of me, I thought I smelled sesame chicken.”
    “Probably just the salt air,” he said, hoisting up a sail.
    Ventura wrinkled her nose. “You’re probably right.”

    Within a half an hour, the main sail had filled and Richard had raised a colorful spinnaker before it. Ventura leaned back against a railing, enjoying the ride.
    “I can see why you like it out here. It’s exciting and calming at once.”
    “We’ve got the perfect day for this. Tailor-made.” He glanced up at the sky and leaned into the wind. “Heads up, Ventura. She’s coming around!”
    “Who?” she asked as the heavy boom swung in her direction.
    “Richard!” she yelped, ducking under the swing of the main sail while he cupped her head in his hand to protect it.
    “You need to keep your head low when that happens.”
    “Now you tell me,” she said, nearly breathless.
    They