Page 33 of Not-So-Perfect Princess
“Looks like there’s a nice easy breeze tonight.” She shot him an expectant look. “Ready for the mainsail.”
It wasn’t a question.
Interesting. She knew what to do without him saying a word. He hadn’t expected that from her. Saying you enjoyed sailing while sipping a glass of wine and knowing what to do when you were onboard were two completely different things. Alejandro hadn’t known what kind of sailor the princess was. So far, he was impressed by her knowledge. “I’ll raise the main.”
As he moved forward to the starboard side of the mast, she turned the boat head to wind.
Pointing the bow into the wind wasn’t something instinctual. That took experience or good instruction. Whichever the case for Julianna, his respect increased.
“You know what you’re doing out here.” Alejandro yelled to be heard over the motor. He raised the mainsail with the halyard. “How long have you been sailing?”
“Since I was seven.” She tailed the halyard and secured the line at the cleat on the top of the cabin. “My grandparents taught me how to sail on the Black Sea. Best vacation ever. How long have you sailed?”
“As long as I can remember.” Alejandro shifted to the port side of the mast to hoist the jib, a triangular sail set forward of the main. He saw no other boats on the water. “Both my parents sail.”
Julianna turned the wheel right to ease the bow starboard and trimmed the mainsail so it filled with the wind. The boat steadied and glided forward through the water. “I can’t imagine anyone not sailing if they lived here.”
The awe in her voice made him smile. “Me, neither.”
She throttled down the motor, shifted to neutral and killed it.
The sudden quiet gave way to the sound of the hull cutting through the water and the breeze against the sails. Better get to it and make the most of the time they had out here.
Her sailing skills impressed him, but he wasn’t going to assume what she knew or didn’t know. “Ready for the jib.”
She held the starboard sheet in her hand. One step ahead of him again. “Ready.”
He hoisted the jib while she tailed the jib halyard. She secured the sheet by wrapping the rope around a cleat.
Alejandro moved aft to the cockpit. “Nice work.”
With a wide smile, she gripped the wheel. “Thanks.”
He gave her a compass heading.
Her eyes widened. “You want me to take the helm?”
She sounded like a teenager who’d been given the keys to a brand-new car. He almost laughed. “You’ve got the wheel.”
“I do, don’t I?” Her grin was brighter than the full moon. She repeated the heading and turned toward the dock.
“Want to go back?” he asked.
As she shook her head, the cap didn’t budge. “I want to make sure I have my bearings and know what the area looks like for our return.”
Smart thinking. “You’ve sailed at night before.”
“A few times, but I’d do the same thing if it were daytime.”
His respect for her sailing abilities went up yet another notch. Alejandro trimmed the jib, adjusting the sheet to match her course and ensure the sail filled properly. Julianna adjusted the mainsail to match the heading.
He reached back and raised the motor out of the water. Now they would really move.
La Rueca accelerated through the water. Julianna kept her course, making minor corrections as she headed upwind. She seemed to have a feel for the boat as well as the wind.
“I love it out here.” The look of pure joy on Julianna’s face took Alejandro’s breath away. “This is heaven. And you’re an angel for doing this for me.”
No angel. Not when he was getting turned on watching her sail. The gleam in her eyes. Her smiling lips. Her flushed cheeks.
He focused on the sails. They had filled perfectly, no trimming necessary.
“We’re going to need to tack,” she said.
He held onto the jib sheet. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“Tacking.”
Alejandro bent over to avoid the boom as it swung across to the other side. The sails luffed, flapping in the wind. He pulled in the sheet. She trimmed the main.
Julianna sailed at a forty-five-degree angle to the wind.
