Free Barging In by Josephine Myles

tea.
    “Mel has a big mouth. I wouldn’t believe everything she says about me.”
    “Now who says we were talking about you, Robin Hamilton?” Dan’s tone was teasing. “Although I must say, Mel was rather surprised to find out that she’s your girlfriend.”
    Robin continued to stare at the surface of his tea, blaming the rising steam for the heat he could feel spreading across his cheeks. “It’s none of your business.”
    “No, you’re quite right, but I’d say it was hers, wouldn’t you? Anyway, you’ll be pleased to know that she didn’t tell me anything much about you. She was too busy trying to convince me about all the other boaters I ‘need’ to go and photograph.”
    Despite himself, Robin smiled. When she had her mind set on something, Mel wouldn’t let anyone else get a word in edgewise.
    “She didn’t even tell me you were a carpenter,” Dan continued. “Did you fit out the inside of this boat?”
    There was so much admiration in Dan’s tone Robin dared to risk looking up into those inviting eyes. “Yeah, she was just an empty shell when I bought her. I spent five months working on the inside. She’s designed just how I wanted her.” Warming to his favourite subject, he started on the usual tour he gave to visitors the first time they stepped onboard. Dan made all the right comments when Robin pointed out the space-saving design features he’d built into the galley, the nifty mechanism to pull out the sofa into a spare bed that spread across the saloon, and his workbench that could be folded up to hide all the tools and turn a working area back into a living area.
    “And the wet-room and bed cabin are at the end of the boat,” Robin finished, reluctant to show Dan down there. “Why don’t you have a look by yourself? There’s not really room for two.” Not unless you were already intimate.
    Dan pouted a little, but his eyes still twinkled. “But how will I know what to appreciate if you aren’t there to guide me?”
    Robin kept his face as stony as possible, but could feel his lips trying to twitch into a smile. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out by yourself. You don’t need me to hold your hand.”
    “You could hold something else, if you’d rather.” Dan reached out to run his fingers lightly over Robin’s hand where it gripped the edge of his workbench. When Robin made no response to the flirting, Dan sighed theatrically. “Okay, I’ll show myself around, then, shall I?”
    Once Dan was out of sight, Robin exhaled and leant back against the wall. He’d have to ask Dan to leave after he’d seen the rest. Having the guy here was stirring up too many conflicting emotions.
    Dan’s voice rang out from the back of the boat—a welcome distraction. “So what made you decide to take up the boating life? It wasn’t just to show off your woodworking skills, was it?”
    He should have a pat answer to that question by now, but lies never tripped easily off Robin’s tongue. They tended to stick in his throat, and he was always convinced that people could see his falsehoods written on his face. At least with Dan out of sight it was easier to respond with a half-truth.
    “My grandmother gave me some of my inheritance early, to avoid the taxes.” That bit was true, at least. “It wasn’t enough to buy a house, but I’d always liked the idea of living on the water and travelling around.” That might have been a childhood dream, fostered by obsessively watching pirate films, but it had hardly been the motivating force for buying Serendipity .
    “You’re like me,” Dan said, appearing in front of Robin. “I never want to get stuck in one place for too long. Variety is the spice of life, wouldn’t you say?” His smile pinched up at the edges, turning from friendly to lascivious in an instant. “I guess you would, seeing as how you like it on both sides of the fence. Tell me, Robin, are you versatile? ’Cause I am.”
    “I fail to see how that’s any of your