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  Jack hugged her waist, looking up at them, but it didn’t deter Ian from kissing her. In his lips was a promise and a hope for the future. His mouth released hers and he looked into her eyes, asking silently for her answer.

  “Oh, please,” she gasped. The world suddenly started to spin again, making her dizzy. Mimi put a hand out and Ian grasped it, steadying her. “Yes. Oh, yes!”

  In one swoop, Ian gathered her and Jack into his arms. A wild clamor swelled as all four parents surrounded them. Jack squirmed out of the embrace and ran to hug his grandparents, chattering about all that had happened between him and Ian. Mimi kept her arms tight around Ian’s neck, unable to let him go.

  “Hey. I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, reading her thoughts. “Not without you and Jack.”

  She looked up at him. “But what about Minerva and your dreams?”

  “I’ve got the dream that matters most right here in my arms.”

  “Are you sure? I—”

  He kissed her quiet. “Dreams are meant to be shared. Will you share mine?”

  “Oh, yes. I will.” Mimi swallowed down tears. She was not crying anymore today. Not with such happiness all around. “I love you,” she said tenderly.

  Ian kissed her again, this one long and hard. Voices rose in a cheer and a champagne cork popped. Glasses were raised and Mimi felt her heart soar with love and hope. They would dream together. Forever.

  Epilogue

  “A glass of wine, my love?” Ian asked.

  “Please.”

  He reached in the cooler for the bottle of white and pulled out a beer for himself. “Jack?” he called. “Water or juice?”

  “Juice. Orange.” The words drifted down the forward hatch.

  “Please?” Mimi said loudly.

  “Puh-lease.”

  With a laugh, Ian poured the drinks. “Are we drinking down here or up in the cockpit?”

  “Mmm. Cockpit. It’s such a nice day. I’ll be up there in a minute. I need to get something,” Mimi said with a smile.

  Ian put down the box of orange juice. “Come here first, Mrs. Berzani.”

  Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her lightly once, then twice. It wasn’t enough, so the third try was deep and lasting. When she pressed up against him, supple and sweet, he stroked his hands down her back to her bottom. He wanted to pick her up and carry her off to bed. Maybe they wouldn’t even make it that far. They could replay those memories of making love the first time on the settee. There was a thud on deck and Ian groaned.

  “Sometimes having a kid aboard is a pain in the ass,” he said against her lips.

  Mimi giggled. “There’s always tonight.”

  “I don’t want to wait until tonight,” he said in a grumble as he released her.

  “Then you should have thought of that before you married us.”

  She sent him a sassy look from under her lashes that did nothing to quench his desire. Ian took a long drink of beer. With a sigh, he gathered up the other two glasses and took them topside. Jack dropped into the cockpit and took the juice.

  “This place is awesome! I saw a seal swim right next to the anchor chain.”

  “So, you think Maine’s pretty cool, huh?”

  “I wish the water was warmer, but I like it a lot. Can we go kayaking again?”

  “Tomorrow. In the afternoon.” Ian sipped his beer. “In the morning I have to change the oil on the engine.”

  “Can I help?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of doing it without you.”

  Jack grinned and drank his juice down thirstily. Ian smiled and sat back, propping his feet on the bench beside his son. His stepson, actually, but as far as he and Jack were concerned, there was no “step” between them. Johnny saw Jack whenever his touring permitted, but neither he nor Jack wanted anything more than an intermittent friendship. Johnny wasn’t cut out for the role of father, at least not right now. He sent albums, T-shirts and the occasional free concert tickets. Jack was content with that and proud to claim Ian as his real father.

  Johnny’s latest release was a song written by none other than Mimi Green. He had found some of her music in an old guitar case—the real reason he had returned to see her and Jack in the first place. Before he left for a tour of the West Coast, he had asked her if he could record three of them. Inspired, Mimi had written more songs, one of which Johnny had passed on to another band.

  From that success, Mimi had gotten other requests for songwriting. She had even collaborated with a couple of bands on new music for their albums. Singing was part of her life again, too. She performed regularly whenever she could. Luckily her dream was as portable as Ian’s.

  They were living part of his dream by sailing in Maine for the summer. Together with Jack, they had rebuilt their lives and hopes for the future into a happy present. Ian had never thought he could be so content. He wasn’t sailing around the globe, but he found that his small corner of the world with Mimi and Jack held adventure enough.

  A box wrapped in bright red, star-studded paper appeared in the companionway. Mimi followed it, a wide grin on her face. Ian dropped his feet and sat up as she pushed the box toward him. “Happy Birthday!”

  “I thought we were gonna give him his presents later,” Jack said, frowning and bouncing up and down on his seat at the same time. “After cake.”

  “I couldn’t wait,” Mimi said, laughing. “Besides, this is a gift for all of us.”

  Ian rested the heavy box in his lap so that she could sit next to him. He handed her the glass of wine with a kiss. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “But I did,” she said, smiling and giving him a steamy look that set his pulse pounding.

  “Come on, guys. No more kissy stuff,” Jack said, rolling his eyes. “Open the present.”

  Ian pulled the bow off and carefully separated the tape and paper at one end, doing it slowly because he knew how the anticipation drove Jack crazy.

  “Hurry up!” the boy begged.

  Finally, the paper came off in one piece. With his rigging knife, Ian slit the tape along the top of the cardboard box. Inside, he saw what looked like schoolbooks. Taking one out, he flipped through it. “You think I need remedial education?” he asked Mimi.

  “Books? How boring.” Jack peered over the edge of the box. “Is that all?”

  Mimi laughed at both of them. “They may be boring, but you’d better study them well. I give hard tests.”

  “Huh?”

  Ian was just as confused as his son. “What are you up to?”

  “It’s Jack’s homeschooling program. The first semester.”

  Ian looked at her blankly, not following where she was going with this.

  “I’m sure sailing around the world will be instructive, but Jack needs a traditional, well-rounded program, too.” She cocked her head and gave him a narrow-eyed, stern look. “But we’re both going to be his teachers. I’m not doing it alone.”

  Understanding flickered in Ian’s head. “Mimi, are you sure? This isn’t what we planned.”

  She covered his mouth with her fingers. “A wise man once told me that dreams are meant to be shared. If you want to sail around the world, then I do, too.” She shot a look at Jack, who was still confused. “What do you think? Are you willing to give up regular school for a bit of sailing?”

  Jack whooped in joy as Ian pulled his wife into a hard embrace. “Thank you,” he whispered in her ear. “I love you.”

  Her answer was lost in the pounding of his heart and buried under his lips as he kissed her. He didn’t need to hear the words, though. The box in his lap said everything. A new dream was beginning, forged out of their hearts. He couldn’t wait to get started.

  Neither could Jack.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-5251-0

  AN UNEXPECTED FATHER

  Copyright © 2010 by Lisa Ruff.

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