A Taste of Heaven (Billionaires' Secrets Book 3) by Jennifer Lewis

beautiful woman deserved a bit more style than that.
    She smiled. “A picnic.”
    “Is that okay?”
    “I haven’t had a picnic in...I don’t know when I last had a picnic.”
    Maybe almost as long ago as you last had sex.
    He didn’t say it. But she had bottled-up fire and hunger inside her that must have taken years to accumulate. Maybe she’d never even had sex with her late husband.
    The man she believed to be his father.
    “We’re going out on my boat.” He ushered her into the dim, cool boat shed, restored and painted to look just as it had when his great-grandfather first erected it to house his beloved shrimp boat.
    Louis’s handmade reproduction of the old Lafitte skiff rested lightly on its rails, polished wood shining in the sunset glow that snuck in through the open doors out to the water.
    Samantha’s silence made him glance sideways. She stood, frowning at the boat. “I can’t swim.”
    “You won’t have to. This boat is the smoothest ride ever made and there’s not a wave to be found on these waters.” Fear glimmered in her eyes. He wanted to put his arm around her and reassure her. To whisper that he’d take great care of her and he wouldn’t let anything hurt or even scare her. But he’d promised no touching.
    “If you’re not comfortable on the boat, we’ll come right back. We can always eat in here.”
    Samantha bit her lip, a girlish gesture. “No.” She sucked in a breath. “I’d like to go on the boat. I’m trying to step outside my comfort zone more often.”
    “An admirable thing to do.” He held out his hand to take hers. She looked at it, then up at him.
    He dropped his hand to his side. It prickled with the frustrated desire to touch her. “Old habits die hard.”
    He managed to resist offering to help her into the boat. She climbed on while it was mounted on the rails, then he removed his shoes, lowered the boat and its precious cargo gently into the water and climbed in himself.
    Sam laughed at his soaked pants. “You’re all wet.”
    “I’ll dry. It’s refreshing. You can go for a dip if you like.” She glanced over the rim of the boat into the dark, glittering water. “No, thanks. I don’t want to go that far outside my comfort zone. Is it deep?”
    “Not very. A lot of this was solid ground a few years ago. The water levels keep rising. Every year I’m closer to owning oceanfront property.”
    “This is nicer than the ocean. It’s so quiet. And I love the sound the grasses make, like they’re whispering secrets to each other.” Her blue eyes shone with pleasure.
    Louis felt a knot form in his gut. This was exactly why he’d brought her here.
    Already he could see the tension slipping out of her shoulders and her hands spreading out over the wood gunwale as she relaxed into the boat.
    The late afternoon sun shone on her skin and picked out flecks of sparkling gold in her hair.
    Momentarily sorry that it would drown out the gossip of the grasses, he started the engine and guided the boat into a wide canal, where water shimmered among the grasses on either side. “You could open the basket for us.”
    She unlatched the leather buckle and reached in. “Goodness, what beautiful dishes. Are they silver?”
    “My great-great-grandfather was a silversmith. I like them for picnics because they don’t break.”
    She nodded, a smile flickering across her lips. “Tarrant would approve.”
    Louis’s shoulders tightened at the mention of the strange man’s name. “He liked nice things?”
    “Only the best.” She picked up a plate and he felt a familiar flash of pride as she traced the intricately carved pattern with her fingertip.
    “I guess that’s why he chose you.” The words slipped out. He wasn’t looking to flatter her.
    She blushed. “I don’t know why he chose me at all. We met at a party I was catering. It was my first night on the job and I spilled white wine all over his pant leg. The other caterers were sure the firm would never be