He was so beautiful.

Joanne stared at him under the cover of her dark sunglasses. Not that she had to be so discrete. James was the center of attention, twisting on the waves behind Mike's boat with an ease that was almost graceful. He lifted a hand and flashed a thumbs-up at the other passengers of the boat. Everyone laughed. Joanne could only muster a smile as her heart skipped a bit when she saw his grin.

Beautiful.

Not in the way Hollywood claimed, of course. His ears stuck out, his mouth was a little too wide, his eyes a little too round, but years of staring at him had made those traits part of his beauty to her.

The boat began to slow. James flopped backward, and let Mike and Ben tow him in. They teased and laughed as they helped him unstrap his feet from the board and Ben got his own feet strapped in. Joanne gripped the ends of her ponytail, unable to hear the words, too focused on the timbre of his voice, the ease of his laugh, the way the left side of his smile was higher than the right.

"Having fun, sis?" Mike asked as he reclaimed the driver's seat. Joanne drew her attention from James's shoulders to smile and nod.

"Hold on," James called to Ben, now floating in the water behind them.

He walked right past her to claim the seat next to Mike's. Not even a glance. Joanne sighed and looked away as the boat began to accelerate once more.