Chapter 5 #2
If he had been driven to succeed before he met her, now he was positively possessed with the desire to make a go of it, to offer her something she couldn’t get anywhere else—him, his marina, his enormous desire to succeed.
Somehow he had to make that enough for her, a woman who could have anyone she wanted.
He settled her in one of the few chairs the previous owner had left behind and went into the back room to spray for spiders, opening a window to vent the fumes.
Earlier, he’d propped the mattress and the boxes he’d brought from home in the hallway, intending to spray before he took anything into the room.
With the sun setting over the Salt Pond, the view outside the room’s single window took his breath away.
After only three visits to the island before today, Mac already knew he’d never get tired of looking out at “his” pond, as he now thought of it.
He unloaded an entire can of the spray in the small room, holding his breath the entire time.
When he was finished, he shut the door, hoping the spray would do the trick to get rid of the spiders before the woman of his dreams had to sleep in there.
“How’d it go?” she asked when he returned to her.
“Score one for the good guys.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Have faith. I’ll never let the spiders get you.”
“Sorry to be such a baby today. Spiders have always freaked me out, but I had no idea I’d get seasick too.”
“You’re not a baby. Spiders are disgusting, and those seas were rough. That’s why they canceled the ferries. So you see, it’s not your fault you got sick.”
“Always a charmer.”
“I speak only the truth. Are you ready for some dinner?”
“If you are.”
He went to the cooler he’d brought from home and retrieved two of the chicken sandwiches his mother had made to get him through his first day on the island.
It had been her way of being supportive of his new endeavor, and he’d been touched by her kind gesture.
“I have beer and water. What’s your preference? ”
“I’ll have a beer.”
Mac opened two bottles and handed one to her along with a sandwich. “Sorry it’s not more fancy.”
“This is perfect.”
And it was. He’d never owned anything other than his old truck, and to sit inside his building—even if it was falling down around him—with a view of his pond and his woman sitting beside him…
Life didn’t get any better than this. “It is kind of perfect, but only because you’re here with me. I’d be lonely here by myself.”
“What’ll you do all winter here by yourself?”
“Work and sleep.”
“And what else?”
“That’s it until I’m ready to open in the spring.” He glanced over at her, watching her lips move as she took a sip of her beer. God, she was gorgeous. “Will you come visit me from time to time?”
“Maybe,” she said with a coy smile.
His heart sank at the thought of all the college boys she’d be with every day. He couldn’t possibly compete with them. In addition to being two hours by car and ferry from her, he couldn’t really afford to go home very often. The thoughts, one on top of the other, depressed him profoundly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Just thinking about obstacles.”
“What obstacles?”
“The ones standing between you and me. College boys, for one thing.”
She rolled her eyes. “No worries there. I haven’t met one yet who did a thing for me.”
“You haven’t? Really?”
Shaking her head, she said, “What else?”
“Distance. That’s a lot of water standing between where you’re going to be and where I’m going to be.”
“You’re going to get a phone, right?”
“The minute I possibly can.”
“And you’ll use it to call me?”
“Every single day. Maybe twice a day.”
“You can’t afford that.”
“I have my captain’s license. I’m hoping to get some work taking charters, fishing trips. That kind of thing. I’ll find a way to afford the phone, the calls, trips to see you whenever I can.”
“When will you sleep?”
“I can sleep when I’m dead,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Don’t say things like that. I’m already having nightmares about you falling off that sagging roof and no one knowing it for days.”
There was nothing she could’ve said that would’ve touched him more deeply at that particular moment. To know she cared enough to worry about him… “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I don’t want you to worry.”
“I will worry.”
He reached for her hand and loved the way she linked her fingers with his. “Don’t go out with any of those college boys who’ll be asking, you hear me?”
“I won’t.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, Mac, I promise.”
Closing his eyes, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“It means you’re my girl, and I’m your…whatever you want me to be—boyfriend, fiancé, husband, you name it. I’m all yours.”
She fanned her face dramatically. “It’s getting warm in here.”
Because he had to do something to stop himself from grabbing her and kissing her and trying to cajole her to do much more than kiss him, he leapt to his feet. “Let’s go swimming. You brought a bathing suit, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Great! Let’s get changed and go to the beach.”
“Mac—”
“You’ll love it. I promise.” Desperate times called for cold water, and he’d been told the Salt Pond was always cold, even in the summer.
He directed her to the tiny bathroom across the hall from the bedroom, and after the door clicked shut behind her, he took a deep breath.
“Slow down,” he whispered. “Don’t scare her off by acting crazy. ”
Mac was on fire for her, which she’d surely notice if he didn’t get himself under control—quickly. He pulled off his shorts and boxers and put on his bathing suit, tucking his rampant erection into the netting. “Stop, stop, stop.” Trying not to be hard for her was like trying not to breathe.
He’d nearly won the battle of wills with his libido when she stepped out of the dark hallway, wearing a red bikini. Dear God. And just that fast, his cock stood at full attention again.
She didn’t help the situation one bit when she took a long, greedy look at his bare chest, seeming to like what she saw.
Suddenly, his great idea to go swimming became the worst idea he’d ever had.
Removing clothing with her around wasn’t going to make anything better. It would only make everything worse.
Then she crossed the room to him, never taking her eyes off him as she moved.
“You have a lot of muscles,” she said.