Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
You’re fine, she told herself, shoving back the sharp edge of fear. Think about something else.
Oscar. His sweet little face, dark eyes and dripping whiskers. And Lachlan. Crouched beside her. Watching over her. He was only a few feet away from her right now. Would never let anything happen to her. She was safe.
You’re safe.
The hose stopped. Maddy pulled in a choppy breath and swallowed to force her heart back down her throat.
“Everyone ready to go?” Lachlan asked as he came aboard.
The other three passengers replied in the affirmative. Maddy didn’t answer, busy gripping the edge of her seat with both hands while her nervous system recalibrated.
It was better once they got out on the water. The instinctive part of her brain that had frozen her finally caught up with the logical part that knew everything was fine.
She breathed in the fresh air, her senses more acute from the adrenaline crash. Off in the distance, she spotted a few whale blows, but couldn’t tell if it was an orca or humpback.
Under thirty minutes later, the hazy island off the bow on the horizon became clearer.
Its shoreline was fringed by a backdrop of dark evergreens with punches of brilliant red, orange, and yellow from the various kinds of maples planted amongst them.
The harbor was busy, lots of people getting out on the water to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.
She was determined to enjoy it and her time with Lachlan to the fullest.
He docked them near the end of a ramp that led up to a wooden building. Maddy took off her flotation suit and waited for the others to disembark.
“What’d you think of that route?” he asked her as he stripped off his own suit, leaving him in black cargo pants and that V-neck sweater that clung to his powerful torso in all the right places.
“It was beautiful.” Coming that close to a public panic attack had rattled her though. If something as simple as a running hose could trigger her like that, it showed what a mess she still was underneath.
“I love coming here. Don’t get the chance to do it very often.” He stretched out a hand toward her. “Shall we?”
She took it and stepped out. Liked the way his hand felt when he set it against the small of her back as he guided her up the dock to the base of the ramp to the building above. At the top, he stepped away to open the door for her.
The mouthwatering scent of rich food wafted out. The hostess took them to a reserved table right next to the fireplace. Small logs burned in the grate, the soothing crackling sound and woodsmoke giving the dark-painted interior filled with nautical paraphernalia an extra cozy vibe.
Lachlan pulled her chair out for her, then sat across the table with a huge window on her left overlooking the edge of the harbor. A small white passenger ferry was sailing across the mouth of it, heading for the terminal they’d passed on the way in.
The warmth of the fire lapped at her back as she took it all in. “You’re right. This is a special place.” All the more so because of the present company.
“Wait till you taste the food.”
She ordered the teriyaki-glazed prawn bowl and a peppermint tea. Lachlan ordered one for himself, along with their signature dish: herb-crusted halibut in a beurre blanc sauce with rice and vegetables.
“So, Maddy, what’s your story?” he asked once the server had left them. He smiled when she hesitated. “Don’t look so scared. I just want to get to know you more.”
Normally she hated this kind of thing, but didn’t mind it with him since they already knew each other a little. “I’m not scared. What do you want to know?”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Chicago.”
“Are your parents still there?”
“Yes.” She would have stopped at that because she’d answered the question, but understood she had to continue to keep the conversation from stalling.
Also, it wasn’t hard to talk to him. “We talk on the phone every few weeks, but I don’t see them much.
Christmas, maybe one or two other times a year. ”
“Why’s that? If that’s not too personal.”
Everything about this was personal, but it was just the two of them, and this was necessary for them to get to know one another. So she went with direct honesty. “The short answer is, they don’t understand me.”
His eyebrows rose slightly. “No?”
“No. It’s always been like that, and it gets tiring trying to be something I’m not.” Don’t be so awkward, Maddy. Don’t be antisocial, Maddy. Stop being weird, Maddy. And her personal favorite: Just try harder to fit in, Maddy.
“What don’t they understand?”
She shrugged. “My personality. The way my brain works. They still have a hard time accepting that I’m…neurospicy.”
“That must be tough.”
“It’s okay. They love me, and I love them.
They always looked after me, tried their best to help me navigate the world.
We’re just not close like some families are.
” She disliked how they made her feel wrong or strange.
“What about your parents?” she asked, genuinely curious and wanting to take the focus off herself.
He’d mentioned to her once that he’d been born and raised here.
“They’re both on the mainland now, down in Astoria where Grey was last stationed. They wanted a bigger property so my mom could have a garden and room for chickens and ducks.”
“That sounds nice.”
He lifted a broad shoulder. “They like it. We spend the holidays together and talk on the phone about once a week. I think my dad misses life on the island though.”
She nodded. “How old are you? And Grey?”
He didn’t so much as blink at the abrupt shift in topic. “Thirty-three. Grey’s two years younger.”
“I’m twenty-seven.” She figured he would want to know and would save him the trouble of asking.
A spark of humor glinted in his eyes. “Good to know. How did you get into IT?”
“I’ve always liked computers. They make sense to me. I understand them.” Coding. The language. The capabilities and limitations. “People, not so much.”
He grinned. “Yeah, people can be confusing.”
“Computers can be too. But people are messy. I have a hard time with the messy part.”
She would have sworn that was tenderness she read in his eyes. “How did you end up working for a military contractor overseas?”
She’d expected this to come up at some point. Had mentally prepared for it. Still, she wasn’t comfortable with telling him everything. Didn’t want to dwell on the things she was trying her best to move past, incident at the dock an hour ago notwithstanding.
“Money. The pay was too good to pass up. And maybe there was a rebellious piece of me that wanted to leave home and show my parents I could make something of myself without them.” The joke was on her.
“Is that where you met Blaine?”
“Yes. He was my boss. We worked together for more than a year. There’s nothing going on between us, by the way, and there never was. We’re just friends.” She wanted to make that clear.
Lachlan smiled a little. “I know.”
Right, of course. Because Blaine was with Xanthe now.
Their food arrived, saving her from having to answer more questions for the time being. Before starting, Maddy picked up her fork and carefully moved all the prawns to the edge of the bowl. She glanced up, saw Lachlan watching her.
“I don’t like my meat and vegetables to touch,” she explained with a shrug. He’d wanted to get to know her better. This was her being herself, and she refused to hide or apologize for it. “It’s a neurodivergent thing.”
“I don’t like it when most hot and cold foods touch. Like, gravy should never ever touch salad or fruit.” He made a face.
She grinned, her tension melting away. He was sweet to try and put her at ease in the face of her differences. “Exactly.”
The rest of the lunch was easy. Their conversation didn’t feel the least bit forced. She didn’t have to search for things to ask him or talk about. The words just flowed without effort.
It was liberating.
They lingered over crème br?lée and finished the pot of peppermint tea while they talked.
When everything was finished, he paid the bill before she could argue and escorted her back to the boat, bright autumn sunshine glinting off the water, his hand warm and solid against the small of her back.
Spreading more warmth through her veins.
He kept her beside him in the pilothouse on the trip back.
Shielded from the wind and the cold salt spray, she stood close enough that their sides brushed every time the hull hit a wave.
They talked for the first few minutes, then lapsed into silence, comfortable in each other’s presence and enjoying the stunning scenery.
By the time they made it back to Skelly, the sun was sinking into the western horizon, and she was sad their time together was over.
While he got everything squared away onboard, she took off her suit, stowed it neatly in the bin, and watched as he finished tying the lines.
As he straightened and turned to face her, the deep coral sunlight slanted through the clouds, lighting his face and creating fiery highlights in his deep brown hair and beard.
He took her breath away.
“What?” he asked.
She shook her head, hardly daring to believe he was real. “You are so handsome,” she said in awe.
Surprise flashed across his face. Then he sighed. “Now, see, what am I supposed to do with that?”
She blinked. Do with it? “It was a compliment.”
He shook his head slightly. “You look at me like that with those big blue eyes, tell me I’m hot while I’m trying to keep my distance?”
Why was he trying to—
She stilled as he stepped between the row of seats separating them. Stared up at him when he paused in front of her, mere inches away while her pulse thudded like a bass drum in her ears.
She held her breath. Didn’t dare move or speak for fear of breaking the spell. Waiting, her entire body humming with anticipation.
Because in spite of her inexperience, it looked like he was about to give her the kiss she’d been hoping for.