Chapter Three
Marit couldn’t believe she’d volunteered to take Britt on the Wave Rider.
First off, it wasn’t her place to invite people onto Eliot’s boat.
Second, she wasn’t sure she wanted to prolong a relationship with anyone associated with the Young family.
She liked Zach, had been attracted to him from the first moment she’d seen him, was still attracted to him .
. . but the fact that he had three brothers made her very uneasy.
Made her less sure about getting involved with him.
She had a bad history with brothers. Starting with her own. But over time, those bad feelings extended to any brothers. Unfair, she could admit . . . but she couldn’t help that the very word itself was a constant reminder of the awful men she’d left behind. The ones she tried hard to forget.
If she’d met any one of the Young men individually, she likely wouldn’t have any issue with them. It was seeing them together, acting all . . . chummy, that set off the bad memories in her head. Making her remember her own brothers, always ganging up on her.
Forcing her thoughts away from the past, Marit did her best to enjoy dinner, concentrating on the here and now.
And to their credit, Chad, Linc, and Knox weren’t behaving like her brothers.
First off, they were clearly being respectful of her boundaries.
They could tell she was nervous—whether they knew it was because of them or not, she couldn’t say.
But they didn’t press her to talk. Instead, they made jokes and picked on each other throughout dinner, but in a friendly way.
Not in the mean-spirited, hateful way that she was used to with siblings.
Also, watching them take care of their mother was .
. . a revelation. They made sure her water glass was always full.
When she dropped her fork on the floor, Linc jumped up to get her a new one.
They patiently waited while she took her fill of the food—along with Britt and Marit, actually—before any of them dug in, and the compliments on her cooking were plentiful and sincere.
Overall, their respectfulness and attentiveness surprised her.
It was as if the brothers were wired to see to the needs of the women at the table before their own.
It was a shock for someone like Marit, who’d been looking after herself from a young age.
Who lived and ate alone as an adult . . . and even before.
By the time the meal was nearly over, Marit reluctantly admitted she may have been wrong about this particular set of brothers.
And as it turned out, Zach had brought more than enough of his lobster and asparagus risotto for everyone to sample. It was so damn good, Marit thought she’d died and gone to heaven. Creamy, rich, and whatever Zach had used to spice it complemented both the rice and the asparagus.
“This will be gone in a heartbeat,” she told Zach honestly. “As soon as the first person tries it, they’re gonna exclaim about how amazing it is, and everyone else in line is gonna forgo the stupid lobster roll they were going to get and buy this instead.”
“Oooh, what if you put this on top of the lobster roll? That would be amazing!” Britt added.
“I don’t know, a huge bowl of this would be enough all by itself,” Linc countered.
“Of course it would, but if you could get them to buy both a lobster roll and the risotto, you’d make twice as much,” Britt suggested.
“But then you’d need to change the name. And what the hell is risotto, anyway?” Knox asked.
Everyone laughed.
Marit secretly agreed with him. But “rice with asparagus” didn’t sound nearly as fancy or appealing.
“You ready for Lobster Fest?” Chad asked.
Zach snorted. “No. I remember from us growing up and going to the festivals how crowded and busy they always were. And from what I understand from other vendors, it’s just grown since then.
I’m second-guessing how many lobsters I need to buy each day to meet demand and what items I want on the menu.
I want stuff that’s quick and easy to make to keep the line moving, but it needs to be different . . . special. Not typical.”
“I have faith in you,” Evelyn said. “You’re going to do great, son.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You need help?” Linc asked.
Marit glanced at Zach’s older brother in surprise.
“If you’re volunteering, yes,” Zach was quick to say.
“You paying in food? Because if that’s the case, I’ll talk to my boss and see about getting some time off to help too,” Knox said.
“The rental houses are booked for next week. I mean, of course they are,” Chad said. “But I’m sure Britt and I can still find some time to come by and do whatever needs doing, as well.”
“You guys are the best. Thank you. I’ll definitely let you know if I need some extra hands.”
Marit’s chest felt tight. It was more than obvious this family was a true unit.
She should’ve known that when Zach said he and his brothers had moved back to Maine because their mom needed help.
But actually seeing the closeness and cohesiveness and willingness to help each other was a whole other thing.
Something she had no experience or familiarity with.
Even on the lobster boats, competition was a big thing.
Everyone was competing against everyone else.
For the best lobsters, the biggest catch, and to work on the best boats.
True, when a disaster happened, lobstermen tended to work together, but after the crisis was over, it was right back to being cutthroat.
“Mom, I’m gonna take Britt out to the beach so we can look for sea glass. You need any help before we head out there?” Chad asked.
Evelyn quickly shook her head. “No, I think with all the help around here, you guys can have a night off from dishes.”
“Oh, but we can still help,” Britt protested. “It’s not a big deal.”
“No, you two go on. We got this,” Linc assured them.
Chad pulled Britt up from her seat and took her hand in his. “Come on, Peach. Before they change their minds and make us mop the floors or something.”
Britt laughed. “As if you’ve mopped in the last month or so.”
Chad smiled at her and they headed for the door that led to the back deck. Marit had spotted stairs off the deck earlier, so she assumed they’d head down to the beach that way.
The second the door shut behind them, Evelyn shoved her chair back and grabbed her plate. Knox and Linc did the same, both of them grinning.
“Come on, Zach! Get your and Marit’s plates in the sink so we can go watch,” his mom said urgently.
“Watch what?” Zach asked, sounding confused but obediently standing and reaching for her plate.
“He’s doing it! He’s proposing to Britt!” Evelyn said with so much glee, Marit couldn’t help but smile.
“Holy shit, he is?” Zach asked.
“Language. And yes! We need to give them a second to get to the beach, but then we can sneak onto the deck and watch!”
So that was why the whole family was here. It was obvious Zach had no idea, but his other brothers were in on the secret.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” he grumbled, as he brought their plates to the sink. “I would’ve made a cake or something.”
“And totally given away that something was up,” Linc countered.
“It’s bad enough Mom couldn’t help herself and made her gingerbread cookies.
It’s a good thing Britt doesn’t know she only makes those on special occasions.
And for the record, I didn’t know until Mom called and ordered me to come over for dinner tonight.
I almost said no, because I have stuff to do on the house, but she insisted and ended up spilling the beans on why she wanted me here. ”
“Same with me,” Knox agreed. “I was supposed to work late, but managed to get off on time and came straight here.”
“I was going to tell you, but you weren’t answering your phone,” Evelyn accused, giving Zach a look.
Marit almost laughed when he wrinkled his nose in obvious chagrin. “I was working,” he said simply.
“Right . . . so, now you know. Come on, everyone stay quiet on the deck. We don’t want Britt to suspect anything. Linc, you’re going to take pictures, right?”
“Yes, Mom. I got it.”
“She has to suspect something’s up,” Knox said, as they all made their way toward the deck door. “It’s not as if they’ve ever actually found any sea glass on our beach. There just isn’t much glass in our cove.”
“True. But I think she’s gonna be pretty happy with the rock she finds this evening,” Evelyn practically cackled.
“Please tell me Chad didn’t go down earlier and hide a ring in the rocks on the beach,” Zach asked. “With his luck, a seagull or eider duck has stolen it by now if he did.”
Evelyn smacked Zach on the shoulder playfully. “Of course not. It’s in his pocket.”
“You’ve seen the ring?” Linc asked their mom.
“Of course. I helped narrow down which one he wanted to give her.”
Marit couldn’t help but smile at the exchange between mother and sons.
But she felt like an outsider. She wasn’t sure she should be here for such an intimate moment in this family.
Though it wasn’t as if she could tell Zach she wanted to leave.
She had a feeling if she asked, he wouldn’t hesitate.
He’d leave before seeing his brother propose to Britt if that’s what she wanted to do.
It was a strange feeling to have. To know that someone would willingly give up something important to themselves, just for her. She wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge. Especially after only knowing Zach for such a short time.
She pushed the unsettling feeling to the back of her mind and followed the others out onto the deck.