Chapter 6 #2
“It’s a distraction. You’re a distraction. Any man in his right mind is going to take his eyes off the road to get a better look at you.”
“I supposed you expect me to be complimented by that.”
“You’re beautiful, Tiffany. You have to know that.”
Her heart skipped a crazy beat. “You really think so?”
Blaine reached for her and brought her back into his embrace. “Yeah, I really think so. But you might want to cut out the ‘advertising’ until after the council meeting.”
“You’re probably right,” she said. “But if I don’t advertise, how will anyone know what I’m selling in the store?”
“Oh, they’ll know, honey,” he said, laughing. “Believe me. They’ll know.”
His ringing cell phone woke Evan out of a sound sleep the next morning. “What?” he growled.
“Hey, it’s Mac.”
His older brother sounded chipper and wide awake.
“What the hell time is it?”
“Seven ten.”
“You’d better have a very good reason for calling so early.”
“I do. I need some help today. Dad and Luke are both off-island, so I’m alone at the marina. Can you give me a few hours?”
Evan bit back a moan. After the awkward dinner with Grace’s parents, he’d been awake for hours trying to decide if her not telling her parents about him was a bigger problem than he’d thought.
“Ev? Are you there?”
“I’m here. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Great, thanks,” Mac said.
Grace turned over in bed and curled up to Evan. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Mac needs some help at the marina today.”
He kissed her forehead and got up to grab a shower and shave.
When he emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, she had a travel mug with coffee waiting for him.
He put on shorts and a T-shirt, all the while trying to think of what he should say to her.
Everything between them had been so good, and even though he understood why she’d done it, he couldn’t help being hurt that she’d kept their relationship a secret from her parents.
“Thank you,” he said when she handed him the mug.
“Are you okay?” she asked, perceptive as always.
“I’m fine, why?”
“You’ve been a little…distant since dinner.”
“Because we only had sex once last night, I’m distant now?” The words came out sharper than he’d intended, causing her smile to dim. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“If something is wrong, I wish you’d talk to me about it.”
“Nothing is wrong.” He took the mug and kissed her. “See you tonight.”
The unusually awkward exchange stayed with him as he walked the short distance to the marina at North Harbor. About halfway there, he realized he’d forgotten to tell her he loved her. Hell, she’d forgotten, too, and they never forgot that.
The morning at the marina passed with a flurry of activity as boats began to arrive for Gansett Island’s annual Race Week festivities. It was well after one before Evan and Mac had things under control and headed for the restaurant to grab lunch.
“Thanks for the help this morning,” Mac said over bowls of clam chowder and a basket of clam cakes.
“No problem.”
“You’re quiet today. Everything okay?”
Evan shrugged and focused on his chowder as he debated whether he wanted to air his troubles to his happily married brother.
“How are things at the studio?”
“Coming along. The space is almost ready, and the equipment will be here next week.”
“I still can’t believe we’re going to have a recording studio on the island.”
“Neither can I. It’s all thanks to Ned’s financial support, and I finally heard that my friend Josh is going to take me up on my offer. You can’t have a recording studio without a first-rate sound engineer, so all the pieces are falling into place.”
“That’s awesome. So why do you look so messed up? And don’t say it’s nothing. I know you better than that.”
Evan put down his spoon and wiped his mouth. “Is it weird that Grace and I have been together since last fall and she hadn’t said a word about me to her parents?”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I met them yesterday when they came over to surprise her. The surprise was on me—and them.”
“What did she say?”
“I guess their relationship is sort of dysfunctional, but I wonder…”
“About?”
“Do you think maybe she’s ashamed to be shacked up with a loser who doesn’t have a real job?”
“You’re not a loser, Evan. You had a tough break with your record company going belly up. You’re rebounding with the studio.”
“But maybe that’s why she didn’t tell them, because we have no idea how the studio will do. She probably doesn’t want them to know she’s living with a guy who’s barely employed.”
“I’m sure that has nothing to do with it. It’s not like you’re leaching off her. You’re paying your own way.”
Evan fiddled with his spoon as he contemplated what Mac had said.
“You need to talk to her. Ask her if that has anything to do with why she didn’t tell them.”
“Part of me doesn’t want to know.”
“It probably has nothing to do with you, Ev.”
“She said it didn’t, but still… I wonder.”
“You won’t know if you don’t ask her.”
Stephanie, their brother Grant’s fiancée, came rushing into the restaurant looking frazzled. “Oh, hey, guys. How’s the chowder?”
She looked so different since she’d decided to grow her red hair longer. Evan was so used to her spikes that he almost didn’t recognize her.
“As good as always,” Mac said. “What’re you doing here?”
“Checking on things and doing the food order for next week.”
“How long can you continue to run this place while you’re trying to get your own restaurant open?”
“Are you complaining?”
“Not at all,” Mac said. “I’m only reminding you that we’re more than happy to hire a new manager if need be.”
“No need. I’ve got it covered.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure. You’ll be at the opening?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Mac said.
Evan nodded in agreement.
“See you then.”
As Stephanie walked away, Kara Ballard came in. She was running the new launch service in the Salt Pond, delivering boaters from the anchorage to McCarthy’s. Waving to Mac and Evan, she ordered lunch and then came to say hello while she waited for her food.
“How’s it going, Kara?” Mac asked.
She wore a Ballard’s Boat Builders ball cap with her shoulder-length honey-colored ponytail pulled through the back of the hat. “Great. Business is really picking up with the boats arriving for Race Week.”
“The pond will be wall-to-wall by the weekend,” Mac said.
Kara started to say something but faltered. “Damn it. What’s he doing here again?”
Evan turned to look at who she was talking about and saw his brother Grant’s friend, Dan Torrington, coming into the restaurant.
Tall with dark hair and a dimpled smile, he wore a pink dress shirt rolled up over his forearms, white Bermuda shorts and loafers.
You could take the lawyer out of LA, but apparently, you couldn’t take the LA out of the lawyer.
His idea of casual looked ridiculously out of place at ultracasual McCarthy’s Marina, but he didn’t seem to care as he zeroed in on Kara.
“I’ve got to go.” Kara grabbed her lunch and headed for the exit.
“Hey, what’s your rush?” Dan asked as he followed her.
“What’s up with those two?” Evan asked his brother.
“Not sure, but he seems to stop by every day at some point or another.”
“She didn’t seem too happy to see him.”
“Enough about them,” Mac said. “What’re you going to do about Grace?”
“I have no idea.”
“You could start by talking to her.”
Evan grimaced. “Do I have to?”
“Evan…”
“I know, I know. We’ve had it kind of easy up to now. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to deal with this.”
“Everyone has bumps,” Mac said.
“You and Maddie make it look awfully easy.”
“Most of the time it is, but we have our issues, too. We got into it last night because she’s thinking about spending time with her deadbeat dad so he’ll give her mother the divorce.”
“And you’re opposed to that?”
“Hell, yes, I’m opposed to it. The guy left them thirty years ago and then he comes back acting like he has rights. Do you know that after he left, she sat in the window of their apartment for weeks and watched all the ferries arrive, hoping he’d change his mind and come back?”
“Jeez.”
“She was five. Five years old! What right does he have to come back now and get her hopes up?”
“None.”
“Exactly. That’s my point. Except he won’t give her mother a divorce until Maddie spends some time with him.”
“So she’s doing it for her mom.”
“Yes, but at what cost to her, you know?”
“I can see why you’re upset about it.” Evan thought about it for a minute. “What if you went with her? Then you could make sure he didn’t say or do anything to hurt her.”
“I offered that, but she wants to do it alone, which is what we argued about.” Mac sat back in his seat and crossed his arms. “I hate fighting with her. It screws me all up.”
“I’m sure she knows you’re worried about her getting hurt and that your intentions are good.”
Mac shrugged. “I guess.” He gathered up the trash onto their tray and stood. “I’d better get back to work. I can handle things here this afternoon. Thanks for the help this morning.”
“Any time.”
“Let me know how it goes with Grace.”
“Likewise. With Maddie.”
As Evan walked up the hill on the way back to the pharmacy, he thought about Grace and the blissful months they’d spent together.
Nothing could’ve prepared him for what it was like to care more about someone else than he did about himself.
He’d thought she felt the same way about him, but now he wasn’t so sure.
The thought of broaching the subject with her made his stomach knot with anxiety, but he needed to know for sure that the reason she hadn’t told her parents about him wasn’t because of his employment situation.
He only hoped his need to know wouldn’t cause trouble between them. He’d do anything to avoid that.