“Thank you. I appreciate your apology and your assessment of me,” he responded entirely devoid of emotion. He’d give her no clue to his thoughts on the matter.
They continued down the path, finally stopping outside her patio door. When she turned to face him, her skin broke out in goose pimples in anticipation. Ben could feel fissures of tension and excitement pulse the air between them. He watched her shiver and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, but she didn’t raise her eyes to his.
He leaned in close to her one hand against the door frame and stroked her arm with the other. She nearly shook at his touch.
“Darcy,” he whispered like a simple prayer, raising her chin to gaze into his eyes.
Her mouth parted in anticipation, and she licked her lips. He thought she’d melt into him as he lowered his head. But instead, she extended her hand, awkwardly pushing him back, shook the hand that had been brushing her arm, spun on her heel, and burst into the house through the glass doors. Ben stood on her patio for a moment and stared.
What just happened? He brushed a hand through his hair in his manner of self-soothing. He’d decided not to get involved with anyone. And here he was, nearly getting very involved with the next-door neighbor. This wouldn’t do.
Ben pulled out the phone number from his pocket and stared at it. Noncommittal fun. He could handle that. But Darcy wouldn’t be noncommittal; she’d given him an earful about it already. He’d be better off staying as far away from her as he could. Maybe he needed to show her.
Chapter Five
In nearly twenty-four hours, Darcy couldn’t stop herself from reliving every agonizing and embarrassing moment. Sitting cross-legged on her bed she closed her eyes and imagined she could smell his aftershave. She remembered how his eyes glinted with amusement at the bar. Shivering, her skin warmed along her arm, where he’d grabbed her. His touch had burned her like the sun.
Shutting her laptop, she got off her bed and stretched her arms over her head. She hadn’t figured out how to discuss what had almost happened—the kiss—with Char. Spending the day in her bedroom, camped out on her bed with a stack of files from the office had been easy. Dropping her arms to her side, she turned to walk out and into the hall.
A hummed melody caught her ear as she passed Char’s room. Someone’s in a good mood. Darcy smiled to herself. Her feet stopped in front of Char’s door, but she forced them to move. She needed a drink.
Char was preening in front of her bedroom mirror when Darcy entered a few minutes later, carrying two beers. She put one on the dresser and sank into the heaps of bedding and pillows on Char’s bed with the other. The late afternoon light streamed in through the windows and danced on the carpet, elongating her shadows.
“Do you think this is okay for our double date tonight?” Char asked.
Darcy choked on her beer. “What are you talking about?” she sputtered through coughs.
“Didn’t I tell you? John and Ben invited us to join them on their boat tonight.”
Taking a long drink from her beer to clear her throat and keep her occupied, Darcy’s eyes grew wide. She wanted to go out on the boat. Ever since the brief glimpse of Bayfield and Madeline Island from the water, she’d been anxious to see more. But a double date?
“What’s wrong?” Char asked, catching Darcy’s eyes in the mirror.
Darcy bit her lip and looked away.
“I thought you two had kind of hit it off?” Char asked.
“Maybe? I don’t know,” Darcy replied.
“You don’t know?” Char raised an eyebrow.
“I like him. I mean I did when we first met. But then . . . I don’t know.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked. Charlotte turned around completely and crossed her arms over her chest as she stared Darcy down.
“He just strikes me as kind of . . . lazy,” Darcy replied. “I think he’s only out for a good time.”
“Is this about that girl again?” Char asked, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.
“Char you weren’t there. Don’t downplay it. It was embarrassing,” Darcy pleaded.
Darcy bit her lip, regretting that she’d divulged so much information the night before. But it had been hard not to when she’d had so much weighing on her mind and Char’s ready ears had been eager to listen. Darcy flushed and put her face in her hands, watching Char through her splayed fingers.
Char held up her hands in defeat. “I’m sure. But give him a break. I think most guys would find it hard not to stare at something like that.”
Darcy narrowed her eyes. Char could reason his actions away all she wanted. It didn’t mean he wasn’t rude.
“And just because he isn’t working around the clock trying to give himself a heart attack like other people I know, doesn’t mean he is lazy.”
“Okay, okay. I get it,” Darcy replied and rolled her eyes. “But even still. He doesn’t seem very motivated.”
“That’s kind of surprising. That’s not how John describes him at all.”
“It isn’t?”
Char shook her head. “According to John, Ben’s the most motivated of all the brothers. He’s the one who works the hardest; he’s the most dedicated, most loyal, etc. etc.”
“Huh. Are we talking about the same guy?” Darcy asked, her jaw dropping.
“Give him a chance, Darcy,” Char replied.
Darcy sighed and pushed off the bed. She walked the length of the room in a few strides as she considered Char’s words. Could he really be the brother John describes? Or is he the arrogant guy I’ve met? She couldn’t find out the answer by acting stand-offish with him, or by dissecting him with Charlotte. She’d have to find out on her own. “I have to give him a chance, don’t I?”
“Yes,” Charlotte agreed. “Let him surprise you.”
Darcy shifted her weight from foot to foot and knitted her fingers together. Reliving the night before, she remembered how she embarrassed herself with the heap of unwanted and unwarranted opinions she’d thrown his way. Something about him riled her up. If she wasn’t daydreaming about him, then she was picking a fight with him. She’d no doubt offended him and yet . . . they’d shared another moment.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Char asked. “I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to go out on the lake for an evening. How often do you get the chance to go boating?” She narrowed her eyes again.
“I pretty much told him off, and then I almost kissed him.”
“What!” Char shrieked.
“Yeah,” Darcy whispered. “I don’t think I can go out without feeling like a complete idiot.”
Char stared at her blankly, unable to move. Darcy bit her lip then waved her hands in front of Char’s face and snapped her fingers.
“Char, please say something,” Darcy begged.
“I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you almost kissed him. How did that happen?” Char exclaimed.
Darcy thought she saw admiration and shock in her friend’s eyes. Darcy would admit to shock herself. She hadn’t been close enough to kiss a man in a long time.
“There was a moment. I can’t explain it. But I think it was mutual.”
“You think?” Char asked, quirking an eyebrow.
“I didn’t let it happen. I freaked out and ran away.”
“That’s my girl,” Char said with a smile. “I almost didn’t recognize you for a minute there.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Look, you have to come. Don’t think of it like a double date,” Char said, shaking her head.
“But that’s what you said it was,” Darcy opened her eyes wide.
“You should know better than to listen to me. You’re coming out with John and me and we’re going on the boat. That’s it.” Char concluded.
“All right,” Darcy said with a shrug.
“Good. Now get changed because we have to be there in ten minutes.”
“What’s wrong with this?” Darcy asked looking down at her T-shirt, jeans,
and flats.
Char looked her over. “Jeans are your uniform,” she said. “Put a little effort into it.”
“Char, then he’s going to think I dressed up for him,” Darcy whined.
Charlotte rolled his eyes. “Fine, don’t get changed, stay exactly the same.”
“When you say it like that, I have to change.” Darcy grumbled and stomped off to her closet.
She reemerged in five minutes in a cardigan set and shorts.
“I guess that’ll have to do. It’s better, at least,” Char muttered.
“Thanks for the ringing endorsement.”
Char rolled her eyes. “Just put on some mascara and lipstick and let’s go.”
“Fine,” Darcy replied, dutifully heading to the bathroom.
“Good,” Charlotte assessed. “You look good. You look pretty but it’s hard to figure out what’s different. He won’t think you tried for him. He’ll just think you look nice.”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “Let’s go, please?”
“Okay, okay. I told John we’d walk with him. Ben took the boat out earlier today, so he’s already at the marina.”
The pair walked out their back door and crossed the green to John’s patio.
“Ready?” he asked from his lounge chair, a beer in one hand with his ankles crossed, looking the very height of relaxation.
“Yes,” Char said and smiled.
John stood up, kissed Char on the cheek, and waved to Darcy. Darcy tried her hardest not to react, but she couldn’t deny her surprise at the gesture. John and Char had been spending most days together. Darcy hadn’t realized how close the pair had grown in that time.
“Darcy you look nice,” John said with just a hint of bewilderment.
“Thanks,” Darcy muttered fighting against embarrassment. Maybe she did need a style intervention.
“Let’s go,” Char told him, entwining her arm with his and practically pulling him off the patio.
“Hold on, hold on, I’ve got to get the coolers.”
John retrieved two wheeled ice chests, one filled with drinks, the other filled with food. He pulled them both with ease behind him.
“Char, lead the way.”
Char held her shoulders back and strutted a bit like a peacock. They walked almost single file to the yacht club parking lot, and then they stopped to let John take the lead. He dropped one cooler off at the edge of the dock, and then pulled the other behind and walked almost to the end. John stopped in front of a sixty-foot yacht.
Darcy gaped at it and froze in place for a moment. She’d never been on a private boat before, let alone one with multiple levels.
“Come on,” John called over to her. “I’ll help you aboard.”
Darcy nodded and walked to the edge of the dock, unsure what to do. She watched Char remove her shoes, grab hold of John’s hand and climb into the boat. Char waved Darcy over, like an old pro. Darcy carefully slipped out of her shoes, grabbed hold of John’s hand, and let him pull her into the boat.
“Thanks,” Darcy replied a bit shyly.
“Come on, we can go up front,” Char suggested.
Darcy followed Char to the side of the boat and watched as her friend hoisted herself on to the edge of the boat and carefully navigated her way around to the front. Darcy had given up on gymnastics as a girl after a brush with the balance beam and wasn’t looking forward to attempting anything like it again. But surprisingly, she felt comfortable after a few steps. She opened her mouth to tell Char, when her friend stopped abruptly in front of her.
“Hey, keep it moving,” Darcy ribbed.
Char turned to look at Darcy with a face white as a sheet.
“What?” Darcy asked.
Char tried to form her thoughts into words, but before she could, Darcy looked past her friend and saw. Ben and a girl, wearing, quite simply, the skimpiest bikini she could find, asleep on two cushions surrounded by cans of cheap beer.
“Should we tell John?” Darcy asked, unsure what to make of the scene or how to act.
She didn’t feel jealous, exactly. Looking at the girl, Darcy did not wish herself in that girl’s shoes. She liked her craft beer and her butt covered, thank you very much. If anything, Darcy’s stomach sunk with disappointment. Maybe even with what she’d voiced to Char, she had been holding out hope that Ben wasn’t what she’d said. Maybe she’d said those things to Char just so her friend could tell her the truth. In one unguarded moment, she took in the full measure of him.
Okay? Char mouthed.
Darcy nodded.
“Hey girls, do you think you could help me? I can’t find Ben,” John called out from above in the cockpit.
“Oh wait, never mind, found him,” John said a moment later when he looked down.
John sounded the horn and the sleeping companions came awake with a start.
“What the—” Ben began as he sat upright without care for the half-naked woman draped over him. He pushed her off him roughly, coming out of what must have been a deep sleep.
“Hey,” she called out.
“Sorry, sorry,” Ben apologized, rubbing his eyes before turning to see who had sounded the horn.
Ben found three people, all with their arms crossed but with very different expressions. Charlotte looked pissed and John frustrated. But Darcy—surprisingly—had to stifle a laugh. Darcy figured she could be mad or she could have a good night. And she wanted to have a good night.
“Oh, hi, is it time?” Ben asked without the hint of embarrassment.
He pushed himself up to a seated position and ran a hand through his hair. Shirtless, his rippled chest and taut stomach on full display, he made no move to find his T-shirt or stand. Darcy’s tongue darted out across her dry lips. At the sound of knocking, she turned to Charlotte. Her best friend glared at Ben and tapped her foot.
“Ben come on,” John called from the dock.
“If you’ll excuse me,” he replied, grabbing his T-shirt from the floor and putting it on over his head before taking the catwalk to the back of the boat to help John get the other coolers.
Darcy and Char were left with Ben’s date, who stood awkwardly on the prow, trying to cover herself with her arms. Darcy nearly pitied her, until she recognized the girl as the waitress from the other day.
“Of course,” she muttered.
“What?” Char whispered.
“Nothing,” Darcy replied and hesitated.
She didn’t want to get too near Ben. She had no desire to start a conversation with him at the moment. She also didn’t want to talk to the waitress. Darcy couldn’t imagine what she’d have to say to her. In Darcy’s mind, she and the waitress could not be more different.
Darcy knew she’d feel rude standing on the front of the boat, chatting merrily with Char and pointedly ignoring the girl. She knew Char would do it for her; ice out this girl. She’d do it for Char if their situations were reversed. But it didn’t feel right to her.
“Do you want to get changed? Did you bring any clothes?” Darcy asked.
“Um, yeah, I think I will,” she said barely meeting Darcy’s eyes before slinking around the side of the boat.
Char’s eyes grew wide as the girl retreated.
“Well, aren’t you glad you wore makeup?” Charlotte teased.
“Come on, let’s clean up this boat, so we can actually enjoy ourselves. Did you bring the sangria?”
“I did. Are you actually going to have another drink?”
“Maybe I’ll have two tonight.”
“Let’s hurry up then, shall we. This is something I have to see.”
“Char, I…” Darcy shook her head, unsure how to continue.
“What is it?”
“I’m a little worried about you and I don’t know how to bring this up without hurting your feelings.”
“That sounds ominous,” Char frowned.
Darcy took a few steps forward, leaving no more than a few inches between them. She didn’t want to have this conversation. But she worried
more about not having it at all. Putting her arm around her best friend, Darcy kissed Char on the forehead.
“Do I need to be worried about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The drinking. Is something going on that you want to talk about? I’ve never seen you… It just seems like a lot lately.”
Char blew out a sigh. “I get it. To be honest, I’ve been letting myself unwind this summer. Law school has been a lot more than I bargained for and I’ve been looking to blow off steam.”
“Can’t you do that in another way?”
“Yes. I can. And I’m working on it. But you know what? I haven’t had a summer off since college and it’s been nice to relax and unwind.”
“I get it.”
“It also doesn’t help that I get buzzed after one drink and am wasted after two.”
“I understand that,” Darcy muttered.
“Come on. Let’s get this cleaned up. And I promise, I won’t leave a mess like this.”
Charlotte and Darcy gathered the scattered cans, twenty in all, and carefully navigated to the back of the boat to throw them away.
“Ah, nice. It looks like it was quite the afternoon cruise,” John commented as they reached the trash can near the captain’s chair. “I’m sorry about this situation.”
“It’s okay.” Darcy replied. The cans clanged against each other as she and Charlotte dropped them into the trash can, one by one.
“Are we taking a stowaway?” John asked pointing down the stairs to one of the two sleeping cabins.
“I think she’s getting changed,” Darcy offered.
Char held up her hands in surrender. “Our hands were tied. Where is he?”
John pointed to the bathroom.
“Before we shove off, shall we have a cocktail?”
“Yes please,” Darcy replied, pulling out three red cups from a paper bag in the corner.
Char pulled out the pitcher of sangria she’d made earlier in the day and filled each cup.
“Cheers,” Darcy said quickly as the waitress reappeared from below deck in a crochet dress that left nothing to the imagination.
The waitress approached Char from behind. Darcy took a sip from her drink and couldn’t help her smile. While not a particularly modest person, Char had often espoused the less is more mantra. To Char that meant the less skin on display. But the waitress must have a different interpretation. Char nearly choked when she caught sight of the knit dress putting her bra and barely there panties on full-display.
Tiny Island Summer Page 5