The Boy is Back in Town

by Nina Harrington

  The teenager just grinned back, his face full of hero worship.

  Well, she couldn’t blame him for that.

  The memory of Ethan’s hands on her body, his mouth on hers, only the evening before, had her heart racing just to look at him.

  As for Ethan? Maybe he was right. Maybe the life of a competitive sailor was too selfish and way too hard for the people they left behind. But surely the good times would make up for the time apart?

  Mari watched Peter and his mother stroll further down the jetty towards a smart little boat with a distinctive red sail. Leaving Ethan alone on the brig.

  Deep breath. Had she really asked him for money? Then cried with happiness all the way back to town in his car? That was so embarrassing. He must think her even more of a fool than he had before.

  So why was it that something in the back of her mind told her that she might kid some of the people some of the time but, when it came to it, she just couldn’t kid herself?

  His kiss last night in the car had been so annoying precisely because it had given her hope that there could be something between them after all of these years.

  But, in the cold light of a February afternoon, the gulf in their choices was only too clear to see.

  He was going back to Florida and a life of sun and sea.

  While she had just bought a house in Swanhaven and she would have to work every hour of every day for years to come just to pay off her debts.

  There was no future in a relationship between them.

  It was time to leave before either of them said or did something that could not be unsaid or undone. Something that would make one of them choose to change their lives. And she was way too scared by the emotional turmoil that had been building up inside her since the moment she’d seen him sail up to the jetty to have any hope of logical thought or rational decision-making.

  He would be here until the end of the week and she had so much to organise with the house before she flew back to California. She simply didn’t have the time for distractions like Ethan Chandler. No time at all. She had things to do. People to see. Some photographs to scan. And only a few more hours to do it.

  In the meantime, nobody had warned her that having her dream finally come true after so long would be so bewildering that she felt giddy just at the thought of everything she had to do and the life ahead of her.

  She needed to talk to Ethan. His father was an architect. He would know the next steps she needed to take to make her new home safe and sound.

  As for Rosa’s little bombshell?

  Her shoulders slumped. He had been right about Rosa.

  So. Time to pull on her big-girl pants and go and eat humble pie.

  She needed Ethan’s help. Again.

  Ethan had just thanked the captain of the brig when he noticed Mari strolling along the jetty towards him. She had changed out of her suit into more casual trousers and fashion boots below a light jacket and smart scarf. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, her laptop bag slung over one shoulder and she looked every bit like the tourist she most surely was.

  Gorgeous, infuriating, stubborn, irrational and absolutely lovely. His palms were sweating and his mouth went dry just at the sight of her.

  He had been quiet in the car on the short journey from Swanchester back to Swanhaven for one simple reason. She had been crying every single second of the way. The intensity of the tension inside the car had been in such contrast to the almost friendly attitude and sense of connection of the previous evening that he almost regretted agreeing to the loan.

  Almost. He had made the right decision—this was what Mari wanted. He knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier when, deep inside, he could not shake off the fear that this girl was setting herself up for a life of lonely isolation with only the ghosts of the past for company. She was going to have to work hard to create a secure future for herself, but she was strong enough to make it happen. Even if she had to pay a high price for living here.

  Perhaps it had been a mistake to offer her the money—but the Mari he was looking at now was not a girl who had lost her centre, but a lovely adult woman who knew what she wanted and was determined to get it, even if it had meant waiting all of these years.

  He admired her for that. And there was the added advantage that they were locked together now by bonds more than the past. He was part of her present and her future. No interest. Just connection. Good enough.

  And at the very least she had stopped crying.

  Smiling to himself and more than a little curious about what she needed, Ethan walked slowly away from the town along the jetty towards his boat and waited for her to catch up.

  ‘Mari, I hope that you’re feeling better now,’ he managed to whisper, and then coughed to cover up how nervous he felt.

  ‘Much. Thank you.’ Mari looked around and nodded towards Peter, who had slipped onto the boat and was practising with his sails as his mother looked on. ‘So he’s one of your students?’ she asked.

  Okay. She was making an effort to break the ice after the crying. The least he could do was go along with it. ‘Peter’s uncle was one of my instructors and when he found out I was in town he asked me if I could help Peter with a few coaching sessions as a personal favour. I wasn’t too keen but actually it’s been great. Peter is a shy boy who doesn’t do well in groups but he has talent. He’ll be fine.’

  He turned back to face Mari and tipped her chin up so that he could see her eyes. ‘And what about you, Mari? Are you fine? You had a busy morning. Buying a huge family house is an exhausting business.’ Are we fine?

  Mari shrugged. ‘It certainly is. I’ve just told Rosa the good news.’

  Ethan nodded and winked. ‘Well, that explains the smile on your face. She must think it’s Christmas morning in her cottage. I suspect elaborate celebrations are now being planned.’

  Mari sucked in a breath to calm her nerves before speaking in a voice which emerged as a long sigh. ‘Not exactly. Rosa and I had a long overdue chat just now and it turns out that she’s planning to leave the town for a new job in London.’

  Mari flashed him a glance when he half snorted in surprise. ‘Yes, I know. Looks like I was wrong.’ She licked her lips and pushed her shoulders back. ‘In fact, it seems that I’ve been wrong about quite a few things. Starting with the fact that she doesn’t want to stay in Swanhaven, and she certainly doesn’t want to live in our old home with me. How about that?’

  Ethan stared into Mari’s face. She was trying to be brave. When the one thing she had been working towards for so long had turned out to be a damp squib instead of a glorious rocket display. She was holding it together better than he had thought possible.

  And his admiration and respect just went up a notch.

  ‘That must be hard when you’ve taken care of Rosa for so long. But I suppose she has to make her own decisions. You should be proud of giving her the courage to want to lead her own life. It won’t be easy.’

  Mari had been playing with the strap on her bag but, as he spoke, she looked up and her face brightened. ‘I hadn’t looked at it like that. Thanks. You’re right. She should lead her own life. And she’ll always be home for the holidays.’

  ‘Absolutely. So you’ll be living there on your own?’ he asked and, when she gave a way too fast nod, he simply smiled. ‘Well, in that case, I’d better ask my dad if he could design you a fine-looking IT studio. Home office, big glass windows overlooking the sea. Oh, yes, that would be something.’

  His reward was a closed-mouth smile.

  ‘Yes, it would. But perhaps I should start with plumbing and electricity? In fact, do you mind if I pick your brains about the repair work?’

  ‘No problem, but phone calls may be needed.’ He paused and got busy with the rope holding his boat to the jetty. ‘Speaking of which, I’m going to need your bank details to transfer the money. Just drop me an e-mail. That would be fine.’

  Mari stepped closer towards him so that, even on the empty jetty, onl
y he could hear what she said next.

  ‘That’s why I’ve come to apologise, Ethan. I should never have put you in that position this morning. I am sorry. You were more than generous. I thanked you then, but thank you. Really, I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there. And if you’re still looking for help at your parents’ house I would be happy to get involved. If you want me to.’

  She was looking at him now, almost hopeful.

  And something very close to excitement and happiness hit Ethan hard. This was turning out to be quite a day.

  ‘Well, in that case, we’d better get started, but there’s one slight change of plan. My car is back at the house. I came in by boat.’ And he looked at her and then tipped his head towards the sailing boat bobbing on the water, then back to her again.

  Mari sniffed and crossed her arms. ‘Oh, that is so cruel. You know why I’ve not been on a boat that small for a very long time.’

  Ethan nodded slowly. ‘If you want me to accept your apology you’re going to have to get into that boat. It’ll take ten minutes to get back to the house. Come on, Mari. Let’s get this over with. Look, I will even start the outboard motor. Now that’s some dispensation.’

  Her arms slowly uncrossed and she started to speak, then looked into his boat in silence and bit her lower lip.

  ‘I can’t, Ethan. I just can’t. I can’t get into that boat. I can take a taxi.’

  Mari. He watched her walk as calmly away from him as she could, down the jetty towards the beach and the cliff road, her head down against the wind, shoulders high inside her jacket making her look thin, small and fragile and almost childlike in so many ways.

  Well, that had been a mistake! And he was a fool for even suggesting it.

  She had been so happy this morning and in an instant he had wiped all of that joy away.

  What had he told Mari? That she would be making a mistake in coming to Swanhaven? How ironic. He was the one who had made the mistake coming back here. He should have let his father complete the house in his own way and stayed where he was until the redevelopment project was complete.

  That way he would not have met Mari again. He would not have talked to her, laughed and joked with her, worked by her side, and he certainly would not have made a connection.

  Ethan slapped his hand palm-down on the side of his boat, hard enough to make him wince with pain.

  Stupid! He should have known that coming back here would reopen old wounds and feelings that he had thought long dealt with. Especially now Mari had bought back the wreck that had been her old house and wanted to make some kind of home there.

  Mari.

  Ethan quickly wiped down his hands and shrugged back into his jacket.

  Time was up. He strolled casually down the jetty to where Mari was standing, frozen, staring out across the bay, facing away from the ocean and peering up onto the cliff-top where Ethan knew her old home was.

  She had wrapped her arms around her body as though trying to warm herself and block out the bone-penetrating icy wind, now flicked with faint sleet.

  He walked slowly over, unfastened his own sheepskin jacket and stepped behind her, so that he could reach out and wrap the warm jacket around her body, pressing his shirt front against her back, his arms crossed in front of her coat so that she was totally enclosed inside his embrace.

  Neither of them spoke as Ethan followed her gaze out to the dots of light which were flicking up on the far shore, his head pressed against her hood.

  He closed his eyes. There had to be five layers of clothing between their skins, and the freezing wind howled around his bare hands. And yet … He was holding Mari Chance in his arms and it felt so right. So very right that it was madness.

  Slowly, slowly, he dropped his hands to her waist, cuddling against her, and started to turn her around to face him.

  As though awakening from a dream, Mari realised that she was not alone and her head twisted towards him inside the huge coat. As her body turned slowly, his hands shifted so that when her chin pressed against the front of his shirt, his arms were now around her back, pressing her forwards.

  His eyes closed as he listened to her breathing, her head buried into his body, protected from the icy wind and the sound of the waves lapping against the stones on the shore.

  Her arms, which had been trapped inside his coat, moved to wrap around his waist so that she could hold him closer.

  A faint smile cracked Ethan’s face. She was hugging him back. Taking his warmth and devotion.

  He dared not risk taking it any further. Dared not break that taste of trust she was offering him.

  Hugging her tighter, Ethan dropped his face a little so that his lips were in the vicinity of her forehead.

  Mari responded immediately and looked up as he moved back just far enough so that he could see her face under the hood.

  Their eyes locked. It was a moment in time. But, just for that single moment, everything that had gone before meant nothing. They were a man and a woman who cared for one another very deeply, holding each other.

  It seemed the most natural thing in the world for Ethan to run his lips across her upturned forehead, then her closed eyes, her breath hot against his cheek. He felt her mouth move against his neck. Stunned with the shock of the sensation, he almost moved away, but paused and pressed his face closer to hers, his arms tight on her back, willing his feelings to pass through his open hands, through the clothing to the core of her body.

  This was unreal.

  A single faint beam of light streamed out from the lively harbour that was Swanhaven in the early dusk and caught on Mari’s face like a spotlight in the gloom of the dock. The faint golden light warmed her skin. They were both cold, but there was no way Ethan would break this precious moment when the barriers were down and he could express what words would fail to convey.

  His hands slid up and down her back. His mouth moved across her cheek, and he felt her lift her chin. Waiting for his kiss. The kiss that could warm that frozen centre her deep loss had created.

  Adrenaline surged through his body, his senses alive to the stunning woman he was holding in his arms, his heart racing. He could feel her warm breath as they looked into each other’s eyes, both of them open-mouthed. Nose almost touching nose. His head tilted. Ready.

  Ethan opened his eyes to look into the hazel-green eyes of this remarkable woman who he felt he had known all of his life. His dream was about to become a reality.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  SUDDENLY, out of the corner of his eye, Ethan saw something on the bay.

  It was a sail. A small boat with a red sail with a black symbol on it.

  It was Peter’s boat, and he could just make out a small figure standing at the tiller, turning the boat into the wind so it sped across the water, faster and faster. Too fast. Way too fast. And he was on his own. Almost at the same time, he caught a glimpse of Peter’s mother running towards the yacht club for help.

  Ethan jerked back, his hands pulled away from Mari and he frantically grabbed her hand and half dragged, half pulled her back to the jetty and physically lifted her onto the boat without asking permission or forgiveness.

  It took precious seconds for Ethan to untie the rope, start the engine and rev it to maximum speed so their small craft bobbed violently against the waves as it raced towards the red sail.

  ‘Ethan, what is it? Please. You’re frightening me. Tell me what’s happening!’

  ‘It’s Peter. That boy I’ve been teaching to sail these past few days. He’s out in the bay on his own and something’s gone wrong. Look! The red sail!’