Fish Perfume (Cozy Harbor Marina Series)

by Sammie Grace

  I said, “Good for her. I’m sure the girls loved you.”

  He smiled and said, “Well, I did turn on the Maroni charm.”

  Mo said, “I just bet you did.”

  I asked him, “What else did you do?”

  Mo handed me my sandwich, and Tony asked, “What is that?”

  I told him and he said, “Mo, I’ll have what she’s having.”

  Mo nodded and said, “Comin’ right up, handsome.”

  Tony continued, “Helen took me to her parents for brunch on Sunday.”

  My jaw dropped, and I almost fell off my stool. The only guys Helen has ever brought home were prom dates and that was because Mrs. Jakowski threatened her. Mrs. J wanted to take pictures before the prom.

  “Wow. That’s huge, Tony. Helen never brings anyone home. Did you meet everyone?”

  “Yeah. I met the whole fam-dam-ly. Her mom put on a great brunch. The food was great, and I loved the whole family. I fit right in.”

  “I love her family, too. When we were growing up, we were either at my house or hers. They’re my second family. Will Hel be coming up soon?”

  “This weekend. She has to work a full day on Friday, so she’s flying up Friday night. I’m going to have a pool party Saturday night. I hope you and Ian can come.”

  “We don’t have any plans that I know of. I’ll check with Ian.”

  Tony said, “Mo, you’re welcome, too, and feel free to bring anyone you want.”

  Mo said, “I just might do that, but I’m not gettin’ in a bathin’ suit.”

  He looked her up and down and said, “Mo, I’d bet you’d be pretty hot in a thong. You could warm up the water in my pool.”

  We all laughed.

  Tony finished his sandwich way before me and went back to work. I’m a slow eater.

  I said, “Mo, all we’ve done is talk about me. What’s new with you?”

  She said, “Well, the Fisher Man finally asked me out.”

  “That’s great. Why aren’t you excited?”

  “After my Internet disaster dates, I’ve kinda’ lost my lust for lust.”

  “Are you going out with him?”

  Rather unenthusiastically, she answered, “Yeah, I said I’d go. He’s gonna pick me up on his boat at the fuel dock Friday night about 6:30 and take me to a restaurant up in East Greenwich.”

  “Good.”

  “Meggie, I was hopin’ you’d do me a big favor?”

  “Sure, you name it, Mo.”

  “Well, I’ve always met these Internet guys in public places, so I’m leery of goin’ on a boat alone with one of them. I was thinkin’ maybe you could go down to the dock and check him out before I get on the boat. With my luck, he’ll pull up in an old rust bucket, and he’ll only have two teeth in his mouth.”

  “I’ll meet you at the Shack after I close up at six. I’ll keep an eye out and then go down and check him out. If he looks like a creep, I’ll tell him you got sick and couldn’t make it. If I think he looks okay, I’ll come back and get you.”

  Mo said, “Deal. I really appreciate you doin’ that for me. You never know about people these days.”

  I got up to leave, and I felt a lot better than when I came into the Shack.

  I said, “Mo, thanks for lunch and for listening to me.”

  She smiled and said, “I can’t wait to meet your new grandpa.”

  I said, “Hey, that’s right. I have a grandfather. I never knew my real grandfathers. They both died before I was born.”

  “Everythin’ will work out, sweetie. Just you wait and see.”

  “I hope so.”

  Ian came and found me in the store after he finished work.

  He said, “How about I cook dinner tonight? I’ll pick up some steaks on the way home.”

  “That sounds good. I’m going to close up early and take a nap at the cottage. I’ll be over around 7:00.”

  He said, “I’ll see you then, and you can fill me in on your dinner with your grandmother. He pulled me in for a kiss and said, “By the way, I really missed you last night.”

  “I missed you, too.” He kissed me again and walked out the door.

  I sighed and watched him cross the parking lot to his truck and then quickly closed up the store. I was pooped.

  When I got to the cottage, I plopped down on the couch and slept for two hours. I felt like a new person when I woke up. It’s amazing what a nap will do for you. After I showered, I put on a short, candy-apple green shift that I picked up at a shop in town, and headed over to Ian’s. Sam greeted me at the door, and I gave him a good scratch on his rump. I followed Sam into the kitchen where Ian was making a salad.

  Ian looked at me and said, “You look revived. I love the dress. That’s a great color for you.”

  “Thanks. Can I help?”

  “No. Why don’t you pour us both a glass of wine? I have some white opened in the fridge.”

  I got up and poured us each a glass.

  He said, “Come out on the deck with me while I cook the steaks, and you can tell me about your dinner last night.”

  I picked up both glasses and followed him out to the deck.

  I said, “Well, it was full of surprises. You have to promise not to tell anyone, though.”

  “Sure. I promise.”

  “Gram and Cal got married two weeks ago in San Diego.”

  “Really. Wow. That’s a surprise. Do you like him?”

  “Yeah, I do. He’s a really nice man and seems to adore her. I couldn’t be happier for both of them. They’re going to Philly tomorrow to tell my parents. She doesn’t want people up here to know before she tells my mom.”

  “What’s she going to do about the marina? Do you think she’ll sell it?”

  Those words couldn’t come out of his mouth fast enough. Well, I guess it’s the moment of truth.

  I said, “I heard that you offered to buy it from her a few times.”

  He looked surprised when I said that. He said, “I have. She told me if she ever decided to sell, she would give me first crack at it.”

  Well, at least he was honest about it.

  I said, “I’m surprised you never mentioned that to me.”

  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess it just never came up in conversation.”

  “Well, Ian, I’m sorry to disappoint you but she still hasn’t changed her mind. She asked me if I would like to stay and run it. She told me to think about it this week and let her know my answer when she gets back. They’ll be back on Sunday.”

  “What do you think you’ll do?”

  I said, “I’m not sure.” I couldn’t wait to hear what he said next.

  He said, “I’m happy for your grandmother. I’ve always liked her. She’s been great to me.”

  I tried not to show the disappointment on my face. I was hoping he’d tell me he loved me. That he wanted me to stay.

  He swatted at a mosquito and said, “The bugs are starting to bite. Did you put bug cream on?”

  “Yes. I’m okay.” Since he didn’t seem too anxious to talk about whether I should stay or not, I decided to change the subject. I asked, “How was your dinner with Christine?”

  “Good. We had an early dinner. Then I went back to her condo and hung some pictures for her. She just moved in last month.”

  He pulled the steaks off the grill, and we went into the kitchen.

  Ian was really quiet during dinner. I told him, “Helen is coming up Friday night and Tony is having a pool party Saturday night. Do you want to go?”

  “Sure. That’ll be fun.”

  I couldn’t finish my steak. I lost my appetite. I cut up the rest of it and put it in Sam’s dish. He gave me a doggy smile, wagged his tail,
and ate it up in two seconds.

  Ian laughed and said, “That’s it. He’s officially in love with you.”

  I smiled. I guess there is always a bright side. At least the dog’s in love with me.

  We did the dishes together and talked about Boston. I’ve only been there once when I was little. He told me he would take me up there sometime and give me a tour. When we finished the dishes, I picked up my purse.

  Ian looked at me wide-eyed. He said, “You’re not leaving, are you?”

  “Yeah. I think I should go home. I have a mountain of laundry to do.”

  “Is there something wrong, Meggie? You don’t seem yourself tonight.”

  “I’m fine.”

  He came and stood in front of me and pulled me toward him. He kissed me and then gave me a big hug.

  He said, “I’ll miss you tonight. Can I change your mind?”

  I said, “No, I’d better go.”

  He walked me to the door and said, “I’ll stop by after work tomorrow. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I smiled at him and said, “I’m sure. See you tomorrow.”

  As soon as I pulled away from his house, the floodgates opened and I cried all the way home. If he was going to say anything about his feelings for me, it would have been tonight. Obviously, I was right. He just wanted a summer fling.

  When Journey got into work the next morning, I went to the Shack for breakfast. When I walked in, Mo was just pulling a coffee cake out of the oven. It smelled so good my stomach started to growl after just one whiff.

  Mo said, “Hey there, sweetie. What can I getcha?”

  “Can I have a piece of that? I’m starving.”

  “Sure. Would you like a cup coffee to go with it?”

  “Sure.”

  Mo served me my cake and coffee.

  She said, “How goes the battle. Any big decisions yet?”

  “Oh, Mo, I don’t know what to do. I saw Ian last night and told him about Gram. He immediately asked me if she was going to sell the marina. I told him no and then told him she wanted me to stay and run it. I didn’t tell him she was leaving it to me and my brothers.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That’s the problem, Mo. He didn’t say a thing. I was so disappointed. I told him I heard he wanted to buy the marina and asked him why he never told me that. He said it never came up. He asked me if I knew what I would do and I said that I didn’t. I wanted him to give me some sign, some reason to stay. I’m not sure I believe he was seeing me to get on Gram’s good side, but I’m convinced now he just wanted a summer fling. If he wanted more, he would have tried to convince me to stay.”

  “I think you’re wrong, Meggie. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I can usually read people pretty well. Except, of course, some of the guys I date. It’s hard to see clearly when you’re in the situation.”

  “I wish I could just enjoy the next two weeks with him and not worry about it. I know myself well enough, though, to know I can’t do that. I’m in deep, Mo, and it’ll be even harder to say goodbye to him if I spend the next two weeks with him. I want to stay more than anything, but if I do and then he dumped me, I would be crushed.”

  “Are you gonna break it off with him?”

  “I think I’m just going to avoid him for a few days. I need time to think about things and I can’t do that when I’m with him.”

  “I sure hope you decide to stay. I’d miss you.”

  I smiled at her and said, “I’d miss you too, Mo. Hey, are you doing anything tonight?”

  “Nope.”

  “Want to go to the movies?”

  “Sure. I haven’t been to the movies in a long time. I’ll check the paper and let you know what time? Maybe there’ll be a movie with that Russell Crowe guy in it. Now that is a sexy man.”

  Just then, Matt came running through the door.

  “Aunt Mo, Meggie, the girls are getting ready to take the You Go Girl out. You don’t want to miss the show,” he said.

  “I’ve got nothin’ on the grill, come on, Meggie. You don’t want to miss this. It’s a riot,” Mo said.

  She grabbed my hand, and we both followed Matt over to C dock to join the crowd. I was wondering if anyone was going to pass around popcorn.

  Mo pointed to a boat pulling out of B dock in a hurry. She said, “There goes Jim gettin’ out of the way fast. Everyone gets out of the girls’ way when they’re maneuverin’.”

  Deb was on the boat manning the tiller and Terry was standing on the dock.

  “I think I should push off, Terry,” Deb said.

  Terry said, “The last time you pushed off, you fell in the water.”

  “That’s because I tripped on the line you left lying all over the dock. I keep telling you that you should always coil it up.”

  “You fell in the water because you’re not fast enough. Now I’m going to push off and jump on the boat, so get ready.”

  Terry pushed the boat away from the dock, jumped on, tripped and fell on Deb. That’s when the screaming started.

  “Jesus H. Christ, Terry, you trying to friggin’ kill me here.”

  Terry got herself upright and shouted back, “Just hold on to the goddamn tiller. I’ll put the jib up. Don’t hit anything.”

  Deb yelled, “You are such a bitch.”

  Terry tried to get the jib up. The boom swung around and hit Deb in the head, knocking her backwards. She put her hands on her head and screamed, “My God, I’m gonna wind up in the friggin’ hospital. I’m seeing stars.”

  “Quit your whining and watch out for the freakin’ jet skiers.”

  Deb rubbed her head some more and said, “I’ve got a big lump on my head. Terry, I swear I’m never going sailing with you again. It’s too much stress on my nerves and my body.”

  “Just shut up, will ya. You’re giving me a headache.”

  “Yeah, well, you almost took my friggin’ head off with the goddamn boom.”

  They rounded the corner, and everyone on the dock started laughing.

  I turned around and saw Mac standing beside me.

  He was laughing and said, “Those girls should start charging people for the show.”

  A little concerned, I said, “Hey, Mac. I hope they make it back okay.”

  “They don’t stay out very long, and so far they’ve always made it back. Everyone keeps tabs on them. We’ll all be watching to make sure they get in.”

  “How are you feeling today, Mac?”

  “Like a new man. You look a little tired, though. You feeling okay?”

  “Just a little tired. My Gram is back. She went to see my parents, but I’m sure she’ll stop in when she gets back to say hello.”

  “Did she have a good trip?”

  “She sure did. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she sees you.”

  “I’ll look forward to it. You get some rest. I’m going home to take a nap myself.”

  “See you later, Mac.”

  It was around 4:00 when Ian appeared in my office doorway.

  He looked his usual gorgeous sexy self. It took all the will I could muster up to keep from throwing myself at him. It doesn’t matter if he smells like lobster bait or diesel fuel, I want him and I want him now.

  He said, “Hi. How’s your day going?”

  “Good. The girls took their sailboat out this morning. That was funny.”

  He laughed and said, “Oh, yeah. That’s always amusing.”

  “How was your day?”

  “Good. I’ve got some repairs to make on the Stalwart, but I should be done in a couple of hours. What would you like to do tonight?”

  “Oh. I’m sorry, but Mo asked me to go to the movies.”

  Okay, I lied, I ask
ed Mo but I’m not telling him that.

  He looked a little hurt but said, “Well, you have a great time. Maybe we can do something tomorrow night?”

  “Gee. The pole-dancing class is tomorrow night.”

  He said, “Maybe you can stop by afterward?”

  I said, “Yeah. I’ll call you if we get done early.”

  He looked puzzled and asked, “Meggie, are we okay?”

  I said, “Yeah. We’re fine.”

  He pulled me out of my chair and kissed me. The kiss started out as a tender little kiss and then I thought he was going to swallow me whole.

  He let me go and stepped back into the doorway. He said, “Have fun.” He turned and walked out the back door of the store.

  I sat down and fought the tears back.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Tonight is the first pole-dancing class. I closed up at 6:00 and ran to the cottage to change into some black workout shorts, a blue tank top, and a pair of my new Nikes before heading over to the Dancing Queen Dance Studio. When I walked in, the only people who were there were Mo and her friends. Mo introduced me to Val, who was a petite lady with short, dark-brown hair and the biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Next was Sandy, a tall, blonde, attractive woman who wore her hair in a short bob like Mo. Then there was MaryAnn who sported short, spiky red hair. With her body language and personality, she was like a white Tina Turner. We chatted for a few minutes, and then everyone else started filing in. From the marina there was Sexy Cathy, Marion, Joyce, Geri, Scary Sarah, Bonnie, and Just Howard’s new girlfriend, Barbara. I didn’t know the rest of the people. Kathy and Lolly must be pleased, though, because the room was filling up.

  Dancing Kathy escorted us into a room with four poles where Lolly was setting up her boom box. Dancing Kathy said, “Ladies, I would like to introduce you to your instructor, Lolly.”