by Debbie Mason
“I know you guys wish I were a Coastie, but I’m not. I report to your dad, Griff. Not you and Sully. Thanks for the ride though.” He went to walk between the two men.
Sully grabbed his T-shirt and reeled him back in so Griffin could look him in the eye. “You’re a pro. You don’t make mistakes, and you sure as hell don’t fall off a freighter unless—”
In his gut, he knew Griffin had seen more than he was letting on. “I’ll deal with it.”
“See that you do, or I will.” He blew out a breath and then pulled him in for a one-arm hug. “You’re not invincible, you know. That was too close. You’re damn lucky you swim like a fish.”
“Just call me Merman,” Marco joked, unwilling to let Griffin see how much his obvious concern touched him.
He’d never let Griffin know how much it meant to him that he’d stepped in to fill his big brother’s shoes. Griffin had been looking out for him since Lucas joined the army, the same year Sophie and their mom left town. The day his big brother walked out the door of the family apartment was the last time Marco had seen him. Lucas always had an excuse at the ready as to why he couldn’t come home.
As soon as they’d climbed out of the cutter and onto the wharf, Liam said, “Who is my brother going to take care of if you don’t?” When Marco opened his mouth to say he didn’t have a clue, Liam put his hand in Marco’s face. “Don’t bother trying to deny it. If you don’t tell me everything in the next two minutes, I’m calling Rosa and telling her what happened.”
Marco pushed Liam’s hand from his face. “Do you want to give her a heart attack?”
The more likely outcome would be that she’d drive them insane dogging Marco’s every step off and on the job, which meant she’d be dogging most of Liam’s too.
Marco sighed when Liam held up his cell phone. “All right, you win. But first you have to promise you won’t tell the chief.”
“I can’t make that promise until I hear what happened.”
Marco knew he’d pushed his luck. Once they passed two older men fishing off the wharf, he went through the morning’s simulation step by step. As much for himself as for Liam. Marco didn’t want to believe that Johnny had intentionally set out to send him overboard. Just like he didn’t want to believe he was responsible for the malfunctioning disconnect valve the other day on the plane.
“You have to tell the chief. He needs to open an investigation.” Liam looked toward the engines idling in the parking lot, and his expression hardened. Johnny was walking toward them in his turnout gear.
One look at Johnny’s face told Marco all he needed to know. He handed Liam his hazmat gear. “I’ll handle this.”
Johnny held up his hands as Marco strode toward him. “I swear to God, I didn’t know you went over. I didn’t mean for—”
Marco laid him out with a right uppercut to the jaw. He heard the whispers, the sound of people moving in for a better look, and reached out his hand to the man sprawled on the wharf at his feet.
Johnny cradled his jaw in his palm. “You going to hit me again?”
“Depends what you tell me. I might have you arrested instead.”
The other man’s expression went from suspicious to panicked. “Please, don’t. Not for me, but for Callie’s and the baby’s sake.”
“Callie’s pregnant?” He poked around beneath his surprise to see if there was something more: regret? Jealousy? There was nothing other than happiness for Callie. Though it was tempered with concern about the man she’d married. He’d never been particularly fond of Johnny. He’d been a jerk to Liam when he’d first transferred from BFD.
“She is. And it’s mine,” the man in front of him said with a belligerent thrust of his chin.
“You do a disservice to Callie saying crap like that. Of course the baby’s yours, you idiot. But if you ever pull another stunt like you did today, and like you did two days before with the disconnect valve, you risk losing them.”
“Okay. But I’m telling you the truth. I didn’t mean for you to fall overboard. I didn’t know you had. I just meant for you to fall on your face. I wanted people to know you’re just like the rest of us. You’re not a hero.”
“I never said I was, and as far as I know, no one else has.”
“Yeah? You don’t think I saw the way my wife looked at you on our wedding day, when you rescued Daniel Gallagher? You don’t think I heard what she started to say? She wished it was you she married, not me. She married me because of the baby.”
He sympathized with the guy. He really did. But… “This doesn’t have anything to do with me, Johnny. This is between you and Callie. And for the record, Callie wouldn’t marry you because she was pregnant. She makes good money, has great friends and a supportive family. The only reason she married you is because she loves you.” He hoped it was true.
“So you’re not still in love with her? You don’t want her back?”
“No. We both moved on months ago.” It didn’t sound like a lot of time even to him. For both their sakes, he wished he could say years.
“But you aren’t dating anyone. You haven’t—”
“Says who? Not that it’s any of your business, but I have a date this weekend.”
The guy perked up right away. “Really? Where are you going?”
“Movie Night in the Park,” he said in an effort to sound convincing. One look at Johnny’s face told him he’d made a mistake.
“That’s great. Maybe we’ll see you there. Callie and I are going too.”
“Everything good here?” Liam asked, coming up behind him.
“Yeah, we’re good. Right, Marco?” Johnny’s gaze moved anxiously from Liam back to Marco.
Marco let the silence stretch a little longer. He wanted Johnny to sweat. Just because he sympathized with the guy didn’t mean he was getting off with a punch in the chin and a warning. He planned to keep a close eye on Johnny. For the sake of HHFD and Callie and her baby.
As though he couldn’t take it any longer, Johnny filled the silence. “I get it, okay? I’ll do whatever I have to, to prove you can trust me.”
“Yeah, you will.” He took the hazmat gear from Liam and handed it to Johnny. “You can take this to the team. Explain how I ended up going for a swim.”
“But I thought we were good.”
“You said it was an accident. I believe you. So will they. You just might want to forget the part about you wanting me to fall on my face.”
For a second, it looked like Johnny might throw the equipment at Marco, but then he got himself under control and nodded. “You’re right. Thanks. I appreciate you giving me a second chance,” he said, then walked away.
“You know, you could have rescued me before I put my foot in my mouth. I told him I had a date for Movie Night in the Park.”
“I was rescuing you. I was on the phone with my father, trying to explain why you just knocked Johnny on his ass without implicating him in your near drowning.”
“How did he…?” He searched the parking lot and spotted the chief leaning against the ladder engine. He waved Marco over.
“I didn’t think this day could get much worse, but it looks like I was wrong.”
“I have some news that might cheer you up.”
“What is it?” he asked warily, not trusting the amusement in Liam’s eyes.
“Rosa called.”
Marco groaned, and Liam slung an arm around his shoulders. “It’s good news, buddy. She set you up on a date with my cousin Daphne. The divorce attorney?” he said at Marco’s frown.
“I know which one she is. I met her at the beach yesterday.” Thing was, it was the hot pilot he couldn’t get out of his mind that morning, not the hot divorce attorney. Daphne Gallagher was gorgeous, but he preferred Theia’s edgy attitude to the attorney’s flirty one. Still, if he wanted to keep the peace at HHFD and in Johnny and Callie’s marriage, going out with Liam’s cousin was as good an idea as any. There was also the added benefit that he’d keep the peace in his own hom
e.
* * *
Project Daddy Do-Over wasn’t going well. When Theia arrived to pick up Daniel yesterday for lunch with his daughters, his yoga-instructor-slash-masseuse had handed her a doctor’s note. Daniel was supposedly spending the day in bed due to high blood pressure. Given her sexy bedhead, flushed cheeks, and sparkly eyes, Theia suspected the perky woman with the perky boobs might be responsible for the rise in Daniel’s blood pressure.
Theia had turned the doctor’s note over and wrote one of her own. If he wasn’t on the patio at five for dinner with his daughters and grandsons today, she was going to call a certain member of the Greek parliament and let him know where a certain archaeologist could be found. The message was cryptic enough that his fake doctor wouldn’t understand the threat, but Daniel would.
Last year, Daniel had unearthed a trove of gold coins on his dig in a farmer’s field, which he’d decided to keep for himself instead of informing the government—or the farmer who’d granted him written permission to dig on his farm for fifty percent of whatever he found. Though the workers on the dig were sworn to secrecy, word soon reached the farmer’s ears, and he was holding Daniel’s equipment hostage until he paid up. Word had reached Caine around the same time as the farmer. From the beginning, Caine had pegged Daniel as the weak link in the Gallagher family and had put one of the archaeologist’s trusted assistants on his payroll. He’d used the information to get Daniel to work for him.
Theia sat on the stone wall that surrounded the patio, waiting for Daniel to show. She was half-hidden among the spidery branches of a willow tree that looked like it had been around longer than the manor. She didn’t want to impose on the Gallaghers’ family time. She just wanted to ensure Daniel joined them for dinner. Penelope had arrived with the boys moments before. She looked rested. The time at the manor had begun smoothing the pinched look from her face. Kitty and Jasper had taken the boys in hand, giving their burned-out mother some time to herself before she took on her official role at the manor.
So far no one had questioned Theia’s presence at Greystone. They just assumed she was waiting until her plane dried out, which it hadn’t. It was nice not to have to lie about why she was here. That would change soon enough. She figured she had a few days’ reprieve before she’d have to start flying guests to and from the manor.
Sophie had dropped hints this morning about a sunset tour. She’d also apologized that her brother had drowned Theia’s plane. It was obvious Sophie adored her big brother and would probably punch Theia in the nose if she said anything nasty about him. She didn’t. She’d forgiven Tall, Dark, and Irresistible. At least for the day she landed in Harmony Harbor. She wasn’t happy he continued hijacking her dreams.
And distracting her from what was going on around her, she thought when Daphne said, “Where were you just now?”
Rolling around on the beach with Marco DiRossi. “Playing a game of solitaire in my mind.”
Daphne laughed. “You’re weird, you know.”
“So I’ve been told. What can I do for you?” She glanced at her phone and stood up. Daniel was five minutes late.
“You know that red halter dress you bought?”
“You mean the one you forced me to buy?”
“Yeah, that one.” She fluttered her long eyelashes. “Can I borrow it Saturday night? I have a hot date.”
“Sure.”
“Aren’t you going to ask who with?”
“Am I supposed to?”
“You haven’t had many girlfriends, have you?”
“Who are you going out with, Daphne?”
“Guess.”
“No.”
She rolled her eyes and then grabbed Theia by the hands, moving them up and down. “I’m going out with Marco. Marco DiRossi. The amazingly sexy firefighter with the hot body.”
“I know who you mean.” Okay, so probably not the reaction Daphne was hoping for. Theia forced a smile and copied the up-and-down movement with her hands. Now what was she supposed to say? Clearly not her initial reaction which was, Hey, I saw him first. “Lucky, lucky you.”
It looked like Theia had stumbled on exactly the right thing to say.
“I know, right?” Daphne grinned.
Ten minutes later, as Theia trudged through the woods to Daniel’s house, she realized how off her game she was. Daphne dating Marco was almost as bad as the two sisters being forced to remain at the manor for a month. If Daphne fell in love with Marco, they’d never get the woman to leave. Worse, they’d never get her to sell her shares because Marco’s sister was manager of the manor. And the Gallaghers and DiRossis were as thick as thieves.
There was only one thing for her to do. She had to crash their date. A happy flutter in her stomach accompanied the thought. She frowned and looked down. What was that all about?
“Careful,” said a familiar deep voice from behind her.
She walked into a tree.
Chapter Eight
Theia staggered backward after walking into the tree. Her ow almost turned to an aw when she backed into a broad-chested, hard body whose tanned, muscular arms went around her. She might have rested there for a few minutes, savoring the feel of Marco DiRossi holding her close, but that wasn’t her style. That was something Daphne would do. Theia thought she could learn a thing or two from the other woman because this was awfully nice.
For her, but maybe not for him. Marco stepped back and turned her to face him. A much nicer view than the tree, she decided, looking into his warm caramel-colored eyes. Her gaze dropped to his mouth. He hadn’t shaved, and the scruffy look suited him. So did the smile he appeared to be fighting.
“Are you laughing at me?”
The question got her a flash of white teeth. “You walked into a tree.” He lifted his hand and moved her bangs aside. “You must be getting used to me. You didn’t jump this time. No blood either. Wound’s still closed.”
“I must have led with my nose and not my forehead.” She liked the feel of his blunt-tipped fingers on her face a little too much. She was afraid she’d start purring and rubbing her cheek against his palm if he didn’t soon stop.
Just as she was about to step back, he gently trailed his finger down her nose. “Still cute, and it’s not broken.”
The words It would feel better if you kissed it hovered on her lips. She saw clearly how it would unfold. He’d bend down and touch his lips to her nose, and then she’d tip her head back and his beautiful mouth would end up on hers. And then he’d kiss her, and it would be the most incredible kiss of her…Good Lord, what was she doing?
“Are you okay?” His gaze roamed her face. “Come on. My sister’s place is just over here. I’ll get you an ice pack.”
He took her by the hand. His was big and warm. Something about him made her feel small and feminine. Which was odd because Caine never did, and he was about two inches taller and at least fifteen pounds heavier than Marco.
Feeling delicate and feminine was a completely unexpected reaction, and it threw her for a loop. From the time she was twelve, her entire focus had been proving to her uncle that she was as strong as her cousins. That whatever they could do she could do better. It had been the same when she enlisted. She’d spent the past twenty years competing with men and proving she was as mentally and physically strong as they were.
“Ow.” He laughed, pulling his hand away. “You have quite the grip.”
“Sorry. Bad habit.” She’d done it on purpose. She hadn’t wanted to appear rude or make him think he’d done something wrong by pulling her hand away, but she didn’t like how it made her feel. He made her nervous. When it came to dating, she stayed far away from men like Marco. She preferred nerds.
Only she hadn’t dated in the past two years. And it wasn’t because Caine acted like an annoying big brother, scaring off all the offers. If she wanted to date, she would. But she couldn’t think of having fun when Holden’s wife and son were still mired in their grief.
“I hear you asked Daphne out
.” He wouldn’t have to worry about her squishing his fingers.
He glanced at Theia as he placed his hand lightly at her back to guide her across the dirt road. “My grandmother did.”
She laughed, wincing at how relieved she not only felt but sounded. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s just that you don’t seem like the type of guy who needs his grandmother to set him up.”
He smiled. “I don’t. But that’s never stopped her in the past, and I guarantee it won’t stop her in the future.”
“She’ll have to stop when you get married.”
“That’s a long way off.” He lifted his chin at a white stucco house across the road. It had a gabled roof with two chimneys and a low stone wall with a white picket gate. “What about you? No significant other in your life?”
“No.” She didn’t want to talk about her dating life with him, or his, for that matter. She didn’t have time to be distracted. She had a job to do. “I think I’ll pass on the ice pack. Thanks for the offer though.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” She gestured at the cottage down the road. “I have to do Jasper a favor and drag Daniel away from his lady friend. He’s late for his dinner with his daughters.”
“Daniel’s dating someone?”
“Yeah, Perky Boobs,” she said, using the name she’d christened the woman with. “I’m not sure if they’re dating, but they’re definitely having a good time. And I don’t think it’s because Daniel has joined Perky’s yoga classes. The massage sessions though? I can see him enjoying those.”
Marco stared at her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, going back over what she’d said in her head. She made a face. The drawback of hanging out with mostly men was she tended to talk like them.
“Perky Boobs is my mother.”